May have forgotten to de-chlorinate

[Olive]

While in the haste of getting ready to go to a Christmas party I asked my hubbie to do a partial change-out of the water in the tank (55 gallon) because I had accidently over fed our Raphael his favorite shrimp pellets yesterday and the water was cloudy. I am not sure he de-chlorinated it, and we were gone five hours before I came home to all of the fish out of their usual hiding places, some at the top breathing heavy and fast. We have lost an Angel and a Rainbow fish so far. Tank not overstocked, ammonia 1ppm, nitrate 6.0. I immediately put in de-chlorinater just in case, and a little slime coat additive just for good measure. Was I too late? Can the others possibly be saved? We have a fresh water lion fish that will break our hearts if he passes.......................

 

[juliethegr8t]

Unless he did a LARGE water change, I doubt it's a chlorine problem. Some people don't even bother de-chloring during 20-25% weekly changes. I'd say its the ammonia - you've gotta get that level down. Any trace amounts harm fish and inhibit their breathing, which may be what is causing the heavy breathing. Do you know your nitrIte levels? That could also be a problem. I'd start doing some small water changes daily or adding something like Ammo-Lock to get your ammonia down. Good luck!

 

[Olive]

Unless he did a LARGE water change, I doubt it's a chlorine problem. Some people don't even bother de-chloring during 20-25% weekly changes. I'd say its the ammonia - you've gotta get that level down. Any trace amounts harm fish and inhibit their breathing, which may be what is causing the heavy breathing. Do you know your nitrIte levels? That could also be a problem. I'd start doing some small water changes daily or adding something like Ammo-Lock to get your ammonia down. Good luck!

Thanks for quelling my worries. I woke up this morning and no one else had died yet, but the tank is even more cloudy than yesterday. I am in the process of doing another water change. I am sure that this will do the trick. Thanks so much for your fast and helpful reply!
Ollie

 

[Kossy]

Yes and all that lovely bacteria is trying to reproduce fast in order to change that ammonia - nitrite then more nitrite - nitrate. It may be cloudy for a few days. If possible I would remove the fish for the time being

 

[Olive]

Thank you, I will keep that in mind. I have no where to put them but if push comes to shove I guess I can put them in a bucket with water, heat and air bubbles? I will use some of the tank water and some fresh. Does that sound good?

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Olive,

If it were my tank, I wouldn't want to stress my fish, any more than they already have been, by moving them to temporary quarters. I would just do water changes to reduce the chemicals and get the tank back in balance.

Now, I need to point out that this tank didn't just get in this condition from dropping a few extra shrimp pellets in. You could have just reached in and picked them out or scooped them out with a net. IMHO you probably had a situation building that would have occurred anyway. BTY, are you sure your hubby changed ANY water? Or, if he did, did he siphon it from the bottom where the spoiling food was? If not, then it's still in there and still causing the problem.

I suggest doing a big water change, by siphoning from the bottom, to dilute the chemicals with clean water, and following up with daily small water changes to correct the problem.