Fish water smells.....why?

InvisibleKat · Jun 4, 2004

I have a 30 gallon tank, 17 red parrot and 1 pleco (one of my parrots just died). The water smells really bad last week and I change the water last saturday but i couldn't get rid of the smell. pH is normal, ammonia is normal and nitrite is normal. What is wrong with the water......I can't get rid of the smell? Help....any advice?

kent · Jun 5, 2004

what does normal mean? give some figures..the fact that it is smelly and one fish died indicates that there is something wrong with the water, most likely.

Cheese Specialist · Jun 5, 2004

Red Parrot? As in the cichlid? If so you are hugely overstocked. You'll need to tell us your levels and also describe the smell. Do you have sand or real plants? Could a dead fish have gone unnoticed?

InvisibleKat · Jun 5, 2004

This is the one that died (Angel). He stopped eatting. I noticed some color loss, and heavy breathing from him. I checked the pH, ammonia, and nitrite. pH- 7.0, ammonia- 0ppm, and nitrite- 0ppm. The water smells like rotten eggs. I don't have any sand or plants in my tank. It started smelling like this two weeks ago i tried changing the water but I can't get rid of the smell. Today I changed the water again, still the same. Could it be bacteria or is there something wrong with my filter?

CRAZED55 · Jun 5, 2004

WITH AS MANY FISH THAT YOU HAVE YOU MIGHT NEED TO GET A BIGGER FILTER OR EVEN ADD A FILTER TO YOUR TANK. GET ONE THAT WILL CYCLE AT LEAT THE SAME IF NOT MORE THAN WHAT THE OTHER FILTER DOES. IF NOT YOU WILL NEED TO CHANGE THE CARBON IN YOUR FILTER AT LEAST EVERY TWO WEEKS TRY THIS FIRST IF IT DOESENT HELP THEN BUY ANOTHER FILTER

Sassygrrl · Jun 5, 2004

Check the HOOD! Look up under the hood and see if the area covering the lights is covered with gunky gooey greeenish stuff. If so, go outside and hose off the hood. I found my 20 gallon tank stinking badly and finally realized it was the hood. After I sprayed off the hood, the tank didn't have an odor

Good luck!

InvisibleKat · Jun 5, 2004

Thanks for all your advice. I'll change the bio bags more often. Usually I change the bio bags once a week everytime I change the water but the guy at the aquarium told me that I clean the filter too much it caused high ammonia levels. I just clean the hood today hopefully it'll work. Thank you very much. >^-^<

KnightFire · Jun 6, 2004

Check there is nothing rotting in your tank, some wood or similar. This might give off sulphur dioxide (the rotten egg smell)

KF

Cheese Specialist · Jun 6, 2004

You have way way too many fish in that tank. From the picture (what's with the black line) they look like the cichlids that can get really big sizes.

I don't keeop them but I do know that they get big, 10" mark.

I get the algae/goo stuff on my hood and it has never made my tank smell like rotten eggs, only planty and pondy.

Do you use a gravel cleaner? Have you get any ornaments that water egets in? The water could be stagnant in a piece of decor.

Also, the guy in your LFS was right. You should try to not clean the filter as much as possible, if you are having to do it very often then your tank is overstocked or your filter is not powerful enough. You should rinse the sponge a little to get the gunk off in tank water, swish don't squeeze.

Tropjunky · Jun 6, 2004

InvisibleKat said:
Thanks for all your advice. I'll change the bio bags more often. Usually I change the bio bags once a week everytime I change the water but the guy at the aquarium told me that I clean the filter too much it caused high ammonia levels. I just clean the hood today hopefully it'll work. Thank you very much. >^-^<

don't cange ur bio media! bio media is the stuff that keeps ur tank relitivly clean (chemistry wies anyway).
problems can take a lot of time to stort out so ur gonna have to stick it out.
do this:
1)change ur water every 2 weeks about 25% or 10% every week
2) wash ur sponge in take water 9just give it a couple good squeezzes every 2 weeks
3) use RO water and not tap RO water is better thhan tap but u doo need to add minerals to it (it replaces the importaint ones that were lost in the proces)
4) change bio media half at a time and ONLY do this every 1-2years.
5) TRY NOT 2 USE AS MANY CHEMICALS IN UR TANK UR FISH WILL THANK U 4 IT
6) Use active carbon or if ur an american charcol.

