Help!!!! Dead fish and milky white water

[yohann976]

I need serious help! I cleaned my 90 gallon fish tank last night and everything seemed fine before I went to sleep. I changed 50%, then added my ferts for my plants. I did the usual things....I turned off the heater, and shut off the water flow to the cannister filter. The water was clear, that night.

Now the water is milky white. One fish is dead and two others are gasping for air at the top. I cannot even see my discus fish. What should I do? As I type this, I am changing my water. Should I clean out my cannister filter? Also, what in the heck could have caused this?

Note: It can't be from my tap water because I cleaned my other fish tank last night and the water in there is clear.


Quick update: In a panic, I transferred my surviving fish into my other tank. I did notice, as I chased my fish with a net, that I created white scummy bubbles on the surface of the water. I've changed about 90% of the water in my tank and it still looks milky white (not near as much though). I also cleaned the filter and added carbon. In the eight years or so that I've had fish tanks, I've never really used carbon. I had it on hand because a friend gave it to me as a gift.

Now that my state of panic is somewhat over, I am rather frustrated with this problem (to say the least). Can anyone think of the cause of all this? I was initially thinking that it could be from the cleaning equipment, but I used the same things on my other tank too. I honestly don't have a clue.

I do have one more concern: Will my plants be alright?

 

[Alshain]

Milky white water is a bacteria bloom. If you have a bit of chloramine in your water then water changes actually can make it worse because this brakes down into ammonia which feeds the bacteria bloom. I've never actually lost a fish to this, but if the ammonia is excessively high, it may died from ammonia poisoning.

Bacteria blooms usually occur when something changes that add additional ammonia. The bacteria grows to compensate but over does it. Adding fish may do this , what most likely happened is you accidentally killed some of your bacteria during your cleaning. This would cause an ammonia spike followed by a bloom. It's likely the spike caused your loss of fish, once you see the bloom your almost back to normal. The excess bacteria should die of naturally.

What you need to do is determine how you depleted your bacterial colony. Did you rinse your bio media with tap water? Thats usually the most common mistake.

 

[yohann976]

When I cleaned my tank last night, I didn't clean the cannister filter. I tend to clean that about every other month. I did do the usual though, which was shutting off the water flow while still leaving it plugged in. It is my understanding that leaving the filter on will still let the water within it circulate. The only thing I could say that I did differently was spending a little extra time cleaning some of the algae from my walls.

As far as ammonia goes, I have a reading of .25. I've never had a detectable level before. So that could explain the bacteria bloom. Would that bloom be the reason why the surface of the water seems to have a film on it?

I'm hoping that the water will clear up in a few days so that I can bring my fish back. Do you have any suggestions so that my tank will be prepared for its inhabitants?

 

[Zagz]

You must now be careful to keep an eye on your parameters. You may lose your cycle. Keep testing and if need be, add ammonia to keep the cycle going until your fish are back in the tank. Without an ammonia source the bacteria will die off. If it were me, if there is nitrate in the tank I would put the fish back in.

 

[yohann976]

I was afraid that I might lose the tank's cycle without any fish. I think that I'll put my fish back except for the discus. He seems to be the most affected by all this...well... except for the fish who actually died. He will be put into a quarantine tank for the time being.

 

[Zagz]

That is what I would do. Discus are a sensitive fish. What temp do you normally keep your tank at? Discus are prone to illness when stressed. Keep a close on him to make sure he is eating and pooping regularily.

 

[Alshain]

When I cleaned my tank last night, I didn't clean the cannister filter. I tend to clean that about every other month. I did do the usual though, which was shutting off the water flow while still leaving it plugged in. It is my understanding that leaving the filter on will still let the water within it circulate. The only thing I could say that I did differently was spending a little extra time cleaning some of the algae from my walls.

Algae cleaning shouldn't have done it unless you used something that had a chemical on it you were using to scrub. I'm not familiar with your filter, on mine I have to unplug it every time I clean it. Either way, it shouldn't have made a difference. What we are looking for is some procedure that affected you or a chemical (soap maybe) accidentally added.

As far as ammonia goes, I have a reading of .25. I've never had a detectable level before. So that could explain the bacteria bloom.

Yep, that is part of the spike.

Would that bloom be the reason why the surface of the water seems to have a film on it?

short answer, yes.

I'm hoping that the water will clear up in a few days so that I can bring my fish back. Do you have any suggestions so that my tank will be prepared for its inhabitants?

Right now there is obviously ammonia so you are experiencing a mini-fishless cycle. You do have to be careful you don't lose your cycle but if you monitor it closely you can add the fish back as soon as ammonia hits 0 without losing it.

That is what I would do. Discus are a sensitive fish. What temp do you normally keep your tank at? Discus are prone to illness when stressed. Keep a close on him to make sure he is eating and pooping regularily.

True, there are some additives you can put in the water to reduce this. Prime is my first choice, but there is StressZyme and such also. It also can't hurt to keep bottles of PimaFix and MelaFix handy in case he does acquire an infection. With discus its best to have that stuff on hand anyway.

Not to hijack, but Zagz, I'm copying your sig.

 

[Alshain]

Milky white water is a bacteria bloom. If you have a bit of chloramine in your water then water changes actually can make it worse because this brakes down into ammonia which feeds the bacteria bloom. I've never actually lost a fish to this, but if the ammonia is excessively high, it may died from ammonia poisoning.

Just to clarify, this does not mean you should stop doing regular water changes. Just not excessive amounts of them.

 

[yohann976]

Quick update: My ammonia level is back to zero and the milky white water has cleared. Even the milky film on the water's surface is gone. I'm not exactly sure what caused it, but it seems to have disappeared.

I've added the dither fish and they all seem fine. They are eating and acting in their normal fashion. As for the discus, he isn't eating yet, but I think that he is coming around. At least he isn't laying on the bottom like before. His colors are back, but he isn't really exploring his environment yet. When I put food in the tank, he kinda perks up, but he ends up not eating. I'll keep ya posted on his recovery.

Final update: I guess all that it took was a teaspoon of bloodworms. He ate vigorously which is understandable. I know that he cannot live off of bloodworms alone, so I'll be switching up his menu of course. Thanks for everyone's help.

 

[Alshain]

Glad to hear all is back to normal.

 

[Zagz]

Glad also to hear things are back to normal. Keep an eye on the discus, once having been stressed, discus are prone to parasitic infestations. Watch for white stringy poo, lack of feeding, skinniness and hiding more than usual.