Okay, first I do not know anything about fish or goldfish. I am the wife. My husband was supposed to know but he has now failed miserably, so as an act of mercy I am now trying to rescue the remaining 2 gold fish. They are fan tails, this much I know,,,I think. I also know they have paracites, or at least this is what the pet shop has told us. We brought the fish in and they removed the paracites with tweezers. Then they gave us Mycopur, green liquid to douce the tank. The tank is 55 gallons. The paracites kind of look like threads, white threads. We put the meds in the tank for 3 days. The tank turned lime green, so did all my rocks. Water was murky and very ugly. We continued removing the paracited with tweezers, carefully to get the head. Finally no paracites. We removed the fish from the tank put them in a bucket with bubbles for 3 days. We removed all the water from the tank and washed everything in near boiling water including the tank, gravel, and rocks. A long operation. I threw out the plants. After 3 days we added cycle, declorinator, and put the fish back in. 24 hours later more paracites. What do we do now. Picking paracites off of fish every night is getting old. The fish are eating and buzzing arround the tank. Is there hope, or is it just a matter of time before the big flush?
Thanks
Full Version: Help With Husbands Mess, Tired Of Flushing Fish
Welcome Hushypuppy. Men, huh?
Well, your fish have Anchor Worm. Unfortunately they lay eggs all over the place so boiling isn't really enough. And in addition, your fish store sold you the wrong meds. Welcome to the wonderful world of fish store incompetence. Do yourself a favour from now on and don't ask them anything - you'll get the best help here.
So, on to the fish. No, this is not a hopeless case. You need to order some meds online unless your local has any of the following:
Anchors Away, Program, Dimilin or Parasite Clear Tabs. I just checked that you are in Canada, so if your store is no use try here:
http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/sk...ca71+1207101957
My preference would be the Parasite Clear tabs as they also contain an anti-biotic which will guard against any secondary infections from the bite wounds. This med is safe and fairly gentle on the fish - the one you used isn't and won't work either.
Well, that's the meds taken care of. Now we need to think about tank management.
The worry that I have is that either your cleaning of the tank/or the meds, may have destroyed the beneficial bacteria which convert your fish waste (toxic ammonia) into more harmless nitrate. This will probably sound like gobbledy-gook to you as you are new to this - so,
for a crash course on the basics read the two links below my signature. This will help bring you up to speed.
To help us help you better, can you scroll up and find the white box at the top full of diagnosis questions?
If you could copy and paste onto your next post and try to answer as much as possible, it will help us with the overview.
Important things to do before the meds arrive.
Do a large water change (try to match the temp as best you can and be sure to add a dechlorinator before re-filling)
Do you have a gravel vacuum? If so, vac during water changes to get larvae out of the substrate.
Do you own a water testing kit? If not, get a kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH.
Test water daily to be sure that ammonia and nitrite are zero - if not, you need to change water to reduce them to as close to zero as poss.
Do you have carbon in your filter? You must toss it out before adding new meds. Carbon absorbs medication - useful to strip them out after a course is finished; counter-productive to keep it in during treatment.
This is a ton of info to take on board all at once so please feel free to post back with any questions. But hey, you're a woman so you can multi-task, right? You'll be on top of it in no time
Everyone here is very friendly and eager to help, so ask away.
Well, your fish have Anchor Worm. Unfortunately they lay eggs all over the place so boiling isn't really enough. And in addition, your fish store sold you the wrong meds. Welcome to the wonderful world of fish store incompetence. Do yourself a favour from now on and don't ask them anything - you'll get the best help here.
So, on to the fish. No, this is not a hopeless case. You need to order some meds online unless your local has any of the following:
Anchors Away, Program, Dimilin or Parasite Clear Tabs. I just checked that you are in Canada, so if your store is no use try here:
http://www.mops.ca/cgi-bin/SoftCart.exe/sk...ca71+1207101957
My preference would be the Parasite Clear tabs as they also contain an anti-biotic which will guard against any secondary infections from the bite wounds. This med is safe and fairly gentle on the fish - the one you used isn't and won't work either.
Well, that's the meds taken care of. Now we need to think about tank management.
