Strange Citrus Smell

[andyb2]

Hello again!

I've had my 125 litre tank for nearly 4 months now and everything seems to be going ok.

However recently (last week or so) I get a strong-ish citrusy orangy smell when changing the water.

is this some sort of bacterial thing, and is it anything to worry about?

My black mollies had 20 fry 2 weeks ago, which I have in a breeding net until they are big enough to give to the shop. would this have anything to do with it?

Cheers,

Andy

 

[WILDER]

Can we take a look at your water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.

 

[andyb2]

give me 30 mins and I'll do them all!

 

[WILDER]

Good.

 

[reddannyh]

I've had smells from my tank but never citrusy orange Could be a puzzler this one. You don't have any wood or out of the ordinary aquatic plants? Not that I know of any orangey smelling plants.

 

[riverman444]

Huh, that's a new one for me. I'm curious.

 

[andyb2]

Right here goes:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 15-20
PH 7.2

These test are AFTER a 20% water change.


The odd thing is, the water I took out to do the tests, and the water in the tank itself, didnt smell, just the dirty water I took out. The bucket used for the water change smells, despite being filled (twice) with water from the tap. The bucket is a dedicated one I only use for the fish tank. very odd!


These one peice of bog wood, 3 large-ish stones, a couple of bits of slate. As for plants there is a large ammount of Vallisneria.

Edit: just to say that the gravel got a good vac when doing the water change, and had lots of 'dirt' in it.

 

[WILDER]

I would ask in the plants section, are the fish ok, water stats are good.
Did you soak the bogwood and how long has it been in the tank.

How long after the water change were the test taken as they can give false readings.

 

[reddannyh]

Wood sometimes gives off a smell but I wouldn't say its citrusy. Give it time and see if the smell comes back, if it does I would say it's either the wood or planting. I was going to say maybe the rocks were acidic but your ph is fine so I don't think it could be that.

 

[andyb2]

The wood has been there from the begining, 4 months ago. I did the water change about an hour tops before the tests.

I'm changing the water more frequently, as the fry get bigger. The tank is far too small to keep the 20 new mollys (from what I gather) so I'm doing frequent changes (20% twice a week at the moment) until they are big enough to take to the shop.

 

[reddannyh]

Are you feeding the fry on any special foods or anything?

 

[andyb2]

I've been feeding they Liquifry No.2 (a liquidy food in a squeezy bottle) for a week, and now on TetraMin Powederd flake food. Just had a smell of each, and while they pong a bit, they're not very citrusy!

Edit: I've also recently started feeding the other fish with Tetra Brine Shrimp in jelly, but I've not smelt that!

 

[WILDER]

You havent been using any orange house cleaners near the tank.

 

[andyb2]

I try not to do any housework if I can help it

That said, I did clean my kitchen over the easter holiday, and thats where I keep the bucket, but I keep the bucket under a table, so it shouldnt have had any contact with any cleaner etc.

I'm happy to put it down to that though, especially as noone has heard of it before!

The only worry now is if it is a cleaner, what effect that'll have on my fish!

 

[WILDER]

I would just add some black carbon to the tank, if have some in replace it with new, just to be on the safe side, good luck.