# Lost a few more



## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

Hi everyone 
unfortunately i lost two more cherry barbs, one last night and one i'm not sure i found it when i was doing the water change this morning. This brings the number down to 4. At the moment one is still hanging out in the corner so i'm not sure how well its doing, the other 3 though are active and seem just fine. 

I haven't been testing the water as much as i should be so i'm going try and stay on top of that to see if that gives me an ideas on whats happening. 

I've read that they like more heavily planted tanks so i'm going to fill it in a bit more today i think as well. 

Just kind of an update i guess


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4351

This is your original thread i think just so everyone is on the same page. I am sorry to hear of the loss.

What kind of maintenance have you been doing on the tank? Hopefully someone will be able to help you out!


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## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

doing 30% water changes each week. Using flurish excel for the plants. The plants all seem to be doing ok, Algae is a bit of an issue but not too bad i think if i start using proper ferts it will solve that issue. 

I lost one right near the start so i don't know if the others were sick all along and just taking longer to show it, or if it is a strees thing from the SAE. I moved him into another time for the evening to see if that helps but its probably too late who knows. 

thanks


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## XbrandonX (Nov 22, 2007)

Test your water and post the results, someone should be able to help you with it.


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## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

Hi all 
Am =0, Nitrite =0, Nitrate =0-5

so good and bad, not sure why the nitrates aren't higher maybe i over cleaned the filter last time. Or could the plants be using some of it up?

ph i didn't test yet tonight but its about 7.8 out of the tap


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

Your water parameters seem ok. I wouldn't worry about your nitrates unless you are trying to add some nitrogen to the tank to grow your plants. If you aren't, low is good, but really of less importance than ammonia and nitrite.

You should test right away if you are having problems, often ammonia spikes are the cause, but are corrected by the time you test your water a few days later...

Maybe some more questions can help:

1. What sort of filter are you using?
2. Are you using a dechlorinator (like Seachem Prime) on your water when doing water changes?
3. How much Seachem Excel are you dosing?
4. How long has the tank been up and running?
5. When you clean your filter, what are you doing to it and how often are you cleaning it?


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## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

1. I'm using a elite whisper 20 i think its called. Seems to be an older model. 
2. I'm using a dechlorinator called aquasafe, comes in the yellow bottel
3. Excel is going in once a day at the recommended dosage 
4. its been up and running for just over a month 
5. i clean the filter up weekly. when i siphon out water into a bucket to do my water change i take the media holders out and wash the media around in that water a bit then put it back. 

One of the reasons i don't like that filter is i think finding new media for it will be a little hard. So i have an old aquaclear mini/20 i could always set that up and start using it. If you think thats a good plan how is the best way to move from one to another.

Thanks


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

These aren't necessarily the cause of your problems - but they could be.

1. I would suggest getting a HOB filter that is overrated for the size of your tank. That filter kinda sucks.

2. I have never used aquasafe - I have always used Seachem Prime and you will find that the majority of people recommend it.

3. Good stuff

4. That means it is still a fairly new tank, but from your amm/nitrite/nitrate readings, it sounds like it is cycled

5. Clean the filter once a month, unless you HAVE to clean it. When you do, use tank water to remove large debris etc. - don't squeeze out and rinse clean any sponges etc. That gunk in there is what is filtering your aquarium - it holds bacteria that eats up your ammonia and nitrites (to name a few!).

If you add a new filter, let it run with the old one for at least two weeks. When you first set it up, squeeze out the gunk from your old filter into the new one and that should help speed up the bacteria films in your filter.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Did you cycle the tank with the fish that died?


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## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

nope the tank was cycled. planted it right away, then went for two weeks, then got an algae fish , then another two weeks i think it was before anything else went in.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Hmm.. a bit of a mystery. How did you acclimate the fish?


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## Julian (Jun 29, 2008)

from what i understand barbs can be prone to bacterial sickness. since none of the other fish in the tank seem sick in the least this maybe the cause. However thanks for all the help so far, i think i'm going to change up the filters just so i have a better one regardless.


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