SOS! Urgent!

[sragor]

Hi,

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Scenario: XX accidentally dropped a LOT (more than half of small container) of micro pellets food into my 20L tank.

Actions taken: Immediately scooped out as much as possible of the pellets. Did a water change and added Easy-Life.

Problems faced: Many pellets still lie within the substrate in the tank. Hard to get them out. Water remains cloudy. Driftwood has white patches on them now. Several fishes over-ate, now having bloated stomach.

Am at a loss as to what to do. Why is water still cloudy? Algae bloom?



Thanks in advance.

[FishSoup]

What percentage water change did you do? i suspect you'll be having an ammonia/nitrite spike real soon... will probably need to keep close watch on the level, and be prepared to do lots and lots of water changes.

how long ago did this happen? if it only happened a short while ago, i doubt its an algae bloom.. the algae will need time to, well, bloom. It might possibly be due to the food dissolving. What fish are kept inside? If they're hardy, you could perhaps consider doing another large scale water change, just to remove some of the organic matter in the tank. That being said, you will still need to maintain a close eye on ammonia/nitrite levels and take action when necessary.

Good luck with the damage control

[sragor]

Hi,

It happened around noon time today. Have around 1x Sturisma, 8x Harlequin rasboras and 3x neon tetra and a few Cherry shrimps. So I should do a large scale WC everyday till the condition gets better?

[FishSoup]

The cloudiness could be due to the food dissolving, or to a massive bacterial bloom due to the heightened level of nutrients in the tank. First, test for ammonia levels. Its the first thing to look out for. Even low levels can kill livestock... the shrimp are especially delicate.

Large scale WC always stress out fish, but its definitely better than having your animals all get killed off by a massive ammonia/nitrite spike. I'd say just keep close watch on ammonia/nitrite levels, and do WC once the levels increase to dangerous levels. It might be daily, twice daily, or less, it all depends on the setup, and how much excess food was left in the tank.

[sragor]

Hi,

Thanks for the prompt reply FishSoup. Greatly appreciated. Will do what you mentioned later in the day after my papers and update situation accordingly. *Pressing the panic button!*

Wish me luck!

[dnsfpl]

try aging the water and add a bit more anti-chlorine
this might reduce the stress for your fishes

[torque6]

20L roughly about twice my tank size, have you tried siphoning the food out? I customised a prick with sponge on the end of my siphon tube so i can stir up dead food and it gets suck in.

[geezer333]

If u hv another tank , is it better to move your fishes to the other tank???

[WaterH2O]

Another good habit to cultivate is to take a quantity of dry fish food required and soak you in a small container for a while around 5 min will do ( small cup or mug will do) to purge out the air that might be trapped in the food pellets. Also prevent accidental dropping of a entire can of food into the tank.
I do that.

[sragor]

Sigh,

Cannot salvage the situation. Picking up dead bodies is not fun at all. Am heartbroken. Giving up this hobby I have grew so fondly of now. Emptied the tank this very morning. Good luck to the rest.

[sragor]

I really really loved this hobby..

[geezer333]

Bro is ok dont give up learn from mistake . BTW are you planning a funeral for your fishes lol just kidding

[Jervis]

If this happens to me, I will do the following:

1) Net the floating pellets out
2) Use an air tube (since the tank is small) and siphon the sand bed several rounds
3) Change 30% to 40% water (once every 3 days) - Do not perform daily water change as this will deplete your beneficial bacteria count.
4) Add bacteria to make up for frequent water change and hopefully more bacteria count will help breakdown organic wastes and ammonia more quickly
5) Add a small amount of activated carbon (do not over do this as they can be toxic especially in a small tank)

Then hope for the best

Most of the time, it is not the pellets that wipe out the tank... it is our panic actions... we must all learn to stay calm and be rational when disasters like this happen.

[torque6]

Agree with jervis, i dont think the pellets will wipe out your tank.

Sragor,
Did you managed to perform water change as mentioned by soup ?

[Quixotic]

5) Add a small amount of activated carbon (do not over do this as they can be toxic especially in a small tank)

What exactly is toxic in a small tank? The way I read the sentence, activated carbon if you add a large amount would be toxic in a small tank? Why so?

[fish_person51423]

don't give this up, accidents happen and there's no reason to cry over a little, well not so little, accident should ruin your hobby. just start again, learn from your mistakes, and DON'T POUT, THAT WON'T DO ANYTHING TO FIX YOUR MISTAKE!!!!!!!!!!

[nkthen]

Hey don't give up man. There was once that I put too much medicine in my 3ft tank. It killed almost my entire shrimps population and a number of weak fishes.

If you truly love this hobby, you'll rear the fishes again... Just keep your filter, cycle your water for next 3 weeks, do it again.


**** An interesting note, resetting the aquarium can also be fun. I just spent 4-5 hours reshaping my aquarium plants 2 weeks ago and after that it looks good.

Next year, when I get tired of the look I'll get out all the fishes, change subtrates, etc. and change the whole look again.