-
You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up
Low Energy ADA 45H
- Thread starter Mike Moran
- Start date
Jayefc1
Member
Haha thats brilliant and your not the first and wont be the last to flush a shrimp mate
Cheers
Jay
Cheers
Jay
Mike Moran
Member
Its not been a vintage week for my tank I’m afraid. The poor wee Rasboras have become sick, and I’ve lost two of them over the weekend. I think internal parasites might be to blame as I test the water every week and nitrite still zero and nitrates are where they should be. I noticed a range of symptoms affected several of the fish white and red marks on their bodies and fins (patches rather than spots) one, that also looked bloated, had what I think I’ve identified as an anchor worm sticking out of its side. At the bottom of the tank I’ve also seen three different small unwelcome guests.
1. Small white crawling round things the size of a pinhead crawling on the glass
2. A very small grey leech/fluke type creature
3. Some very thin white worms in the substrate
Feeling pretty sad as I’ve tried very hard to ensure the tanks been well cared for. It was set up with beautiful clean and pest free tropica plants and I’ve had no problems till the fish went in. I acclimatised them properly and didn’t add any of the fish shop water to the tank. I’ve fed them carefully just small amounts for two minutes so as not to have build up of waste food. I have fed them occasional treats of frozen live food from blister packs and this is the only other place I can think I’ve introduced a problem.
As I have my lovely cherry shrimp I’ve tried to research a safe medication to use. So yesterday I added a (4ml) dose of seachem paraguard. I’ve had no more losses and the fish seem brighter today. But some of the pest seem alive and well at the bottom of the tank. On the upside my shrimp still look happy and healthy and don’t seem upset by the medication. If anyone has any suggestions/advice I’d be most grateful. I have a small empty tank I could potentially set up as a hospital tank but it is empty so I couldn’t cycle it in time and in any case I imagine my whole system is now infected not just the fish. Definitely not my finest week🙁
1. Small white crawling round things the size of a pinhead crawling on the glass
2. A very small grey leech/fluke type creature
3. Some very thin white worms in the substrate
Feeling pretty sad as I’ve tried very hard to ensure the tanks been well cared for. It was set up with beautiful clean and pest free tropica plants and I’ve had no problems till the fish went in. I acclimatised them properly and didn’t add any of the fish shop water to the tank. I’ve fed them carefully just small amounts for two minutes so as not to have build up of waste food. I have fed them occasional treats of frozen live food from blister packs and this is the only other place I can think I’ve introduced a problem.
As I have my lovely cherry shrimp I’ve tried to research a safe medication to use. So yesterday I added a (4ml) dose of seachem paraguard. I’ve had no more losses and the fish seem brighter today. But some of the pest seem alive and well at the bottom of the tank. On the upside my shrimp still look happy and healthy and don’t seem upset by the medication. If anyone has any suggestions/advice I’d be most grateful. I have a small empty tank I could potentially set up as a hospital tank but it is empty so I couldn’t cycle it in time and in any case I imagine my whole system is now infected not just the fish. Definitely not my finest week🙁
Hi all,
Sorry for your losses, but don't panic.
Ostracods are pretty much universal in fresh water, they have persistent eggs that can blow around in the wind (like algal spores) and I've had them in buckets of rain-water etc. The same with Naididae, Planaria (and Hydra), they are really common in any reasonably clean freshwater.
cheers Darrel
Sorry for your losses, but don't panic.
Possibly seed shrimps, <"Ostracods?">.
Possibly <"a Leech">, or more <"likely a Flatworm">.
Almost certainly <"Detritus worms"> (<"Naididae">).
Ostracods are pretty much universal in fresh water, they have persistent eggs that can blow around in the wind (like algal spores) and I've had them in buckets of rain-water etc. The same with Naididae, Planaria (and Hydra), they are really common in any reasonably clean freshwater.
cheers Darrel
Mike Moran
Member
Thanks Darrel. Those names were really helpful. I’ve looked them all up and I reckon your IDs were spot on. As most apart from the flatworm look pretty standard Im feeling more hopeful. At least two of the remaining fish looking sick so I’m hoping the medication works some magic. Really appreciate the help. Thank you.
Hi all,
Have a look at <"Bugs you might encounter">. Usually, unless it is physically attached to the fish, bugs that you can see in the tank aren't parasites
We have a <"few threads"> about the various uninvited guests we get in the tanks (and particularly shrimp tanks). Personally I've learned to live with Planaria etc.
cheers Darrel
Fingers crossed for the fish, unfortunately it may well be things that happened to the fish before you got them.
Have a look at <"Bugs you might encounter">. Usually, unless it is physically attached to the fish, bugs that you can see in the tank aren't parasites
We have a <"few threads"> about the various uninvited guests we get in the tanks (and particularly shrimp tanks). Personally I've learned to live with Planaria etc.
cheers Darrel
Mike Moran
Member
Have a look at <"Bugs you might encounter">. Usually, unless it is physically attached to the fish, bugs that you can see in the tank aren't parasites
Thanks! didn’t realise there were so many ‘ tank friends’ who might pop round uninvited! Wish I’d not look at it while I was eating my dinner though. Lol.
