Problem With Water Quality

[risso0529]

ok thanks for your help - i will try and get up early before work tomorrow and do 50% change including gravel clean - I did do about a 40% change on Saturday though.. I will do this water change and re test the water tomorrow evening and come back with the results.

Thanks off to bed now

 

[elisew]

No worries, glad to help

 

[risso0529]

hi

ok I did about 40% water change (ran out of time!!) this morning and will test water again later. Sick fish are still alive but not looking any better.

I noticed while doing the water change that a few of the 'healthy' fish are flicking and rubbing up against things in the tank - I have had a very close look that all the fish but cannot see any disease - could this be white spot with no spots or is there another reason why they would be flicking and or rubbing?

I will check back this evening

Thanks

Larissa

 

[Gilli]

Flicking is really annoying to diagnose because it can be caused by gill and/or skin irritation through parasites and/or water chemistry (not only including the usual nitrate/nitrite/ammonia suspects, but also metals or chlorine/chloramine in the water from insufficient conditionning).My suspicion is your water quality still.

Check your filter is running smoothly and that the water is aggitated so that plenty of oxygen is getting into the water and that your heater is working by checking your water temperature.

Huge water change and keep your eye on your water stats daily making sure you follow the test instructions carefully so there are no mistakes in your readings. You can easily bring your nitrates down by thorough gravel vacs (take everyhting out of the tank and really get down into the lower levels of the gravel) so that all poo and uneaten food is not left hanging around, cutting down on feeding and adding lots of real plants which will use some up.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

The new flicking after the water change could simply be down to how the fresh water has affected the composition of the tank water, including things we do not routinely test for.

 

[elisew]

I think the flicking and rubbing is more to do with the water quality at the moment and NOTG is completely spot on when he says the changes with the fresh water will affect the fish.

As Gilli has said and as I said previously, cleaning the gravel/sand when doing water changes, not over feeding and live plants can make a massive difference and hopefully by doing these water changes we can get the levels to where they need to be for the health and comfort of the fish.

The level of nitrates at the moment are an issue compared to the ammonia and nitrites but all levels do need to be monitored. Once everything is looking normal IF the fish are still flicking and rubbing then it`s something that needs to be addressed but the nitrate needs to be pulled into line first

 

[anon02]

I would guess that the fish losses and flicking are a consequence of the earlier water quality problems and will settle down eventually

Keep a lookout for signs of whitespot but if you haven`t introduced any new fish or plants it is unlikely

 

[Proxo]

Is it possible that some fish will 'flick' themself off a object just for the hell of it?
Kinda like an itch i guess? we all get them hahaa!!
I've seen the odd fish do it in my tank so i keep an eye on it but it never does it again ,
there's no ich/whitespot & the water is fine (according to tests anyway lol).

 

[risso0529]

Hi

I have tested the water carefully again this evening and results are as follows

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 40
Temp 27

Filter is running well and there seems to be plently of surface agitation.

I always add dechlorinatior when I do water changes. I noticed the fish flicking and rubbing this morning while I was taking the water out but before I added any new water?

I will do another water change in the morning and test water again - not really sure what else I can do at this stage. Still no signs of any disease or illness - fish are still alive but in the same condition.

Any further ideas/help greatly appreciated - thanks

 

[elisew]

The results are now more normal and at an acceptable level

I think to be on the safe side you need to not only do another wc tomorrow but test your levels on a daily basis now for about the next week, just so you can act quickly if something begins to go haywire.

I`m sorry if you`ve said previously but are you using API liquid test kit?

Keep a close eye on how much you`re feeding, try and add some more live plants if you can and hopefully we`ve cracked it for the time being.
The flicking before the wc seems to be pretty normal considering the levels your nitrate has been at. You may still lose a couple of fish, I can`t say for certain that just because the levels are right now that the damage hasn`t been done, but keep your eye on them and let us know how things are going?

 

[Skins]

Just out of intrest when you perform your water changes do you match water temps, tap water with your tanks water?

Keith.

 

[risso0529]

Hi thanks for your comments - my test kit is an API liquid one - is that ok? Yes I use the tank thremometer to get the water to the right temp in the bucket before I add this back into the tank - hope this is right? I also add the dechlorinator to the water before I put it into the tank - again hope this is the best way?

 

[elisew]

Test is good

It sounds like you`re doing everything right with the temperature match and dechlorinator, it`s a case of being vigilant with the levels and water changes for the next week or 2 now, just to be on the safe side. Once it`s been established that all is ok you can get to the point where one good gravel vac and water change done weekly should see the fish doing well

 

[risso0529]

thanks - ill come back in a few days and let you know how things are going