Vacation disaster

[ElizabethFrancine]

We went away for a week, and a neighbour looked after our tank while we were away. I came back and it is a disaster. I had to put one of my fish down, as a parasite was growing on its face and eating out it's eyes. There seems to be some small white bugs all over the place. They are smaller than sand. Would anyone know what that be?

Also, At some point during the week the filter stopped working - I was able to get it going again thankfully. And he chose not to turn the light on all week so the tank is very dirty.

I've done a 50% water change, but I can't get my levels checked until Tuesday when the pet store reopens after the holiday.

Any advice regarding the parasites, the bugs and what else I can do?


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[Byron]

I won't guess as to the bugs/parasite issues.

Water changes are essential, and I would do several in this situation. However, they can be problematical depending upon the state of the tank/water. Without test kits of your own, this is a risk. I strongly suggest you pick up the API Master Combo liquid test kit on Tuesday, it has pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The importance for this is that during an episode as you describe, the organics usually increase very much especially as the fish were being fed (the filter shutting off will add to this), and this often lowers the pH depending upon the GH and KH to begin with. If the pH goes below 7, ammonia (which will occur from the organics decomposing plus fish and everything else) becomes the less toxic ammonium. That in itself is good, as ammonium will not poison fish; but if you do a large water change and the fresh water is above pH 7 and sufficiently to bring the tank water above 7, the ammonium turns back into ammonia. Without tests fort ammonia and pH you are just guessing with this aspect, so keep a close eye on things. If this pH is not an issue, meaning if your normal tank and tap water pH is below 7, then the more water changes the better. Nitrate has probably risen significantly, and getting this down will benefit the fish.

Byron.

 

[ElizabethFrancine]

I won't guess as to the bugs/parasite issues.

Water changes are essential, and I would do several in this situation. However, they can be problematical depending upon the state of the tank/water. Without test kits of your own, this is a risk. I strongly suggest you pick up the API Master Combo liquid test kit on Tuesday, it has pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The importance for this is that during an episode as you describe, the organics usually increase very much especially as the fish were being fed (the filter shutting off will add to this), and this often lowers the pH depending upon the GH and KH to begin with. If the pH goes below 7, ammonia (which will occur from the organics decomposing plus fish and everything else) becomes the less toxic ammonium. That in itself is good, as ammonium will not poison fish; but if you do a large water change and the fresh water is above pH 7 and sufficiently to bring the tank water above 7, the ammonium turns back into ammonia. Without tests fort ammonia and pH you are just guessing with this aspect, so keep a close eye on things. If this pH is not an issue, meaning if your normal tank and tap water pH is below 7, then the more water changes the better. Nitrate has probably risen significantly, and getting this down will benefit the fish.

Byron.

Ok. Yes, I plan to replace what is missing from my kit. I do have an individual ammonia test kit, and I will do that in the AM. I have the test strips for PH, and that will have to do until I can get the proper test. Thank you so much. I'll test the water before water change tomorrow, and will perhaps do some smaller changes if the ph shows over 7.

On another note, what is PH typically for most tanks? Would I be bringing it into a mini cycle in this situation?


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[Byron]

On another note, what is PH typically for most tanks? Would I be bringing it into a mini cycle in this situation?

There is no "normal" for pH because pH is part of a complex inter-relationship involving GH (general hardness, the dissolved mineral content of water), KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) and pH. The KH acts to "buffer" pH, preventing it from fluctuating. But this depends upon the KH itself; a high KH, which is usually but not always tied to a high GH, will buffer pH much more, whereas a very low KH (usually tied to a low GH but not always) will generally have little or even no buffering capacity. In the latter case the pH will tend to lower as the water acidifies naturally, through the build-up of organics which create CO2 and carbonic acid. This is normal and not a problem if the fish species are expecting such conditions. But some fish will die quickly in inappropriate GH/KH/pH, and some will be weakened slowly.

The aim is to provide the GH/KH/pH the fish species expect, because only then will they be able to function easily and normally with respect to their metabolism and physiology. What is termed the homeostasis is the internal processes all animals have programmed into them by evolution, and these only function best in an environment for which they have evolved, and is specific to each species. There is some latitude, but usually this weakens the fish either directly or by causing stress, depending upon the factor.

The easiest way to achieve this without fuss is to know the parameters (GH, KH, ppH) of your source water on its own, and then select fish species that "expect" those parameters. Here again there is sometimes a bit of latitude, but it can be very limited.

So if you maintain fish requiring moderately hard or harder water, the GH and KH will have to be sufficient to provide this, and the pH will normally be in the basic range (above 7). If the fish require softer water, the GH and KH will have to be lower, and generally the pH will then be on the acidic side (below 7). This is very general, but it gets the idea across. So there is no "typical pH for most tanks" because these three parameters are related and must be suitable for the individual species.

As to the cycle, generally this should not create a mini-cycle, though it might depending upon the circumstances.

Byron.

 

[ElizabethFrancine]

There is no "normal" for pH because pH is part of a complex inter-relationship involving GH (general hardness, the dissolved mineral content of water), KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) and pH. The KH acts to "buffer" pH, preventing it from fluctuating. But this depends upon the KH itself; a high KH, which is usually but not always tied to a high GH, will buffer pH much more, whereas a very low KH (usually tied to a low GH but not always) will generally have little or even no buffering capacity. In the latter case the pH will tend to lower as the water acidifies naturally, through the build-up of organics which create CO2 and carbonic acid. This is normal and not a problem if the fish species are expecting such conditions. But some fish will die quickly in inappropriate GH/KH/pH, and some will be weakened slowly.