Thanks! didn’t realise there were so many ‘ tank friends’ who might pop round uninvited! Wish I’d not look at it while I was eating my dinner though. Lol.
1
14548
Guest
Have a look at <"Bugs you might encounter">. Usually, unless it is physically attached to the fish, bugs that you can see in the tank aren't parasites
Thanks! didn’t realise there were so many ‘ tank friends’ who might pop round uninvited! Wish I’d not look at it while I was eating my dinner though. Lol.
Don't worry, Fishes love to eat those bugs for donner 🙂
Mike Moran
Member
Very happy news from the Rasboras after a touch and go week in the tank. I’ve had no more losses and everyone is looking MUCH more healthy. I’ve been dosing Easy Life Voogle for a full course, having dosed Seachem Paraguard for few days. I stopped the Paraguard after losing a cherry shrimp on day two. Obviously not wanting to kill my shrimp creature trying to cure my fish.
Honestly, I’m still not sure what the problem was/is or which treatment fixed it but I’m just really happy to see my fish looking healthier again. The fish had red blotches by their tail and lost colour with milky white patches on their bodies and fins. From what I read it was either haemorrhagic septicimea (caused by a virus) or ammonia poisoning (caused by me I guess but it never showed up on my weekly water tests). I guess I won’t know whether it was my fault or not but I’m just very glad they’re on the mend. The guilt has kept me awake!
After over a week with no water change due to the meds the tank itself is looking pretty awful. I have lots of brown algae/diatoms on the glass rocks and all but the newest plat leaves. I know it’s common in a non CO2 tank. I’m not sure if this is from too much/too little light or nutrient problem or an ammonia spike I haven’t detected so I’m going to ask in the algae forum and see if anyone might spot where I’m slipping up.
Honestly, I’m still not sure what the problem was/is or which treatment fixed it but I’m just really happy to see my fish looking healthier again. The fish had red blotches by their tail and lost colour with milky white patches on their bodies and fins. From what I read it was either haemorrhagic septicimea (caused by a virus) or ammonia poisoning (caused by me I guess but it never showed up on my weekly water tests). I guess I won’t know whether it was my fault or not but I’m just very glad they’re on the mend. The guilt has kept me awake!
After over a week with no water change due to the meds the tank itself is looking pretty awful. I have lots of brown algae/diatoms on the glass rocks and all but the newest plat leaves. I know it’s common in a non CO2 tank. I’m not sure if this is from too much/too little light or nutrient problem or an ammonia spike I haven’t detected so I’m going to ask in the algae forum and see if anyone might spot where I’m slipping up.
Mike Moran
Member
After spending the best part of the evening trawling the ‘algae’ ‘ferts’ and ‘lighting’ forums (is it a bit sad that I enjoyed it?) I’ve come to the conclusion I’ve made a rookie mistake with my my lighting that has caused my algae. I have a twinstar 450SA which is sexy and I love but I think performance-wise is probably better suited to a high tech set up.
Since planting the tank I’ve gradually raised the intensity from 30% at set up to 50% and I think this has caused diatoms to flourish. My tank now has a none too attractive brown coating on pretty much every surface. I am a muppet for this....I was told to keep my lights at 30% but panicked when I started to get small amounts of diatoms. I read general algae guides, and several said it is caused by low light or is particularly common in low tech tanks so I turned my lights up assuming light was the cause. With more reading, helpful advice from @dw1305 about the ‘duckweed index’ and a generous gift of Aquarium Gardens celebrity frogbit from @Siege I now think my algae may be because my plants were a bit undernourished and the algae was outcompeting. My frogbit was pale and yellowing and greened up within a week once I increased my dose of tropica food. Unfortunately I was trying to do too many things at once...cure the algae and improve my plant health. So what I’ve mistakenly done is up both my lights and my ferts. On top of this my new fish got ill and I had to medicate which prevented a weekly clean and water change. So too much light, extra ferts and less cleaning in combination. Viola! Algae soup
Now I’ve just got to work out how to get the tank back in control. So far I’ve:
1. Reduced lighting back to 8 hours dimmed at 30%
2.Using fogbit to manage dosing...tropica premium 1 squirt tropica specialised 1 squirt per week. (The tank is 55l) but with soil and big rock so I think about about 40l water)
3. 50% water change each week as usual but today I’m going to do an extra clean and 50% change to reduce to diatoms.
4. I’m going to add 5 nerite snails to help general clean-up.
5. Consider replacing the plants I can’t clean the algae off.
Hope all this sounds sensible. Diatoms teaching me who’s boss.
