Help! Two year old tank explodes/is smelly now.

[Shahrressa]

Wow, I'm glad you guys are here!

Here's the scoop:

HISTORY

I've been running a 20 gallon high tank for almost exactly two years, incorporating the following fish for the majority of that time:

1 Rainbow shark, 2 neon tetras, 3 leopard cats (one was a baby), 1 zebra danio, 1 plecostomus, 1 apple snail.

In January I introduced two small clown loaches. This tank has been thriving really well and I have been able to get spawn from my fish, including the leopard catfish. The fish have been growing rapidly to their full size and retain good color. I have lost 1 zebra danio, 2 mollies and 1 swordtail over the last two years.

Last September I introduced a pair of guppies into my tank. Their spawning has really entertained my kids (I don't keep the spawn after they reach about 1/2 inch in length) but I think they might have been part of the problem....

I had a bunch of those tiny snails (Malaysian I think?) and they really took over the bottom of the tank. They probably came from the pet store since I did not buy them. There must have been 100 of them. I bought the loaches to eat the snails, but it wasn't enough. I also introduced an african water frog to the tank in February in the hopes it would eat the guppy spawn (she cranks out up to 26 babies at a time). I currently have two parent guppies, four "teens" (males) and six babies.

Recent changes to the tank:

I had to take the plecostomus out. It was about nine inches of fish and had no room to swim. So about a month ago, I gave him to my brothers tank where he is thriving (he has a 50 gallon tank). I added a plain algae eater to take care of any algae. The malaysian (?) snails were too much. My tank took on a smell like old water. About a month ago, I took everything (including the gravel with the snails in it) out of the tank, changed the gravel (well washed and rinsed without soap of course) and put it all back in. I took out the old, ragged fabric plants and put in new plastic ones. I did two 50% water changes two weeks apart. I purchased a new bio-wheel filter and installed it correctly. Then I went on vacation for two weeks. My brother watched the fish.

PROBLEM:

Last Tuesday, my brother came over to find the water clouded totally white. He said that he couldn't see through the water. Many fish were dead. He did a 75% water change and put a new filter (whisper) on the tank. Now the water smells bad, but a different bad - to me it smells like the stuff women put on their hair to make it curly, permanent wave solution. (My brother says no one was in the house that could have done deliberate damage to the tank, so we've ruled that out). My brother says he siphoned the gravel and pulled out water that was dark like mud with debris. Could the guppies spawning have caused the tank to just suddenly collapse like this?

Fish that died: Rainbow shark, clown loaches, african water frog, neon tetras, zebra danio, algae eater.

Fish that survived: Guppies and leopard catfish, apple snail.

Condition of fish: Do not seem sluggish but are slightly off in color, as if they had faded. No white spots or dimples. Fish seem plump and are eating flakes/shrimp pellets.

Current PH level: 7.5

Help?

Thanks,
Shah

 

[Guest]

I am going to take a guess and say that it is a major amount of ammonia that built up... You may want to completley drain the tank and clean everything well and start over. JMO...Or, keep doing water changes until the smell goes away ( could be the whole amount of the water) in which draining and cleaning sounds like less time and work....Sorry for the loss...Someone else will probably have more to ask or say...

 

[brotherd]

When you installed the new bio wheel was it a n entire new filter setup?I'm thinking that if you replaced all the gravel and plants and replace dthe entire filter you probably ended up with new tank syndrome and basically started the cycle from zero.Cloudy water equals bacteria bloom and smell could be toxic amonia poisoning resulting in fish deaths.Test for amonia and nitrites,keep up with regular water changes.You can try adding Cycle to jump start the filter.Thats about it.Good luck!

 

[Shahrressa]

When you installed the new bio wheel was it a n entire new filter setup?

Oh gosh, you are absolutely right on this. I don't know why I didn't think of it before and how tremendously stupid of me. My first biowheel quit on me and I bought a different filter setup, and when I decided I didn't like the different filter I bought another biowheel and didn't even think that it was going to make a difference in the tank. I bet it was a lot like setting up a new tank. Then I did those heavy water changes and probably started the whole thing!

Someone I talked to said he thought perhaps one of the fish died while the tank wasn't being watched closely and started the chain of events to collapse with an ammonia spike, and that the rest of the fish are probably fighting off infection. I'm going to let the tank run and keep changing the water (maybe 25% per week) until the smell is gone and see if the remaining fish last over the summer. If they do I might consider replacing the fish I lost.

Any other ideas are surely welcome because there could be so many possibilities I could be missing something!

Thanks for sharing,
Shahrressa

 

[Allivymar]

Shahrressa:

If a forum newbie might make a suggestion or 2, please go buy some test kits and test your water!! Ammonia, NitrIte and NitrAte tests at least.

I think you are correct; it sounds as if your tank is cycling (that hair perm smell IS ammonia) and your lil guys couldn't handle the ammonia levels; that killed them and the decomposition upped the ammonia levels even more! Ammonia is DEADLY to fish; it can cause major gill damage. There should be no detectable ammonia in a tank (hence need for an ammonia tester). Same for Nitrites; although high nitrite cause problems with oxygen exchange (basically suffocating the fish). Nitrates are not as serious, although they are not a good thing to have in high levels.

If Ammonia/NitrIte is registering, water changes are needed pronto; and will probably be needed more then once a week. You have to dilute the ammonia and nitrIte so your fish can survive. Only prob with that, is it can prolong the cycle. However, IMHO, a longer cycle is worth keeping fish alive. You can also look into some of the products which claim to reduce the cycling time: Cycle, Bio-Zyme; the best I've heard about is called Bio-Spira.

The Krib has a great article on the cycle; if you want to read it you can find it here: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

Good luck!!