THIS WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEMS STRAIGHT AWAY BUT GOOD MAINTENANCE WILL HELP AND IT'S THE BEST METHOD FOR LONG TERM STABILITY IN UR TANK

InvisibleKat · Jun 6, 2004

Check there is nothing rotting in your tank, some wood or similar. This might give off sulphur dioxide (the rotten egg smell)

I don't have any wood in the tank. I'll check to make sure there's nothing rotting. Thank you >^-^<

You have way way too many fish in that tank. From the picture (what's with the black line) they look like the cichlids that can get really big sizes.

I don't keeop them but I do know that they get big, 10" mark.

I get the algae/goo stuff on my hood and it has never made my tank smell like rotten eggs, only planty and pondy.

Do you use a gravel cleaner? Have you get any ornaments that water egets in? The water could be stagnant in a piece of decor.

Also, the guy in your LFS was right. You should try to not clean the filter as much as possible, if you are having to do it very often then your tank is overstocked or your filter is not powerful enough. You should rinse the sponge a little to get the gunk off in tank water, swish don't squeeze.

Some of my fishes were originally black before I got them, as they grow (or maybe the pellets) they change to red. Angel hasn't completely changed that black line is what's left. They are getting bigger, I did concider getting a bigger tank. Any suggestions on what size? No I don't use a gravel cleaner. I have only a few marbles at the bottom, a windmill house and a tower in the tank. I placed gravel in at first (cause I read that it buffers the pH) but my biggest fish (Shark) is constantly digging pits (I guess he didn't really like it). Usully I clean the filter with a tooth brush but now I'll switch to that sponge. Thank You! >^-^<

don't cange ur bio media! bio media is the stuff that keeps ur tank relitivly clean (chemistry wies anyway).
problems can take a lot of time to stort out so ur gonna have to stick it out.
do this:
1)change ur water every 2 weeks about 25% or 10% every week
2) wash ur sponge in take water 9just give it a couple good squeezzes every 2 weeks
3) use RO water and not tap RO water is better thhan tap but u doo need to add minerals to it (it replaces the importaint ones that were lost in the proces)
4) change bio media half at a time and ONLY do this every 1-2years.
5) TRY NOT 2 USE AS MANY CHEMICALS IN UR TANK UR FISH WILL THANK U 4 IT
6) Use active carbon or if ur an american charcol.

THIS WILL NOT FIX THE PROBLEMS STRAIGHT AWAY BUT GOOD MAINTENANCE WILL HELP AND IT'S THE BEST METHOD FOR LONG TERM STABILITY IN UR TANK

Thanks for your advice I'll give it a try. (What's "RO water"? What type of minerals should I add?) >^-^<

Snuff · Jun 6, 2004

InvisibleKat said:
They are getting bigger, I did concider getting a bigger tank. Any suggestions on what size?

These parrots can get very big, about 10-12 inches long and 6-8 inches tall(I'm estimating based on ones I've seen in the lfs). I was told that a 55g is about the right size for TWO of them. I don't know if you have enough money to buy a tank for 17 of them.

Becca · Jun 6, 2004

Tropjunky Posted on Jun 6 2004, 12:49 PM

2) wash ur sponge in take water 9just give it a couple good squeezzes every 2 weeks

I was always told NOT to rinse my sponge in tap water as the chlorine from the tap cleans off any beneficial bacteria on the sponge. The alternative, which I've noticed works MUCH better is to swish (gently) the sponge in the old tank water after your water change.

EDIT: I had "...swish (gently) the spong in old tap water after your water change..." it should have read TANK water, so I fixed it.

clutterydrawer · Jun 6, 2004

Becca said:
I was always told NOT to rinse my sponge in tap water as the chlorine from the tap cleans off any beneficial bacteria on the sponge. The alternative, which I've noticed works MUCH better is to swish (gently) the sponge in the old tap water after your water change.

Uhh...you mean tank water, right? I think Tropjunky did too.

Sassygrrl · Jun 6, 2004

RO water is "Reverse Osmosis" water. You can get it from your local grocer. I get Randall's Brand Drinking Water. Usually, you will pay about $.35 per gallon. Usually, the drinking stations set up along grocery stores have RO water. It tends to be very soft too compared to my local water, so check the chemistry before adding to make sure it is what you want it to be.

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