Fish dying right and left, FW, env.    1/24/07
Hi Bob,
<Jason>
Been a while since I have written you, but here I am again.
So here's the story
First the tank and the water quality.
55 Gallon,
Water 20 PPM on Nitrate, 0 nitrite, 300 very hard, Alkalinity 180,
<Units please... am an old ex H.S. chem. and physics instructor... no units, no credit>
ph 8 to 8.4 9 (hardness and ph symptoms of the local tap water in Arizona). Temp 80 to 82 Ammonia 0.
Several weeks ago, I tried Mollies again (which I have had very bad luck with in the past) and sure enough I had one go vertical on me again.
<Environmental>
Took the water to be tested at a PetSmart, told me the salt was too low.
I added salt and cured the Molly, yea!  Also, I killed some a live plants (which I later learned adding salt will do). The tank got cloudy as the plants died.
<Bacterial et al. decomposition>
I removed the plant and stated doing small water changes every other day trying to clear the cloudiness. This was about 3 to 4 weeks ago. I still have some cloudiness (white).
Fish
2 Plecos (going to remove one, they are getting big)
Had 9 neon tetras, now down to 4
Bought 4 sward tails, all have died
3 Black skirt tetras
4 guppies (one dying)
2 scissor tails
<Most of the above are pretty salt-intolerant>
3 fish I don't remember the name off, they are silver with red over their eyes and a wide black stripe on their tail (one has a mouth fungus but still feeds will, one has what appears to be a tumor on it's side but also feeds well)
2 Mollies male and female  (on a side note, I literally just put four fry in a separator, so the female is having babies, pretty cool).
The female molly is clearly pregnant, but with only one male in the tank he harasses her all the time. So I changed the tank around adding more fake plants trying to give her hiding space. I want to add more females, but not until the water situation straightens out. I also removed one air pump as I had three and I wanted to make one side of the tank less circulated than the other as they told me this would also help.
I used TopFin water clarifier twice in an effort to clear the rest of the cloudiness in the tank (I suspect that helped kill two more Neons and the guppy). It made no visible change over 48 hours. On a side note, I have isolated the guppy and one of the eyes is definitely popped out.
I have a two filter system, both filter were pretty dirty. I cleaned one and replaced the other. I'm trying to do as little as little as possible, but I'm loosing fish right left. I have lost 9 fish in one week???? I'm definitely doing something wrong.
The remaining fish feed well are do not appear to be stressed. I'm thinking that the multiple water changes were also not good for them? I did clean the rocks significantly, not just skimming the top. Do you think I removed too much bacteria?
Suggestions or other questions? Please help!  
Jason
<Have just skipped down... Your system is under- biologically filtered, and you have added salt, killed off or stalled the metabolism of your bio-filter... You really need to go back to proverbial "square one" here... and first figure out what you want to do... that is, what sorts of organisms you want to keep... What you list is not compatible chemistry/physics wise... Bob Fenner>

Re: Fish dying right and left, Tom's much better go  1/24/07
<<Bob,
Sorry I was slow with this one. Should have moved it to my in-box before working on it.  Might answer some of Jason’s follow-ups, however. Tom>>
Hi Bob,
<<Hi, Jason. Tom with you this time around.>>
Been a while since I have written you, but here I am again.
<<Not a “social” visit I take it?>>
So here's the story:
First the tank and the water quality.
55 Gallon.
Water: 20 PPM on Nitrate, 0 nitrite, 300 very hard, Alkalinity 180, pH 7.8 to 8.4.
<<Holy Mackerel! 7.8 to 8.4 on the pH scale is a pretty big swing and with your alkalinity at 180 ppm, it’ll stay there, too. Ever considered keeping African Cichlids? :) >>
9 (hardness and pH symptoms of the local tap water in Arizona). Temp 80 to 82; Ammonia 0. Several weeks ago, I tried Mollies again (which I have had very bad luck with in the past) and sure enough I had one go vertical on me again. Took the water to be tested at a PetSmart, told me the salt was too low.
<<Good for PetSmart! (I’m not above “chastising” this store when they screw up but I’ll give credit where and when it’s due.) As an aside, keep an eye on how much salt you put into this tank. If you go beyond one tablespoon per five gallons of water, your Plecos are not going to be happy with you and other than, perhaps, the Guppies, neither will your other fish. Scaleless fish like Plecos don’t tolerate salt well. The ratio I’ve mentioned can be used as a “maintenance” level but a higher ratio than this isn’t advisable.>>
I added salt and cured the Molly, yea!
