55 gallon tank meltdown

[Upscale]

I had a 55 gallon fish only tank running successfully for 4 years, with 6 conga tetras a huge 6 inch algae eater, 2 rainbow tetras a swordfish and a red eye tetra. Ammonia and nitrates were always at zero and I do partial water changes weeklly 5 %.Here's my problem,I put a vacation feeder in the tank before I left ,and returned to a dead algae eater and the feeder looked like a blob of fungus.I promptly removed the remaining feeder.Over the next couple of days the other fish began to die off,leaving me now with 1 rainbow and two congo tetras.My ammonia is very high,nitrates high (above 40ppm)but my nitrites are at 0.I did a 25% water change and added ammo chips to the filter.I also purchased a Emperor 400 bio wheel power filter to help assist with my tank issues.I went to my lfs told them my problem,he gave me some gravel to add to the tank to help bring the ammonia down.That was two weekes ago and the ammonia is still through the roof!! Any advice on what I should do? The remaining 2 conga tetras won't eat but the rainbow will.Thanks

 

[loganj]

Vacation feeders are a bad idea, as I'm sure you have found out. Your fish can go for a couple of weeks, assuming they are healthy, without being fed. My guess is that too much food was released in the tank, in addition to the dead algae eater, causing an ammonia spike. It's going to take at least another couple of weeks for the Emp 400 to develop enough of a bacterial colony to assist in removing the ammonia/nitrite that has built up. Also, if you have dosed any type of additive such as "Ammo lock", you may be getting a false reading on your ammonia test. Check to see if it uses a Nessler reagent or if it's a salicylate type test. If it's Nessler, you'll get false readings with the additive. I would do a 50% water change and retest. I would then do a series of smaller water changes until the ammonia levels are at a non lethal level for the fish. Once the Emperor 400 gets a good bacterial colony, you'll be in the clear. I think you'll find that this is the best HOB filter you've ever owned.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I completely agree with Logan about those vacation feeders: they should be banned! Don't worry Upscale- we've all gone through a melt-down from one of those things (I lost an ENTIRE ten gallon tank full of fish when I was about 16 because of the weekend feeder I used).

I'd continue with the daily water changes (15-25%) to bring the ammonia levels down. You'll also want to make sure there aren't any more bits of feeder, food, or dead fish at the bottom of your tank (those could be adding fuel to the fire, so to speak).

Hang in there and you'll get things back on track!

 

[Upscale]

Thanks guys,I'll continue with the water changes and be patient.The ammonia test kit does not use nessler reagents,so I assume I'am not getting false readings

 

[Mr. R]

The worst "vacation feeder" you can get is someone who doesn't know what they are doing. I had a cousin (an adult cousin) of mine feed my sw fish while I was gone for a week. At the time I had a Yellow Tang, a Pajama Cardinal, a Blue Damsel, and a gorgeous Maroon Clown. I returned to find the bottom of the tank completely littered with food and everything but the cardinal dead . That was about a $60 mistake. But like most everyone here who has gone through hard times I recovered. It was a hard way to learn the lesson:"Just let them go hungry a while."

 

[Madame_X]

I have a neighbor come over and feed my fish when I'm on vacation . To keep them from overfeeding, I bought one of those 7-day pill boxes (with a separate compartment for each day of the week) for each one of my tanks. I fill each day with the appropriate amount of food and leave the pill box on top of each tank; then I put away the regular food containers so they won't be tempted to give them more than I left.

Sorry about your tank, Upscale. It sucks to lose so many fish, especially ones you've had for so long.

 

[techiegirl]

I have a neighbor come over and feed my fish when I'm on vacation . To keep them from overfeeding, I bought one of those 7-day pill boxes (with a separate compartment for each day of the week) for each one of my tanks. I fill each day with the appropriate amount of food and leave the pill box on top of each tank; then I put away the regular food containers so they won't be tempted to give them more than I left.

what a great idea!!!!!!

 

[millipede]

yeah, that pill box is a good idea... sorry to hear about all the dead fish. A lot of fish will nibble on plants so I always like to have pleanty of them around for any days I forget to feed. I had one small feeder guppy for a good year or two that I never fed. I just always had fresh plants growing in there. Obviously not all fish would survive like that in a fish tank but I do believe planted tanks are the way to go