wizardfitz

okay, tigger has recouperated from the loss of vinnie. now it seems there is an algea bloom. i say that becasue the tank has recently gotton hazy. we do a 25-30% water changer every sat. there is a fluval FX5(rated for 400 gal tank) and a mareineland emporer 400 on his 90 gal tank. only other tankmate is a feather fin cat. is this an algea bloom? what causes it? and what can we do to prevent it?

sheamurai

I had a haze in my tank. I don't think it really was any kind of "bloom" - just the way my water is.
Anyway, after searching past threads here, and then researching further on google, I did two things. I removed the charcoal from my filter, and replaced it with Purigen. My water has cleaned up nicely. You might want to try it - I suggest you search "purigen" on here and read the results - I certainly don't regret buying it.

wizardfitz

okay i'll look up purigen, we have no carbon it there now

Butterfly

You can also put floss in the emperor to clean algae blooms or other hazy stuff out of your water. I do this occasionally just to give the water a polish

carol

TedsTank

Algae bloom or possibly a bacterial bloom...or in the worse case a cycle breakdown...not worry...maintain regular water changes and monitor your water parameters regularly. Watch for fish language too!!...the colors still good, fish active, eating well etc. Cut back amount of food for a while too.

wizardfitz

okay i have done 25% water changes yesterday and today. all tests out well. he is eating and normal, unitl tonight. after lights out(about 2 hrs later) i was downstarirs and heard a ruckus. he was freaking out, trying to jump out and just going crazy. i will put floss in the emporer in the am. it is in the fluval now

joy1125

fish don't usually freak out over an algae bloom. That's odd that he was going crazy trying to jump out ! Have you tested your nitrates? Is the water green, or just hazy ?
Algae in the water is generally caused by too many nutrients (such as fish waste and food) and/or too much light. I recommend daily small water changes 20percent, and you may also want to reduce the lighting till you get the algae under control.

hope your fish is okay !

wizardfitz

watre tests fine, its just hazy. it put floss in the emperor, it is just the oscar and 1 featherfin in there. with the emperor 400 nd an FX5 going. we have do doing daily changes once the water went hazy.

wizardfitz

okay, put floss in the emporer still a little hazy but seems better, water still checks out fine and wil be doing 10% water changes daily. he killed the featherfin last night. our local guy says he could be freaking since the death of his buddy. he said the albino because maybe they were fighting could have stressed and jumped, and found the one spot he could fit out. now the tigger is alone he is stressing, and thats why he killed the feathefin and is acting wierd. he suggested putting in and rearranging the decor. we will try that and hope for the best

Shawnie

Im sorry for the loss of another fish although I do agree, oscars can go into weird states of mind when they loose a partner ...but again, ive never heard of an oscar wanting to jump out of a tank for no reason....very unusual....
what test kit are you using? and what are the current readings for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? with the cloudyness and the recent loss of one of your oscar babies, there probably is a mini cycle going on as there isnt half the bioload anymore and you could have a die off of your beneficial bacteria...

wizardfitz

we use the 5 in 1 strip, and a seperate ammonia strip
we have a fluval fx5 with biomax and pre filter balss(or whatever they are called) i thought that would maintain a good colony of bacteria

Shawnie

I would recommend getting an API liquid master test kit...the strips are more unreliable and almost all the time give false readings...especially where you are having some serious issues, id really want to make sure you are getting correct numbers....I hope things look up soon !

wizardfitz

okay will do, we are currently doing a 10% every other day, so far he seems to have calmed down. not eating his normal bio gold food but is going after the guppies we put in

Shawnie

do you raise your own guppies? using feeder fish from most fish stored, can sometimes bring horrible disease to your fish...the reason being, fish stores do not properly feed or take care of feeder fish and usually they carry a ton of different diseases that the fish in turn eat...hole in the head disease is a huge one for oscars who eat feeder fish from pet stores..if you raise your own feeders and they are properly fed a varied diet and raised in a clean tank etc, then skit all that above I hope the fish are doing better !

wizardfitz

we raise our own guppies. he is now in the habit of ramming into the decorations and back to trying to jump out. he is really tearing himself up

Shawnie

oscars cant really have decorations ..the bigger they get, the more somersaults and jumps they do...other than subtrate, and maybe some silk plants for him to push around, id remove anything with a hard content..especially driftwood and bigger rocks....hows the water quality? were you able to get a liquid test kit?

wizardfitz

okay decor will come out. will get the kit this w/e. but acc to LFS water is fine. this is now way only 1 non eating oscar, in my opinion, can polute the water in a 90 gal with a fluval FX5 and marineland 400 running. water is crystal clear, and changes(25%) weekly, we were doing 10% every ohter day when it clouded a bit. we add aquarium salt and prime

Shawnie

you will be amazed at what an oscar can do to water..and im not saying your water is bad by any means.nor do I know your LFS but MOST arent reliable with testing...I hope yours is....just letting you know with oscars, and the cloudyness and death you had, it is best to have your own kit and never have to rely on others..but thats just my opinion and certainly you can do as you wish having all the extra space and filtration is a bonus for your boy/gal...it will keep him happy and healthy...I wouldnt use the salt as the oscar wont care for it at all and it will cause him to overproduce slime coat and stress him out ....the prime is great tho! id still love to see some new pics of him/her when you can..they are my ultimate fav's of all the fish species

wizardfitz

okay the salt is out and we get the test kit tom(sat) i didnt know salt was bad, i heard a little 1 tsp per 5 gal was good for them

wizardfitz

okay well no more worries, tigger decided to beat himself head enough on the cover he killed himself. we were in the room doing water changes when he started freaking out and beating himself up. have since moved other guys in there with no issues. i know oscars have personalities, his must have been Schizophrenic

aquarist48

Sorry to hear about your loss Wizard. Did you find out your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
Ken