<<Good advice and I’m happy to hear this, Jason.>>
Also, I killed some live plants (which I later learned adding salt will do).
<<Yep.>>
The tank got cloudy as the plants died. I removed the plants and stated doing small water changes every other day trying to clear the cloudiness. This was about 3 to 4 weeks ago. I still have some cloudiness (white).
<<This one falls under the heading of “Things I Picked Up While Researching Other Things”, Jason. Most of us understand, to a degree anyway, that plants will take in (absorb) dissolved organic compounds from the water. So far, so good. The problem arises when a plant dies because it releases these organics back into the tank particularly if the plant isn’t quickly removed. On the same side of the coin, a sudden infusion of these compounds can/will spur a bacterial explosion (bloom) which is most often seen as ‘white, cloudy water’. Because of the “nature” of the cloudy water, small changes won’t do it for you. As long as the organics remain substantially intact, the bacteria will simply propagate and negate the small water change.>>
Fish:
2 Plecos (going to remove one, they are getting big) Had 9 neon tetras, now down to 4 Bought 4 sword tails, all have died 3 Black skirt tetras 4 guppies (one dying) 2 scissor tails 3 fish I don't remember the name of. They are silver with red over their eyes and a wide black stripe on their tail (one has a mouth fungus but still feeds well and one has what appears to be a tumor on it's side but also feeds well).
<<Red-Eye Tetras, no doubt. Have kept these in the past myself. Nice little fish. As to the mouth fungus, note that this also may be Columnaris which is not a fungal infection at all but a bacterial infection. It presents itself (unfortunately) like a fungus and is usually (also unfortunately) treated for as such without success…for rather obvious reasons.>>
2 Mollies male and female  (on a side note, I literally just put four fry in a separator, so the female is having babies, pretty cool).
<<Very cool I’d say.>>
The female molly is clearly pregnant, but with only one male in the tank he harasses her all the time. So I changed the tank around adding more fake plants trying to give her hiding space. I want to add more females, but not until the water situation straightens out.
<<You’re using your head on both counts.>>
I also removed one air pump as I had three and I wanted to make one side of the tank less circulated than the other as they told me this would also help.
<<Okay.>>
I used TopFin water clarifier twice in an effort to clear the rest of the cloudiness in the tank (I suspect that helped kill two more Neons and the guppy). It made no visible change over 48 hours. On a side note, I have isolated the guppy and one of the eyes is definitely popped out.
<<Skip the “clarifier”, Jason. Stressed fish don’t need chemicals thrown into the system with them. Will potentially do more harm than good.>>
I have a two filter system, both filters were pretty dirty. I cleaned one and replaced the other. I'm trying to do as little as possible, but I'm losing fish right and left. I have lost 9 fish in one week???? I'm definitely doing something wrong.
<<You’re on the right track, Jason, just not doing enough of it. You need to do a massive water change (at least 80%-90%), rather than small ones, to rid the tank of the organics and, therefore, the bacteria. If you don’t already use a clean, 5-gallon bucket for your water changes, I highly recommend getting one. Makes measuring out the salt far easier (one tablespoon per bucket) and not a bad workout – though guys like us don’t really need it. :) >>
The remaining fish feed well are do not appear to be stressed. I'm thinking that the multiple water changes were also not good for them?
<<Typically not but I’m letting you off the hook here. One concern with changing water too frequently is that we can, under more typical water conditions, create unwanted shifts in pH levels and overall water stability. In your case, I doubt we could do that by dumping battery acid in the tank based on your alkalinity readings. (That’s a joke. Don’t do that.)>>
I did clean the rocks significantly, not just skimming the top. Do you think I removed too much bacteria?
<<Depends on how you “cleaned” your filter, Jason. Hopefully, the media was rinsed in water removed from the tank. Tap water is a big (actually HUGE!) no-no for cleaning the filter media. As to your question, specifically, you really don’t want to vacuum more than one-third of the substrate at any given time. If you were doing small changes (10%-20%) you couldn’t have gone too far wrong on this count. You might look into purchasing BIO-Spira (Marineland) to jump-start the filters/tank if you’re concerned that the bio-colonies have been adversely affected by the cleanings. In fact, I recommend that you do this, anyway.>>
Suggestions or other questions? Please help!
<<Think I’ve given you enough to keep you busy, Jason. You know where you can find us if there are other questions. Best of luck to you.>>
Jason
<<Tom>>

Re: Fish dying right and left... and no effort put into learning  1/25/07
Bob, appreciate the reply.
