- Messages
- 45
Ok so I'm a bad summer fish keeper. Let's start there. I run a large basement system in the winter. It runs temperate water temperatures so it's cold with seasonal fluctuation. My tap water consists of an untreated spring and comes out of the tap at a soaring 8.2-8.4 right now. This changes seasonally.
To make this water more ideal to and consistent to water my plants I run it through a fishtank. My fish tank fluctuates between a pH of 6 and 7.2 and at full water capacity holds close to 300 gallons. 200 as it is currently set up.
So back up to last winter when I set the system up. I never nailed down my stocking because.
A) fish are way more money than I remembered and
B) finding fish to thrive at my temperatures was harder than I imagined and I suffered losses while getting my cycle dialed in. Normal fishkeeping stuff.
Fast forward to summer. Most stock was re-homed in clients pond and I ignored my tanks. I separated the three connected ones. I ran a sponge filter and low stocking in one tank only and reduced water level to about 70 gallons. I largely ignored it other than feeding.
All summer it contained a group of seven rosy reds and 4 longfin danios I gave up trying to catch. Most plants were moved outside and everything else plantlife except duckweed died out. My ramshorn snail population exploded. Fish colored up well. Algae grew. Nothing got cleaned. Light stayed on long long hours. Duckweed and snails were harvested bi weekly to supplement duck food.
Fast forward again to fall. Projects got delayed. My husband broke his ankle. I dug hundreds of dahlias alone. I never turned over my system to it's winter set up and I forgot to put in my heater.
Then three weeks ago I was trying to get motivated and inspired to take on the basement fish and plant room. I added an amazing sheet of moss to the main tank. I connected two tanks together and increased water capacity to it's winter level. I also added a small clump of sundew that had been growing submerged most of the summer. I started spending just a little more time down there. I started planning an order of new fish. I started testing the water regularly again and did a tiny addition of tap water. I watched for pH swings. I was making plans.
Then about 6 days ago I couldn't get all the fish to come out. I added a heater to being the temp up a little.
I started counting fish a couple times a day. There were definitely some missing. I decided to risk a pH swing and change a lot of water. Maybe something I'm not testing for is hurting the fish and they haven't really gotten any water changes. So I change out maybe 25 gallons and I see a thing. I'm an idiot. I don't grab the thing in my net. I should have netted the thing. What was I thinking. Net first, google later!!!!
I run to Google and OMG I'm right there are dragon fly larvae in my tank. Inch + long monsters. No wonder there are no fry and fish are acting weird.
To no avail I spend hours trying to find it. Not happening in a tank this big that hasn't been cleaned with lots of hardscape and a tannin rich botanical substrate.
So yesterday I start dismantling. I pull three giant pieces of driftwood and some rocks. I separate the tanks. I start netting.
I move 5 live rosy reds and find 2 dead danios and 1 dead rosy red with no head. How rude. Only eating the heads? I find a handful of dead inch long dragonfly larvae. I find about 6 molted skins and I only find two live dragonfly larvae before the tank is too cloudy. I'll do more today.
But I put the living dragonfly larvae in a vase ( it's what I had) and my kids like them. Does it make sense to let my kids have them as pets. What would I feed them long term. Does it have to be live or as big as a feeder fish?
Back to the main tank. Everything I want has been moved to a tank with no substrate but now I have to figure out how much water to keep in restarting the tank. Right now fish are in water from the old tank with no new added because new water will create a big pH swing.
But If these larvae can be less than a millimeter will they keep hatching?
Or is it more likely that they hatched a long time ago and have only now gotten big enough to cause a problem. How likely is it there are lots of tiny ones I'm not yet seeing? How likely is it that even in a bare bottom tank with regular vaccuming with reused water I will continue to have a problem?
Please tell me I'm not going to have to change all the water.
Or I could add a predictor what will eat these. Maybe snow trout. Or other trout? Any suggestions.
I know I know adding a predator to deal with the problem is rarely the right answer but I have the capacity to heavily stock a food fish like aquaculture so????
Any suggestions
To make this water more ideal to and consistent to water my plants I run it through a fishtank. My fish tank fluctuates between a pH of 6 and 7.2 and at full water capacity holds close to 300 gallons. 200 as it is currently set up.
So back up to last winter when I set the system up. I never nailed down my stocking because.
A) fish are way more money than I remembered and
B) finding fish to thrive at my temperatures was harder than I imagined and I suffered losses while getting my cycle dialed in. Normal fishkeeping stuff.
Fast forward to summer. Most stock was re-homed in clients pond and I ignored my tanks. I separated the three connected ones. I ran a sponge filter and low stocking in one tank only and reduced water level to about 70 gallons. I largely ignored it other than feeding.
All summer it contained a group of seven rosy reds and 4 longfin danios I gave up trying to catch. Most plants were moved outside and everything else plantlife except duckweed died out. My ramshorn snail population exploded. Fish colored up well. Algae grew. Nothing got cleaned. Light stayed on long long hours. Duckweed and snails were harvested bi weekly to supplement duck food.
Fast forward again to fall. Projects got delayed. My husband broke his ankle. I dug hundreds of dahlias alone. I never turned over my system to it's winter set up and I forgot to put in my heater.
Then three weeks ago I was trying to get motivated and inspired to take on the basement fish and plant room. I added an amazing sheet of moss to the main tank. I connected two tanks together and increased water capacity to it's winter level. I also added a small clump of sundew that had been growing submerged most of the summer. I started spending just a little more time down there. I started planning an order of new fish. I started testing the water regularly again and did a tiny addition of tap water. I watched for pH swings. I was making plans.
Then about 6 days ago I couldn't get all the fish to come out. I added a heater to being the temp up a little.
I started counting fish a couple times a day. There were definitely some missing. I decided to risk a pH swing and change a lot of water. Maybe something I'm not testing for is hurting the fish and they haven't really gotten any water changes. So I change out maybe 25 gallons and I see a thing. I'm an idiot. I don't grab the thing in my net. I should have netted the thing. What was I thinking. Net first, google later!!!!
I run to Google and OMG I'm right there are dragon fly larvae in my tank. Inch + long monsters. No wonder there are no fry and fish are acting weird.
To no avail I spend hours trying to find it. Not happening in a tank this big that hasn't been cleaned with lots of hardscape and a tannin rich botanical substrate.
So yesterday I start dismantling. I pull three giant pieces of driftwood and some rocks. I separate the tanks. I start netting.
I move 5 live rosy reds and find 2 dead danios and 1 dead rosy red with no head. How rude. Only eating the heads? I find a handful of dead inch long dragonfly larvae. I find about 6 molted skins and I only find two live dragonfly larvae before the tank is too cloudy. I'll do more today.
But I put the living dragonfly larvae in a vase ( it's what I had) and my kids like them. Does it make sense to let my kids have them as pets. What would I feed them long term. Does it have to be live or as big as a feeder fish?
Back to the main tank. Everything I want has been moved to a tank with no substrate but now I have to figure out how much water to keep in restarting the tank. Right now fish are in water from the old tank with no new added because new water will create a big pH swing.
But If these larvae can be less than a millimeter will they keep hatching?
Or is it more likely that they hatched a long time ago and have only now gotten big enough to cause a problem. How likely is it there are lots of tiny ones I'm not yet seeing? How likely is it that even in a bare bottom tank with regular vaccuming with reused water I will continue to have a problem?
Please tell me I'm not going to have to change all the water.
Or I could add a predictor what will eat these. Maybe snow trout. Or other trout? Any suggestions.
I know I know adding a predator to deal with the problem is rarely the right answer but I have the capacity to heavily stock a food fish like aquaculture so????
Any suggestions
