Barbs poorly 😪

[AquaBarb]

No i think i would of had this problem before if that was the case. If anything it would be the other way around.

My best bet atm is the slight increase in nitrates as bugged them. I guessed i might of missed a cleaning slot on my big cainster but knowing me and my ocd that wouldnt of happened.

Im now pretty sure its the extra food whats been going in over the last month for the pleco whats caused the slight rise and i feed him the side where the big cainsters intake is so thats why it wasnt as clean as it usual is.

 

[Clivepullen]

Hi folks,

Noticed in the last few days some of my Denison barbs have gone a little patchy.

When i checked on them this morning before work they looked worse for wear.

I checked water params and they look good, i do 50% water changes every weekend with another 20% spot clean in mid week so id be shocked if its a water issue.

Any ideas guys and hows best to treat?

Denisons are very sensitive to bad water condition. Bit it could be that by changing 50%, of your water that you're actually cleaning all the 'good' bacteria away. Couple this with a 20% spot clean mid week - and you have all the parameters of an overly sanitised tank. The good news is that denisons can re-gain their colours in as a little as a day. For me personally I'd leave it a full week, maybe 10 days, and then implement a 30% water change each week adding some mineroll, and water stabiliser, each wc. My denisons have absolutely flourished under such a routine. Note: if they don't bounce back during the week/10 day wait, or a few days after your first 30% water change than you could eliminate water quality as a possible cause, and then move on to their interactions with other barbs, or other species, as a cause, or worse disease.
Regards,
Clive Pullen.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Denisons are very sensitive to bad water condition. Bit it could be that by changing 50%, of your water that you're actually cleaning all the 'good' bacteria away. Couple this with a 20% spot clean mid week - and you have all the parameters of an overly sanitised tank. The good news is that denisons can re-gain their colours in as a little as a day. For me personally I'd leave it a full week, maybe 10 days, and then implement a 30% water change each week adding some mineroll, and water stabiliser, each wc. My denisons have absolutely flourished under such a routine. Note: if they don't bounce back during the week/10 day wait, or a few days after your first 30% water change than you could eliminate water quality as a possible cause, and then move on to their interactions with other barbs, or other species, as a cause, or worse disease.
Regards,
Clive Pullen.

Old thread, OP hasn't replied in over a year

Beneficial bacteria do not live in the water column, they colonize on surfaces.

What is "mineroll"?

 

[Clivepullen]

Old thread, OP hasn't replied in over a year

Beneficial bacteria do not live in the water column, they colonize on surfaces.

What is "mineroll"?

So are you saying that excessive water changes don't effect the level of 'safe' bacteria within the tank? And this in itself could never have an impact upon the fish's health? I'd be interested to know as this would overthrow a lot of what I've learnt concerning water maintenance. Also do you not think that effectively replacing 70% of the tanks volume is not way to much, and that this could not of been a cause?
P.s mineroll is a vitamin and mineral supplement, I'm sorry didn't think of it as a brand. It's worked wonders in bringing my poorly fishes back to health.

 

[Essjay]

Most of us on the forum change at least 50% of the water every week and don't have problems.

Regular Partial Water Changes

Byron Hosking November, 2010 (rev April 2021) Nothing is more important when it comes to aquarium maintenance than regular partial water changes. The adage “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” certainly applies here. One frequently reads of products that will reduce the need for...

www.fishforums.net

 

[seangee]

So are you saying that excessive water changes don't effect the level of 'safe' bacteria within the tank? And this in itself could never have an impact upon the fish's health? I'd be interested to know as this would overthrow a lot of what I've learnt concerning water maintenance. Also do you not think that effectively replacing 70% of the tanks volume is not way to much, and that this could not of been a cause?
P.s mineroll is a vitamin and mineral supplement, I'm sorry didn't think of it as a brand. It's worked wonders in bringing my poorly fishes back to health.

I change 80% of the water in my tanks every single week. I never add vitamin or mineral supplements. It works wonders for my fish health

 

[Byron]

@Essjay linked my article, I think that will/should answer your questions, but if you have subsequent follow-ups, I would be happy to offer what I can.

 

[Slaphppy7]

So are you saying that excessive water changes don't effect the level of 'safe' bacteria within the tank?

That is correct. BB (beneficial bacteria) reside on surfaces within the tank (filter media, substrate, deco), not in the water column itself.

I change 50% of the water in my tanks, weekly.

 

[Essjay]

The only time a large water change is not a good idea is if water changes haven't been done for a long time as the water parameters drift over time away from tap water and a big water change can kill fish, though the bacteria don't seem to be affected. Large water changes keep the tank water parameters similar to tap water. It is then safe to do a very large emergency water change if something gets into the tank water (eg paint fumes, dropping a whole container of food into the tank, a toddler deciding to feed a biscuit to the fish etc)

 

[Byron]

To illustrate @Slaphppy7 point here, an excerpt from a past article of mine on bacteria:

The nitrogen cycle bacteria in aquaria are lithotrophic; the word comes from the Greek lithos [= rock] and troph [= consumer], so literally it means “rock eater,” but more realistically it means these bacteria colonize surfaces. The scientific processes that cause this may most simply be described as the bacteria being pulled from the water by several actions occurring on the surfaces. Bacteria are sticky; they exude protein coatings that allow them to build up into a slimy film that we term a biofilm. These also attract and bind fungi and algae. Snails, shrimp and fish seen grazing these mats are feeding on the countless microscopic creatures and algae that live there.​