Lobster Tank Still Smells

[ac106]

Lobster tank still smells


Hi everyone, I posted before but really didn’t get enough info. My blue lobster tank stinks. Not the normal earthy smell of a stable, cycled tank. It smells bad. Bad enough that when you walk into the room you can smell it. Bad enough my girlfriend has to open the window to air the room out. It’s terrible.

Details

I have a Blue Lobster, he is about 4-5”. He is in a 10 gallon tank with an AquaClear 20 and a Whisper 10i filter, airstone, and no heater. Temp is usually in the 60s to low 70s depending on the ambient. The tank had a deep layer of gravel (1/2” in front to several inches in the rear.) I just reduced to a thin layer throughout. He also has a rock cave.

I used to feed him by adding feeder goldfish to the tank. I would add 4-5 and wait for them to be eaten. I stopped doing that because I thought they were the cause of the odor. So I would add one at a time. No change, so I changed his diet to algae wafers and shrimp pellets. No change.


Here is more info

1) Water parameters are fine.
2) I do weekly water changes, anywhere from 10%-25%
3) I have adequate filtration (added extra carbon on advice from LFS)
4) Food is not stuck under the lip of the hood (advice from LFS)
5) There are no decaying goldfish or snails etc that I can find in the gravel, which I vacuum with each water change.
6) Uneaten food is always removed


I am at a loss here and need some advice.

Please Help

 

[cell]

you may have to change your gravel, i have a few tanks with some rank smelling substrate but everything living in the tank is fine

 

[big mick]

Since your tank is way too small Id recommend upgrading to a bigger tank and just start again, I keep mine in a 3 foot tank and have sand which she digs in.

Also I wouldnt feed it goldfish, I just give mine algae wafers and a prawn every few days, much cheaper and saves the goldfish dirtying your tank (which could indeed be the cause of the smell)
Once you get the new tank set up Im sure it will smell fine.

 

[ac106]

Since your tank is way too small Id recommend upgrading to a bigger tank and just start again, I keep mine in a 3 foot tank and have sand which she digs in.

Also I wouldnt feed it goldfish, I just give mine algae wafers and a prawn every few days, much cheaper and saves the goldfish dirtying your tank (which could indeed be the cause of the smell)
Once you get the new tank set up Im sure it will smell fine.

I haven’t fed him goldfish for over a month, maybe closer to 2. I feed him algae wafers and shrimp pellets.

Can’t upgrade the tank. Just not an option. Although even if I could, I would think 3ft tank is a bit much since he isn’t so active that he would need that much room and he is way too vicious to put him with any tankmates.



Anyone have any other ideas?

 

[big mick]

Im not suggesting keeping him with tankmates, I meant a 3 foot tank on his own.

 

[ac106]

Im not suggesting keeping him with tankmates, I meant a 3 foot tank on his own.

no of course, i understand what you meant.

It's just that a 3 ft tank is what, 30gallons?

That is just a pretty big tank for a 5" lobster that hides in his cave 90% of the time.

At the moment, i have no room for a larger tank. Literally, my apartment is full and the girlfriend is already pissed at all the fish stuff as it is!


I am hoping the gravel removal will help as i can clean it better with the Vac. If not, i might have to start the tank over.

unless someone helps me out

 

[WILDER]

Does the tank smell like rotten eggs.

http/www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/FishHeal...tleBacteria.htm

 

[ac106]

Does the tank smell like rotten eggs.

http/www.ponddoc.com/WhatsUpDoc/FishHeal...tleBacteria.htm

No, its not really like rotten eggs. But it's bad!

I was thinking bacteria but i am not sure those remedies will be effective for the lobster. I am thinking something gross got into the gravel and just never got sucked out. Now that i reduced it, maybe I will see an improvement but please keep the suggestions coming!

 

[newfishaddict]

Lobster tank still smells


Hi everyone, I posted before but really didn’t get enough info. My blue lobster tank stinks. Not the normal earthy smell of a stable, cycled tank. It smells bad. Bad enough that when you walk into the room you can smell it. Bad enough my girlfriend has to open the window to air the room out. It’s terrible.

Details

I have a Blue Lobster, he is about 4-5”. He is in a 10 gallon tank with an AquaClear 20 and a Whisper 10i filter, airstone, and no heater. Temp is usually in the 60s to low 70s depending on the ambient. The tank had a deep layer of gravel (1/2” in front to several inches in the rear.) I just reduced to a thin layer throughout. He also has a rock cave.

I used to feed him by adding feeder goldfish to the tank. I would add 4-5 and wait for them to be eaten. I stopped doing that because I thought they were the cause of the odor. So I would add one at a time. No change, so I changed his diet to algae wafers and shrimp pellets. No change.


Here is more info

1) Water parameters are fine.
2) I do weekly water changes, anywhere from 10%-25%
3) I have adequate filtration (added extra carbon on advice from LFS)
4) Food is not stuck under the lip of the hood (advice from LFS)
5) There are no decaying goldfish or snails etc that I can find in the gravel, which I vacuum with each water change.
6) Uneaten food is always removed


I am at a loss here and need some advice.

Please Help

I have had this problem before. I am not a fish or aquarium expert yet, but I am a microbiologist, I suspect that a bacterium is living in your tank, likely pseudomonas; does it smell rotten kind of like rotten chicken? I know this smell very well, I used to have to smell roten chicken and I got paid to do it! If you dont know the "rotten chicken" smell, does it smell very bad but a bit sweet?

Most bacteria that can make your tank smell very bad are gram negative bacteria thus I would use an antibiotic that is for gram negative bacteria( I don’t know anything about lobsters though, so make sure that antibiotics wont harm it, I am GUESSING that the lobster would be fine)

I would try Tetracycline, it is cheep. I would do daily 25% water changes and add 250mg of drug per 5gallons.

 

[ac106]

I have had this problem before. I am not a fish or aquarium expert yet, but I am a microbiologist, I suspect that a bacterium is living in your tank, likely pseudomonas; does it smell rotten kind of like rotten chicken? I know this smell very well, I used to have to smell roten chicken and I got paid to do it! If you dont know the "rotten chicken" smell, does it smell very bad but a bit sweet?

Most bacteria that can make your tank smell very bad are gram negative bacteria thus I would use an antibiotic that is for gram negative bacteria( I don’t know anything about lobsters though, so make sure that antibiotics wont harm it, I am GUESSING that the lobster would be fine)

I would try Tetracycline, it is cheep. I would do daily 25% water changes and add 250mg of drug per 5gallons.

Yes! Yes! This is what i am talking about!

It does smell sweet and nasty at the same time.

I am going to google a bit about antibiotics and inverts but i bet its fine,

Thanks for the suggestion! I will update if it works!