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-Inu- posted:Hey guys, my little 10g project has had an outbreak of algae (bacteria?) for the past couple of months and it's really starting to annoy me. This poo poo is everywhere - gravel, plants, heater, walls, you name it. It peels off in sheets from the gravel/plants. I'm not completely sure what it is but hopefully someone with more experience can identify it. Light googling led me to believe that it might be cyanobacteria, but I'm surprised that it would be able to outcompete the plants because the tank is so heavily planted. Yep, looks like cyanobacteria, aka blue green algae. Look into fighting it using Erythromycin.
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Dec 18, 2014 03:24
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| # ? May 17, 2024 23:06 |
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I finally tested the phosphate levels in the water and got 2ppm So I did some research and found Phos Zorb! http://www.apifishcare.com/product.php?id=548#.VJJe9s2UdhE I hadn't heard of it before, and it costs a bit more in Aust than the US (~$8 vs ~$20) but after watching some youtube vids I decided to give it a shot. Anyone here tried it before?
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Dec 18, 2014 06:03
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My mum has some liquid chemical for her pond to get rid of algae, which I think it reacts with phosphate? I've seen Phos Zorb, didn't think I needed it but since I've been scrutinising my tank more I've noticed a little bit of hair algae here and there, and what I think might be beard algae starting to grow on some of my java moss. I'll be reducing the amount of light in the tank so that might help, otherwise I might have to take more drastic action before it gets out of hand. What are you using to test your phos levels? I feel wary of little pouches of consumable that sit in your filter since when they stop working your problem comes back invisibly, but if you replace them too soon it feels a bit wasteful. If you try Phos Zorb, let us know how it goes. No more of my fish have died so far, looks like I might get off lightly with just one death. The remaining school of six have a little more confidence than before but still startle easily, the older ones moreso than the newer ones. I was hoping the new ones would be a good influence on the timid fish but it looks like the timid fish might be spreading panic to the new fish. I'll keep the tank partly covered and lights more dim and see how it goes. I've had a sponge over the filter inlet strainer with the idea that it would be a bit safer mechanically for the fish, however it prevents chunks of waste from being removed properly. I noticed one of the weird white poops get stuck to the sponge, then another fish tasted it to see if it was food. If it's tapeworms or even just some diseased poop I don't want other fish chewing on it and getting sick so the sponge is gone and the poop has been sucked away, no longer accessible for chewing. Hopefully no fish gets sucked onto and stuck on the filter inlet, I moved their java moss to the other corner to try and encourage them not to huddle around the filter inlet all the time and that seems to be working. I imagine the filter inlet strainer is supposed to be safe for use with fish but the idea that one of them could get hurt by it kind of bothers me. The idea of rosy barbs eating each others diseased poo poo, and rosy barb diseases that have probably evolved based on rosy barbs trying to eat each other's poo poo bothers me more than the filter sucking too hard.
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Dec 18, 2014 16:26
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Smirk posted:Yep, looks like cyanobacteria, aka blue green algae. Look into fighting it using Erythromycin. I have the same stuff taking over my tank. Would this be the right product to use? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16818
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Dec 19, 2014 03:23
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how can I get my tank less cloudy? Over the past week or two it has become very cloudy. We have done partial water changes almost every night over the past week or so. The filter has been changed. The water just continues to stay cloudy. I bought some water clarifier, but it barely made a difference.
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Dec 19, 2014 04:23
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Could you describe the cloudiness? Is it increasing? Dusty or milky looking? Any color to it?
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Dec 19, 2014 04:29
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Tiny Lowtax posted:how can I get my tank less cloudy? Over the past week or two it has become very cloudy. We have done partial water changes almost every night over the past week or so. The filter has been changed. The water just continues to stay cloudy. I bought some water clarifier, but it barely made a difference. Is it a new tank? If so, it sounds like a bacterial bloom and should clear up on its own.
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Dec 19, 2014 04:29
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Smirk posted:Yep, looks like cyanobacteria, aka blue green algae. Look into fighting it using Erythromycin.
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Dec 19, 2014 04:53
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Slugworth posted:Is it a new tank? If so, it sounds like a bacterial bloom and should clear up on its own. Nope, had it going strong over a year and a half. SynthOrange posted:Could you describe the cloudiness? Is it increasing? Dusty or milky looking? Any color to it? It's pretty steady, hasn't increased nor decreased. I'd say it is kind of a yellow tint.