The worry that I have is that either your cleaning of the tank/or the meds, may have destroyed the beneficial bacteria which convert your fish waste (toxic ammonia) into more harmless nitrate. This will probably sound like gobbledy-gook to you as you are new to this - so,
for a crash course on the basics read the two links below my signature. This will help bring you up to speed.
To help us help you better, can you scroll up and find the white box at the top full of diagnosis questions?
If you could copy and paste onto your next post and try to answer as much as possible, it will help us with the overview.
Important things to do before the meds arrive.
Do a large water change (try to match the temp as best you can and be sure to add a dechlorinator before re-filling)
Do you have a gravel vacuum? If so, vac during water changes to get larvae out of the substrate.
Do you own a water testing kit? If not, get a kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH.
Test water daily to be sure that ammonia and nitrite are zero - if not, you need to change water to reduce them to as close to zero as poss.
Do you have carbon in your filter? You must toss it out before adding new meds. Carbon absorbs medication - useful to strip them out after a course is finished; counter-productive to keep it in during treatment.
This is a ton of info to take on board all at once so please feel free to post back with any questions. But hey, you're a woman so you can multi-task, right? You'll be on top of it in no time
Everyone here is very friendly and eager to help, so ask away.
Pixiefish,
First thanks for answering. I am sending DH to the store tomorrow with your email. I am also going to insist he fill out the questionnaire and get back to you tommorrow.
I will try to answer a few of your questions but I am deffinately a newbie.
First Tank is 55 galon aquarium
There are two fan tails left. One is orange and about 3 inches. The other grey spoted and about an inch.
They are both swimming and eating quite fine, except for the passengers I keep removing.
I have rocks and about 2 inches of gravel.
I threw out the natural plants, as I think this is what contaminated my tank (Problem started after last plant was added, but who knows) Anyway at 3 for 2 bucks I can buy some more.
We have added cycle, and aquarium salt, but after the last go round the tank is virgin with the exception of the ###### worms. (Cleaned everything last Thursday)
Yes we have a gravel vacume...fish guy at store told us to only vacume once a month...Great advice I see...
What do we feed the fish, sinking pellets.. Nutrafin Max Sinking Goldfish pellets they won't eat the floating stuff...we tried that. We give them about 4 grains each. I actually do this grain by grain so nothing sinks to the bottom daily.
I have read that they like some veggies also but I am not even trying that until the worms have left. They were also eating my plants, but now the plants are gone.
They have been changing color slightly, some dark blotches have appeared but we were told this was normal.
Medicine...some aquarium salt, and the before mentined green guck mycopur.
Tank temperature is at 72, we have a heater.
Lights are on in the aquarium from 4 pm to midnight, they are in a basement so there is no outside source of light.
Filter is an Aqua-Tech 30-60, I think there is carbon in the pads we buy and insert.
Yes we have the water test deal..I made Husband buy that after the fish started to die. So I will have him test tomorrow as well...and get back to you with the results. The water was fine before the whole worm invasion.
Tank started February 20th about, it was a Valentines present to my husband after years of listening to him whine about wanting an aquarium, and how fish were so much easier and cooler than my beautiful Basset Hound Baby. Not I say....Not I say, definately not easier. Proof being that my Dog is very much alive and happy after 5 years with us LOL
Little fish was one of two original fish in tank since Feb, big fish there for about 2 months.
I will have my Husband complete the water tests and get back ot you with the info.
Also we have a bubble system with 3 outlets, not sure if that is important, but we were told to oxigenate the water...
Thanks again for all your help and I will have Husband write in with the missing info pronto.
Hushypuppy
Good luck with your fish! I really hope my fish never gets anchor worm, they sound nasty to deal with. They should be fine now that you can get advice from people here, rather than the silly (but probably well-meaning) fish store people.
I just thought I'd add that I love basset hounds! Our dog was a basset hound. Actually, her passing away was what prompted me to get fish. My parents (and me too) weren't ready for another dog, but I couldn't stand being without animals. Fish are much more work than I thought they'd be, but worth it.
