ewww... Smelly tank problems!

[Dragon]

Hello again all.

My Betta is doing pretty good as far as I can tell. The problem now is the tank is terribly smelly. I've been doing daily 25% water changes since Friday (I believe).

I'm feeding the Betta Hikari Staple. How much should I be feeding him? From what I have read, it sounds like I am over feeding. I was doing three pellets in the morning and three at night. Yesterday I did two in the morning and two at night, and he did not eat the night two.

The Betta will have been in there for one week on Thursday. Could I pick up a snail or two on Thursday? Would that help with the excess food, etc?

Thanks in advance for help! =)

 

[Intravenous]

"One week on Thursday"

This may be your problem. Your tank will be cycling now so its possible that the smell is due to this.

Do you know about cycling? And do you have test kits? If you do it would be helpful if you could post ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings

 

[Dragon]

Do you know about cycling? And do you have test kits? If you do it would be helpful if you could post ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings

I've been reading up about cycling. I work second shift, so it's tough for me to get to the LPS before they close. I might have to invest in some test strips of my own.

I'll try to get that done and post the readings.

I thought the cycling might be the cause of the smell, but I was unsure since a lot of what I read talked about feeding and waste. I thought the snails might help. If the tank is still cycling, this might make matters worse though.

Thank you!

 

[Intravenous]

I've been reading up about cycling. I work second shift, so it's tough for me to get to the LPS before they close. I might have to invest in some test strips of my own.

I'll try to get that done and post the readings.

I thought the cycling might be the cause of the smell, but I was unsure since a lot of what I read talked about feeding and waste. I thought the snails might help. If the tank is still cycling, this might make matters worse though.

Thank you!

I read in your other post that you had goldfish in the tank before the betta? What did you do to the tank between converting from goldfish and betta? The best thing you can do right now (apart from the water changes which you've already got down, keep that up !) is buy a test kit, they really are life savers and its hard to know whats going wrong in a tank without them.
I think liquid tests are recommended over strip tests, but in the end any test kit is better than none.

I think it probably is cycling causing the smell (although I'm no expert and so could be wrong) and although snails might help you out in the long run they would just be adding to the bioload right now, so you should probably wait until cycling is finished.

 

[Dragon]

I read in your other post that you had goldfish in the tank before the betta? What did you do to the tank between converting from goldfish and betta?

The goldfish died, so I took him out and bought the Betta about two days later.

The best thing you can do right now (apart from the water changes which you've already got down, keep that up !) is buy a test kit, they really are life savers and its hard to know whats going wrong in a tank without them.

I will do that then. It sounds like it's going to be a must, plus going to the LPS on "lunch" all the time is getting a bit old.

I think it probably is cycling causing the smell (although I'm no expert and so could be wrong) and although snails might help you out in the long run they would just be adding to the bioload right now, so you should probably wait until cycling is finished.

Alright, I'll wait on the snails at least a month!

Thank you very much!

 

[TLH]

So how long was the goldfish in there and why did it die?

Goldfish are very messy fish and can soon spoil the water quality if you don't keep up the maintenance.

When you clean the tank you should syphon using a gravel vac or similar and get as much crud and mulm out of the gravel as possible.It's this that is causing the smell not your cycle.Smells are caused by rotting matter mostly.

Can you tell us the size of tank,filtration method and how long the tank has been running altogether?

And yes,get the test kit and provide some readings.There is nothing like hard evidence.

 

[Big Vine]

I'm feeding the Betta Hikari Staple. How much should I be feeding him? From what I have read, it sounds like I am over feeding. I was doing three pellets in the morning and three at night. Yesterday I did two in the morning and two at night, and he did not eat the night two.

This is the main problem. Plain and simple. Reduce feedings to one pellet a day. Remove any uneaten pellets.

If you choose not to remove the uneaten food (not recommended), then by all means get a snail to help clean it up. It's true that adding another critter that creates waste will do nothing to help a cycling tank. In your case, however, the snail would be doing much of the cleaning (as long as there's still uneaten food rotting in the water) that you should have been doing in the first place.

Big Vine

 

[f8fan]

I have the same problem you do, sometimes, in that I work crazy hours and sometimes can't get to the LFS. Ever thought about ordering stuff online? Generally, you save a lot of money, and after a long days work it's like Christmas to come home and find a delivery at your doorstep!
Big Als: http://www.bigalsonline.com/
That Pet Place: http://www.thatpetplace.com/
Dr's Foster & Smith: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

 

[Dragon]

So how long was the goldfish in there and why did it die?

The goldfish was in there for about a week (if that long). I believe it had a swimbladder issue.

When you clean the tank you should syphon using a gravel vac or similar and get as much crud and mulm out of the gravel as possible.It's this that is causing the smell not your cycle.Smells are caused by rotting matter mostly.

I have been using a syphon, and at first it got out a lot of waste matter, but now it hardly gets out anything at all. That's why I thought it might be the cycling process.

Can you tell us the size of tank,filtration method and how long the tank has been running altogether?

The tank is 9 gallons. I have a BiUbe, so the filtration is like are in all the BiUbes. It's a sponge and carbon filters. There's also ceramic media to house the bacteria. The tank has been running since January (around the nd of the month) and I have had three cases of Ich and one Swim Bladder problem. After the last Ich outbreak (sometime in February) I boiled everything in the tank after the last fish died and started out fresh. So I would say technically that the tank has been up and running through March, although I can't pinpoint the date.

And yes,get the test kit and provide some readings.There is nothing like hard evidence.

I'm going to try to make it to the LPS on Thursday when I am off from work. Do I just need ammonia tests or the whole nine yards?

Thank you!

 

[Dragon]

This is the main problem. Plain and simple. Reduce feedings to one pellet a day. Remove any uneaten pellets.

I have reduced him to one pellet a day as of today.

If you choose not to remove the uneaten food (not recommended), then by all means get a snail to help clean it up. It's true that adding another critter that creates waste will do nothing to help a cycling tank. In your case, however, the snail would be doing much of the cleaning (as long as there's still uneaten food rotting in the water) that you should have been doing in the first place.

I have been removing the uneaten food. Hopefully the one pellet per day will help solve the problem.

Thanks! =)

 

[Dragon]

I have the same problem you do, sometimes, in that I work crazy hours and sometimes can't get to the LFS.

Yeah, I feel your pain! I work second shift, so I usually can't get up in time to get anywhere early, and I can't go anywhere when I get off from work since everything is closed... unless Wal-Greens and/or Wal-Mart carry test strips... does anyone know?

Ever thought about ordering stuff online? Generally, you save a lot of money, and after a long days work it's like Christmas to come home and find a delivery at your doorstep!
Big Als: http://www.bigalsonline.com/
That Pet Place: http://www.thatpetplace.com/
Dr's Foster & Smith: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/

I do order a lot online actually, I guess I just mostly try to go to the LPS to ask questions. I did order a heater for the Betta from Amazon. Thanks for the websites. I will check them out. =)

 

[Dragon]

Hopefully this is a good sign...

The tank is getting a lot less stinky with the 25% water changes each day. Should I keep this up during the whole cycling process? I'm going to hopefully pick up some test strips tomorrow. Anyway, my Betta was actually swimming around today opposed to being lethargic and hiding all the time. I thought that would be a good sign. =)

He's not eating that I can tell though. =(