Rookie issues

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:30 PM, Mark C. said:

so I found my Hillstream Loach dead today. We have had him right at two weeks. No idea about that one. Took it back to Petco and swapped it for a Rubberlip Pleco, I like the name Bulldog Pleco better lol. 
Just hoping he works out for us.

Agreed.  Very sorry for your loss.

[Mark C.]

Did about a 20% water change yesterday and today we woke up to two of our Harlequin Rasboras dead. I really hope I don’t have to start prepping my water for water changes. The rest of the fish seem to be doing fine. 
I did notice when I put the water in yesterday it was warmer than I thought at like 82 or so, didn’t mean for it to be that warm. I didn’t know until I saw the temp on the aquarium after I put it in. Wonder if I just cooked them??

[nabokovfan87]

Could be. It was a low %, but some species are very sensitive to temp.  Temp usually is?

 

 

[Mark C.]

On 6/12/2022 at 11:46 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Could be. It was a low %, but some species are very sensitive to temp.  Temp usually is?

 

 

Between 77 and 78. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/12/2022 at 9:57 AM, Mark C. said:

Between 77 and 78. 

Probably was what happened then. 

When I had issues with rasboras they had little silver/white patches on them. It was some sort of disease where they just slowly started to deteriorate over time. Very pale and then they started to show issues and struggling.

Hopefully someone else has some experience with rasboras that can speak to temp specifically.

Edited June 12, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Mark C.]

How do y’all get the temp close when you do water changes? Is it better to go more cold than warm?

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/12/2022 at 12:39 PM, Mark C. said:

How do y’all get the temp close when you do water changes? Is it better to go more cold than warm?

A lot of people do it by feel.  I would agree with your logic that slightly cooler is better than slightly warmer.

I remember using a python and sitting there for a few minutes on the sink we had to get it right.  I'd turn the flow off, then turn it back on, feel the temp on the output of the python and run back to the sink to adjust it.  Sometimes I'd literally be tapping it to move it slightly.  Cory and others have shown off the thermometer tool they use on their hoses.
 

 

[Mark C.]

I haven't mentioned it on here since this has mainly been about my 29 Gallon tank but I have been having issues with our 10 Gallon tank for the last few days. I had an ammonia spike so I dosed Prime and started doing like 50% water changes for a few days. I still can't get rid of all the Ammonia in the tank. I suspected it may have been overfeeding so I have slowed down with that but it hasn't helped. I don't know what else it could be. All the fish in that tank are accounted for and are acting fairly normal. I just have a female Betta and a few Cherry Barbs and Glowlight Tetras in that tank.

Trites are zero and Trates are around 10 ppm now.

This tank has been running for 2 months or so now, if not longer.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Mark C.

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/13/2022 at 5:35 AM, Mark C. said:

Trites are zero and Trates are around 10 ppm now.

Filtration setup?

[Mark C.]

On 6/13/2022 at 9:39 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Filtration setup?

Just an Aquarium Coop medium sponge filter.

It has been pretty good up until the last week or so.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Mark C.

[nabokovfan87]

Do you have anything else you can add? Even another sponge filter?

[Mark C.]

On 6/13/2022 at 9:59 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Do you have anything else you can add? Even another sponge filter?

No I sure don't. I cleaned the sponge filter probably a week ago and there wasn't that much in it. Cleaned it the way Cory said to with a bag and all.

[nabokovfan87]

29G might not have enough flow because of the height. On mine, I'm using a pretty beefy air pump to get enough flow. I run 2 sponges and 1 ziss bubble bio

What kind of substrate?

Edited June 13, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Mark C.]

On 6/13/2022 at 10:00 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

29G might not have enough flow because of the height. On mine, I'm using a pretty beefy air pump to get enough flow. I run 2 sponges and 1 ziss bubble bio

What kind of substrate?

In my 29 I have a Tidal 55 and an Air Stone. I only have a Sponge Filter in the 10 Gallon.

On 6/13/2022 at 10:00 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

29G might not have enough flow because of the height. On mine, I'm using a pretty beefy air pump to get enough flow. I run 2 sponges and 1 ziss bubble bio

What kind of substrate?

But the 10 Gallon has black sand substrate.

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/13/2022 at 7:03 AM, Mark C. said:

In my 29 I have a Tidal 55 and an Air Stone

Should be plenty, be sure to check the experiment section for my Tidal bypass stuff.