<Okay>
Follow up questions.
What are my options?
<...>
I had intended to build an all community fish tank,
<More to such an assemblage than their temperaments... read on WWM, fishbase.org... elsewhere re the physical and chemical needs/ranges for the species you list... They don't overlap in some (stated) cases>
don't care about plants. I understand that you can balance the salt requirements of the mollies with the other fish, may be not?
<Not>
Should I back off the salt content slowly and gauge the reactions of the other fish?
<Mmm, no. Really... you should READ... decide then what you want to do... arrange a suitable habitat for truly compatible species>
And what do you suggest about clearing up the remaining cloudiness, time, water changes?
<Posted...>
The Molly gave birth to about 40 fry which I have isolated and will do my best to keep. They seem to be doing fine at this point.  
I have a fairly large tank, 55 gallons. I just want to have a fair number of healthy pretty fish, and I don't get very good advice at places like PetSmart or PetCo.
<Then read>
Everything was fine until the plant stared to die from adding salt and I started doing water changes in an attempt to clear up the cloudiness.
But adding the salt is what saved the Molly.
<...>
If I go with salt tolerant fish like Mollies, what other fish are compatible?
>>>>>
And can I kick start the metabolic processes that I have killed? Should I be changing my carbon filters more/less often? Should I add the bacteria they sell to help start new tanks? Should I continue to do 10% water changes fairly often?
You certainly have told me how I have killed everything. But I could still use your help understanding what my options are and what suggestions you have.
Appreciate your help.
Jason
<All of this is archived on the site... learn to/use the indices, search tool. RMF>

Re: Fish dying right and left (follow-up)  1/25/07
Bob,
<<Tom again, Jason.>>
Thanks so much for the reply, this is a huge help and makes perfect sense. I left the plant in the tank much too long after it started losing leaves.
<<Do it to you almost every time, Jason.>>
On a side note, I have noticed decreased activity from the Plecos, although they are still feeding. I believe I need to reduce the salt level slightly (and slowly).
<<The large water change will allow you to get this squared away. Don’t dilly-dally, though. We’ve got enough on our plates already.>>
My Molly had about 40 babies last evening, we captured all of them, so doing an 80%-90% water change will be tough but with my wife to help, we'll do it.
<<All you can do is your best. Not to sound cold about this but the fry are expendable relative to the lives of the adults right now if “push comes to shove.”>>
I know you are going to chastise me for this, but I have indeed been cleaning my filters with tap water. :( I will immediately stop!
<<Consider yourself chastised. On the upside, you’re our one-millionth writer to get caught doing this! There’s no prize for this, however. Sorry.>>
Thanks again for your help and I will let you know what happens over the
next week or two.
<<I’ll look forward to hearing from you, Jason. Direct your correspondence to my name if you would. I’ve got poor Bob confused enough with this one. Good luck with this. Tom>>

Re: TO TOM PLEASE - Re: Fish dying right and left (follow-up)   1/25/07
<<Hi, Jason.>>
So clearly I am getting responses from two sources, one nice, the other not so nice, nor helpful.
<<Two sources, Jason. I have the luxury of long responses and the other source knows more than I ever will...even given three lifetimes. :) >>
I wrote the attached diatribe because it pissed me off so much.
<<Happens, Jason. (Shake it off. You'll feel better.)>>
I don't want to create drama.
<<None created. Just men talking...>>
On the other hand, I'm trying desperately to save what I have as quickly as possible and although READING (as he puts it) clearly makes sense, it's not the quickest plan of attack.
<<Understood. I, and the others, try to handle the "quick" fixes. Mr. Fenner wants you in this for the long haul, hence, his admonition to read/research. We lose too many aquarists due to lack of information.>>
This thread has now become quite lengthy, but with the large water change last evening, I think I have made some progress. We were able to handle the fry well and they seem to be doing fine. There must be 40+ and I keep finding one here and there in the tank.
<<Skampy little devils, aren't they?>>
Let's see if I can go a week without losing a fish and I will start cleaning the filters in tank water.
<<Sounds good, Jason.>>
In any case, I appreciate your responses, they have been helpful.
<<I'm glad for this. As I told you, you know where to find me. Tom>>

Re: Fish dying right and left   1/25/07
<<Jason. Tom with you.>>
Wow, okay.
It seems like I got two replies yesterday to the same email.
<<You did. Sometimes happens that two people end up responding to the same post, primarily because one nincompoop didn’t move the post to his in-box as he should have. Guilty as charged.>>
One was filled with substantial information that was quite helpful and gave me some good direction. The other was rather curt and quite frankly not very helpful, very similar to this email.
