smelly water dead fish.....

[Bruce of Bruce]

ok so Saturday morning was my day to Vac the gravle and do a 20% change in my 30 gallon tank.
I went to grab the bucket and noticed my Oscars wen't swinmming to the top for snacks like usual.
then I noticed one was dead along with my 2 year old pleco.
the water is a bit cloudy and smells something awful.
I did a 50% change and changed out the bio bags, that seemed to clear up the water but the smell is still there.
I normally do a 20% change every 10 days and a bio bag change every2 weeks.
the Oscars are farely new ,4 months, but Mr. Pleco was in there almost 2 years.
any Ideas?
BoB

 

[FroggyFox]

wow...well, depends what you mean by 'bio bag' I guess...you change your filter cartridge every two weeks?? I'd stop doing that...you definitely need to only swish it out in old tank water and replace maybe a couple times a year.

Have you tested your water for nitrites, ammonia, nitrates? With only a 20% change and messy fish like a pleco and oscars I'd think they're going to need a lot more changes than that.

How long has this tank been set up?

The smell...could it be something got into the water? Dead fish is pretty nasty...you could try some more water change/gravel vac (like try doing a 50 or 60% change) and see if that helps the smell. Some activated carbon should also help take some nasties out of the water if you were going to be at the store anytime soon.

 

[englishstar1978]

Smelly water

I agree you are changing the filter way to often. I rinse out the filter with each water change and add carbon to the filter as the tank requires. What is you tanks temp. may I ask? It might be getting too warm causing the algea to bloom making the water a literally stinking mess. if algea is the problem try scrapping it off the walls before you do a water change . This should help remove a large amount of the algea and make you tank easier to view the fish threw.

 

[Shaunna]

Are the bio bags that you are using those c-100 things? I used those when I first set my tank up and they didn't do anything. Just a waste of money. Like previously stated, I would start out with a huge water change and then see where that gets ya and go from there. Good luck and sorry to hear about your fish.

 

[Bruce of Bruce]

thanks for the replies.
By bio bag I mean the filter catrage for a wisper filter.
it's a floss cover over "charcoal" and there is a bacteria sponge in front of that.
alge isn't a problem never have had any visable in the tank.
water temp is 74f.
the tanks been going about 9 months with the pelco.
he came over wth 15 gal from a 20 gallon he'd been in for a year and a few months.
i need to go get a nitrate etc test kit, friend barrowed it in a pinch and it's yet to come back.
oh well pay it forward.
it does't smell like that to me ,i've delt with cycle problems in the past.
this is pungent, it kind of gags you if you get a big whiff of it.
i'm going to do a 60-70% change right now.
BoB

 

[Seleya]

2 oscars and a plec in a 30 gallon, especially if you're switching cartridges instead of just swishing and reusing, is going to get toxic pretty fast.

Be sure to test your water and i would strongly suggest you do a good sized water change.

Sorry for your losses.

 

[Orion]

If the smell is close to that of rotten eggs, or more specificly a sulfer smell, then sounds like you have a build up of anerobic bacteria within the substrate.

If the gravel bed is too deep, and to much waste an uneaten food gets down in it and begins to decay it forms pockets of anerobic bacteria which can give of a really bad smell with it is finaly disturbed. If it stays long enough, it can begin to smell even without being disturbed.

 

[cybersymes]

might the smell simply be ammonia...
sounds like you might have no mature bacteria...
[if you've been replacing filters]...
large water chance...as you have done...
and what about some 'dirty water' from a friends mature filter media...
any chance of moving fish to a healthy tank while you chek out your substrate...

really sorry to hear of your losses dude...

 

[Bruce of Bruce]

OK!
well I did a huge water change, 80%, last night and found some issues with my set up.
after I vaced the gravel and washed off the rocks I tried restarting my filter.
it just wouldn't go.
so I took a trip to the pet co and got a new filter and some test strips.

new filter works great!
test strips say I'm in the norms for everything ph nitraite etc....
I added some water from the 20 gallon and every thing seemed fine this am.
well see what happens when i get home.
I had forgotten how messy Oscars can be!
I was changing out the filters so often because of the mess they make.

Ok so I'm down to one Oscar. any Ideas on some other fish to help keep the tank cleaner?
or is "he" destioned to live alone?
thanks for all the help.
BoB

 

[Seleya]

A 30 is too small for even a single oscar -- you need at the very least a 55 for him. Did the test strips test for ammonia? What were the readings you got? Be sure to vac deeply -- some oscar keepers keep them in bare bottom tanks because of the mess factor. Also, since you switched filters, be sure to keep a close eye on your water for the next few weeks -- you're likely to suffer a minicycle. Good luck!