BKC Solutions Corner

Now you have set up your fish tank aquarium you will want to enjoy your new pastime. Looking after your fish tank is not too hard, however several problems may occur, particularly in new tanks. Everything looks fine for a short while then bit by bit algae begins to flourish and completely take over the aquarium, the fish start to get sick and die and your beautiful, new tank stops looking like the pristine, sparkling tanks in all the pictures. How did this happen? Why did this happen? What went so drastically wrong? How can you make it right?

First of all don’t panic and please do not go to the nearest pet shop, purchase chemical remedies and dump them into your tank. This will only compound the problems! Something else that inexperienced fish tank owners are inclined to do when panicking is to dump everything that is in the tank to start over. This is completely the wrong thing to do as the beneficial bacteria that you worked hard to encourage in the tank will be tossed out as well and you will have to re-cycle the tank all over again.

You need to understand the problem and gradually correct it, without the use of chemical products which will disturb the the aquarium’s balance even more.

Build up of Poisonous Chemicals

The most distressing occurence is the sudden death of your fish. Did you take the time to cycle the tank before stocking with fish? The most frequent cause of sudden fish death is high concentrations of nitrites or ammonia from their waste products. You’ll need a fish tank test kit to check if this is the cause. If the tank wasn’t properly cycled there will be insufficient beneficial bacteria to cope with with the toxic chemicals, more than ever if you have lots of fish.  Is your tank too crowded? This will be too much for the bacteria that are dealing with the waste and lead to an increase in the levels of nitrite and ammonia.

Bullying Fish

Have you made sure you have a good assortment of species in the aquarium? A number of fish are peaceful when immature but will become bullies when mature. Tiger barbs are notorious for being bullies. Any bullying fish are best taken out of the tank and given away!

Not Enough Water Changes

Have you been partially changing the water often enough? Even though ammonia and nitrites are processed by the bacteria, less toxic nitrates are produced. However nitrates are not completely non toxic. If the concentration of nitrates become too high they could harm your fish and a partial water change is needed to remove them.

Using Chlorine Contaminated Water

Water from the tap will always contain be contaminated with chlorine which is easily dealt with by leaving the water to stand for a day or two. Some authorities also add chloramines which you can’t remove in this way. If your tap water is contaminated with chloramines, or you don’t know, you should use a chemical treatment to deal with them them before putting the water in the fish tank.

Overfeeding The Fish

Overfeeding is a frequent problem, that leads to uneaten food decaying. This then releases deadly chemicals that cause more strain on the bacteria. The effect is a swift rise in toxic chemicals that can cause damage to your fish. When you are feeding your fish make sure that you give them no more than they can eat in about three mins. If you see food sitting on the bottom of the tank you are overfeeding!

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