<<When we overload the Boss with unanswered requests for help from our readers, he becomes “terse”. Not his fault but ours.>>
This email appears to come from the first responder.
<<Yes.>>
Rather than offer me advice and help, you have essentially told me exactly what you told me yesterday. That is, that I basically don't know what I'm doing and that I should either go back to square one or give up. You also emphasize READING which clearly makes sense. Although reading will obviously give me substantially more information, in the short term, I am hoping to save what fish I have and to improve the habitat as quickly as possible. That being the case, my plan of attack was to ask someone whom I believed to be an expert and who in the past has taken the time to give thought to my questions and respond with genuine concern. I was hoping for a similar response this time. Instead, you have directed me back to the site and tasked me with research and homework.
<<I won’t “defend” the response but I will defend Bob here, Jason. No one cares more about the hobby, and life, than Bob. No one. And, no one is more involved in helping folks with problems, whatever they might be. I understand your reaction but, believe me, it’s misplaced. Gotta be on the “inside” to completely understand, I’m afraid.>>
And although this might surprise, I have done a fair amount of reading. I have also talked to many people. This may or may not also surprise you, but I tend to get different information from just about every resource I explore. So figuring out who is right and who and what sources are best appears to be extremely difficult. As you have said, I need to READ.   
<<Trust me, Jason, you’re singing our song! There isn’t one of us who doesn’t “research” virtually every question. This ain’t “off-the-top-of-your-head” stuff in many cases. Lots of it is, of course, but, in more cases than you might think, we’ve got to dig. Just too many aspects of the hobby to have it all at your fingertips. The trick is that we’ve learned “how” to research and, with experience, weed the “bum” information out of the “good”.>>
I suspect that you get a lot of email from inexperienced and (probably sometimes less intelligent) people who ask obvious questions. But what confuses me is the fact that I got two replies to my initial email, one nice, the other not so nice. Are there multiple people responding to emails? One email appears to be from Bob the other from Tom???
<<There are many volunteers on our site, Jason. I’m just one of them.>>
Bob Fenner, who I believe is the first person I exchanged emails with over a year ago was very helpful in helping me save one of my Mollies way back then.
<<I’m not the least bit surprised.>>
In any case, I will go back to your site and continue to explore. I will also continue to READ and learn as much as I can. I certainly do not enjoy watching my fish suffer and die. I would much rather have an attractive healthy tank that is conducive the health of the fish.
For what it is worth, the second email I received yesterday suggested that I do an 80 to 90% water change to clear the tank (and on a side note, the second email also explained to me why I had caused the tank to become cloudy in the first place). I did the water change last evening and it appears to have solved the cloudiness issue. I also slightly reduced the salt content a bit making sure to have no more that one tablespoon per 5 gallons. The Plecos were already more active this morning.
<<Glad to hear this, Jason.>>
Finally, for your own information I have pasted below the two separate responses that I received yesterday from the same initial email.
<<I saw both, Jason. Thank you.>>
I do appreciate you responses and your willingness to take the time to read and think about the issues that people reading your site encounter. I have read many threads that reference similar issues. My only concern I suppose is that it appears that I (and others perhaps?) are getting responses from multiple sources??
<<You are, Jason. Bob can’t handle it all. Far, far too much for one person.>>
In any case, at the very least the response I got from Tom (the second email) did indeed give me good information and several suggestions for immediate action as opposed to the suggestions in the first email which are do nothing, READ, figure out what type of species I want to have and start over.
<<For what it’s worth, Jason, what you get from me is due to Bob Fenner. We all “raise the bar” because of this man. Bob doesn’t demand it of us, we demand it of ourselves because of his guidance and knowledge. We don't get paid, so that ain't just fact, that's what God knows. ;) >>
Thanks for your time.
Jason
<<Any time, Jason, and I’m glad things seem to be improving for you. You know where I am. Tom>>

For Jason, re Tom and Bob... Re: Fish dying right and left, encouraging use of books, reading     1/27/07
Greetings Bob and Crew, I hope you are having a nice weekend.
<Thank you Nicole>
I couldn't help but send you my input on one of Friday's dailies questions.
<Okay>
Jason, a fairly inexperienced aquarist who is having trouble with his fish tank (Fish dying right and left) mentioned that he was getting mixed information about fishkeeping from people and the internet.
Might I suggest to him a few books?
