Problems With The Tank After Holiday

[rob_cool1]

Hi guys
I went on holiday for a couple of weeks and had my tank looked after by my uncle. They fed them and everything but have had a couple of problems

my male ellioti has died and I can't seem to find any remains of it. I'm assuming that my plecs have hidden and eaten it but my uncle doesn't recal it struggling in any way.is there anything that could've happened?

also my krib's eyes have basically blown up, one has expanded and puffed out whilst the other has gone all mangy. She is also really struggling to swim, flopping to one side and can't swim off the sand. I've put her in my breeding net to protect her from the others, what shall I do with her?

thanks
Rob

 

[Chad]

Is it possible that your uncle overfed the tank while you were gone?

 

[rob_cool1]

I told him to feed them every other day and showed him the amount to give. I think il give them a diet lol, clean the tank and get a water test to see if the fish that died released toxins etc

can you still overfeed fish feeding them every other day?

thanks

 

[DrRob]

You most definitely can. The main problem with overfeeding is uneaten food rotting away as your fish can't eat it all at once.

It's possible that your uncle felt sorry for the poor creatures and gave them a little bonus quantity. Is your food level down below where you'd expect it?

 

[rob_cool1]

Yeah maybe I looked about right to me as i thought they'd get through the rest of the pot. Although im not sure about how many of the tetra wafers he put in, they were the ellioti's favourite lol so maybe one to many of them? but with 3 plecs, corys etc they went down pretty quickly.

Saying that there was that heatwave when we left my room gets really hot when the weathers nice so maybe a sharp increase in temperature followed by it going down fairly quick is what did it?

Does anyone know why the kribs eyes have blown up? il add a picture if you need to see it.

Thanks again
Rob

 

[Chad]

You most definitely can. The main problem with overfeeding is uneaten food rotting away as your fish can't eat it all at once.

It's possible that your uncle felt sorry for the poor creatures and gave them a little bonus quantity. Is your food level down below where you'd expect it?

This is what I was thinking. What you describe sounds like the results of poor water quality. The quickest way I know for water to go down hill fast is to add too much food. As it rots the bacteria in the tank can't keep up with the ammonia being created.

 

[rob_cool1]

Ok thanks guys, about to do a water change now how long shall I wait until I get the water tested?

ive also been using a new filter, as none of my lfs had the black filter for my 620t. I bought a super fish coarse filter mat and cut it down, could this also be an issue?

Rob

 

[Chad]

I would test right away then do your water change. Wait a day or two and test again. That way you can compare test results.

 

[rob_cool1]

Ahh I cleaned the tank before I did this, only like a 30% change so will check it tomoz, all the other fish look healthy ans really colourful so hopefully its all fine

 

[Chad]

That's okay. It's nice to have a comparison but not essential.

For the future I have an idea that might help...when I go away I have several pill boxes, one for each tank...these are the kind that have M for Monday T for Tuesday etc on them. I put the amount of food to fed for that day in the pill box for that day so whomever is feeding my fish while I'm away knows to only put the amount that's in there and they can't overfeed.