Fish Food Accident

[Carsnay]

Hello,

Yesterday just as I was finishing cleaning the filter on my 55 gallon tank my 3 yo son dumped in an entire box of fish food. I was justing doing the filter cleaning so I immedialty started to siphon all the food out, this caused about a 50% water change. this morning the fish don't look well at all , one molly has died, she was very old so I wasn't too surprised. But the water is really cloudy. Because I just cleaned the filter yesterday, it's a Rena Cannister type, and did such a massive water change I'm hesitant to do another water change.

I have 6 chiclids, 2 clown loach, a pleco, a cory catfish, 2 empeoror tetras and one molly. Should I go buy a small filter to hang over the side? It's so sad to see them distressed. Any suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks

[Mrc8858]

I'm not to sure never had to deal with this kind of problem but id imagine if u had another tank to hold them in u could just stir up the substrate and clean it out with ur fish net picking up as much debris in the tank as u can that way u don't actually lose any water

[joel618]

Im not sure on this, but I think another 50 water change would be ok as long as you are using water conditioner. I know some people with discus that change 50% daily. What kind of Cichlids? If you think the fish over ate, you could try adding Epsom salt. I believe 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons. But im going to let someone else clarify that.

[NoFishingAllowed]

I would do another 50% water change,and fast for a day.

[Carsnay]

thanks for the help.

I have 4 keyhole chiclids and 2 kribs. Think I'll do another water change right now, I have a detox solution I can add for large water changes. I use spring water as the water in BC is very very soft.

[millerb7]

I'm no expert, but I'd actually recommend ANOTHER water change. To clear up the water. All that fish food will most likely cause a huge spike in the nitrogen cycle. I'd immediately check your levels. That much fish food most likely will cause the ammonia to get to dangerous levels for the fish.

I'd personally do another 50% or more water change. Doing a water change won't (shouldn't) hurt anything, including the fish. leaving the water in that condition is much worse IMO.

[joel618]

Originally Posted by millerb7

I'm no expert, but I'd actually recommend ANOTHER water change. To clear up the water. All that fish food will most likely cause a huge spike in the nitrogen cycle. I'd immediately check your levels. That much fish food most likely will cause the ammonia to get to dangerous levels for the fish.

I'd personally do another 50% or more water change. Doing a water change won't (shouldn't) hurt anything, including the fish. leaving the water in that condition is much worse IMO.

I agree. Get some prime, it conditions the water and it helps the fish out some too.

[Carsnay]

I'm almost finished the water change (added some detox stuff from the fish supply place here) and everybody already looks perkier (sp). Kribs are back to their old selves YAY. Thanks for the help, I was really worried about doing another big water change but it seems to have really helped. I'll test the water in a bit

[millerb7]

Originally Posted by Carsnay

I'm almost finished the water change (added some detox stuff from the fish supply place here) and everybody already looks perkier (sp). Kribs are back to their old selves YAY. Thanks for the help, I was really worried about doing another big water change but it seems to have really helped. I'll test the water in a bit

Doing water changes won't hurt the BB in the tank, as they don't really live in the water itself. When in doubt, do a water change.

With that amount of fish food though, and some of it maybe still in the substrate, I'd DEF. pick up an API Master Test Kit (I LOVE MINE!!!) and test the water daily (or every other) for a few days to make sure you get no crazy spikes due to an entire thing of food being dumped in.

I'd really suggest picking up the Prime water conditioner, it's really nice and rather cheap on amazon. The API kit is around $20-$25 on amazon as well.... I'm tell you it's worth it!

[Carsnay]

Thanks MillerB7 for the great advice, feel kinda silly now as I did think BB was in the water too!! I'll pick up some Prime water conditioner and I'll test the water each night for the next week or so.

[Rokuzachi]

I generally do 50% WCs on my tanks weekly, and if there's any cloudiness remaining after the refill, I do another 50% (~75% total). I had severe cloudiness in my 10g holding tank and I did 3 50% changes in the span of an hour. The current resident is much more lively without all the uneaten food (he's a very picky eater) fouling the thing up.

[millerb7]

Originally Posted by Carsnay

Thanks MillerB7 for the great advice, feel kinda silly now as I did think BB was in the water too!! I'll pick up some Prime water conditioner and I'll test the water each night for the next week or so.

Again, I'm def. not an expert, I'm still cycling my tank. As far as I understand it, there may be some BB in the water itself, but I know something like 85% of it lives in the actual filter media, most of the rest of it is in the substrate and decorations in the tank itself.

They just can't dry out, so if you do a BIG water change (say 90%) just make sure you fill it up afterwards without letting the tank dry out.

[jlk]

Ahhh!!!! The same thing happened to me 2 mths ago! My 2 yrold daughter loves 'helping' with the fish and she dumped an ENTIRE container of sinking fish food into the tank when i wasnt looking. I tried vaccumming it, scooping it, everything and couldnt get those **** pellets out! I wound up having to remove my fish to another tank temporarily and clean everything (except the filters) carefully with plain water. Cleaning the gravel was nightmare because the fish food stuck to it & became a gluey mess! I did get a bit of an ammonia spike for a few days afterwards (lots of wc's!) but things did settle down after a week. Now, the fish food is stored well out of her reach instead of under the tanks!!!! My suggestion? Keep vaccumming daily and changing the water especially if you see any detectable ammonia or nitrites! Good luck!!!

[Coleallensmom]

Originally Posted by jlk

My suggestion? Keep vaccumming daily and changing the water especially if you see any detectable ammonia or nitrites! Good luck!!!

I agree. My 2yr old just did this same thing to my 7yr old's tank about a month ago. Use the Prime, test your water, and keep doing PWC's until the water is clear and ammonia free again.

[eco23]

Yep, there is no such thing as too many water changes as long as you are using conditioned, temperature matched water. I'd go crazy with the gravel vac to get every bit of fish food, test the water every day and continue with the water changes for the time being. Don't ever be afraid to break out the buckets. Fresh water = happy fish regardless of the situation.

[epiphysis]

Just a random question regarding this situation...

In a case like this, might those products that claim to remove ammonia be usefull? You can add them for a few days and remove them once the worst of the spike is over.

[eco23]

Originally Posted by epiphysis

Just a random question regarding this situation...

In a case like this, might those products that claim to remove ammonia be usefull? You can add them for a few days and remove them once the worst of the spike is over.

Water changes using a conditioner like Prime (which also neutralizes ammonia) is the ideal solution IMO.

The effectiveness of products like Zeo-lite is debatable...and fresh water will actually remove the toxins and replace it with fresh, clean water instead of relying on a product to do it for you. It will also remove any physical remains of the food. The only truly useful application for the ammonia absorbing pellets are during shipping to prevent ammonia building up in the bag...but even then a drop of Prime is more efficient as long as shipping is done quickly.

Oh, and make sure you swish your filter pads around really good occasionally in TANK or dechlorinated water to remove any food debris it has collected.

[Rokuzachi]

A good way to test your gravel cleanliness if you've got it and a turkey baster;

Fill the baster up with tank water. Insert it into the gravel. Expel water harshly. If a cloud puffs up from the gravel, you should probably make a run through at least that area.

I do this every couple of weeks for my gravel tank and usually find that I need to be a bit more thorough with the vac.

[Carsnay]

coleallensmom - lol glad I'm not the only one! I've just got distracted while waiting for the water buckets to warm up looking at your beautiful tank WOW

epiphysis - what a great question thanks