I kept a watchful eye on my 2 new Danios to make sure they got along with the established 3 I already had. Plus I added a bushynose pleco to the mix because my tank was showing sign of algae. In my opinion a sign of a healthy tank. In case there wasn't sufficient algae I bought some algae wafers. To make sure my new fish got something to eat because the older Danios are quick and eat all the food, I began feeding a small dose at night also. Being new to the hobby I was reading some posts saying feed a couple times a day in small amounts and some saying once a day is fine. I so did a little of both. It has come to my opinion that the once a day is far better. I will explain why later in the blog.
I took my normal water readings and did my normal water changes. But I started to notice my water was getting cloudy. I didn't think too much of it since most things I read online just says it normal. So to help it along I bought Seachem Clarity. I used as directed but had no effect. After a couple more days my water got cloudier. Then I noticed on of my older Danios had a white spot on each forward fin and top of the tail. I researched Ich because that tends to be the most common problem with aquarium fish. The signs did seem to point to Ich although it looked like it. I also checked my filter. Of all the things I kept my eye on I forgot of the filter. The water was backing up over the reservoir past the actual filter. I changed it out and the cartridge was caked with gunk. So at this point it was time to buy medication for my fish and I made my way to Petsmart.
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| cloudy water |
The times I go into Petsmart and look around for ideas for my tank I listen to the sales guy. He really seems to know his stuff and isn't trying to just up sale the customers on more than they need. A lot of what he says coincides with what I read online. But he wasn't there the day I needed to fish fixer uppers. The person on duty in the section did suggest API Melafix and Pimafix. i only had few buck on me so I got the 4oz melafix. A couple days later, after getting paid, I bought the Pimafix and API Aquarium Salt. The guy I listen to talk to customers was there and he saw what I had and asked,"Sick fish?" I said "yea" explain what I was doing. Then he added that I should raise the temp on my heat just a little also.
I did what I set out to do. I added a teaspoon of both Melafix and Pimafix and I added a tablespoon of the aquarium salt. After a day or two the white spot on my fish's fins looked smaller. Sign that it was working but the water was still cloudy. I researched some more and came to the conclusion that it might be this bacterial Bloom and maybe I was over feeding which adds to this condition. Plus the algae wafers I was providing my pleco didn't seem to be touch. So I am sure that was a factor. If the wafers weren't touched then maybe there was sufficient algae on the decor. Note: I still drop in a wafer every now and then but I break them into quarters and try to remember to remove them after an hour.
So, now that I was convinced i had a bacterial bloom happening I modified my tasks on my Nanoplanner. For a while I changed water ever 3 instead of 5 days. Also I check water chemistry every 3 days. But after a another week nothing seemed to happen. Well, expect for my fish no longer had those fungal spots. I changed out my filter cartridge every week too because the water was still bypassing the cartridge. About a week or so ago I looked into new filters. I decided on the AquaClear 20 that I mention in my other posts. Within a couple days my water looked much better. I tried the Seachem Clarity again and this time is worked within a couple hours. Now it is practically clear again.
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| Notice Pleco on bottom of banana plant lily at top of pic |
