Problems with 40 gal tank.

[dravlynn]

So I recently moved and had to give up my coldwater tank, and i started a new tropical tank with, its a 40 gallon planted tank, and its having weird problems. So the first time i added fish in it, the aquarium had bacteria in the filet that was thriving so i was sure it was cycled, i also gave it a week prior to cycle, by putting food in it and letting it generate ammonia and allow bacteria to grow. But i put fish in the thing, and they where goldfish i was just gonna do those but 2 single finned ones died on the spot and i had a double tailed in there that lived for a week and died later, none of them showed signs of ammonia or nitrate/nitrite problems, they just randomly died, the only thing i got from it was that the double tailed one had a patch of green mucus on it after it died. So i made the aquarium tropical and added a snail a few weeks later. He was in there so i could check if the water was safe, he did swell up and have problems so i put him in a hospital tank, and added a plant to the aquarium and he recovered just fine, in fact both the snail and the plant i added grew incredibly fast when i placed them in the 40 gal. So about 2 or 3 weeks later i changed the water temp from around 68-70, to 75-78 so i could add tropical fish in it, the snail and plant did fine, and the bacteria in the filter where still fine and growing. I added a albino pleco, and 4 or so other plants, the plants did fine but the pleco died after a week, i did recently add wood the the aquarium but i dont think it may have effected him as i used it in a aquarium before. the only think i got off the pleco was that his eyes shrunk and whitened, i think thats normal when that kind of fish dies, but he also had some red patches on his tail, he didnt show signs of ammonia problems but the red patches may have been nitrate or nitrite. Everything else in the tank is alive and healthy exept a few plants which i got from the store dying. Anybody know whats going on here?

 

[fluttermoth]

What were the results from your most recent tests?

Have you seen any spikes in either ammonia or nitrite?

If you weren't adding a source of ammonia, how do you know your filter bacteria were alive and working properly?

 

[dravlynn]

there was always a constant ammonia source in the aquarium that i generated from fish food and the bacteria in the filter is still growing quite fine when i looked at it, we did have to remove the bacterial part of the filer for awhile to clean the room so the filter had to be off, but i dont think that effected the colony as it was removed for just a short time (45 min) and it was still in the same water, im gonna start testing my aquarium this weekend, i have been neglecting to test it, probably a terrible mistake, i think ill do a large water change too maybe thatll help clear things up in it.

 

[luca1980]

Using fish food for ammonia is really unreliable and very difficult to do accurately. Most fish foods these days are also designed to NOT release ammonia into the water. This sounds like an uncycled tank to me.

 

[Byron]

I'm a bit confused...you cannot see bacteria (without a microscope). What you saw in the filter presumably is sludge, organics primarily...was it brown?

Adding fish food might have caused ammonia, but without tests for ammonia and nitrite we can't guess as to how much; and it would be very little anyway.

The fish dying as you describe clearly means the water is toxic in some form, which could be ammonia, nitrite, chlorine, heavy metals, some added substance in the source water, etc. If you have a test kit for ammonia and nitrite, those numbers will help us. Also the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) and pH of your source water and the aquarium water. Also, what conditioner did you use? And were any other substances added to the tank water, anything aside from conditioner?

A 40g tank is not sufficient space for goldfish, but assuming these were newly acquired and thus small, this would not in itself have caused their sudden death.

Byron.

 

[dravlynn]

@Byron for double tailed goldfish 30-40 gallons is fine, for single tailed they need up to 75 at which i would give them away after they reach 6 inches or so im thinking ill just test the water quality and try to recycle it, or at least check if its cycled when i get the chance.

 

[dravlynn]

the aquarium itself is glass, and intended for use as a aquarium. i also think it may be the tap, but i use the hose water and it hasnt killed the snail nor the plants i put in it. Also i never actually knew that the bacteria where not visible i always assumed the sludge on the bio filter was growths of them. but ill get back to you guys when i figure out if its cycled or not, or at least figure out whats in the water

 

[StevenF]

there was always a constant ammonia source in the aquarium that i generated from fish food and the bacteria

You are assuming ammonia was there. You cannot see it or nitrite, or nitrate. Any you cannot always see the effects of toxic levels of nitrite or ammonia. You cannot also see PH, water harness (GH) or alkalinity(KH). All of which can kill fish with no obvious symptoms. Stop assuming things. Go to your local fish store and buy a water test kit. At a minimum you want to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, PH. I would also recommend on that in addition tests for GH and KH.

Once you have the test kit run the tests and post the numbers. At that point we will have some solid information and can help you.

i think ill do a large water change too maybe thatll help clear things up in it.

Water changes are required to maintain a healthy aquarium. If you done the water will get increasingly hard. and organic material will build up in the tank. Many people here do a 30 to 50% water change once a week. Since the condition of your tank is not known I would start at 50% water change. Also Most people use a de chlorinator to remove chlorine from the tap water before adding the water to the tank.