<Please do>
"Encyclopedia of Aquarium and Pond Fish" by David Alderton
<A worthy writer in our field>
was checked out to me for something like 47 weeks from the library!
<Wow! A best-seller>
While I have never read it, the book that Jorie always recommends, "The Simple Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" by David Boruchowitz,  sounds right up his alley.
<Also a very nice fellow, good, clear writer>
Far from an idiot is the aquarist who reads Mike Wickham's "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freshwater Aquariums" - this is commonly available at libraries.
Jason may not know this, but even a rural library with a tiny collection can order these and other titles for him through the nationwide Interlibrary Loan System. So even if one looks in the 639.34 section of their local library and sees nothing available - a title, an author, or an ISBN number is usually all that is needed for the librarian to acquire the book of his choice from another lending library somewhere in the U.S.
<Thank you for this reminder>
Jason, if you read this, think about how one book for $24.95 (that you can probably borrow for free) has the potential to save you easily twice, three times that, in unnecessary medication, additives, and lost livestock. You say your tank is planted? Then all the more reason to educate yourself by having a quality aquarium reference book around, that you can peruse when and where you want to, anytime - without electricity, even! Bob and Tom are both helping you in different ways. Bob urges all of his correspondents to self-educate and doesn't want to reinvent the wheel by answering questions that he has already answered, either by answering them previously or by having composed an article wherein the answer lies. You are, admittedly, missing some basics, and that's why he tells you to read, instead of giving you a quick fix to your problems in the form of a set of action verbs.
<You are correct here... in my intention>
On the other hand, Tom appreciates the fact that you may not be able to easily find the information you need to know without discouragement or delay and gives you a more direct answer. He is absolutely correct that good information is outnumbered by "bum information" - which is why reading a book is a perfect solution, if you are not ready to hone your web research skills to save your fish. For every bad book written about aquariums, there are probably 100 bad aquarium websites that, if not misleading, are just plain uninformative.
<I concur>
If Google overwhelms you with hits, and people overwhelm you with conflicting information - then, get yourself a BOOK! Or better yet, lots of books, for free even, from your public library. Best of luck to you in your fishkeeping.
Thank you for posting this, if you do, and I understand completely if you don't. I apologize if my "butting in" here is unwelcome, I do realize that WetWeb is not a blog! *smile* I couldn't help it, the librarian in me was roused by this particular correspondence that's been going on for a few days now. Take care, all of you.
Nicole
<Thank you for your keen insight-sharing, coming forward. Will place in Tom's in-folder as well. Bob Fenner>

Loading up a Non-Cycled Tank  1/21/07
Hello,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
Thanks for taking the time to set up such a well rounded, helpful website first off.  
<Thanks a bunch!>
I have a 55 gallon tank which has been set up around two weeks.  In that time I've lost a ropefish, an angel fish, a blue Gourami and 2 rainbow fish.  I was thinking that it may just be the water cycling, so I did a 50% change but now I have a serious problem.  My female ropefish, Roxanne, refuses to eat.  I've had her in the tank for about a week and she has not ate one time.  I feed everyone else in the tank tropical flakes (there are currently 7 other fish: pink kissing Gourami, 2 blue gouramis, one swordtail, one plec sucker fish and 2 rainbows) and I feed her frozen bloodworms.  I took the advice of others and fed her at about midnight with the tank lights off but she just showed no interest.  I really don't want to lose her as I did my other, whom I might ad I never saw eat anything either.  Thanks for your help.
<You are definitely having a problem because you have fully stocked a non-cycled tank.   A big no-no in aquarium keeping.  Here is some info for you to read:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library.php?cat=4
As for now, I suggest doing a huge (90%) water change & again tomorrow.  Add Bio-Spira to your filter ASAP.  Be sure to use dechlorinator--I suggest Prime.  No other product, other than Bio-Spira, contain the live nitrification bacteria (mentioned in the above link) that keeps your tank cycled.  Fish do not eat when they are unhappy.  I think once you get the cycling issue straightened out, they will be much happier.  You can try live blackworms, if she still won't eat.  
Buy yourself a test kit & keep track of ammonia & nitrites (VERY toxic--should be 0 at all times), nitrates, (should be <20) & pH (around 7.2).  I also suggest researching the adult size of some of your fish, especially the gouramis.  I've never been able to keep a ropefish for long--they can escape through the tiniest hole in your top.  ~PP>

Another question ... FW issues, no useful info.    1/21/07
Thank you so much for all of your help before. Our situation in my daughters tank is now that the other platy has died also, with similar behavior. I went and got some parasite treatment for the tank, but the blue platy seems to have tons of energy and pep still, so I am not planning to treat the tank unless he starts to show signs of lethargy and hiding like the others did. They also had small red spots on their body. I thought that was coloring, but now I wonder if it was a symptom.
