Almost all fish skimming the surface...

[rachellouise]

A couple of days after we set up our second-hand tank the water became milky and the fish began staying at the top, skimming the surface, starting with the platies.

The water was tested when we first set it up, the results were good other than hardness is a bit high.
It's a 60 litre tank, set up 5 days ago. Was second hand so was set up in another house for unknown amount of time.
The filter has no name on it... It's the type with a wand that spouts out water in a sort of waterfall. I did worry that it wasn't strong enough, as it barely agitates the water.

We have 4 platies (2 adult and 2 small babies) 3 pearl danios, 2 cory cats, 10 orange tetras, 3 silver tetras.

We did a water change (50%) yesterday. The water was clearer and the fish all seemed happier for the evening, swimming about as before, until this morning when it was cloudy once more and they are mostly back skimming the surface. Mainly the platies again. They do dive occasionally and are fairly active.

I don't know how long the previous owner had the fish, but we reintegrated them to the tank the usual way as described on every freshwater site.
Nothing new has been added to the tank- we did, however, clean the tank and rinse the substate, filter, rocks etc before filling it back up. The water was treated with biotopol before being added to the tank.

Their diet has not been changed as we are using the food that was supplied with the tank.

Our water testing kit has run out, so I will have to get a new one- I have also noticed a milky, almost furry substance coating the gravel at the bottom.

Any help would be great, thank you!

 

[ImACoolguy]

Hello

I would shoot for an API liquid test kit if you were using strips. It's not much more than strips and is wayyyyyy more accurate.

Also the tank isn't cycled. Giving reason as to the cloudy water. If you go to the Freshwater -> Getting Started section of the forum the sticky at the top will help you with cycling the tank even though you already have fish.

If all your fish are hanging at the top of the tank there is likely a lack of surface agitation causing a lack of oxygen. This is also probably due to the tank being uncycled. I would do daily water changes to keep the ammonia down while the cycle works it's magic. You will read more on this in the articles on the sticky.


EDIT: the fuzzy substance could be leftover food that's molding or diatoms. Does the tank get direct sunlight or did you use pool filter sand? Direct sunlight and the silicates in PF sand are common causes for diatoms in a tank.

Caleb

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[rachellouise]

Hey, thanks for the response!

Great, I will do that.

Yes, we were using strips, I will order a test kit online.

Should I just hoover up the substance do you think? No direct sun hits the tank at all and I'm not sure about sand as it was second hand, but as far as I know it's just regular gravel on the bottom that had been washed (no chemicals).

Thank you.

 

[ImACoolguy]

Hey, thanks for the response!



Great, I will do that.



Yes, we were using strips, I will order a test kit online.



Should I just hoover up the substance do you think? No direct sun hits the tank at all and I'm not sure about sand as it was second hand, but as far as I know it's just regular gravel on the bottom that had been washed (no chemicals).



Thank you.

To be safe I would use some new sand. You never know what happened in that sand before you got it.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

 

[PassengerTN]

Are they just cruising at the water line or are they gasping at the surface? Gasping is usually a sign of insufficient oxygen levels in the water column. If you reused the old substrate with it dirty and reused old filter pads with out cleaning them, you won't experience a regular cycle per say, more like a mini cycle.

When you filled the tank, did you remember to add dechlorinator? Take a water sample to your LFS or petsmart/petco and ask them to test it. Share the results with us.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[rachellouise]

Good point- I just had a look and yes, it appears that they are just cruising the waterline- yesterday was a definite gasp for air thing, though. They all seem fixated with it, especially the platies. The cats have hidden down at the bottom the whole time.

We did use dechlorinator and "cleaned" the substrate/ filter (read: rinsed thoroughly with clean water), but looks like I should buy a new batch and new filter (the filter doesn't seem strong enough to me anyway), I just feel bad to stress the fish further by fishing them out again to live in a bucket while I do so!

 

[rachellouise]

Ps. Local aquarium shop has shut down so I will post the results when the water testing kit has arrived!

 

[PassengerTN]

Leave the old filter if you didn't wash it. It contains beneficial bacteria that is crucial to your system and takes weeks to grow. The sand will likely be fine. My mollies stay near the top most of the time, just their preferred area. You could try lowering the water level a few inches so the filter cascades into the water column, agitating the surface and creating more oxygen transfer if you think that's the problem.