Since planting the tank I’ve gradually raised the intensity from 30% at set up to 50% and I think this has caused diatoms to flourish. My tank now has a none too attractive brown coating on pretty much every surface. I am a muppet for this....I was told to keep my lights at 30% but panicked when I started to get small amounts of diatoms. I read general algae guides, and several said it is caused by low light or is particularly common in low tech tanks so I turned my lights up assuming light was the cause. With more reading, helpful advice from @dw1305 about the ‘duckweed index’ and a generous gift of Aquarium Gardens celebrity frogbit from @Siege I now think my algae may be because my plants were a bit undernourished and the algae was outcompeting. My frogbit was pale and yellowing and greened up within a week once I increased my dose of tropica food. Unfortunately I was trying to do too many things at once...cure the algae and improve my plant health. So what I’ve mistakenly done is up both my lights and my ferts. On top of this my new fish got ill and I had to medicate which prevented a weekly clean and water change. So too much light, extra ferts and less cleaning in combination. Viola! Algae soup
Now I’ve just got to work out how to get the tank back in control. So far I’ve:
1. Reduced lighting back to 8 hours dimmed at 30%
2.Using fogbit to manage dosing...tropica premium 1 squirt tropica specialised 1 squirt per week. (The tank is 55l) but with soil and big rock so I think about about 40l water)
3. 50% water change each week as usual but today I’m going to do an extra clean and 50% change to reduce to diatoms.
4. I’m going to add 5 nerite snails to help general clean-up.
5. Consider replacing the plants I can’t clean the algae off.
Hope all this sounds sensible. Diatoms teaching me who’s boss.
Siege
Member
Sounds good. Pay attention to the floating plants, they’ll tell you if you need to dose more.
Don’t be afraid of doing 2 large water changes on the trot. It’ll do the tank good.
I think you are ready for co2.........!🙂
Ps. It’s easy, Dave or myself will go through it with you. 🙂
Don’t be afraid of doing 2 large water changes on the trot. It’ll do the tank good.
I think you are ready for co2.........!🙂
Ps. It’s easy, Dave or myself will go through it with you. 🙂
@Mike Moran don't beat yourself up we've all been through it and still battle the same things years down the line, if it was easy we would all have contest escapes but it sounds like you've got the right attitude and wanting to learn and noticing your mistakes and more importantly listening to the more seasoned ones on here which can be hard when you're told some home truths at times 
Enjoy the journey and soak it up but keep it simple, no better feeling than when it all starts coming together and your tank is 100x better than my first couple of tanks 😉
Enjoy the journey and soak it up but keep it simple, no better feeling than when it all starts coming together and your tank is 100x better than my first couple of tanks 😉
Mike Moran
Member
Haha. I think I’d better learn how to grow my plants a bit better first, I’m bad enough at growing them slowly
That frogbit is a godsend though, thank you....it’s had a lot of babies so at least one thing is thriving! Not one to give in though, I’m still loving it. I’ve taken your advice and done a big 70% water change, and I’ve started the clean the plants manually to see what I can recover. Hoping the algae will slow down now I’ve corrected the lighting- can’t say you and Dave didn’t warn me😳 Will give you guys a call next week to get some extra plants. On the bright side my mini Christmas moss is attaching nicely!
Mike Moran
Member
Jayefc1
Member
Wow mate them beets looks so good could do so much with them head spinning with dishes
Sorry to hear you have finally suffered the dreaded diotoms reading back through i think you probably increased the light to fast and coupled with missed water changes to the medication of the fish things just went a little out of balance but its nothing a beet grower like you cant handle as @Siege says do a a couple of water changes a week for 2 weeks i find rinsing the pre filter sponges out every other day really helps as they seem to get dirty rely fast in this period and any plant matter they catch is not good so get ride ouickly
Just keep on rubbing the leaves to get the dirt off as before and a couple of snails will defo help
Cheers
Jay
Sorry to hear you have finally suffered the dreaded diotoms reading back through i think you probably increased the light to fast and coupled with missed water changes to the medication of the fish things just went a little out of balance but its nothing a beet grower like you cant handle as @Siege says do a a couple of water changes a week for 2 weeks i find rinsing the pre filter sponges out every other day really helps as they seem to get dirty rely fast in this period and any plant matter they catch is not good so get ride ouickly
Just keep on rubbing the leaves to get the dirt off as before and a couple of snails will defo help
Cheers
Jay
Mike Moran
Member
Sorry to hear you have finally suffered the dreaded diotoms[/QUOTE
Haha thanks Jay. I’m guessing the diatoms are a rite of passage. Definitely doing better with my emersed (veg patch) growing
Jayefc1
Member
I cant cope with the eggs but have got racing strip red snails they gont seem to leave eggs but do like to climb out of the tank lol
Cheers
Jay
Cheers
Jay
Mike Moran
Member
They climb out? Mine would be foolish to try that at the moment ...all that algae, its a snail all-you-can-eat buffet in there!
Jayefc1
Member
Haha they will be loving it lol my lil boy is the cheif snail petroler he just pops them.back in now
Cheers
Jay
Cheers
Jay
Mike Moran
Member
Great tanks news this week. Big Shelley my favourite shrimp has had A LOT of babies!
They’re ridiculously cute and they’re everywhere. I’ve rescued 5 from the pre filter already!