<Too likely so... I would go ahead with the parasite treatment here>
I have added some water plants to her aquarium. One of the plants grew a large clearish jelly blob by the roots. It looked like the stuff that grows on lily pads and smelled like old flowers in a vase. (stinky!) My reaction was to wash this off the plant and get it out of the tank but now I am wondering if I destroyed a "good" bacteria colony!
<Mmm, no... Highly likely this was a snail egg mass... not useful>
The roots are brownish by where the blob was. The plants have only the aquarium gravel (not natural, hot pink, my daughter is 7 and picked it out) and the pet store woman said that would be fine. What do you think?
<Should be fine... likely the plant can/will derive some nutrition from processed fish wastes, uneaten food...>
Also the plants are not looking great, some of the leaves are turning brownish. Are they OK in the saltier waters that platys need or do you need more brackish plants?
<Some plants are more tolerant than others... posted on WWM>
I have no idea what types of plants they are, the pet store only has a tank called "live plants" and they don't know anything about them.
<How would I/we know then?>
Thank you so much again for all your help!
Best,
Mary Mathison
<More information, please... See WWM re FW water quality, env. disease. Bob Fenner>

Ammonia Spikes Stress Goldfish
Hi, I will try to keep this short. I bought a 10 gallon tank and overloaded it with 5 goldfish.
< Not a good idea.>
The evident happened with ammonia, so I went and purchased a 46 gallon. I lost 2 of them. Now the 10 gallon finished cycling (this is in a 2 month perimeter) the 46 kept having huge ammonia spikes like 8ppm for a week  and I noticed one of my favorite black moor's was doing poorly in the 46 gallon (clamped fins, laying at the bottom of the tank just moving her lips to breathe). So I put her in the 10 gallon. She quickly picked up and was swimming all around the tank. Now this is the second day and she is back to clamped fins and lying at the bottom of the tank. She lays there until I come over and then she acts like she just woke up from a dream and is trying to shake it off, and then goes back to the bottom. Did I poison her possibly and is there anyway to help her? Or is she doomed to die? She has been my little trooper through all the ammonia spikes and problems I have had. I would hate to lose her. Thank you
< These ammonia spikes weaken fish and promote disease. I would recommend that you do a 50% water change, vacuum the gravel and clean the filter. After that add Bio-Spira from Marineland. Your tank should be stable in a couple of days.-Chuck>

Overfeeding A Community Tank
Thanks for your reply.  I have a few further questions.
I wrote this all up and it was forever long, so now I’m going to try to be short, but it still isn’t very short.  Sorry.  We’re having feeding problems in our 37 gallon tank (guppies, Neons, ADFs, angelicus Botia loaches).  I think the guppies are gorging themselves on our plants.  Some of the plants are suffering (mostly because some of the guppies enjoy grabbing the end of the plants and literally jerking them while swimming backwards, which pulls some up), but overall they’re bearing it.  The guppies all have enlarged their stomachs since joining the planted tank.  They’re slowing down on their nibbling somewhat and are mostly picking algae off.  Since they’ve starting picking more at the algae on the plants, they’ve also not appeared as interested in the flakes.  If it was just the guppies, I think we could get away with not feeding flakes at all, they eat enough plant material, but I don’t think the Neons are eating the plants as much and they still eat the flakes, which means the guppies eat those, too.  I’m almost afraid that the guppies are overeating, though none of them appear constipated and they’re still having good, uh, bowel movements.  Should we only feed flakes once a day instead of twice?  Would the Neons be alright?  If they don’t give any other indication of feeling ill, just have large stomachs, should we not worry?
< The guppies feeding on the algae is normal. Feed your fish once a day and only enough food so that all of it is gone in a couple of minutes. The other fish will be more hungry and begin to come up to the flakes more aggressively. The more they eat, the less flakes are available for the guppies.>
We feed our ADFs once a day, the frog/tadpole food, and they don’t appear to eat them, but I’m assuming they’re eating something because they’re still alive after about a month.  We had problems with the guppies eating the frog food but they don’t do that so much anymore since they’ve been gorging themselves on plant material.  We give half the flakes, let them eat those, then add a few more flakes and add the frog food in another spot in the tank.  But I’m not sure that the frogs are eating them.  I find leftovers occasionally, and I see fish eating them an hour or so after I’ve dropped them, but again, the ADFs seem to be doing well.  They mostly hide during the day, probably because of our plant lights, but they’re always out at night.  They loved the brine shrimp.  Is the frozen brine shrimp nutritious enough for them to eat all the time?  (See below for more about our brine shrimp plans.)