I just thought I'd add that I love basset hounds! Our dog was a basset hound. Actually, her passing away was what prompted me to get fish. My parents (and me too) weren't ready for another dog, but I couldn't stand being without animals. Fish are much more work than I thought they'd be, but worth it.
OkeyDokey.
So this is a new tank which means it is not cycled. (see link below) This means ammonia levels and possibly nitrite could be dangerously high. The black marks are evidence of ammonia burn - not 'normal' at all. Do they know anything?
During this phase you must test and change water daily to keep toxicity down. Ammonia and nitrIte must be as close to zero as possible.
2" of gravel provides great hiding space for parasite eggs, larvae and unhelpful bacteria. It would be a good move to reduce this to a minimum. Vacuuming once a month would virtually guarantee bacterial infections - more great advice. Why not go into the store and tear him a new one? It makes me mad to think of people in stores spouting such ***** to unsuspecting customers.
Sinking pellets are good, but soak them in a cup of tank water for a couple of mins to get rid of air. This can make fish floaty and bloaty. I think you could give more than 4 pellets and also you could offer cooked and shelled peas everyday or so. They do need a balanced diet with variety so you could check out the feeding section.
AquaTech are not good filters for Goldfish unless you have a bio-wheel, too. They have little space for the good bacteria to grow and only seem to have carbon - which needs to be removed when you run meds. For a 55 gal tank you need 550gals per hour turn over rate (Gfish need x 10) and I think the 30-60 only does 330g. I'd look into attaching a biowheel if you don't have one and also getting an additional internal filter to stick on the other end to bump up the turnover.
It's good you have the bubbler as meds do depleat the oxygen. The other good news is that once you've turned the tank around, you have room for a couple of new fish!
OK, I must go to bed before I start hallucinating - I'm in the UK.
So this is a new tank which means it is not cycled. (see link below) This means ammonia levels and possibly nitrite could be dangerously high. The black marks are evidence of ammonia burn - not 'normal' at all. Do they know anything?
During this phase you must test and change water daily to keep toxicity down. Ammonia and nitrIte must be as close to zero as possible.
2" of gravel provides great hiding space for parasite eggs, larvae and unhelpful bacteria. It would be a good move to reduce this to a minimum. Vacuuming once a month would virtually guarantee bacterial infections - more great advice. Why not go into the store and tear him a new one? It makes me mad to think of people in stores spouting such ***** to unsuspecting customers.
Sinking pellets are good, but soak them in a cup of tank water for a couple of mins to get rid of air. This can make fish floaty and bloaty. I think you could give more than 4 pellets and also you could offer cooked and shelled peas everyday or so. They do need a balanced diet with variety so you could check out the feeding section.
AquaTech are not good filters for Goldfish unless you have a bio-wheel, too. They have little space for the good bacteria to grow and only seem to have carbon - which needs to be removed when you run meds. For a 55 gal tank you need 550gals per hour turn over rate (Gfish need x 10) and I think the 30-60 only does 330g. I'd look into attaching a biowheel if you don't have one and also getting an additional internal filter to stick on the other end to bump up the turnover.
It's good you have the bubbler as meds do depleat the oxygen. The other good news is that once you've turned the tank around, you have room for a couple of new fish!
OK, I must go to bed before I start hallucinating - I'm in the UK.
Okay..so here is where we are...
We will probably have to order the meds online because no one seems to carry the stuff here. So I will do that tonight. The gravel is going bye-bye as soon as I get some river rocks...Nicer I think and the gravel is probably totally polluted anyway.
I had suspected that the filter was crap...so I will investigate this issue later, like next week.
Husband will do water test tonight and I will post all that info. Meanwhile fish seem okay. I will start soaking the pellets before feeding tonight. The peas will wait until I do the groceries Sunday, but we can do that too.
I will post again tonight.
Ciao
Kris
We will probably have to order the meds online because no one seems to carry the stuff here. So I will do that tonight. The gravel is going bye-bye as soon as I get some river rocks...Nicer I think and the gravel is probably totally polluted anyway.
I had suspected that the filter was crap...so I will investigate this issue later, like next week.
Husband will do water test tonight and I will post all that info. Meanwhile fish seem okay. I will start soaking the pellets before feeding tonight. The peas will wait until I do the groceries Sunday, but we can do that too.
