I Messed Up .

[snowflake311]

My fish were all fine and happy, but it had been 2 weeks since I did a water change on my 100gal. So I did a 90% wc and cleaned the filters out good. This caused a huge bactiera bloom that was so thick. I read that the bactiera will use up lots of o2 when it is trying to rebuild. My fish were breathing hard becuase of this big change I and low o2 I guess. My little red spot severum took this all the hardest. He is still upside down and kind of floating still bearthing and his eyes still move. But he floats with no control.

I lowered the water temp added a powerhead and this helped all the other fish they are breathing well and act normal. The cloud is gone. But the red severum is not getting better. The extream cleaning I did stressed him out bad. The stress could had caused his swimblader to get messed up. He has been a runt and seems to get picked on. So he would be the weaker one in the tank. He is also the youngest at 12months all the others are over 12months.

I feel so bad I know it was my aggressive cleaning that caused this to happen. I don't know if I should just end it or wait and see if my red severum gets better. He was such a fun little fish.

 

[bae1994]

nah give him a chance some fish make miraculousness recoveries

and these things happen dont beat yourself up

 

[kaivalagi]

As bae has said just give it time and go easy on yourself

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and yes looking you could say I should have done this and done that but I am sure we've all been here once or twice before.....fingers crossed for the little fella

 

[Verminator89]

Ah i feel for you Snowflake. I myself did something similar a while back, although by the sounds of it you've suffered far worse consequences.

Is there no way of adding a mature filter from elsewhere perhaps to help this tank out temporarily. If it were me i'd get keep the surface agitated and add an air stone to increase whatever O2 content there is. I'd also refrain from feeding for a week or so, just so no uneaten food adds to the cause.

Whatever you mean by end it all i don't know, but keep at it. As bae1994 mentions, fish make remarkable recoveries. I've often had fish and thought they were past it, then the next day they are right as rain, as if nothing had happened.

 

[Proxo]

nah give him a chance some fish make miraculousness recoveries

and these things happen dont beat yourself up

Agreed, i've even seen myself mess up bad enough i found myself rinsing the filter media under the tap
and didnt notice what i was doing until it was too late.

Kinda like when you put the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the fridge

P.s - This stupidness mainly comes around during hangovers hahaa!

 

[Verminator89]

P.s - This stupidness mainly comes around during hangovers hahaa!

For me, its whilst under the influence. Carrying a bucket with 30L of water in always ends in a few "drops" along the hallway And what makes it into the tank creates a beautifull crater in the substrate. Never again....

 

[hamfist]

AGreed. Don't beat yourself up about it Snowflake. Anyone who's been in the hobby for a few years will have similar stories to tell of times when we've messed up, and fish have suffered.
Only you can make the decision about whether to put the poor lad out of his misery. SOmetimes it's the right thing to do.

 

[snowflake311]

I am at work now and don't know how the little guy is doing. Last time I saw him he was floating upside down but still breathing it's pretty sad. If he makes it I will be really suprised. At least my other fish are back to normal.

I had a feeling my extream cleaning might do some harm but I still did it. Thanks guys. I will
let you know how it goes.

 

[MBOU]

Eh it happens... even those working in the trade do it too >.<

Dont want to get your hopes up though... it wont necessarily have been the lack of o2 that was making the fish gasp but more the subsequent Ammonia spike caused by the loss of all the beneficial bacteria. Even when the Ammonia has cycled through... the damage can still leave them gasping...

Will be well worth adding plenty of bioactive bacteria (ones im finding are good at the moment is the Supafish Batuurgel, Interpets BioActive Tapsafe and Evolution Aqua's 'Pure' Bacteria Gel Balls)

Mental note... dont clean out filters and do a water change on the same day unless its a particularly small water change >.<

And dont ever do a 90% water change and expect to keep fish in there afterwards... never anything more than 40-50%... normally say 25% with one 40% water change every month or two.