< Feed them sinking pellets after you turn out the lights. At first drop in only a couple until they begin to get use to them as food.>
We have three loaches.  They mostly hide, but two come out and play pretty often.  The third, however, I have only seen once (other then his tail sticking out of his hiding place).  When I saw him, the other two loaches were swimming circles along the side and he was sitting in the bottom.  As soon as he saw me, he ran and hid.  There are quite a few hiding places, the ADFs use a lot of different ones, including piling in with the loaches, but we’re adding more just in case he doesn’t feel secure enough.  We bought shrimp pellets, but they won’t touch them.  They just sit at the bottom and the guppies pick at them.  Our tank is heavily planted and it’s next to impossible to vacuum.  I pick them out sometimes, but I have to stand on the arm of the couch to do it and it’s still hard.  Will they deteriorate all right and act as fertilizer, or should we look into a shrimp for cleanup?
< Leftover food with rot and increase the nitrates. Change food to one they will consume while you are watching.>
We talked to the LFS last night and they said to drop them with other food they like to teach them that it’s food.  We tried white mosquito larvae last night with no interest from them.  The only thing we get them to eat is frozen brine shrimp, which we’ve read isn’t the most nutritious for them, more like chips.
< Correct>
My husband’s working on a brine shrimp hatchery for more nutrition with the egg sacs.  But even then, only the two came out and I don’t think the third did.  My husband is up for most of the nights and he said he hasn’t seen the third loach, either.  Should we be worried?  We saw him more in their quarantine tank and didn’t see anything unusual (besides that they wouldn’t touch their food).
<Many loaches  are shy and only come out at night. You have a heavily planted tank so it may be awhile before you see him.>  
Also, a few of our guppies fins almost look clamped, but not quite.  We just noticed this yesterday afternoon.  My husband had added CO2 with a homemade soda bottle thing and apparently our pH has dropped almost a point.  It’s at 7.2 now.  We were monitoring the pH and it dropped over a 24 hour period and has now held constant (between 7.2 and 7.4) for a little over 24 hours and we think this is where it’s going to stay.  Was that too quick of a drop?
< Guppies like hard alkaline water with a little salt added to it. Plants usually like soft acidic water with no salt. You have a conflict. Many plants don't need CO2 although almost all will benefit from it. The pH drop is from the CO@ adding carbonic acid to the water. When the CO2 is gone the pH should bounce back up.>
I did a 30% water change after noticing the halfway clamped fins and they do look better this morning.
< Probably diluted the CO2 and raised the pH.>
(There are only 5 of the 17 guppies we have doing this, but one is the male lowest on the totem pole and usually has his fins low.  All the rest are females.)  But if the pH of our tap water is higher, and it’s being lowered in the aquarium because of the addition of CO2, is adding the water going to change the pH of our system and then change as the new water is infused with CO2?
< You will have pH fluctuations when doing water changes.>
Is that going to be a shock?
< Big changes in pH are not tolerated well by many fish.>
Our water is filtered with a Living Water filtration system from EcoQuest and so we don’t have to add anything to it and would really hate to add chemicals to it in order to change the pH, but I don’t want to shock the fish.  Would the drop in the pH have caused the clamped fins, or should we look to another source?
< When fish are stressed they become susceptible to diseases. Try more frequent but smaller water changes.>
Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate barely registering, probably 2 or 3, alkalinity 300.  The same before and after the water change.  With CO2 calculations, my husband says this is a perfect amount of CO2 addition and doesn’t want to take away any and won’t be adding any.
Thanks for your time*.again.  Celeste
< CO2 is needed by many stem plants like Bacopa. Plants like Cryptocorynes and swords will benefit from CO2 but I have found it is not needed.-Chuck>

Aquarium problems, FW, env.    1/11/07
I have a ten gallon tank running for the past three months and have lost eight guppies in the course of a month.
<From?>
My ammonia and nitrate levels are at 0 and my ph is 7.0 I change my water and vacuum once a week.
Since the loss of my fish I have started changing the water and vacuuming the gravel twice a week.
<I'd reduce this to just once per week... What is it you're attempting to accomplish by more frequent changing?>
My Cory catfish is not doing well now. I have one guppy left and him in my 10 gallon. The catfish is laying on his side and breathing heavy. He has no spots on his body and was eating yesterday. Don't know what I am doing wrong with this tank.