On 6/13/2022 at 7:03 AM, Mark C. said:

But the 10 Gallon has black sand substrate.

Sounds fine. I was curious if it was a planted substrate and was leeching anything. Give the tank 2-3 days off of food. 25% or so WC twice a day instead of 50% once a day might be slightly easier on the fish. I would just do a sanity check and verify it's not coming from the tap.

Good gravel vac and just try to find out what's holding all the waste.

[Mark C.]

On 6/13/2022 at 10:10 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

Should be plenty, be sure to check the experiment section for my Tidal bypass stuff.

Sounds fine. I was curious if it was a planted substrate and was leeching anything. Give the tank 2-3 days off of food. 25% or so WC twice a day instead of 50% once a day might be slightly easier on the fish. I would just do a sanity check and verify it's not coming from the tap.

Good gravel vac and just try to find out what's holding all the waste.

I really don't have the time to change that 25% twice a day, unless I can do both in the evening but then it would be the same thing as a 50% probably. I have been out of work because I had knee surgery but now I'm back working my normal 12 hour schedule so my time is much more full!

[nabokovfan87]

There is good news in that. If the tank is doing ok. Fish are stable. I don't mind 50% WC. If they are having issues, I'd stick to daily 30%.

Definitely try to let the tank cycle

[Mark C.]

So now the Rubberlip is dying. I just don’t understand why I can’t keep plecos at all. I have about 30 to 40 ppm of Trates and zero Ammonia and Trites.
 

I just don’t understand it. I’ve put a few algae wafers in there and I know there has been some leftover Vibra Bites and Flakes in there that he could have gotten. 
 

I’m just at a loss. 

[nabokovfan87]

What are you seeing that makes you think he is dying? Could it just he due to acclimation?

[Mark C.]

On 6/14/2022 at 8:37 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What are you seeing that makes you think he is dying? Could it just he due to acclimation?

He was stuck to the front of the tank down near the bottom then he just laid over. He laid upside down for a few minutes. Then did like a barrel roll and now is just laying there. He is upright at this moment. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/14/2022 at 5:52 PM, Mark C. said:

He was stuck to the front of the tank down near the bottom then he just laid over. He laid upside down for a few minutes. Then did like a barrel roll and now is just laying there. He is upright at this moment. 

Plecos do this when they sleep. Sometimes

[Mark C.]

On 6/14/2022 at 10:58 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Plecos do this when they sleep. Sometimes

Well I guess I will see in the morning. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/14/2022 at 8:20 PM, Mark C. said:

Well I guess I will see in the morning

I've never seen a rubberlip do it.  I had issues when I had the temp up (76+) and I ended up treating them similar to barbs and cooler species.  Essentially, between BN and the RL, one of them should be able to fit your water.  I don't think they both like the same water (at least that was my experience) and especially when getting them from the big box store, I have had a LOT of success with clowns and had issues with basically everything else. The clowns never looked healthy, partially why I'm treating for internal parasites again.

Usually the behavior I'd notice with the BN and clowns is they will be sleeping, lose suction and fall asleep on their back.  It's extremely terrifying.  The blotchiness and losing their color also really bugs me.

Fingers crossed.  I wish things would work out for you!

[Torrey]

On 6/12/2022 at 1:39 PM, Mark C. said:

How do y’all get the temp close when you do water changes? Is it better to go more cold than warm?

Depends on species, and depends on whether breeding is a goal.

A lot of species wait to breed until the rainy/monsoon season to ensure sufficient food for fry. That means cooler water will trigger spawning behavior. Just the right amount of stress (temperature changes, etc) help keep all animals more robust (stronger, healthier, more resilient) but too much stress induces disease, and every *individual* has different thresholds of stress tolerance.

My fish (endlers & danios right now) thrive in some pretty extreme temperature ranges, but my bettas couldn't tolerate a 1 F drop in temp without showing health problems a few days later.

So, watch and listen to your fish, and see what your fish need. I measure the differences, write it down (temp, pH, nitrates, nitrites, TDS, GH & KH) and then if any fish show distress afterwards, I can start looking for a pattern. I would recommend starting a journal, until you get more in tune with your fish (it takes time... kind of like getting in sync with a newborn... but completely different species, lol)

[Mark C.]

Yep, he gone! He wedged himself up in the piece of driftwood and died. I couldn’t hardly get him out of there. I just don’t get it. Maybe I should just try to get a few Otos instead of another Pleco?