ai5@s.cc.purdue.edu (Vikram Lall) (01/19/88)
I was not here for 4-5 weeks, and when I got back, I found out that the person feeding my fish had not changed the water. I have a Black molly, 2 angels, 2 glass-catfish, 1 red tailed shark, and 1 scavenger in a 10 gallon. I changed 2 gallons, what else should I do to rectify their health? Please e-mail. Thanks, Vikram Lall --- Vikram Lall ai5@s.cc.purdue.edu s.cc.purdue.edu!ai5 BITNET: lall@purccvm Purdue University.
Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (01/19/88)
In article <1975@s.cc.purdue.edu>, ai5@s (Vikram Lall) writes: > I was not here for 4-5 weeks, and when I got back, I found out that > the person feeding my fish had not changed the water. > > I have a Black molly, 2 angels, 2 glass-catfish, 1 red tailed shark, > and 1 scavenger in a 10 gallon. > > I changed 2 gallons, what else should I do to rectify their health? You didn't say what was wrong with them. I'd guess that there is probably too much ammonia in the tank. Angels in particular produce a lot of ammonia, especially under stress. Change 1/3 water (I guess 2 gallons will do), and put in two teaspoons of "aquarium salt". This helps reduce fish stress. Do NOT feed the fish for a day or two. Increase filtration and aeration to maximum. After four days, change 1/4 to 1/3 water again. Check the pH too -- it's probably too high. Bring it down slowly if necessary. You might also try adding an ammonia absorbing resin (e.g., AmmoCarb chips) to your filter, or just placing 1/3 cup of this in a nylon bag inside the tank. Make sure you rinse them well first. I've also been recommended ammonia removing agents such as Amquel on occasion, but I'm usually against using too many chemicals (esp. if you're using something to reduce pH). Depends on how desperate the situation is, I suppose. If the ammonia level is higher than 3 or 4 ppm, your fish are probably darting about madly and are under great stress. There is a possibility that they may have some sort of parasites too, since the chances of this increasing as stress increases. If they are sick but you can't figure out what they have, put in some wide-ranging medicine (I like Promethylsul, but there are others around). You should probably talk to someone at your local pet store, who probably knows a lot more than I do about this. One last caveat -- I don't have too much experience with this kind of situation; the above is basically a summary of what saved my tank in a similar situation once. You might want to cross-check with a dealer or a friend (or even a good book). Good luck. Do let me know what you do, and how it turns out. -- Ashwin Ram -- ARPA: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin BITNET: Ram@yalecs ARPA: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin BITNET: Ram@yalecs
richard@gryphon.CTS.COM (Richard Sexton) (01/20/88)
In article <21580@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: >In article <1975@s.cc.purdue.edu>, ai5@s (Vikram Lall) writes: >> I was not here for 4-5 weeks, and when I got back, I found out that >> the person feeding my fish had not changed the water. >> >> I have a Black molly, 2 angels, 2 glass-catfish, 1 red tailed shark, >> and 1 scavenger in a 10 gallon. >> >> I changed 2 gallons, what else should I do to rectify their health? [generally good advice deleted] The only thing I would add is be carefull about making a transition from water high in dissolved material to "clean" water. Fish that I have moved from "organic soup" to clean water have promptly shown great distress (reddish gills, listless, clinging to the bottom, rapid breath) and a couple have died. -- "...and the morning sun has yet to ride my hood ornament" richard@gryphon.CTS.COM {ihnp4!scgvaxd!cadovax, philabs!cadovax, codas!ddsw1} gryphon!richard
patti@bucket.UUCP (Patti Beadles) (01/21/88)
In article <21580@yale-celray.yale.UUCP> Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) writes: >In article <1975@s.cc.purdue.edu>, ai5@s (Vikram Lall) writes: >> I was not here for 4-5 weeks, and when I got back, I found out that >> the person feeding my fish had not changed the water. >. Check the pH too -- it's probably too high. >Bring it down slowly if necessary. A slight correction. In an uncleaned tank, the pH would tend to drop. If you're adjusting it by changing the water, it shouldn't make a big difference. If, heaven forbid, you're tossing in buffers without checking the pH first, it would. (I'm hoping nobody would be that stupid, but it never hurts to be sure. :-) -- ************************************************************************** * The opinions expressed above are a figment of your imagination. * * ...tektronix!teksce!bucket!patti Patti Beadles to non-net types. * **************************************************************************
Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram) (01/25/88)
In article <708@bucket.UUCP>, patti@bucket (Patti Beadles) writes: > In an uncleaned tank, the pH would tend to drop. Hmmm... I'm not sure I understand why. All that NH3 in the tank should cause it to become more alkaline, shouldn't it? A similar thing happened to me once and the pH was way up there. -- Ashwin. ARPA: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu UUCP: {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,cmcl2,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin BITNET: Ram@yalecs