Murphy's Law

[eudielynn]

I had the fishkeepers night from he** last night. I came home from work, turned the light on in my 20 gal and the water was a milky white color. Several of the fish were gasping and none of them looked too good. I went to get my testing kit, and it was gone! I always put it back in the same place on the shelf under the sink and no one ever uses it but me. No one even goes under the sink but me. Anyway, I grabbed a bucket and started to do a water change. Then I saw one of my ADF's floating at the top. He wasn't resting, he was a goner. This really upset me because I lost one last week. I thought one of the other fish had gotten the first one, but I checked this one over and there were no marks on him at all. Then I saw one of my otos floating at the top. I got it out as well, and continued with my water change. I added my dechlorinator and a squirt of blackwater extract and waited for a couple of hours.

When I turned the light on again it was worse than the first time and I'd lost another oto. I picked up the net to fish him out and didn't realize that apparently I'd laid the wet net down where my persian cat had been laying earlier. When I stuck the net in the tank cat hair went everywhere. I yanked almost everything out of the tank and started skimming the water like crazy trying to get the hair out. I then did another major water change which made a total of about a 50% change for both times.

The next time I went to check on it the tank looked a little better, but one of my females guppies was going crazy swimming all over the tank and I couldn't find the other one. I was afraid she was gone too, and I started poking around looking for her little body. Well, I found her. When I'd put the heater back in the tank I'd pinned her between the glass and the heater. The water was so murky I couldn't tell. Anyway, thanks to her sister I knew something was wrong and was able to get her out before she was cooked. Her color was pretty gray, but she started swimming around right away.

This morning I checked on them and the water was clear, my two remaining otos were fine, the three ADF's remaining are all accounted for and my guppy's back to normal color.

I don't have a clue what happened yesterday. I will have to get another test kit this weekend if I don't find mine, but it was bound to be a water problem. I am almost afraid to go home tonight for fear of what else I might find.

Sorry this is so long. I just feel like pulling my hair out.

 

[dwarfgourami]

How awful! One thing after another. So sorry to hear it. Do let us know how things are going!

 

[DMan99]

Aw that sux!! Wel rip little ots and adfs and at least the tank is back to full health now!!

dman

 

[Ethos]

My cat likes to sit ontop of my aquarium hood, and its starting to curve! I have a feeling one day, she's gunna get a wet supprise....

 

[Whitey]

Jesus, man sorry to hear that.

What could of casued this? ppl should really make sure this sort of thng never happens.

 

[Cullen aquanaut]

Can you give us a description of your tank.
Size, equipment and inhabitants.
Also the age of the tank.
This should help in defining the problem.

 

[eudielynn]

Let's see, I set the tank up in January and it was fully cycled in February. It is a 20 gal with an UGF. It has gravel and a mixture of silk and several live plants. It's occupants are:

6 Zebra Danios
2 Female Guppies
2 Otos (down from 4)
1 Golden Gourami (very small due to issues several months ago)
2 Dwarf Gouramis
1 Bristle nose plec
1 Male Betta (very small)
3 ADFs (down from 5)
2 Ghost Shrimp
1 Apple Snail

I have only lost one zebra danio (back in February when I first put them in) and 1 betta due to problems not related to the tank a few weeks ago. I do my water changes faithfully about 20% every week. I use Stress Coat and Blackwater Extract with each water change.

I have had some problems with brown algae that I haven't been able to clear up and I thought at first the milky looking water could have been an algae bloom, but I wouldn't think that would kill my frogs and otos that fast.

 

[pjfish]

Did you spray glass cleaner, deoderant, hairspray, or something else in the room close to the tank or put something in the tank that might have had a contaminant on it? Sounds like a water issue because it got better when you put in fresh water.

 

[eudielynn]

Nope, tank is in the living room on my desk. No hairspray, deoderant, perfume, etc used in that room. Also no windex or cleaning supplies have even been in the room for days. And as I said, after the first water change it was even worse. That's when I found the second oto dead. I had to do a second water change before it got any clearer and then I took almost everything out of the tank to get all the cat hair out.

