Filter Cleaning

[Nightstalker3188]

Hi all ,

Last night I was adding a few new fish n shrimps to my tank and found that the water flow from my filter was really slow, on second inspection I noticed that the top of the filter was totally gunked up with beige sludge and something which resembled a shrimp leg.
Is it normal for a filter system to get gunked up like this within about a month of being in use? - thats a month of being in use incl the time of fishless cycling which was 21 days...
Also I have managed to lose 3 shrimp so far, one took a hike out of the tank as we found him the following morning on the kitchen floor, then when we added a friend for him we noticed that he wasnt there anymore . Anywho, we added the replacement friend to then find out the next day that he's gone missing n all.
Now my tank is only a small 48ltr/12g tank with not many hidy places... I sealed off the cable and hose access gaps with tape and bubble wrap and the other cable access hole is really small which I dont think a shrimp would squeeze through...
So, do shrimp, in this case amano shrimp, tend to bury themselves in the gravel or have my Guppies turned into minature pirhanas? Or was the gunk in the filter the 2 shrimp which got minced up somehow?
Do find it strange to get so much gunk for such a little fish tank though....
Would be interested to know what you think about this...

Cheers
Rob

 

[LyndaB]

All species will try to escape a tank with poor water parameters.

You mentioned 21 days for cycling, however, the average cycle time is 4-6 weeks. How did you cycle this tank?

What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

You need to carefully monitor and rinse out your filter media (in used tank water) on a regular schedule. I rinse mine weekly when I do water changes.

If you are overfeeding and/or don't do gravel vacs, your filter will clog up that much sooner.

 

[Nightstalker3188]

My ammonia and nitrites are 0, I cycled the tank in 21 days using pure ammonia and used aqua pure balls... Water quality is good, Nitrates are 20ppm which is what I get out my tap, also change water once a week now, second change tomorrow.

 

[LyndaB]

Keep an eye on those readings. It could be that using the Aqua Pure Balls threw you in a certain direction, but it doesn't mean you won't ricochet back. The vast majority of those bacteria starters don't work and can work against you and your cycling process.

I would not add more fish until you are certain you're cycled, in another 2 weeks or so, just to be sure (not sure when you were planning on upping your stock).

 

[Nightstalker3188]

I'm fully stocked now. 8 guppies 4 glow light tetras, 2 red cherry shrimp one Ted crystal shrimp and added today one assassin snail. The aqua pure are a little friendly bacteria bomb, so these add the goodness to the tank and stay in the filter one would presume.... So far so good...just got to make a better deal over the lead access and we should b ok.....

 

[oscarfishtank]

the nitrate may be too high that the shrimps jumped from the tank, keep the nitrate under 5ppm. how about your filter, what is the flow rate of it?

 

[KlcoKN]

You can pick up filter intake sponges which will prevent anybody from getting sucked into the filter, just make sure to rinse them regularly as they get clogged occasionally, just like your filter. Make sure to rinse out all your filter media in removed tank water (or at the very least water that's been dechlorinated). You can get reverse osmosis water and do partial water changes with that to reduce nitrates, but its not exactly cheap...
Live plants are also a great option to reduce nitrates, the faster growing the better at removing nitrates.

 

[KlcoKN]

Oh and shrimp also molt occasionally, they shed their outer shell and grow a new one, that could me what you found in the filter, and they tend to hide for safety till their new skin hardens because they are vulnerable until it does.

 

[Nightstalker3188]

Hi, cheers for that info. I was aware of shrimp and their molting habits... In regards to the Nitrates, my tap water chucks out 10-20ppm so I do my regular water changes, done two of 10 ltrs so far, my next one will be a 20 ltr one... We replaced the amano escape artists with 2 bigger ones, they are female I think, one due to the size and two their markings resemble small lines rather than dots...
The ones that git out I believe got out by climbing the air hose and got out the access gap, which has now been sealed.... One might have jumped out whilst my 2 year old had his mutant in the tank...
As for the other three shrimp we have in there... I saw the red crystal the other day, and the cherries, they are so tiny at the moment ,that they simply get lost in the tank... My assassin snail is taking his time taking care of the snail population... Might have to get him a few mates so that they can form a gang and rule the tank.... Is like to know how these little critters eat the snails...I see no mouth as such, unlike the pond snails, so it must have sommet to do with the weird tube which protudes from the shell... Not much about their anatomy online. Apparently these guys have only recently (2007) become an accessory to fish tanks....

 

[KlcoKN]

One might have jumped out whilst my 2 year old had his mutant in the tank...

I feel bad for that shrimp, but Dang that make me giggle

 

[Nightstalker3188]

I like to keep things humerous off course I meant to say his weee little mits, but good old technology,and me not paying attention, my phone decided mutant was a better option.... And in a way was quite appropriate, God only knows what the poor shrimp was thinking at the time when this "mutant" was swirling around the tank