I will post again tonight.
Ciao
Kris
Kris, do you have a wally world by you? If so they sell the Parasite Clear by Jungle Buddies. Good luck with this and thank goodness you've found Koko's it's a wonderful place to help fishies live longer!
First thanks to everyone who is helping! Hi to everyone who has joined me on this save the 2 survivors mission.
Today we got the internal filter, it is a fluval 2 plus 24 galon 400 L/H 105 GPH: Hope this with the original filter will help with the water quality.
I ordered the fish meds over the internet after trying 6 places. The only place that had wanted 40.00$ bucks for the stuff. So I ordered online the tablets recomended by the first poster.
The original filter does not support a bio wheel but I did notice that it has a bio fiber pads----hoping this is a substitute.
I am still looking for river rock...not easy to find in Canada in early spring, but tomorrow we will try a landscapping company.
Here are the results from the water tests conducted tonight:
Amonia 0.4
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
PH for tank 7.6
PH from Tap 7.6
Question: Should I put the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with bubbles, and change the water in the bucket daily until the meds arrive...? Or just suck the gravel and add more water to the tank? If so how much do I remove?
I actually saw an anchor worm, ugly bugger tonight..he was floating in the water, this is the first time I actually have seen one, he was rather large. He has been flushed pronto.
Another development is that the little fish had 3 parasites today, but the big guy was totally parasite free..is he developping an immunity?
I look forward to everyones comments.
I am now on a mission to get this tank in shape.
Another question, should I buy a small plastic aquarium to quarantine any new arrivals once I get all this under control?
I did soak the food tonight, and yes it did expand.
Thanks
Kris
Today we got the internal filter, it is a fluval 2 plus 24 galon 400 L/H 105 GPH: Hope this with the original filter will help with the water quality.
I ordered the fish meds over the internet after trying 6 places. The only place that had wanted 40.00$ bucks for the stuff. So I ordered online the tablets recomended by the first poster.
The original filter does not support a bio wheel but I did notice that it has a bio fiber pads----hoping this is a substitute.
I am still looking for river rock...not easy to find in Canada in early spring, but tomorrow we will try a landscapping company.
Here are the results from the water tests conducted tonight:
Amonia 0.4
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
PH for tank 7.6
PH from Tap 7.6
Question: Should I put the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with bubbles, and change the water in the bucket daily until the meds arrive...? Or just suck the gravel and add more water to the tank? If so how much do I remove?
I actually saw an anchor worm, ugly bugger tonight..he was floating in the water, this is the first time I actually have seen one, he was rather large. He has been flushed pronto.
Another development is that the little fish had 3 parasites today, but the big guy was totally parasite free..is he developping an immunity?
I look forward to everyones comments.
I am now on a mission to get this tank in shape.
Another question, should I buy a small plastic aquarium to quarantine any new arrivals once I get all this under control?
I did soak the food tonight, and yes it did expand.
Thanks
Kris
Question: Should I put the fish in a 5 gallon bucket with bubbles, and change the water in the bucket daily until the meds arrive...? Or just suck the gravel and add more water to the tank? If so how much do I remove?
Hmmm. You could, although it is a very small space for 2 fish and the ammonia would climb fast.
Here is a link to the Bucket to Bucket method - You should have at least 2 buckets to use in rotation.
http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=24381
Alternatively, you can continue removing parasites and keep on top of the water by doing daily changes. Vac as much as poss to remove larvae. Judge the amount by the readings. ie. Your reading is 0.40ppm - a 50% still leaves 0.20ppm whereas a 75% takes it down to .10 which is much better. Do you have any Prime or AmQuel? These are both very helpful in de-toxifying the lower amounts.
That big he you saw was a she - and the Y you see trailing from the end are her egg sacks. Ghaa!
A QT tank is essential if you wish to add new fish. I'd get a 10 or 15 gal and a spare filter. Depending on the necessity you could run it either with cycled media or ammo-chips/zeolite. There is a pinned thread on how to quarantine whenever the time comes.
Congrats on the filter - that will be a great improvement.
Hmmm. You could, although it is a very small space for 2 fish and the ammonia would climb fast.