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Dec 19, 2014 04:54
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If you've not been digging up stuff, or something horrible is going on with your area's water, it could be a bacterial bloom. Treating with un-iodized salt i.e. rock salt or aquarium salt can help by messing with bacteria's osmotic pressure and sciency junk like that. I've had success with my own bacterial bloom issues by treating with 2 teaspoons of salt to a 10 gallon tank.
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Dec 19, 2014 04:59
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Do you have any driftwood in there? Tannins from wood can leach and turn your water yellow/brown. Try stuffing some activated carbon in a filter sock into your filter. If it's a clarity issue that might help. What's the sunlight situation?
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Dec 19, 2014 04:59
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I doubt it's tannins though. Those usually make your water tea-stained, not cloudy.
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Dec 19, 2014 05:01
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Mocking Bird posted:Do you have any driftwood in there? Tannins from wood can leach and turn your water yellow/brown. No driftwood, just fish and fake plants. It gets indirect sunlight from a nearby window.
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Dec 19, 2014 05:01
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Also have you done water tests? Get back to us with results if you can.
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Dec 19, 2014 05:09
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SynthOrange posted:Also have you done water tests? Get back to us with results if you can. Yes, everything was fine except the water hardness was borderline danger zone, and the KH was as well. Everything else was fine.
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Dec 19, 2014 05:25
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KillHour posted:I have the same stuff taking over my tank. Would this be the right product to use? Can't view the page due to some server issue, but it's probably what I used, sachets of powder, meant for aquariums. Made a huge difference for me. Be sure to check impact on beneficial bacteria in filter - I think I added bacteria-in-a-bottle afterwards to get things going again. I'm awaiting delivery of a UV sterilizer - given past experience with cyanobacteria, and current issue with columnaris, I think I would recommend having one as relatively cheap insurance against algae, bacteria and parasites.
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Dec 19, 2014 06:39
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Planted Tank question... 46G bowfront fluval tank ( canister ), setup for years. For the life of me, I just can't get plants to really consistently thrive. I've gone so far as to purchase a CO2 kit ( Red Sea ) and for months I've had what I think is the right balance of injection. It's enough that the plants ( anubias, java fern, amazon swords, some cryptocorns ) start pearling - or at least the algae I've never been able to totally get rid of is - but the fish aren't suffocating ( at least visibly ). Despite all this, the plants just don't seem to improve. The anubias's tend to look like they are just hanging on, the java fern is tough as expected but not really flourishing ( which is hilarious really ), the cryptocorns have been reduced to a single leaf or 2 poking out of the substrate, and the sword is just kind of limp. I've tried root tabs, those iron additives, water parameters are basically perfect, water change once a week and filter cleaning every other. It feels like by all accounts everything should be fine, but these drat plants just look pathetic. The tank was never really "heavily" planted but at this point I would say it's fairly sparse. The fish load is definitely quite low, we're talking maybe 15 total - what's remaining after a mass die off about 2 years ago - a mix of congo's, silver dollars, neons, a clown pleco and one lonely oto - but the existing fish are tough as nails after surviving The Great Extinction. I'm just hesitant to add more in until I can get the plants improving, I don't want to add more variables if I can. Is there something else I can try? Some sort of miracle plant growth hormone that won't kill the fish? I must be missing some sort of nutrient ( other than CO2 at least ), maybe increase the iron addition? ( doing it once a week per instructions ).
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Dec 19, 2014 20:23
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Have you gone through the plant deficiency charts available online? I use this one:
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Dec 19, 2014 20:42
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What kind of lighting is on the tank?
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Dec 19, 2014 23:16
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What do you guys use to check co2? I bought a little kit off ebay - but don't really trust it at all... or maybe I'm doing it wrong. Is there a better way?
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Dec 20, 2014 04:17
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Well once again it looks like kickstarter has produced a miracle device where all others have failed (isn't kickstarter great) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/4612189/oco-the-worlds-first-co2-meter-for-aquariums/posts  It shows your CO2 amount on a handy little digital display for only $199 The 'how it works section' describes how to it works by being plugged in! It was fully funded ~6 months ago and despite some delays the latest message says they will start shipping only 2 months late in the next couple of days. I for one am proud of kickstarter's ability to leap science ahead of universities and private research institutes.
