Yellow water & Parrot fish problem

[YZFR1rider]

Ok now this question is from one of my friends. He has a 30 gallon tank that has been setup for about 10 weeks. Tanks consists of:

1 5 inch crawfish
2 3 inch crabs
2 4 inch gold belly newts
2 4 inch orange Parrot fish
1 7 inch Placo
2 4 inch Placos
2 tiger barbs
1 3 inch gold snail
and a couple more really small fish

I know I know it really sounds overstocked but I was over his house and it seemed to be fine. Ok now his problem, his tank for the past couple weeks has turned a cloudy yellow and he has taken all the precautions to get rid of it. People told him it was amonia but he treated it for amonia and it didn't clear up he has did an 80% water change and it still turned cloudy yellow. Now the water was clear for a month and a half and this just happened and he cant get rid of it. He said none of the fish are acting wierd or out of the ordinary. Oh and he feeds them a pinch of food in the morning and at night.

Now his parrot fish gets this black spots on him for a while then it goes away but then it might come back again after a couple days. He is acting ok it's really weird. His wife thinks it's because he goes in this fake log they have and black stuff comes off from the inside of it but my friend doubts that.

Any help for my friend would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Matt

 

[Psycho_187_2k]

Well is sounds like you have a bacterial problem, what kind of filtration is your friend using? when he did that drastic water change did he vacume out the gravel? and if ammonia aint the problem did he run the other tests to make sure everything came out accurate? is there any decomposed fish? well, i also have a blood parrot that gets the black spots and all i have in my tank is rocks and fake plants. I think ill look more into this but for the time being im not goin to worry a whole lot about it since the fish seam to be healthy and happy!




55 GALLON TANK
----------------
1 Blood Parrotfish*Cichlid Parrotfish*(about 5 inches long)
3 Irredescent sharks (about 2 1/2 inches long)
1 Cichlid Dempsey *Jack Dempsey* (about 4 inches long)
1 Oscar (3 inches long)
2 Red bellied Pacu (about 2 inches long)
2 Sailfin pleco's (about 4 inches long)(minus 1 )


10 GALLON TANK
----------------
2 velvet swordtails
10 strawberry tetras (minus 1 )
2 albino corydoras
4 painted glassfish
11 ghost shrimp

 

[colesea]

Black spots on the blood parrots is an indication of poor water quality.

Has you friend placed in any natural driftwood of any kind? Leaching from wood, even wood bought at the LFS, can turn the water a tea-color, or clear yellow. The only way to get rid of this is to wait it out, do small volume water changes frequently, and keep changing the carbon in the filter. Or to remove the wood and let it leach itself out while soaking in a bucket.

The tank is very overstoocked. Even if your friend is only feeding a little food (and it should be enough so that all the fish get their fill), what goes into a fish must also come out of a fish. Pacus, plecos and blood parrots are very big eaters, therefore very big waste producers. Ten weeks may not have been enough time for a complete cycle on the tank, and an 80% water change will also certainly disturb that.

Frequent, small volume water changes (10 gallons a week on a thirty gallon tank, including gravel vaccuuming), and constant refreshing of the carbon media should help control the color/smell issues. Carbon filter media is what removes color from water, and if the color is lingering, it means the carbon has been used up and needs replaced. Cabon also helps control smell. But it is not a cure all, nor are any chemical treatments. The best way is to remove the source of the problem, which in this case is too many large fish in a small volume of water. Water changes would be recommended at 10 gallons at least once a week, and I would also recommned your friend look into a larger filter unit as well, and most certainly a 75 to 90 gallon tank in the future. Well cared for blood parrots can be the size of baskeballs, and pacus grow huge, as well as common plecos recorded at 18 to 24 inches.
~~Colesea

 

[YZFR1rider]

He said he has a clear view 200 or something like that. It has 3 types of cartridges in it, a sponge, amonia, and carbon but he said he hasn't changed the carbon in a month. I appreciate all your info guys.

Matt