Typical Question

[BaylorPerez]

when it comes to my posts i get alot of questions as to why my levels are getting so high then dropping dramatically.
Well i do need to address something.
 
 
When it comes to my tank i noticed something...... something important that needs to be addressed.
 
i had noticed that in my substrate their were leftover"fish" parts. some that had decomposed so much that bone is left over.
 
also within my substrate their was some...... red algae from what i could tell. or maybe a parasite that had fed off of the fish remains(decomposition parts, and the fertilizer that had been set up for my plants).
 
So my typical question is........ what can i do to remove this little infestation(or so to call it) without messing up my tanks cycle?
Or to say just remove my substrate(gravel) and clean the bottom of my tank and set up a new substrate? 

 

[Far_King]

Everyday I do a head count in all of my tanks.  I observe all of my fish to see if there are any signs of illness.
 
If there are remains in the tank this will cause ammonia spikes - so much so that's it's possible for a decomposing fish to kill everything else in the tank.  This happened to a friend of mine with a large and well stocked African Cichlid tank.  There were so many active fish in there doing a headcount was very difficult.
 
It turns out one had died and was wedged in behind all the rock where he couldn't possibly have seen it - he had to dismantle the display to find it.  He only realised the problem when suddenly there was a mass extinction in the tank.  This was a very experienced fish keeper and was something he was determined never to repeat again.
 
My advice is to remove the decomposing matter and perhaps to use a gravel vac and to keep a vigilant eye if a fish goes missing and if it does't turn up in a day go looking for it.  Which tank is this and are there residents still in there?

 

[NickAu]

 
Everyday I do a head count in all of my tanks.

Good luck with that when you have 12 or so Kuhli Loaches in a tank that has a heavily planted bottom and lots of hiding spaces, I have no idea how many I have The only way to find out would be to strip the tank.

 

[Far_King]

Yeah I can see how you may have trouble with that

 

[nigsy]

Shrimps and corys are the answer to dead fish. Any of mine that die get eaten and reduced to bones before they get chance to rot!!

 

[BaylorPerez]

Everyday I do a head count in all of my tanks.  I observe all of my fish to see if there are any signs of illness.
 
If there are remains in the tank this will cause ammonia spikes - so much so that's it's possible for a decomposing fish to kill everything else in the tank.  This happened to a friend of mine with a large and well stocked African Cichlid tank.  There were so many active fish in there doing a headcount was very difficult.
 
It turns out one had died and was wedged in behind all the rock where he couldn't possibly have seen it - he had to dismantle the display to find it.  He only realised the problem when suddenly there was a mass extinction in the tank.  This was a very experienced fish keeper and was something he was determined never to repeat again.
 
My advice is to remove the decomposing matter and perhaps to use a gravel vac and to keep a vigilant eye if a fish goes missing and if it does't turn up in a day go looking for it.  Which tank is this and are there residents still in there?

this is the old tank in which i am talking about, i still have all my remaining fish(oddly enough) 4 neon tetras, 4 danios and 2 blackfinned tetras

 

[Byron]

There certainly is a lot going on in your tanks, BaylorPerez.  Hopefully with our collective advice in the several threads this will settle down.
 
I would not worry about seeing what you thought was a bone of a dead fish (if all fish are still present, and you removed the earlier ones that died, this is obviously not fish bone), and the red whatever...no idea what this might be.  I would just do a vacuum of the gravel during the next water change and these items will presumably get pulled out.
 
One dead fish will not (or should not) create an ammonia issue, at least not in a normal situation of an established tank that is cycled and biologically stable.  The bacteria will multiply, which they do by binary division, meaning each bacterium divides into two bacteria, and this takes roughly 9 hours for Nitrosomonas bacteria.  The Nitrospira that deal with the resulting nitrite take longer, but both of these bacteria should be up to speed within 24 hours.  Of course, in new tanks this is a bit different as the bacteria may not be fully established yet, or in those with serious issues affecting the system this may not happen as quickly. 
 
Byron.