4 Dead in Last Week! Help!

[mmckinniss]

Ok so it's not an overcrowding issue either.


I would say be cautious with over cleaning. It can lead to ammonia spikes that are lethal due to substrate disturbances.

Is once a week too often for WC's & vacuuming?

 

[H2OJO]

Is once a week too often for WC's & vacuuming?

It is for vacuuming but certainly not water changes.

While vacuuming, hover just above your substate and don't disturb it too much.

Do you have sand or gravel?

 

[paytertot]

I clean my tanks up to 3 times a week, I don't see how it can do any harm. If you get ammonia spikes from disturbing your gravel, your problem is unclean gravel. Sand doesn't get disturbed in the same way as gravel during vacuuming so it would cause no problems during maintenance.

 

[mmckinniss]

It is for vacuuming but certainly not water changes.

While vacuuming, hover just above your substate and don't disturb it too much.

Do you have sand or gravel?

I've got gravel. I can certainly keep from digging in each time.

 

[bigbanker]

Re: cleaning:

Where do you keep your scrubber?

Also as far as gravel vac. You can clean in halves. One half one week and the other half the next.

Also with gravel, especially in an unplanted tank, it is okay and recommended to "dig".

 

[paytertot]

I've got gravel. I can certainly keep from digging in each time.

That's how you're supposed to do it. You hover over sand because you'll suck it up otherwise. But you shove the vac into the gravel. Otherwise you have large amounts of waste building up releasing ammonia.

 

[H2OJO]

I've got gravel. I can certainly keep from digging in each time.

It is something to remember. Remember everything sinks to the bottom, including poop and uneaten food. This, if disturbed too much (and coupled with overfeeding) is a recipe for ammonia.

Don't dig in so much and clean just above the surface. Also how often do you feed your fish?

 

[paytertot]

It is something to remember. Remember everything sinks to the bottom, including poop and uneaten food. This, if disturbed too much (and coupled with overfeeding) is a recipe for ammonia.

Don't dig in so much and clean just above the surface. Also how often do you feed your fish?

The solution to dirty gravel is cleaning it, not avoiding it!

 

[H2OJO]

Correction:

Toss the gravel around a bit but i wouldn't disturb it too much by too much digging.

 

[H2OJO]

The solution to dirty gravel is cleaning it, not avoiding it!

Yes, but what would you rather have, ammonia in the water killing fish by too much cleaning, or leaving it in the gravel where it won't disturb anything and maintaining it at healthy levels?!

 

[Tippytrampoline]

It is something to remember. Remember everything sinks to the bottom, including poop and uneaten food. This, if disturbed too much (and coupled with overfeeding) is a recipe for ammonia.

Don't dig in so much and clean just above the surface. Also how often do you feed your fish?

Removing the waste in the gravel once a week and preventing it from building up will in the end cause very little ammonia spike when you try to vacuum it later. The point of vacuuming it is to remove the waste so it doesn't build up and cause an ammonia spike if disturbed.

Could I be wrong in thinking this?

 

[mmckinniss]

Re: Cleaning

As part of my weekly WC's, I've been vacuuming gravel in halves - one side one week, the other the next. I dig into the gravel a bit to suck out the waste, excess food.

To clean algae this weekend, I used a scrubbing wand for the first time. It was not new out of the package and is typically kept in the cabinet beneath the tank. It's possible that introduced something vicious to the tank, but 3 of the 4 deaths occurred before this cleaning. I also removed and replaced all the faux plants (this is not a planted tank) to remove algae build up on those.

 

[paytertot]

You want to keep waste from being in the gravel at all as much possible. Not stirring it up will not prevent it from causing ammonia. It just keeps it down under the gravel rotting. The purpose of vacuuming your gravel is to remove the waste.

 

[paytertot]

Yes, but what would you rather have, ammonia in the water killing fish by too much cleaning, or leaving it in the gravel where it won't disturb anything and maintaining it at healthy levels?!

See my last post

 

[Tippytrampoline]

Yes, but what would you rather have, ammonia in the water killing fish or leaving it in the gravel where it won't disturb anything?

I would rather not have ammonia anywhere at all, so cleaning the gravel well from the beginning is always a good idea. Why would you want a ticking time bomb in your tank?

 

[mmckinniss]

Re: Feeding

I feed twice a day with flakes, about a 5 min feed each. I drop a a sinking wafer in once a day.

 

[H2OJO]

Re: Cleaning

As part of my weekly WC's, I've been vacuuming gravel in halves - one side one week, the other the next. I dig into the gravel a bit to suck out the waste, excess food.

To clean algae this weekend, I used a scrubbing wand for the first time. It was not new out of the package and is typically kept in the cabinet beneath the tank. It's possible that introduced something vicious to the tank, but 3 of the 4 deaths occurred before this cleaning. I also removed and replaced all the faux plants (this is not a planted tank) to remove algae build up on those.

Halves is good as you don't want to remove too much as there is also good stuff on the tank floor.

Try maintaining by less digging and I put money on the fish being more settled. Others say dig, but outbid experience this isn't the best approach unless you have a very high cleaning regime and crap on the bottom hasn't had a chance to build.

 

[Tippytrampoline]

Re: Cleaning

As part of my weekly WC's, I've been vacuuming gravel in halves - one side one week, the other the next. I dig into the gravel a bit to suck out the waste, excess food.

To clean algae this weekend, I used a scrubbing wand for the first time. It was not new out of the package and is typically kept in the cabinet beneath the tank. It's possible that introduced something vicious to the tank, but 3 of the 4 deaths occurred before this cleaning. I also removed and replaced all the faux plants (this is not a planted tank) to remove algae build up on those.

Sorry, to keep on the subject, I think you are doing as best you can. The fish you have are notorious for waste production, so perhaps up your water change by 20% each week? Also, did you rinse the new plants before adding them?

 

[H2OJO]

I would rather not have ammonia anywhere at all, so cleaning the gravel well from the beginning is always a good idea. Why would you want a ticking time bomb in your tank?

Some people don't have the time to make sure there isnt uneaten food and poop on the tank floor.

Let it settle and take off the top layer unless you have an addiction to cleaning.

Choose your cleaning style, if you are an OCD, ammonia spikes through digging wont occur. If you clean fairly regulatory but not religiously, be careful not to dig too much and cause a spike.

Please please remember, good bacteria also exists on the tank floor which also helps balance your tank!

 

[mmckinniss]

Sorry, to keep on the subject, I think you are doing as best you can. The fish you have are notorious for waste production, so perhaps up your water change by 20% each week? Also, did you rinse the new plants before adding them?

Up my WC's to 45%? Is that excessive?

I didn't add new plants. I scrubbed the old ones and put them back. I wasn't clear on that. They probably had trace amounts of chlorine on them from that process. As I said above, though, 3 of the 4 deaths occurred before this cleaning.