100% water change

[DuaneV]

An oily surface is usually a protein slick. Not enough surface agitation will cause this.

 

[butterflybetta]

An oily surface is usually a protein slick. Not enough surface agitation will cause this.

Yeah it looks like a protein slick. Ty!

One other issue with 100% water changes is the possibility of shocking the fish with different water temps / parameters. Can be very stressful for the fish. That's why we acclimate our fish and not just dump them into the tank when we get them.

I never said that I would just dump him back in the tank?

I agree that a 100% water change would be too aggressive. I always try to avoid doing more than a 50% water change in a day.

I don't agree on the acclimation statement. I used to drip acclimate, but seeing so many prominent fishkeepers using drop and plop, that's what I use now, and it's worked great.

I usually drip acclimate when I add new fish to a new tank, but if the fish was already in the tank and I’m just putting it back in then I acclimate it for about 15 minutes and put it back in its tank.

 

[Rev]

Take a paper towel and lay it over the top of the water to soak up the oil. I have to do this in my betta tank every now and then. Usually it has to do with the food you're using. Different foods have different concentrations of fat, protein, fillers, etc. Depending on what's in it and your surface agitation you'll notice it more or not at all. More fatty foods tend to end up in more surface crum.

 

[butterflybetta]

Take a paper towel and lay it over the top of the water to soak up the oil. I have to do this in my betta tank every now and then. Usually it has to do with the food you're using. Different foods have different concentrations of fat, protein, fillers, etc. Depending on what's in it and your surface agitation you'll notice it more or not at all. More fatty foods tend to end up in more surface crum.

Yeah I was planning on trying that!

 

[DuaneV]

I never said that I would just dump him back in the tank?

Drop & plop is 100% fine 99.9% of the time. When you get a new fish, float the bag for 15 minutes to temp acclimate, then over a bucket hold a net, dump the fish into the net so the bag water goes into the bucket, drop the fish into the new tank. The majority of tanks are going to have very similar parameters.

 

[louiebetta]

My tank has been under a nitrite and nitrate spike for the 3rd day today. I’ve been doing around 20% water changes daily and been using products to help with nitrite levels like filter boost and prime. Still no improvements.

I’m worried if I can't get the levels back to normal soon, my fish will die. I have a betta, couple of cories, shrimp and a nerite snail. I feel like the only thing left that I can do is to do a minimum 50% or maybe even 100% water change. I really can’t think of anything else that I can do and it’s really frustrating. Would this do more harm than good?

 

[Gel0city]

Depending on how high the spikes are, I would do a 50%+ water change. What are the exact parameters? Is your tank cycled? What is the tank size? Sorry for the questions but you are kind of vague; more background information can help determine your problem.

 

[StarGirl]

Well the prime will detoxify the Nitrite but it will still show on a test. How high is the Nitrate? Did you test your tap water? Its kind of strange that you have high of both. What about ammonia reading?

 

[louiebetta]

Depending on how high the spikes are, I would do a 50%+ water change. What are the exact parameters? Is your tank cycled? What is the tank size? Sorry for the questions but you are kind of vague; more background information can help determine your problem.

50ppm nitrates and 5ppm nitrites, not sure about ammonia because I’ve ran out of strips for that. Tank was cycled, it’s just over 8 gallons. Been running for about 2 months since it finished. I think the spike might have happened after I added my two cories unfortunately, I think maybe the filter couldn't take the extra bioload? No idea what else I can do to fix this

 

[Gel0city]

50ppm nitrates and 5ppm nitrites, not sure about ammonia because I’ve ran out of strips for that. Tank was cycled, it’s just over 8 gallons. Been running for about 2 months since it finished. I think the spike might have happened after I added my two cories unfortunately, I think maybe the filter couldn't take the extra bioload? No idea what else I can do to fix this

Corydoras don't exactly have a huge bioload, and if your tank was cycled, I think 2 fish would have been fine. I think it's because that your tank is 8 gallons. That is relatively small for all your fish and it will have higher readings of parameters, even if you do a WC once per week. That is because there is less space and more bioload, and your filter probably can't handle that. I would also test your source water, since your nitrates and nitrites seem pretty high. I assume your ammonia is the same.

 

[Mongo75]

A 20% WC will reduce pollutants by 20%. A 50% WC will reduce them by 50%. Etc., etc., etc. You need to replace as much water as necessary, to get your combined ammonia and nitrites under 1 ppm. If your nitrites are 5 ppm, then you need to replace at least 80% of your tank water. What's your ammonia reading?

 

[louiebetta]

A 20% WC will reduce pollutants by 20%. A 50% WC will reduce them by 50%. Etc., etc., etc. You need to replace as much water as necessary, to get your combined ammonia and nitrites under 1 ppm. If your nitrites are 5 ppm, then you need to replace at least 80% of your tank water. What's your ammonia reading?

I don’t have any test strips for ammonia at the moment so I can’t check I think that’s what I’ll have to do. Will such a big water Change be likely to shock my fish and shrimp?

 

[StarGirl]

No they should be ok. The high Nitrites will harm them though, way more. I do 50% every week.

 

[Mongo75]

I don’t have any test strips for ammonia at the moment so I can’t check I think that’s what I’ll have to do. Will such a big water Change be likely to shock my fish and shrimp?

If you use conditioned (Prime, etc) and the water is the same temp that you're replacing, then you should be good. I've been known to remove all but enough water for the fish to freely swim, 90% plus,with no ill effects.

 

[louiebetta]

No they should be ok. The high Nitrites will harm them though, way more. I do 50% every week.

Thank you

No they should be ok. The high Nitrites will harm them though, way more. I do 50% every week.

Thank you

If you use conditioned (Prime, etc) and the water is the same temp that you're replacing, then you should be good. I've been known to remove all but enough water for the fish to freely swim, 90% plus,with no ill effects.

Thank you, I will have to try doing that! And update later!