What's that smell!!?

[Torrean]

hmm i don't know what people are going to say about this but I would wait for people to respond before you try it. Melafix smells wonderfull. You could put some in your tank and see if that helps. It will also improve your fishes immune systems by healing wounds and tattered fins. My gf had to treat her fishes fins after a misstake i made involving two dwarf puffers. All that week her room smelled really good.

edit: and the fish looked healthier by the day

 

[Synirr]

I have never noticed a smell from any of my tanks unless my face was inches from the water, and even then it was only slight, so I'm pretty sure something isn't right... or you have the most sensative sense of smell known to man!
The one and only time I noticed a smell was when one of my filters had gotten pretty nasty; I'd check that, if I were you.

 

[Raechal]

The silver cat shark will definately get too big for your tank and they need brackish water as they mature. You should also get rid of the african clawed frog. Are you sure it isn't an african DWARF frog? What color is it? He'll probably try eating all of the fish in your tank at one point.

 

[Torrean]

adf don't come in albino do they?

 

[Dorkhedeos]

albino frogs are african clawed frogs. there are no albine dwarf species.

 

[Fishist]

Well kept tanks don't smell. Large well kept tanks may have a slight "earthy" smell to them, something like a garden after a huge downpour. Even new cycling tanks don't smell bad. If your tank has a strong "fishy" smell to it, then something is amiss. Old uneaten food that has decayed will make the water smell. Algae under the hood will also smell. Check for dead fish, a clogged filter, anything unusual.

I'll second that!

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..rotten egg smell is hydrogen sulfide (H2S). This is the anaerobic breakdown product of detritus and excess food that decomposes in anoxic/anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions. Agree with several of the above posts.....a substrate that is too thick.....areas uncleaned (eg, gravel under a rock)....unvacuumed gravel can do it. I would attend to it as the product is deadly to fish and invertebrates. Good luck. SH

 

[nc_nutcase]

I'm VERY new to this whole fish thing, but I have a 30 gal.(US) tank that I set up about a week ago, and there is a horrible smell coming from it.

I'm not arguing the many great points that have been made discussing possible causes for odor in an aquarium. But I'd like to remind everyone the aquarium in question is a week old...

 

[Torrean]

any thoughts on the melafix

 

[Undawada]

If they tank is only a week old, I think it's probably due to overfeeding or food being stuck somewhere in the tank.

I had an algae pellet fall on top of a tiger lotus lily pad and it stunk pretty bad the next day.

How much are you feeding?

 

[fishfight]

Im betting it is overfeeding. I feed alot because I try to get the food to the bottom for the frog. Usually the other fish eat it all and I have to keep adding more. I'll vacuum the bottom and see if that works, thanks guys. Also, the silver shark can adapt to fresh, or salt water.

 

[guppygirl]

If you need to get food to your frog, get some quickly sinking pellets or tabs so you don't have to overfeed.

 

[Undawada]

Another idea would be to hold the pellets in your hand, stick your hand far down in the water, almost to the bottom and let the pellet get wet in your fist. After a moment let it go. Just try not to scare the frog away and make sure your hand/arm is clean and doesnt have soap residue on it.

 

[fishfight]

Not a bad idea, thanks. I bought some "frog bites" but they are SO tiny that he doesn't even see them. I think I saw him accidentally eat one once, but thats it. Maybe I'll hold a handful in front of him. And to everyone who doesn't like the idea of a frog in the same tank as fish, I'm going to move him when he gets too big. So far all he's eaten is a ghost shrimp...but we didn't see that, the shrimp just disappeared one day.

 

[pendragon]

I have no idea if this is relevant, but I'll share.

When I first started fishkeeping, my newly-setup tank (which was in my living room) smelled like the dickens. It was a *strong* musty smell; it would almost choke you. Very unpleasant. I didn't even have fish in it yet - just water and substrate (standard aquarium gravel from my local PetSmart). I eventually figured out it was the substrate, which was odd as I had washed the heck out of it before putting it in the tank.

Anyway, I ran an aerator and the power filter (with carbon) in it, doing large water changes each day. After the third day it got quite tolerable, and after a couple weeks it went away entirely. Months later, after having forgotten all about it, I setup a 10-gallon for a friend of mine and used some of my left over substrate. Substrate + water = same smell as before. Ugh. It, too, went away after running a filter for a few days and changing most of the water a few times.

I can't recall the name of the gravel I used, but I can tell you this: I will not be using it again.

pendragon!