Water stinks!!!!

[Jason6942]

What is the best way to consistently keep your water from smelling. I have a small 5 gallon that I just introduced 3 small fish in but noticed it kinda smelly. I know ill have some smell(It's natural) but can I keep it from being so strong. Thx for the advice

 

[Mcor]

Is it a bad smell then? My tanks smell earthy. Like a mixture of wet earth and plant. Nothing fishy or unpleasant. And it's not a strong smell either, you have to get pretty close to detect it. How often are you changing your water/vacuuming your gravel/cleaning your sponges? I'd say you could probably have a proper, good clean, rinse your filter media (in old tank water), lift all your decorations and give it a good vacuum under there (it's shocking the amount of filth that collects under them!). See if that helps! You must do this regularly, 5g is a small tank so it needs much more frequent maintenance than a bigger tank. What fish have you put in it?

 

[Jason6942]

Yeah I was going out today to get a vacuum, and the water is a little fishy smell. It's probably the excess food on the bottom. I put 2 tetra glofish and 1 danio. I also gave a couple ghost shrimp to help out. I want maybe 1 or 2 more glofish but scared of overcrowding

 

[ArtesiaWells]

Yeah, J -- as stated, tanks should smell "earthy" or somewhat like a "wet garden" or grass that had recently been rained on and cut...sometimes, after I do a water change, I get no smell at all, which is even better from what I understand...

If you water stinks, you need to do a large water change and maybe some gravel vacuuming...

 

[Ian086]

What is the best way to consistently keep your water from smelling. I have a small 5 gallon that I just introduced 3 small fish in but noticed it kinda smelly. I know ill have some smell(It's natural) but can I keep it from being so strong. Thx for the advice

I would suspect it's from over-feeding. Rotting food can really stink up your water. When feeding, you should aim to not let any food hit the substrate. Feed tiny amounts at a time and when that is gone, feed some more. As soon as the fish stop eating, stop feeding. Sorry if that sounds obvious but over feeding is easily done and very common. Fish can easily go days without food, so you won't do any harm. A large water change and a good clean of the filter media should help. Instead of cleaning the media in 'old' tank water, which is smelly anyway, use some new DECHLORINATED water. Don't go too mad with the cleaning though. Cleaning too much at once, could cause an ammonia spike(dangerous) or bacterial bloom(unsightly but harmless). Vac the substrate in portions, 1/3 one week, next third the following week etc etc. Carbon is useful for removing odors but finding/fixing the problem is your best bet.....

 

[Jason6942]

Thx for the advice y'all. One more question do you think 3 more glofish are to many for a total if 6 to much for my 5 gallon

 

[jwh0818]

In all honesty, 1 goldy is too much for a 5 gallon.

 

[Matt68005]

He said glofish not goldfish. Don't feed anything but tiny amount of cushed flake. It should not smell bad. Don't use egg yolks either. But you must understand beneficial bacteria live in the gravel. So it needs some junk down there. Try stress zyme. It will get your good bacteria going.

 

[jwh0818]

No dont use store bought "bb" builders. Its a natural process that should have been done before you added fish. It take 3-4 weeks depending on tank size and a 5g is not too long. I read a little dislexic on glofish. Btw you have to be specific on glofish because they have recently created more glofish. I see tons sold a day and broght back dead because they are fragile. These fish are chemically injected with a neon coloring. Thus making them very sensitive.

 

[ArtesiaWells]

He said glofish not goldfish. Don't feed anything but tiny amount of cushed flake. It should not smell bad. Don't use egg yolks either. But you must understand beneficial bacteria live in the gravel. So it needs some junk down there. Try stress zyme. It will get your good bacteria going.

Matt,

Do you also recommend crushed flakes for goldfish?

 

[Mebbid]

No dont use store bought "bb" builders. Its a natural process that should have been done before you added fish. It take 3-4 weeks depending on tank size and a 5g is not too long. I read a little dislexic on glofish. Btw you have to be specific on glofish because they have recently created more glofish. I see tons sold a day and broght back dead because they are fragile. These fish are chemically injected with a neon coloring. Thus making them very sensitive.

Glow fish aren't injected with anything but instead are biologically engineered to have that color. It's a non invasive and harmless procedure. On the other hand there are tattooed platys and dyed glass fish that are commonly found and yes, those die often.

 

[jwh0818]

Okay. Place a dead "glofish" in a ziplock bag with a tad bit of water. Watch as the color seeps out of them

 

[Coryluv]

Okay. Place a dead "glofish" in a ziplock bag with a tad bit of water. Watch as the color seeps out of them

Mebbid is totally correct:

GloFish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not a fan of glofish, but they are not dyed. They are genetically modified and pass the color trait to their offspring. If color seeps out of a dead one, it is just decomposition not dye.

There are fish that are injected, tattooed, dipped in dye, and several other cruel practices, but none of them are the genetically modified glofish.

 

[Mebbid]

Okay. Place a dead "glofish" in a ziplock bag with a tad bit of water. Watch as the color seeps out of them

GloFish® FAQ

GloFish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Do You Keep Glow In The Dark Fish?

All speak of how glow fish were created.

 

[Oscar98]

Okay. Place a dead "glofish" in a ziplock bag with a tad bit of water. Watch as the color seeps out of them

Heard of gene splicing? They basically take dna from a jellyfish, coral, etc.. and put it in a zebra danio egg

 

[jwh0818]

Sorry my bad. Should have researched some. I dont like how the color seeps though. I also feel its affected them by making them highly sensitive

 

[Oscar98]

Sorry my bad. Should have researched some. I dont like how the color seeps though. I also feel its affected them by making them highly sensitive

What do you mean the color "seeps"

 

[Mebbid]

Sorry my bad. Should have researched some. I dont like how the color seeps though. I also feel its affected them by making them highly sensitive

I saw a picture of a ghost shrimp that had eaten part of a dead glo fish.. Now THAT was strange looking.

 

[jwh0818]

It leaks from them. I see it everyday I work. I work at petsmart and you can actually see the color in the bag we put em in change colors when someone buys them

 

[Oscar98]

It leaks from them. I see it everyday I work. I work at petsmart and you can actually see the color in the bag we put em in change colors when someone buys them

Glofish dont "seep" color it is genetically put into there genes. It is impossible for a glofish to "seep" color