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Dec 20, 2014 05:25
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Jombo posted:
see if it works - put your dick in it (no dont) It looks like it's the same principle as these guys: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+27696+3747+4608&pcatid=4608 CrazyLittle fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Dec 20, 2014 |
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Dec 20, 2014 05:39
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Jombo posted:What do you guys use to check co2? I bought a little kit off ebay - Drop checkers are great, as long as you're using bromothymol blue (4dKH reference solution) inside. I once bought (and returned) a cheap drop checker kit which turned out to just be a pH tester - it was meaningless unless you also tested your current KH, then looked up CO2 versus pH and KH. Since I already had pH and KH test kits, the kit was almost completely pointless.
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Dec 20, 2014 06:29
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-Inu- posted:Thanks. Looking at my maintenance spreadsheet, it seems like it started popping up around the same time that I stopped dosing ferts, and the internet tells me that low NO3 can cause cyano. Just did a water change and dosed ferts, if it doesn't get any better this week I'll medicate the tank. Best of luck with it! I've also recently come across a product called Blue Exit specifically for fighting cyanobacteria, although I have no idea what's in it and how it works.
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Dec 20, 2014 07:08
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Smirk posted:Drop checkers are great, as long as you're using bromothymol blue (4dKH reference solution) inside. I once bought (and returned) a cheap drop checker kit which turned out to just be a pH tester - it was meaningless unless you also tested your current KH, then looked up CO2 versus pH and KH. Since I already had pH and KH test kits, the kit was almost completely pointless. I just tried it again after watching some instructional youtube vids and I think it's just a crappy ph kit - which since I already have a good quality one and an electronic one is a huge waste... back to ebay looking for a better quality one now I know what to look for.
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Dec 20, 2014 08:10
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Smirk posted:What kind of lighting is on the tank? Yeah, I second this. All the CO2 and perfect conditions possible don't mean poo poo if you don't have decent lighting
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Dec 20, 2014 12:31
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I just moved and my 75 is sitting empty in my living room. Need some suggestions and ideas. The only thing I'm against is planting it because I'm terrible at planted aquariums. Speakings of, I have a 48" Finnex Ray 2 LED light I was using during my attempt at planted tank I would be willing to sell. If anyone is interested send me a PM.
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Dec 20, 2014 21:33
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With no plants, I'd do a demasoni and yellow lab tank. Lots of color and activity, and a 75g is a great size tank for it.
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Dec 20, 2014 22:35
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I've been keeping fish for about 20 years, and i've never done africans before. I'll have to do some looking around.
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Dec 20, 2014 23:04
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Rock scapes are fun! You should try it. I've seen some beautiful cichlid tanks with nary a plant in sight.
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Dec 21, 2014 01:26
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Re: Page 68 -- Jesus Christ, you loving savages, just buy some goddamned Tricaine already. Give a little bit at first to get the fish stoned off its rear end, then dump the rest in to send it off to lala land. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricaine_mesylate http://www.wchemical.com/tricaine-s-ms-222.html ----- Big fat stupid bass are still around. Here's some pics.   Have a gross lumpy head too. This is Stripey, a hybrid between an azul and a monoculus.peacock bass. 