 

[PassengerTN]

Actually I just reread the initial post. You killed all beneficial bacteria when you rinsed the filter with tap water. As Caleb said you're tank isnt cycled and You're fish are fighting ammonia poisoning I bet. Daily water changes are needed at this point

 

[IllusionX]

Actually I just reread the initial post. You killed all beneficial bacteria when you rinsed the filter with tap water. As Caleb said you're tank isnt cycled and You're fish are fighting ammonia poisoning I bet. Daily water changes are needed at this point

Even then, the filter and gravel probably dried off so it could be transported. BB would be dead either way.

I'm curious about the filter. OP would you please take a picture of your filter?

 

[PassengerTN]

That's likely too. When I bought my 55, the lady drained all the water an hour before I arrived, leaving 1" covering the gravel and the filters running on a bucket of tank water. We filled as soon as we got home and added the fish she included in purchase. No losses. We kept every thing wet, and didn't wash or rinse before filling.

 

[rachellouise]

Heading to the fish shop tomorrow to get a new stronger filter (this one is even weaker than it was this morning!), new gravel and a water testing kit. Then I will do the daily water changes still until it has cycled with the new gear. I did a 50% water change again today and it knocked up a tonne more of this weird white fluff from the gravel and the water looks terrible- not only that, but the fish are straight back at the surface after the change!

The lady gave us all the tank gear wet in bags and buckets- algae, muck and all! I should've done a better job of cleaning it down I think- but I was worried about the fish and wanted to get them in their tank asap- guess that backfired...

 

[rachellouise]

Oh just saw the reply above- that's exactly how it was for us. No fatalities so far, but I think they're pretty hardy fish... I'll post what filter I've got tomorrow and post the water test results. Thanks for all your help so far guys : )

 

[Mebbid]

Are they just cruising at the water line or are they gasping at the surface? Gasping is usually a sign of insufficient oxygen levels in the water column. If you reused the old substrate with it dirty and reused old filter pads with out cleaning them, you won't experience a regular cycle per say, more like a mini cycle.

When you filled the tank, did you remember to add dechlorinator? Take a water sample to your LFS or petsmart/petco and ask them to test it. Share the results with us.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

High ammonia levels burn the gills. It's more likely in this set up that a high ammonia level is the problem than low oxygen levels.

Heading to the fish shop tomorrow to get a new stronger filter (this one is even weaker than it was this morning!), new gravel and a water testing kit. Then I will do the daily water changes still until it has cycled with the new gear. I did a 50% water change again today and it knocked up a tonne more of this weird white fluff from the gravel and the water looks terrible- not only that, but the fish are straight back at the surface after the change!

The lady gave us all the tank gear wet in bags and buckets- algae, muck and all! I should've done a better job of cleaning it down I think- but I was worried about the fish and wanted to get them in their tank asap- guess that backfired...

Actually, it probably would have been best if you hadn't cleaned the stuff. In short, the grosser, the better. All of everything had bacteria on it which died through the cleaning process.

Just keep up with daily 50% water changes like was suggested and everything should be fine until the kit arrives.

Also, only feed once every 3 days or so. They don't need much food and adding food to the tank is just gonna make your job harder.

 

[PassengerTN]

High ammonia levels burn the gills. It's more likely in this set up that a high ammonia level is the problem than low oxygen levels.

Yeah I corrected and stated that a few posts later lol

 

[rachellouise]

I tested the water today for ammonia- it was 1 ppm. We did another 50% water change. Just retested and it is still 1 ppm... Now I'm a bit stumped.

 

[ImACoolguy]

I tested the water today for ammonia- it was 1 ppm. We did another 50% water change. Just retested and it is still 1 ppm... Now I'm a bit stumped.

The chart can be deceiving sometimes. I'd still do water changes to be safe.


Caleb

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[Mebbid]

The chart can be deceiving sometimes. I'd still do water changes to be safe.


Caleb

Sent via TARDIS

+1 I agree completely

 

[rachellouise]

Ok I will carry on. They are back up at the top now, they actually look worse- some of them have hardly moved in the last hour...

 

[rachellouise]

Today I woke up to crystal clear water and the fish happily swimming about the bottom/ middle of the tank! Though I tested the water once more and it still gave the result of a strong 1 ppm.