Fish Tanks - Dealing with Problems
Posted on 30. Jan, 2010 by admin in Aquariums, Fishtanks
Now you have set up your fish tank aquarium you are ready to take pleasure in your new hobby. Looking after your new aquarium is not hard but several problems can arise, particularly in recently set up tanks. Everything looks perfect for a time then bit by bit algae begins to develop and completely swamp the tank, your fish start to die and your lovely aquarium looks nothing like the clear, sparkling fish tanks you see in the pictures. So what did you do wrong? And more importantly what can you do to set it right?
What you shouldn’t do is panic and definitely don’t rush off to the pet shop, buy chemical remedies and toss them in your aquarium. This will inevitably increase your problems! Another thing that inexperienced fish tank owners are inclined to do when panicking is to thoroughly clean out the tank to begin again. This is the worse thing to do as any beneficial bacteria that you have in the tank will be removed as well and you will then need to re-cycle the tank all over again.
What you do need to do is understand what is going wrong and bit by bit correct it, preferably without any chemical procedures which will change the balance of your fish tank even more.
Increase of Deadly Chemicals
The worse condition is the sudden death of your fish. Did you cycle the tank properly before you added the fish? The usual cause of sudden fish death is high concentrations of ammonia or nitrites from their waste products. You’ll need to use a test kit to properly check if this is the reason. If the tank wasn’t properly cycled there will be insufficient beneficial bacteria to cope with with the waste products, especially if you have too many fish. Are there to many fish in the tank? This will undoubtedly put a strain on the bacteria dealing with the waste and cause an increase in the concentrations of nitrite and ammonia.
Fish Bullying
Do you have the correct mixture of species in the tank? Some fish can be no problem when young but will turn into bullies as they mature. Tiger barbs are notorious for being bullies. Any bullying fish are best taken out and given away!
Lack of Water Changes
Has the water been partially changed weekly? While nitrites and ammonia are processed by the beneficial bacteria, less toxic nitrates are produced. But ‘less toxic’ is not ‘non toxic’.. Should the concentration of nitrates get too high they can cause damage to your fish and a partial water change is needed to remove them.
Adding Chlorine Contaminated Water
Tap water always contains chlorine which you can remove by leaving the water standing for a few days. Some authorities also add chloramines which is not removable by this method. If your tap water is contaminated with chloramines, or you are not sure, you must add a chemical to remove them before putting the water in the tank.
Overfeeding
Overfeeding is a widespread problem and results in decaying food. This then causes the release of poisonous chemicals that add to the burden of the bacteria. The consequence is an abrupt increase in these chemicals that will more than likely damage your fish. When you are feeding tropical fish make sure that you give them no more than they can eat in roughly three minutes. If food sits on the the gravel you are overfeeding!
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