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Dec 21, 2014 03:20
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Since this is the only freshwater thread i think this may be the right place to post. So i went with the local aquarists club to collect wild specimens, it was my first time so i decided to share the experience THE GOAL: Go to Ñancay Stream and get some good healthy already big and adult fish, any young gets return to the water where it came from, same goes for species that aren't desired or wont survive transport The PLACE: Ñancay stream is a small curse that leads to Uruguay river, generally its around 2 feet tall and around 10 feet wide in normal conditions with a slow flow EXPECTED FISHYS: Australoheros facetus ( 7 colored cichlid); Hemigrammus caudovittatus (tetra Buenos Aires); Hyphessobrycon eques(tetra Serpae), good old Otocinclus; Ancistrus; Corydoras; and killi fishes in the near ponds (Austrolebias alexandri A. nigripinnis and A. bellottii) THE PLAN: gather the cars and leave Buenos Aires at around 08:00, arrive at around 12:00 and by 16:00 leave so we could be back at our homes by 19:00 and avoid heavy traffic And now finally the trip: Everything went smoothly and as expected, before arriving at the stream some interesting fields were spotted , the problem they where behind a fence so it would be trespassing to get there! luckily a couple of peasants were nearby and they gave us permission to hop it.  You see the special thing about these ponds is that are the typical environment for killi fishes, lets hope we find some! but wait a second...  this is a big pond, in fact, its WAY TO BIG, you see the problem is that this year rained too much, in fact it has been the rainiest year in the last 100 years! This causes to the ponds to never dry before spring raining season, which means the killi life cycle didn't kick this summer, so if any was to be found it would be allready way too old, in fact, the ponds lasted so much that species that would died in the dry stage are living here!  Goddamit Toad catfish (Rhamdia quelen) you are not supposed to be here, probably he got here in a flood,this is bad news, this guy is a killi predator so it means we wont see any here... we tried to fish for some more... but remember those two peasants? welp either they were nobodys or didn't tell the land keeper about our presence because a minute later we fished this guy some dude came with a shotgun yelling us to get out, of course we didn't argue, returned the catfish to his pond and continue our trip, if any killi fish was there, we will never know. We did a stop for get food and drinks, used the nets on a nearby drainage to see if something was there, only a couple of Cnesterodon Decemmaculatus got caught, they're pretty much colorless guppys not interested in them, so we let them be Back to the road and we finally arrived!...wait..remember about how this year was really rainy? well...    This is not a stream small at all!!! This changes everything! Because also being so close to the Parana river some unexpected species probably got in here, its bad because it means bigger predators to scare the fish we are after that most probably leave due to the strong current (its impossible to see in the picture but by the center of it the water moved really fast), also pretty deep, a full growth men would just sink and disappear if decided to just hop in that area; also since the water is so high, no pond was formed so there goes all expectations to find killi fishes  , well better to cross them out the list and move on  First things first!, set up camp under the bridge, not only it will provide shadow for us, but also for any bucket with captured fishes and avoid overheat, now lets check those small water courses that are near us...     you see this almost stagnant water should not be there, again it formed either due to the heavy rains or the agriculture advance creating draining channels that made this happen, it wont hurt to give them a few net swipes and see whats pops out, a lot of ghost shrimp (Palaemonetes argenteus) was there! and also a few leeches but we didn't noticed them until half and hour or so later when they already were filled up in our blood but wait, something in the net!!     Look at that fat oto, in no aquarium they will sale you one so fat! and not only the first corys are showing up, but also a banjo fish  , he is too young to be taken , but still good to know they can be found here, also that crab showed up , no idea what species he is but he was cute  but also some not so good fishes were caught, here is a young Tararira (Hoplias malabaricus) this fish makes look any piraña attack like a mosquito bite, maybe its time for a break..   alright enough of this pussyfooting, we came to fish at the Stream and we will, so its time to deploy the big net!    (maybe went way to deep) not caught on camera 3 or 4 of those Tarariras hopping over the net, anyway, in those different swipes gave us the jackpot, lots of corys and otos for everyone, no sings of cichlids sadly, none of the desired tetras but a lot of other ones showed up along with some big guys      Here we see a Curimatorbis platanus and a big Prochilodus lineatus, they're mostly targets for fishermans in the area, but is lucky day for them as we don't want to eat them, so back to the stream they go, also picture of the tetra garbage pile, red tailed tetras, machete tetras, and maybe a couple more, they are either not fit for a tank or wont survive the transport or just plain grey and boring so they stay here. At this point no more pictures, we all sorted what we got, put them in bags return what nobody took and trip back to us it was, i came back with a school of a healthy fatty otos and a school of corys, i will take picture of them once i got them fully adapted to my local tap water and out of the preventive tank into one i made for them only. Doing the math i expended maybe around 20 american dollars for them in food and gas(we carpooled of course) and got an amazing experience doing it, i cannot wait until another trip like this gets done, and of course i will try to make a better log of it if you guys are interested in it.
