Ruby's Fish
- #1
HI everyone,
There is something going VERY wrong in my beloved goldfish tank after trying lot's of aquarium stores I'm still at square one with this problem. I apologise in advance for how long the following description of my problem is.
My Tank PRE Problems:
I had an established 165L goldfish tank, which had 4X Goldfish.
Everything was going well. I changed 50% of my tank water each week in two 25% water changes.
Problems Part One: Green Cloudy Water:
One day I woke up to a green tank. I suspect now it was a result of me scrubbing the algae off the sides of the tank with a toothbrush, It may also be a result of some plants that weren't doing very well.
My tank gradually became more cloudy to the point of fish not being visible. At this point, I made my first mistake. Because the visibility in my tank was so bad, I stopped gravel vacuuming scared I would snag one of the fish. I continued with water changes and tried Seachem Clarity with no result.
At this point two of my fish were developing a white fungus that looked like a sunburn peel. At first, I thought it was either a reaction to Seachem Clarity or white spot. I took photos to two local aquarium stores thinking it was White Spot they both said it was too much to be white spot and suggested melaflix.
At this point my tank I suspect went through an ammonia spike and I lost a fish. This happened over the weekend and although my mum was looking after the tank, she didn't see it or it died after she had fed them. So that would have also contributed to the Ammonia.
I panic test my water and the Ammonia is super high and my other fish are covered with the white fungus now. I do a 70% water change and dose my tank with A LOT OF PRIME!!. Fish appear to recover, Ammonia is down to 0.25 ppm which I know is still bad.
AND THIS IS WHERE I START TO GO CRAZY.
I had hoped the 70 % water change would get my tank clear and when I woke up it was still cloudy and another fish had died. So I went to my local aquarium store now owned by someone else and explain this persistent cloudy problem to them.
PROBLEM PART TWO: SECOND MISTAKE:
The aquarium store suggests some RADICAL changes to the way I maintain my tank and at this point, I had no trust in what I was doing.
My tank has two filters a powerhead that feeds a tray filtration system, that does 1,000 litres per hour and an internal Aqua One Filter that does 400 litres per hour.
Prior to this every month or so, I would take my filter media out and rinse it in a bucket of aquarium water.
I was told at my local fish store to throw away all my tray filter media, which is like 70% of my total media. They said that I should be throwing the white spongey media out every week and gave me some ceramic balls that were to stay permanently in the filter. They also suggested another 70% water change.
* side note* That week my tank water was almost completely replaced twice.
They also advised me to put the water conditioner in after I changed the water and told me to try 'Easy Life'. I would normally do my water changes in a 9L bucket with two capfuls of prime per bucket.
I had my doubts about this advice but took it because I was desperate and I was told that in a week my aquarium would be on track. This is when things REALLY GO WRONG.
In the initial days, my ammonia came back down to 0.25 ppm. My tank was still cloudy even with all the maintenance I was doing.
I was really frustrated and starting to get super anxious about my aquarium. Every time I looked at my fish I was convinced they were dying and would do the water change.
* IMPORTANT: I went back to doing water changes my way with Prime.
Ok, we are at this point at almost a month of these problems. My tank appears to be getting ammonia spike all the time and the water is still cloudy.
I go to another aquarium store. They give me algae fix, within an hour my tank water is crystal clear. I also get told to keep the filter media in the tank and do small water changes once a week, dosing with API Quick start and API Stress coat along with Prime.
However, my fish are still looking super stressed and I'm almost compulsively doing water changes to keep them alive.
By this point, it's glaringly obvious that my tanks cycle is completely shot. I keep calling aquarium stores and they all tell me fewer water changes but from where I'm standing my fish will 100% die if I don't do them and for me, that's not an option I'm ok with.
I decide to get established filter media. I have two filters in both my tanks. I take filter media from my tropical tank and it's not enough. I get some 'established rocks' from a local aquarium store. At this point, they think I'm crazy and I probably am.
That brings us to the present. Now after more than a month of these problems my fish are covered in white fungus lying at the top of the tank almost dead.
I'm testing my water all the time and getting the same reading 0.25 Ammonia and 0 of anything else. I know my tank will have to cycle again but the cycle doesn't seem to be getting past the Ammonia stage.
If your still here after all of that, thank you. I wanted to be as detailed as possible.
Does anyone know what could be going on? I'm seriously considering rehoming my fish.