Here is a link to the Bucket to Bucket method - You should have at least 2 buckets to use in rotation.
http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=24381
Alternatively, you can continue removing parasites and keep on top of the water by doing daily changes. Vac as much as poss to remove larvae. Judge the amount by the readings. ie. Your reading is 0.40ppm - a 50% still leaves 0.20ppm whereas a 75% takes it down to .10 which is much better. Do you have any Prime or AmQuel? These are both very helpful in de-toxifying the lower amounts.
That big he you saw was a she - and the Y you see trailing from the end are her egg sacks. Ghaa!
A QT tank is essential if you wish to add new fish. I'd get a 10 or 15 gal and a spare filter. Depending on the necessity you could run it either with cycled media or ammo-chips/zeolite. There is a pinned thread on how to quarantine whenever the time comes.
Congrats on the filter - that will be a great improvement.
Hi All, special salut to Pixie Fish,
Good news...I got some meds. In a desperate attempt to kill the worms after seeing one live and in person...(extreamly yucky) I tried one final pet shop and voila....had medecine for anchor worms. I removed the carbon in the filters and put the meds in. 3 hours later the parasites had already dropped off the fish.
Now the meds say to douce again in 24 hours, then once a week for 3 weeks to kill all the rest.
My question is, do I change the water again tonight or do I wait till tommorrow, 24 hours after the second dose. The medecine does not say to change the water, in fact it is not supposed to be harmful to fich or tank. My nitrate, nitrite levels are okay for now and I want to avoid further fish trauma. Also should I put the carbon in the filters back in after the second doses 24 hours has lapsed, or should I wait the whole 3 weeks (This seems a bit of overkill) If everything seems okay by Sunday I may actually purchase 2 new plants although they are going in buckets untill I can make sure they do not have any happy passengers.
Any advise re levels I posted in the previous entry would be welcome...are all my levels okay?
Thanks
Kris (Now wormless)
Good news...I got some meds. In a desperate attempt to kill the worms after seeing one live and in person...(extreamly yucky) I tried one final pet shop and voila....had medecine for anchor worms. I removed the carbon in the filters and put the meds in. 3 hours later the parasites had already dropped off the fish.
Now the meds say to douce again in 24 hours, then once a week for 3 weeks to kill all the rest.
My question is, do I change the water again tonight or do I wait till tommorrow, 24 hours after the second dose. The medecine does not say to change the water, in fact it is not supposed to be harmful to fich or tank. My nitrate, nitrite levels are okay for now and I want to avoid further fish trauma. Also should I put the carbon in the filters back in after the second doses 24 hours has lapsed, or should I wait the whole 3 weeks (This seems a bit of overkill) If everything seems okay by Sunday I may actually purchase 2 new plants although they are going in buckets untill I can make sure they do not have any happy passengers.
Any advise re levels I posted in the previous entry would be welcome...are all my levels okay?
Thanks
Kris (Now wormless)
Update....water is fine, nitrite 0, amonia 0, nitrate about 15.... If nitarate is under 50 I am supposed to fine...I think??
If I have nitrate with no amonia, and no nitrite, does that mean I am at the end of the first cycle?
There are no more parasites...yippppeeeee.
The big gold fan tails spots seem to be fading, he had brown blotches.
I think the second filter is really helping alot!
I am going to wait another 3 weeks, but I am now going to start dreaming abouta new fish.
I have announced to my husband that I get to pick the new fish, becuse I saved the last two...LOL
I think I should be fine adding 2 more...but I am going to add one at a time, and over a period of months.
Is it better to have real plants or fake...do the real plants add to the tanks efficencey?
Thank you all again for all your help!
Kris
If I have nitrate with no amonia, and no nitrite, does that mean I am at the end of the first cycle?
There are no more parasites...yippppeeeee.
The big gold fan tails spots seem to be fading, he had brown blotches.
I think the second filter is really helping alot!
I am going to wait another 3 weeks, but I am now going to start dreaming abouta new fish.
I have announced to my husband that I get to pick the new fish, becuse I saved the last two...LOL
I think I should be fine adding 2 more...but I am going to add one at a time, and over a period of months.
