Poorly fish - poor water? Help!

[Sbradley81]

Hi

I am having trouble keeping my fish as I seem to lose fish on a regular basis. My tank has been running with fish for well over a year now.

I have lost a couple of barbs over the past few days and a flying fox.

Other barbs look unwell (lack colour and pop eye).

I clean my tank once a week using a siphon and do a 20% change.

I am a little unsure as to why my water quality is so poor if I am cleaning my tank as often as I am. Can anyone advise as to why my fish keep getting ill?

I have a 70l tank.
Ammonia is 0
NO2 is <0.3mg/l
Ph is 6

Any advise would be welcome as I cannot understand why these fish keep dying!

Thanks

 

[BettaGal]

Check your NO3 also. Your pH is rather low for your bacteria. As far as water quality goes, your parameters aren't bad at all. Looks like you're in the end of your cycle. What other fish are in the tank? With it being up a year and you having readings like that, I suspect you're changing your filter cartridges? Don't change them until their falling apart.

 

[Sbradley81]

In the tank I have depleting stocks! I'm left with:

1 catfish
1 scissor tail
1 flying fox
6 barbs ( of which 3 look ill)
4 shrimp

I haven't changed any of the sponges apart from the carbon filter. All others are what were in from day 1.
Is there anything I could do to prevent more losses?

 

[BettaGal]

Hmmm. Do you have any live plants? What kind of catfish is it?

 

[Hholly]

You could do 50% changes, and use Prime for water conditioner.

 

[Sbradley81]

It's a synadontis


I have lots of live plants in the tank, but none of the plants are new.

I did a 50% change a couple of weeks ago, but still had losses..

 

[BettaGal]

The 50% water change is more effective at getting rid of the bad stuff in the water and replenishing the minerals in the water. It would be more beneficial to do larger water changes. It doesn't matter that you did one and still had fish die. There's another reason for it, and we just have to figure out what.

 

[Sbradley81]

Thanks...


Ill do a bigger water change and see what happens.
Do you treat your water before you put it in, or do you just use it from the tap?

 

[Sbradley81]

Hi


Thanks for the advice.

I will try another big water change and see how we go.
When you add water, do you use anything additional, or is it straight from a tap?

 

[Hholly]

Hi

Thanks for the advice.

I will try another big water change and see how we go.
When you add water, do you use anything additional, or is it straight from a tap?

I add Prime water conditioner, dosed for the whole volume of the tank. Then water from the tap.

 

[BettaGal]

Hi

Thanks for the advice.

I will try another big water change and see how we go.
When you add water, do you use anything additional, or is it straight from a tap?

Always treat it first. The reason is there are different forms of chlorine that I know I will spell wrong if I attempt it now. Migraines. There are also usually dissolved metals in the tap water. This is so that many of the waterborne diseases that can affect us are killed. The problem with a fish tank is these chlorines and metals are toxic to our fish. We use a water conditioner such as Seachem Prime to remove them.

The only exception is if you are using a Python. In that case you need to treat the entire tank once you vacuum out the gravel and then add the water back in.

Hope this helps!

 

[Sbradley81]

What's a python?

I am assuming that as I haven't heard of it I don't have one!

 

[Hholly]

A water changer.
http://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Pytho...59997258&sr=8-1&keywords=Python+water+changer

Aqueon makes one too. It makes water changes much easier.

 

[BettaGal]

It's a really nice water changer that hooks up to your sink. I would really like one. Lol.

 

[Sbradley81]

Yeah! Looks cool!