----

All that aside.... I have dont the same thing and nearly wiped out my tank full of discus >.< forgot i cleaned out the filter that morning and got home and the tank was filthy (with the dirt i flushedo ut of pipes) so i did a massive gravel clean and waterchange.... WHOOPS!! (all recovered eventually!!)

 

[snowflake311]

I checked my water right away the ammonia nitrites and even nitrates were all 0. The fish were not gasping at the surface they were just breating hard like they were trying to catch their breath like after a fight.

I know nitrates should be there but it was such a big water change I don't think there was enought to show up. I will check it again when I got home.

I have done many 90% even 100% wc before with no problems. I do weekly 50% changes all the time. That was not it. The fact I also cleaned both filters and replaced 2 sponges. That with the big water change is what did it. Just don't do both a huge wc and clean filters. One at a time.

 

[MBOU]

The Ammonia wouldnt have spiked right away, might have taken a couple of hours to get bad and could have cycled through really quickly on its own if you have mature filter media, doesnt mean ammonia wasnt there, just means it beat you and has gone already lol.

Question...

Why on earth would you want to do 90-100% water changes? Thats way too much unless there is a total emergency!! If your tank is getting messy enough to warrent it then id definately take a look at your fish stocking levels, feeding and cleaning methods. Its just unessecarry to take out so much water, hugely stressful for the poor fish not to mention your back trying to fill it back up again!!

 

[snowflake311]

The Ammonia wouldnt have spiked right away, might have taken a couple of hours to get bad and could have cycled through really quickly on its own if you have mature filter media, doesnt mean ammonia wasnt there, just means it beat you and has gone already lol.

Question...

Why on earth would you want to do 90-100% water changes? Thats way too much unless there is a total emergency!! If your tank is getting messy enough to warrent it then id definately take a look at your fish stocking levels, feeding and cleaning methods. Its just unessecarry to take out so much water, hugely stressful for the poor fish not to mention your back trying to fill it back up again!!

There is no such thing as too much clean water. The 100% was when I moved homes. I drained the tank down moved the fish over kept water in the filters so the bacteria would live. I added all new water when I set the tank up. The fish were fine no problems. On my discus tank I like to do a 80-90% wc they love it. It is good for them. I never have had problems with large water changes in the 15 years of fish keeping. Only time was this time and it was due to the filter cleaning and replacing some media. I don't do the big water changes because my tanks are extra messy or my stats are off. I do it for my fish health. The cleaner the water the happier and healthier the fish are. My discus spawn after a huge water change. I personally don't think 25% is enough of a water change.

I have a python type hose that makes for easy painless wc. If you don't have one get one it's a life saver. My fish don't stress from the wc they are use to it and enjoy the clean water. My nitrates are never over 10ppm. It works for me.


Update. All my fish are doing great. Well no the red spot severum he is still floating but moving his fins more. I think it's a swim bladder thing or so I hope.

 

[AstonN24vantage]

try a pea

 

[always4lora]

I do pretty much do a min of 50% daily water change on a 280g and have yet to have any problems i don't think large water changes affect to much unless there is a big sway in ph which their shouldnt be unless you're tinkering with the water. With filter's it's always best to have two and clean one at a time, if you only have one you can still give it a really good clean just in tank water so you dont affect the bacteriea.

 

[hamfist]

With filter's it's always best to have two and clean one at a time,

A very good practice. Works for me very well !

As for maximum recommended % of water change. A lot of it depends on what water you are putting in. If it is pretty much the same pH and mineral content as the tank water, and thoroughly dechlorinated then a huge water change should be fine, so long as the temp doesn't drop more than, say, 3-4 degrees C.

For my water changes, I use tap water which is pH7.4, whereas my tanks settle at pH7.8 - pH8.0. I also dechlorinate as the water goes into the tank. In my situation, many fish would struggle with a huge water change due to the sudden pH change. Although I do keep the temp fairly constant by adding boiled kettle water at the same time. I generally go for a max of 40%.
I have done 100% water changes in the past (whilst moving home etc), and with care and an understanding of water chemistry, and the needs of your fish, it can be fine.