Is it better to have real plants or fake...do the real plants add to the tanks efficencey?
Thank you all again for all your help!
Kris
Wheeeee, Kris, that things are looking up!! You've done a great job, but you still have some work ahead of you besides keeping up with the water changes and params, that is. 
Just when you thought things were going to be less complicated...
If you want to add more fish, you will need to set up a quarantine tank to keep them in for at least 3 weeks. Virtually all fish come from the lfs with some kind of parasites, especially flukes, and you or the survivors don't need the added stress and problems just as they are recovering. Their immune systems will take a while to build back up. You can actually use a large Rubbermaid container with a filter and air bubbler instead of another tank, but this is absolutely necessary.
You'll need to treat them with Prazi, which you can order from Rick's Goldfish Connection online if you don't already have it. Prazi will kill the flukes and any parasites they may (and will) have. And you can't rush it. It takes 3 weeks minimum. This way you can observe them and see if any other problems develop.
As far as new plants, you can soak them in water and chlorine bleach to kill any stowaways, but I did that and still ended up with Madagascar snails that took forever to get rid of. I'm not much on live plants now, but thats just me.
You can leave the carbon out forever if you want. Many knowledgeable posters here say that the only reason to use carbon is to take the meds out of the water anyway and don't ever use it for anything else. Myself, I just keep it in because I'm not using meds and it seems to clear the water better, but thats just me also. It also gives me another place to gather some BBs.
Good luck to you, and btw your fish are absolutely gorgeous! I love black moors, but only have a 30 gallon tank with 2 large goldies, so I'm out of extra room for any other fish.
And keep hubby away from the tank!
Men.
Hi again - I just wanted to drop in before I disappear offline for a while.
The most important thing to be sure of is that you do not have meds + ammonia. Test your readings every day to be absolutely certain - if there is ammonia it will do the fish no good in conjunction with the meds - many become quite toxic in the presence of ammonia and nitrite. Important to know which med you got hold of in the end - can you tell us? I would not replace carbon until the end of treatment. It strips the meds out of the water. Do not be deceived by the improved look of your fish and cut treatment short - larvae can hide in the gravel (get that vacuum asap) and it only takes a couple of survivors to wreck your tank all over again.
When you do get the gravel vac, be careful not to 'stir' the gravel - this can release toxic gases and crud buried in the substrate. Instead, push the vac well down into the gravel and then lift it upwards as the crud flies up the tube. Move across the tank floor systematically until the water runs clear. As a precaution against sucking up fish (horrible) I never move the vac very much above the gravel and I have my finger by the end of the out tube in the bucket, ready to block it just incase.
Regarding the readings - it may be that the levels are good just because you've done substancial w/changes. To establish if you are fully cycled you need to test daily; once you've had several days of zero ammonia and nitrite with some nitrates, then you can relax a little.
Be very careful introducing new plants - they can bring in all sorts of nasties. You must quarantine them to be sure. Not everything they carry is visible or evident immediately. There is a thread on how to do this is the 'planted tank' section.
You've done a great job of taking things in hand very quickly. Congrats
The most important thing to be sure of is that you do not have meds + ammonia. Test your readings every day to be absolutely certain - if there is ammonia it will do the fish no good in conjunction with the meds - many become quite toxic in the presence of ammonia and nitrite. Important to know which med you got hold of in the end - can you tell us? I would not replace carbon until the end of treatment. It strips the meds out of the water. Do not be deceived by the improved look of your fish and cut treatment short - larvae can hide in the gravel (get that vacuum asap) and it only takes a couple of survivors to wreck your tank all over again.
When you do get the gravel vac, be careful not to 'stir' the gravel - this can release toxic gases and crud buried in the substrate. Instead, push the vac well down into the gravel and then lift it upwards as the crud flies up the tube. Move across the tank floor systematically until the water runs clear. As a precaution against sucking up fish (horrible) I never move the vac very much above the gravel and I have my finger by the end of the out tube in the bucket, ready to block it just incase.
Regarding the readings - it may be that the levels are good just because you've done substancial w/changes. To establish if you are fully cycled you need to test daily; once you've had several days of zero ammonia and nitrite with some nitrates, then you can relax a little.
