Mulletpullet
03-16-2014, 08:10 PM
As the title says I have had some past problems. I set up my 125 gal tank over 6 months ago with the intent of a community tank and down the road adding some discus. I had a nice little community tank going. Neons tetras, denisen barbs, cory cats, maybe something else I don't recall. Hang on back filter/Canister filter I was testing my levels, and everything had been going fine. I was slowly adding fish from my local fish store. I did a water change and lost most my fish within a couple hours. I attributed it to lack of de-chlorination, perhaps even some water temperature control, and even remotely fine air bubbles introduced during the water change. I added some more fish, and the next water change I did de-chlorinate properly, and I kept a watchful eye on temperature. Shortly afterward (next week or two following) I had all the fish die, maybe 6 at the time. I really started thinking the air bubbles caused the problem as all my testing and everything really seemed on the up and up. I thought a little about degassing. But all this seemed like a stretch.
fast forward a month of having an empty tank and I add some plants watersprite/wisteria some snails and also add a pleco, a chinese algea eater, and two cories. I am using a spare 55 gallon in the stand as a holding tank of water to degass and de-chlorinate for water changes. I lose the pleco and the algea eater in the next few weeks.
After this out of frustration I pretty much ignore the aquarium for a month or so, sporadically adding food so the cories don't die which was surprising because I would often forget. I start to see little wiggly worms that a biologist I know called detritus worms. They are coming up near the edge of the water. From doing research online a determine this to be from a lack of oxygen in the gravel and no predators to eat them allowing them to come to the surface for oxygen. Snail population is exploding. None of this is making much sense to me as I am barely trickling in food.
Ammonia 0, nitrites, 0, nitrates 20. Hardness of water isn't seeming out of the ordinary, PH is around 6.0-6.5.
My local breeder had a batch of juvenile discus that he was selling, and they were all spoken for with the exception of few we could buy, so I jumped on the deal not knowing when or if he will continue to breed them. His have always looked beautiful. He's actually my old 8th grade biology teacher, and he seems to know his stuff.
I set up a spare 30 gallon aquarium, bare bottom, to keep the discus in. But I would like to eventually correct the issues I am having with fish die-off in my main tank.
My breeder thought it was just a water quality issue, but the levels all seem normal. And with two small cories it doesn't seem like the quality should be going that crazy. He said it is possible, although he didn't seem to think likely, that there could have been something else introduced into the aquarium. Something like aluminum or some other harmful substance that we're not thinking of. The aquarium was used, and I am not sure what the previous owner kept in it. I had the impression fish, because everything sold with it was fish related, but I suppose it's possible he kept lizards or something.
So my breeder thought water changes like normal, maybe add some hardy fish to make sure I get a proper cycle, and use a combination of Prime and Carbon temporarily to try to remove any potential contaminants.
I thought I would see what you experts say about the matter.
Thank you very much.
fast forward a month of having an empty tank and I add some plants watersprite/wisteria some snails and also add a pleco, a chinese algea eater, and two cories. I am using a spare 55 gallon in the stand as a holding tank of water to degass and de-chlorinate for water changes. I lose the pleco and the algea eater in the next few weeks.
After this out of frustration I pretty much ignore the aquarium for a month or so, sporadically adding food so the cories don't die which was surprising because I would often forget. I start to see little wiggly worms that a biologist I know called detritus worms. They are coming up near the edge of the water. From doing research online a determine this to be from a lack of oxygen in the gravel and no predators to eat them allowing them to come to the surface for oxygen. Snail population is exploding. None of this is making much sense to me as I am barely trickling in food.
Ammonia 0, nitrites, 0, nitrates 20. Hardness of water isn't seeming out of the ordinary, PH is around 6.0-6.5.
My local breeder had a batch of juvenile discus that he was selling, and they were all spoken for with the exception of few we could buy, so I jumped on the deal not knowing when or if he will continue to breed them. His have always looked beautiful. He's actually my old 8th grade biology teacher, and he seems to know his stuff.
I set up a spare 30 gallon aquarium, bare bottom, to keep the discus in. But I would like to eventually correct the issues I am having with fish die-off in my main tank.
My breeder thought it was just a water quality issue, but the levels all seem normal. And with two small cories it doesn't seem like the quality should be going that crazy. He said it is possible, although he didn't seem to think likely, that there could have been something else introduced into the aquarium. Something like aluminum or some other harmful substance that we're not thinking of. The aquarium was used, and I am not sure what the previous owner kept in it. I had the impression fish, because everything sold with it was fish related, but I suppose it's possible he kept lizards or something.
So my breeder thought water changes like normal, maybe add some hardy fish to make sure I get a proper cycle, and use a combination of Prime and Carbon temporarily to try to remove any potential contaminants.
I thought I would see what you experts say about the matter.
Thank you very much.