The aim is to provide the GH/KH/pH the fish species expect, because only then will they be able to function easily and normally with respect to their metabolism and physiology. What is termed the homeostasis is the internal processes all animals have programmed into them by evolution, and these only function best in an environment for which they have evolved, and is specific to each species. There is some latitude, but usually this weakens the fish either directly or by causing stress, depending upon the factor.

The easiest way to achieve this without fuss is to know the parameters (GH, KH, ppH) of your source water on its own, and then select fish species that "expect" those parameters. Here again there is sometimes a bit of latitude, but it can be very limited.

So if you maintain fish requiring moderately hard or harder water, the GH and KH will have to be sufficient to provide this, and the pH will normally be in the basic range (above 7). If the fish require softer water, the GH and KH will have to be lower, and generally the pH will then be on the acidic side (below 7). This is very general, but it gets the idea across. So there is no "typical pH for most tanks" because these three parameters are related and must be suitable for the individual species.

As to the cycle, generally this should not create a mini-cycle, though it might depending upon the circumstances.

Byron.

Ok. This is good to know. I currently just have a lot of panda corys and some cardinal tetras in this tank (and a lot of pest snails) - so I will see where the levels need to be.

I used the test this morning for ammonia, and it is high

This is the first time since I set up this tank that it is present . Are used just the test strips I had on hand for my other tests and I came back with the following:
GH 60
KH 0
PH 6
Nitrite .5-1
Nitrate 80

I know the strips aren't accurate, but these numbers are waaay off from where they are usually.


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[Byron]

Which numbers are way off from normal? I expect nitrate (with the "a") is probably high, that is what one would expect from the issue you initially described. That you can get down with water changes, minimal feeding.

Nitrite (with the "i") is dangerous, if it is really as high as 1 ppm or even at 0.5 ppm, and massive water changes will deal with this.

Also, for booth the above, cleaning the dirty filter and vacuum into the substrate during the water changes. The aim in all this is to lower the organics, and lessen the denitrifying bacteria and encourage the nitrifying.

Ammonia in acidic water is ammonium and basically harmless to fish (though it can lead to nitrite, then nitrate) so if your pH really is 6 or at any ratee below 7 this is not an immediate danger.

The GH and KH I would not expect to be much different from normal, so correct me if I am wrong. The pH will have lowered due to the explanation I gave previously. And you do not ever want to attempt adjusting the pH, just to bee clear on that; here it is fine for the fish anyway, but the pH cannot be adjusted without dealing with the GH and KH so the relationship is even.

Cardinal tetra are very soft water fish, so the GH, KH and pH is ideal. Panda cories are soft water with a bit of latitude, but they will not be in trouble here. My pandas are in zero GH and acidic pH and have been for many years.

So, provided the pH of your tap water is also below 7, you can do massive water changes, cleaning the substrate and the filter (in tank water). The ammonia should lower, the nitrite should be zero, and the nitrates should lower.

That still leaves the "issue" but I won't guess, and in any event, cleaning up the water and tank will greatly help whatever the issue.

Byron.

 

[ElizabethFrancine]

Which numbers are way off from normal? I expect nitrate (with the "a") is probably high, that is what one would expect from the issue you initially described. That you can get down with water changes, minimal feeding.

Nitrite (with the "i") is dangerous, if it is really as high as 1 ppm or even at 0.5 ppm, and massive water changes will deal with this.

Also, for booth the above, cleaning the dirty filter and vacuum into the substrate during the water changes. The aim in all this is to lower the organics, and lessen the denitrifying bacteria and encourage the nitrifying.

Ammonia in acidic water is ammonium and basically harmless to fish (though it can lead to nitrite, then nitrate) so if your pH really is 6 or at any ratee below 7 this is not an immediate danger.

The GH and KH I would not expect to be much different from normal, so correct me if I am wrong. The pH will have lowered due to the explanation I gave previously.

Cardinal tetra are very soft water fish, so the GH, KH and pH is ideal. Panda cories are soft water with a bit of latitude, but they will not be in trouble here. My pandas are in zero GH and acidic pH and have been for many years.

So, provided the pH of your tap water is also below 7, you can do massive water changes, cleaning the substrate and the filter (in tank water). The ammonia should lower, the nitrite should be zero, and the nitrates should lower.

That still leaves the "issue" but I won't guess, and in any event, cleaning up the water and tank will greatly help whatever the issue.

Byron.

Yes, my nitrite is always 0, and nitrates are usually somewhere around 20, so this sunrises me. I usually have a KH closer to 30. My PH usually sits somewhere around 6.5 or so, so I find this really low.

I cleaned out as much of the organics as I could and skipped last nights feeding. Since I changed the water again today, they seem to be much happier - acting like normal again. I haven't seen any other signs of parasites so I will just have to keep my eye on that.

Thank you for the information and help!


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[Byron]

Yes, my nitrite is always 0, and nitrates are usually somewhere around 20, so this sunrises me. I usually have a KH closer to 30. My PH usually sits somewhere around 6.5 or so, so I find this really low.

I cleaned out as much of the organics as I could and skipped last nights feeding. Since I changed the water again today, they seem to be much happier - acting like normal again. I haven't seen any other signs of parasites so I will just have to keep my eye on that.

Thank you for the information and help!


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There were no photos of the issue (parasites, ...) so that may well have been a reaction to the water problems. Fish suddenly exposed to significant changes like this can secrete slime which may be what you saw. Clean water is 95% of the cure or prevention.