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Dec 21, 2014 08:47
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I've been soaking a piece of driftwood for a couple of weeks now and tonight went to tip the water out of the bucket it's been in to make room for doing a water change (I've been soaking the wood in tank water where possible) - only to find the bucket was empty. And the airstone that I had running in the bucket but forgot to take out when I disconnected it had sneakily siphoned everything out some time over the last couple of days. It went into the carpet of course, but the carpet didn't even look wet even though it was drenched. At least nothing died due to my first big aquarium stuff up. Something is still upsetting the gut of some of my fish so I have some praziquantel on order, and I was also recommended to get metronidazole vs Protozoa while I was at it but the only place I could find selling that in AU was guppys, which has the occasional very poor review and mandatory $40 shipping. I decided to take my business elsewhere and guessed that Protozin might be an okay substitute, anyone tried it and know how it compares? Or, does anyone know where I could get metronidazole or a similar *idazole medication for fish in AU? If nothing else I think Protozin will murder all my snails, I think it has copper in it. I was eating dinner while watching the tank and noticed a large number of white specks all over the glass inside the tank. I took some pictures but couldn't really identify what it was. At first it looked like a tiny snail but I've seen both tadpole and rams horn snail eggs hatch and the hatchlings are much bigger and easily recognisable as a snail. There are smaller ones and bigger ones and they mostly stay still although I have seen them pivot on the stubbier round end.  Anyone know what they might be?
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Dec 21, 2014 17:13
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Looks like a flatworm to me. Generally harmless. I have never gotten any in my freshwater tanks, but a small population has been subsisting in my reef tank for awhile.
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Dec 21, 2014 19:14
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TurboPriest posted:Since this is the only freshwater thread Really interesting post, definitely crosspost this into the ask/tell fishing thread, it would get a much better reception there. Bunch of biology/fishloving dudes in that thread that collect fish like this. If not just make your own thread because what you're doing is dope
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Dec 21, 2014 20:03
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RACE WAR!  My angels have pretty much staked their territories. The black ones have the side with the filter, the white ones have the side with the lush plant hidey spots. When either crosses the invisible middle line the other color will give chase till everyone's back on their proper sides.
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Dec 21, 2014 22:56
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I think I decided on eartheaters. Anyone keep these? I think I'm going to go with Geophagus Tapajos and 2 schools of tetras. What's everyones favorite tetra? I'd like something a little bigger that schools well and preferably something South American. I'm thinking penguin and buenos aires. Congos would be cool because of the color but I'd prefer to stay SA.
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Dec 22, 2014 02:42
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TurboPriest posted:Since this is the only freshwater thread i think this may be the right place to post. don't have anything to add, but just wanted to say i really enjoyed this post.
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Dec 22, 2014 05:46
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Goddamnit. People with Figure 8 puffers and GSPs, don't be stupid and neglect the fact that one of your fish has an overgrown beak. I nearly lost a fish last night and had to perform emergency dental. I noticed one of my fish (two figure eights), had been looking thinner, and I had basically been hand feeding him because I thought his tankmate might have just been stealing all the food. Last night I walked by the tank and he was laying vertically against the filter intake, so I panicked and reached in to move him. and he was just listless and poo poo. I did a quick google and it seemed like overgrown teeth was probably the issue. I looked, and yeah. Not having any clove oil I put him in a separate bucket and added some cold water to it to bring it down. Between being nearly dying from starvation and the cold, it was mostly okay to work on. His beak was so overgrown I could barely pry it apart and had to use a small wooden skewer to get in there. I put him back in and put some food in near him not knowing if he'd survive the night. I got up this morning, he was swimming around a bit, fed them again. He looks better this evening than he has in a month. Looks like I need to up the amount of snails/clams I feed them... I thought he might have had a parasite or something because his tank mate was fine, but with that quick of a recovery. I feel like a terrible owner. Doing fish dental work is not something I would have to say I'd ever have done. In short: feed your drat molluscivore fish mollusks.
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Dec 22, 2014 07:56
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| # ? May 17, 2024 23:06 |
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Wandering Orange posted:Have you gone through the plant deficiency charts available online? I use this one: I've never seen that one, that's great! I would guess based on that chart it could be nitrogen deficiency, although what's happening doesn't quite match anything perfectly ( just old growth leaves being reabsorbed it seems, though I wouldn't have considered that that is what is actually happening ). I'll try ordering some fertilizer online instead of being lazy and just going with the few things they have at the local store.
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Dec 22, 2014 19:20
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