Thanks In Advance,
Ruby.
There is something going VERY wrong in my beloved goldfish tank after trying lot's of aquarium stores I'm still at square one with this problem. I apologise in advance for how long the following description of my problem is.
My Tank PRE Problems:
I had an established 165L goldfish tank, which had 4X Goldfish.
Everything was going well. I changed 50% of my tank water each week in two 25% water changes.
Problems Part One: Green Cloudy Water:
One day I woke up to a green tank. I suspect now it was a result of me scrubbing the algae off the sides of the tank with a toothbrush, It may also be a result of some plants that weren't doing very well.
My tank gradually became more cloudy to the point of fish not being visible. At this point, I made my first mistake. Because the visibility in my tank was so bad, I stopped gravel vacuuming scared I would snag one of the fish. I continued with water changes and tried Seachem Clarity with no result.
At this point two of my fish were developing a white fungus that looked like a sunburn peel. At first, I thought it was either a reaction to Seachem Clarity or white spot. I took photos to two local aquarium stores thinking it was White Spot they both said it was too much to be white spot and suggested melaflix.
At this point my tank I suspect went through an ammonia spike and I lost a fish. This happened over the weekend and although my mum was looking after the tank, she didn't see it or it died after she had fed them. So that would have also contributed to the Ammonia.
I panic test my water and the Ammonia is super high and my other fish are covered with the white fungus now. I do a 70% water change and dose my tank with A LOT OF PRIME!!. Fish appear to recover, Ammonia is down to 0.25 ppm which I know is still bad.
AND THIS IS WHERE I START TO GO CRAZY.
I had hoped the 70 % water change would get my tank clear and when I woke up it was still cloudy and another fish had died. So I went to my local aquarium store now owned by someone else and explain this persistent cloudy problem to them.
PROBLEM PART TWO: SECOND MISTAKE:
The aquarium store suggests some RADICAL changes to the way I maintain my tank and at this point, I had no trust in what I was doing.
My tank has two filters a powerhead that feeds a tray filtration system, that does 1,000 litres per hour and an internal Aqua One Filter that does 400 litres per hour.
Prior to this every month or so, I would take my filter media out and rinse it in a bucket of aquarium water.
I was told at my local fish store to throw away all my tray filter media, which is like 70% of my total media. They said that I should be throwing the white spongey media out every week and gave me some ceramic balls that were to stay permanently in the filter. They also suggested another 70% water change.
* side note* That week my tank water was almost completely replaced twice.
They also advised me to put the water conditioner in after I changed the water and told me to try 'Easy Life'. I would normally do my water changes in a 9L bucket with two capfuls of prime per bucket.
I had my doubts about this advice but took it because I was desperate and I was told that in a week my aquarium would be on track. This is when things REALLY GO WRONG.
In the initial days, my ammonia came back down to 0.25 ppm. My tank was still cloudy even with all the maintenance I was doing.
I was really frustrated and starting to get super anxious about my aquarium. Every time I looked at my fish I was convinced they were dying and would do the water change.
* IMPORTANT: I went back to doing water changes my way with Prime.
Ok, we are at this point at almost a month of these problems. My tank appears to be getting ammonia spike all the time and the water is still cloudy.
I go to another aquarium store. They give me algae fix, within an hour my tank water is crystal clear. I also get told to keep the filter media in the tank and do small water changes once a week, dosing with API Quick start and API Stress coat along with Prime.
However, my fish are still looking super stressed and I'm almost compulsively doing water changes to keep them alive.
By this point, it's glaringly obvious that my tanks cycle is completely shot. I keep calling aquarium stores and they all tell me fewer water changes but from where I'm standing my fish will 100% die if I don't do them and for me, that's not an option I'm ok with.
I decide to get established filter media. I have two filters in both my tanks. I take filter media from my tropical tank and it's not enough. I get some 'established rocks' from a local aquarium store. At this point, they think I'm crazy and I probably am.
That brings us to the present. Now after more than a month of these problems my fish are covered in white fungus lying at the top of the tank almost dead.
I'm testing my water all the time and getting the same reading 0.25 Ammonia and 0 of anything else. I know my tank will have to cycle again but the cycle doesn't seem to be getting past the Ammonia stage.
If your still here after all of that, thank you. I wanted to be as detailed as possible.
Does anyone know what could be going on? I'm seriously considering rehoming my fish.
Thanks In Advance,
Ruby.