Please help.
<... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwmaint.htm
and the linked files above... I suspect you have fallen into the "cleanliness is sterility" mind-frame... Not valid. Bob Fenner>
Lynda Williams

Re: FW high pH, Corydoras beh... need to find, match in the FW Dailies   1/12/06
Thanks for the speedy reply, but have another question.
<... please include prev. corr....>
You said the PH of 8.0 was a bit high, but its constant and never shifts.  Should I alter it a bit lower with chemicals?
<Possibly... I would just mix in some water (reverse osmosis likely) that has less/no alkaline component to dilute, lower the pH>
  Just mix in chemicals in the storage water of 7.0 PH and pour in to the tank?
<No... need to allow such pre-made water to set for a few days>
  Also you think the high PH contributes to the Corys being pale?
<Yes, could very likely do so>
Thanks for your time, patience
<Do take a read: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwph,alk.htm
and the linked files above where you lead yourself. Bob Fenner>

Freezing Tank  12/20/06
<Hey Amanda, JustinN with you today.>
Hello I have an Ornate Bichir and recently had a power outage in the area.
Long Story short the water got very cold in the tank and I lost two of my Clown Loaches and now it looks like I will lose my Bichir.
<I'm sorry for your losses>
He has one eye that is cloudy and half his face is white.
<Yes, does not sound good>
I did a water change to warm up the water to a normal temp and have gave him a remedy that helps a multitude of things but nothing seems to be helping. Please help if possible because he looks horrible and I feel horrible.
Thank you,
Amanda
<Well, Amanda, first things first: Run carbon, do water changes, get that medication out of the water! Whatever it is, its not needed right now. Your course of action may have been a bit too quick with the temperature adjustments, but what's done is done. For future reference, you should bring up the temperature difference gradually for the sake of your fishes. However, you were doing well enough up until you added the unnecessary medications. The conditions you speak of are due to the water quality issues that you already knew about, and simply correcting them and waiting is/will be your best course of action. Get those meds out of the water, feed foods treated with vitamin supplements and possibly garlic extract to enhance feeding reaction, and keep up water quality. Good luck, Amanda! -JustinN>

High Nitrites in FW Tank--Good Time to Add More Fish?  12/7/06
Okay Crew, I need some serious help!
<Hi Ashley, I'll do my best!>
I have a 55g tank, 14 "feeder" goldfish and now two small keyhole cichlids.
<You were full-up with the goldfish.  In addition, GF require much cooler temps than the cichlids & carry many diseases tropical fish can't handle.>
Before we put the cichlids in, the nitrites were already on their way up
<Ummm... so you bought MORE fish?>
and so we got some all over "cleaner" to get rid of it, since we can't seem to find just a nitrite remover.
<No such thing as an "all over cleaner" or a nitrite remover.  The only way to remove nitrates is with huge water changes or by adding Bio-Spira, to cycle the tank.  Do not let someone sell you any different product, claiming it will do the same thing.>
We've barely had the tank over a week and we're going to do a 50% water swap (I'd do more but I don't want to cause more stress on my poor fishies).  
<Water changes done regularly, no matter how large (I do 80% weekly on all my FW tanks), will not stress your fish, as long as you use dechlorinator (I suggest Prime) & fill with the same temperature water.>
Today was also the day we didn't feed the fish to allow for digestion as suggested and we're also considering giving some of the fish a "new bowl" to swim in as much as it breaks our hearts.
<You can only keep either the GF or cichlids.  Not both together.>
We don't want them all to die though.
<Me either!>
How often should the tank be cleaned?   
<Most serious GF keepers, do 90% weekly water changes on their tanks, because they are messy, high-ammonia/waste producers.  Eventually, your GF will require 30g each, as they grow to around a foot.  They can also live 25+ years, if kept properly.
What can we do!
Can you get just nitrite remover?
<Repeat after me, "The solution, to pollution is dilution!"  
Please read this:
http://www.thepufferforum.com/forum/library.php?p=9
Please help, the test strip says the nitrite's are at high stress - low danger, so please, please please, save my fish.
<You are getting sleepy... you only hear the sound of my voice... you must do water changes... water changes... water changes... water changes... (I feel like a broken record.)  Please do yourself & your fish a favor & read all the articles in the Aqua Science & Water Filtration sections of that Library.  Great info there!  ~PP>
Thanks so much, Ashley