Be very careful introducing new plants - they can bring in all sorts of nasties. You must quarantine them to be sure. Not everything they carry is visible or evident immediately. There is a thread on how to do this is the 'planted tank' section.
You've done a great job of taking things in hand very quickly. Congrats
Hi Pixie,
The medecine we are using is called Life Bearer. Active ingrediants are 0.0-dimethyl,1-hydroxy,2-trichloromethyl phosphate.
The stuff seems to be doing the job, but I am still finding worms in the mesh at the end of my filter, although at least they are dead!
We are going to vacume tomorrow night. I prepared the water needed tonight with the anti chlorine and cycle.
I am not going to put any plants in, until I can figure out how to safely add them.
Tomorrow I will try and read the site on this.
I want to remove the gravel, however I am now afraid to do this, as you have warned me that toxins may be lurking. Please give me some advice on this...
Thanks again for all your help....my fish are looking better by the day...they are zipping arround the tank now at warp speed.
Kris (Momma to 1 basset, and two goldfish)
The medecine we are using is called Life Bearer. Active ingrediants are 0.0-dimethyl,1-hydroxy,2-trichloromethyl phosphate.
The stuff seems to be doing the job, but I am still finding worms in the mesh at the end of my filter, although at least they are dead!
We are going to vacume tomorrow night. I prepared the water needed tonight with the anti chlorine and cycle.
I am not going to put any plants in, until I can figure out how to safely add them.
Tomorrow I will try and read the site on this.
I want to remove the gravel, however I am now afraid to do this, as you have warned me that toxins may be lurking. Please give me some advice on this...
Thanks again for all your help....my fish are looking better by the day...they are zipping arround the tank now at warp speed.
Kris (Momma to 1 basset, and two goldfish)
Hi Kris, how are the fish doing these days?
About the gravel removing - never do it all at once! The gravel, as nasty as it loooks underneath, still holds a huge amount of beneficial bacteria. If you remove it in one session, the tank will go into a mini cycle due to the disappearing of the beneficial bacteria - bacteria that takes care of ammonia and nitrites. If you remove all of that at once, ammonia and/or nitrite will show up in your tank, putting stress on your fish, possibly kill them.
Years ago, I removed gravel from my 160 gl tank
- not all at once, but the final step was still such a huge mess of dirt and cloudy water, which was present for at least 6 hours before it settled. I had removed my fish for that, but darn, it was a mess.
The way that gravel is removed properly is in small sections. A cup or two at the time, maybe 3 cups with a container. Just scoop out that amount of gravel when you are doing water changes. It will release some of the dirt underneath, but since you are doing it with a water change, it'll get removed. Stuff some extra filter media into your filter(s) to give the beneficial bacteria a chance to grab a hold there instead of the gravel. I'd also recommend to have a little pouch with gravel hanging somewhere in your tank for a week or two to hold those bacteria that eventually find a new home in the extra media in your filter. The pouch can be something as simple as a stocking.
About the gravel removing - never do it all at once! The gravel, as nasty as it loooks underneath, still holds a huge amount of beneficial bacteria. If you remove it in one session, the tank will go into a mini cycle due to the disappearing of the beneficial bacteria - bacteria that takes care of ammonia and nitrites. If you remove all of that at once, ammonia and/or nitrite will show up in your tank, putting stress on your fish, possibly kill them.
Years ago, I removed gravel from my 160 gl tank
- not all at once, but the final step was still such a huge mess of dirt and cloudy water, which was present for at least 6 hours before it settled. I had removed my fish for that, but darn, it was a mess. The way that gravel is removed properly is in small sections. A cup or two at the time, maybe 3 cups with a container. Just scoop out that amount of gravel when you are doing water changes. It will release some of the dirt underneath, but since you are doing it with a water change, it'll get removed. Stuff some extra filter media into your filter(s) to give the beneficial bacteria a chance to grab a hold there instead of the gravel. I'd also recommend to have a little pouch with gravel hanging somewhere in your tank for a week or two to hold those bacteria that eventually find a new home in the extra media in your filter. The pouch can be something as simple as a stocking.
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