 

[wrs]

overstocked, that is your issue, way overstocked. You shouldnt have the gouramis in bettas together, and the gold and the dwarfs may fight dependidng oin sex and type.

brown algea is caused by low light levels, you would have to purchase a higher light, or leave the light on for at least 7 hours. I think that 14 would be best, but your pleco should be able to get the algea.

I had the brown, but after leaving the light on for the 14 hours, or is it 12, there is barley any left now.

 

[abstract]

overstocking is an issue, but i dont believe it is the issue at hand right now...as wrs said, your tank is def. overstocked...but the main problem, IMO, is the undergravel filter. if you happen to gravel vac TOO well, your tank is going to cycle again (that is what is happening with the cloudy water - the beneficial bacteria is reproducing since you killed part of the colony when vaccuming).

you really should have a HOB (hang on the back - aquaclear or a biowheel filter would be even better) filter, or at least an internal filter with a sponge. if you don't know about cycling, you should read up on it - it is what decides if your tank inhabitants live or die, and most people don't even know it is happening!

i have heard that undergravel filters used to be THE best way of filtering a tank, but now the only place i would ever use them is in a tank 2.5 gallons or less...everything else really needs some kind of external/interal filter with a sponge for the bacteria which break down toxins from fish waste...

if you go out and get another filter...leave it running along with your undergravel filter for a couple weeks....after then it is safe to say that the new filter has enough bacteria to sustain the tank and removing the undergravel filter would be your best bet!

 

[eudielynn]

wrs - Sorry to differ, but I was very careful about stocking. I checked with several sources, many of them on this board before I added my last fish, the otos about four weeks ago. Gold is a full grown extremely small gourami. He had health problems months ago and never grew to normal size. He is smaller than my two dwarf gouramis. They don't fight at all. The dwarf neon gourami will go after my guppies, and the snail, but he doesn't pick on any of the other fish that are even close to his size. The betta is the second one I've had in the same tank with no problems from the gouramis. This betta is also extremly small, about 1/2 the size of my others.

I received tons of advice about the brown algae here and I have tried it all nothing works. That's why I got the otos, the plec doesn't eat it, nor does the snail. I was told that it was because my tank was still fairly new and it would go away by itself - that was months ago. I used to leave the lights on in the tank for about 14 hours a day and was told that was what was causing the algae. Then I was told to leave them off for a week and that would take care of it. I tried it all. Nothing works.

Even if I were "way overstocked" this would not cause the water to turn milky white in a few hours time. That would also not explain why the water was worse after the first water change.

Not trying to be argumentative, and I do appreciate your response, but it just doesn't make sense with the way things happened.

 

[eudielynn]

Sorry about the double post, but abstract posted while I was responding to wrs. You may have hit the nail on the head. I never thought about gravel vacuuming too much. I did a water change the night before this happened and I always vacuum the crap out of the gravel since I have the plec and the snail that are both dirty little buggers, as are the dwarf gouramis. The UGF filter was what came with the tank set up and what I was most familiar with from times I'd had aquariums before, but I had been thinking about changing it out and going to sand sometime during the summer.

Can I get some suggestions on a good filter for a 20 gal that will do the job without costing an arm and a leg? I don't trust either of the LFS I go to for equipment. They like to sell the most expensive whether it is what you need or not.

 

[abstract]

sure i would recommend either a Hagen Aquaclear (150 or 200 - you decide what you think would be best) or a Marineland Penguin with a biowheel ...they are both great filters and can be had for around $20 ...take a look online at the different sizes/prices....i don't remember what the general rule of thumb is for gallons per hour but i think you want to cycle somewhere around 5 times the size of the tank (so i would go with a pump at LEAST 100 gallons per hour - probably on the safe side and go with a 150 gph pump - i.e. at least aquaclear 150 or penguin 150)...keep in mind that too much flow could upset your fish, but is always good for the wellbeing of the tank..

as i said, i would also run the undergravel for at least a week at the same time as the new filter to help buildup the beneficial colony before you remove the undergravel...

glad i could help you out a little!

 

[eudielynn]

Thanks again abstract. I'll be filter shopping over the weekend. Was really hoping to get another small tank and another betta, but I need to get these issues resolved first. Don't think my fish will mind the current. The current now is quite strong.

Appreciate the help