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need help for bacterial bloom in friend's tank

Discussion in 'Aquarium Equipment & Decor' started by matrixmommy, Feb 25, 2009.

  1. matrixmommy

    matrixmommy Thread Starter New Member

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    One of my friends has a 10 gallon tank that is having a serious bacterial bloom. She set the tank up a while ago (not sure exactly how long) and after it was one cycling (finished about a week and a half ago), added her fish. I know for sure that she has a female betta and a female black mollie, as well as a few other fish, but I can't remember everything she has in there. What can she do about the bacterial bloom? She was told to wait it out and it would get better within a couple of days, but that was four or five days ago and it's actually gotten worse. Any help is appreciated. I have never had a bacterial bloom in my Hex5 (my only filtered tank so far) and with my smaller bowls/tanks, I just do a complete water change and rinse the substrate and they're good to go (but have only dealt with them two or three times).
     
    matrixmommy, Feb 25, 2009
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  2. James0816

    James0816 New Member

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    Sounds as if your friend might have over taxed her BB (beneficial bacteria). By that I mean too many fish were added at one time. These are normal until the BB builds up enough to handle the current stocking level and will subside. It's nothing to worry about just the aesthetics of it. She will have to keep up on the wc's to keep ammonia in check during this time.
     
    James0816, Feb 25, 2009
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  3. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Active Member

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    Agreed with James.... she has to wait! DONT change the water as that will keep the bacteria bloom going. Just decrease feedings and wait. It will go away if that is done.
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 25, 2009
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  4. matrixmommy

    matrixmommy Thread Starter New Member

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    Okay. Thanks. Like I said, I don't know exactly how many fish she has or when they were added or anything (I know she added the mollie and female betta at the same time 'cuz she sent me pics of them). I'll pass the info along!
     
    matrixmommy, Feb 25, 2009
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  5. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    Agree with the above, probably added too many fish at once. IF not, then look into the overfeeding (excess nutrients). Water changes will defin feed the bloom! I know it bites to wait it out when you have a ucky looking tank, but sometimes it's defin better to rather than adding more stuff into the tank making things worse. Great Advice Lemon & James!
     
    MOD_Dawn, Feb 25, 2009
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  6. matrixmommy

    matrixmommy Thread Starter New Member

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    Okay, new info on my friend's tank. This is exactly what she emailed me.

    "The tank is 10 gallons. It started to leak so we got a new 10 gallon. We put as much water from the old tank to the new one as we could and ended up having to add a couple more gallons. We put the fish in from the beginning since it was mostly their old water. This was about a week and a half or so ago. It was clear for a couple days then started to get cloudy. We have 1 molly, 1 guppy, 1 betta, 1 sucker, and 2 dojo loachs. I know the Dojo's need a bigger tank but they are fine for now. I probably have too many fish in it but they are okay for the time being."
     
    matrixmommy, Feb 25, 2009
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  7. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    substrate?
    DeChlorinator added?
    Water tested?
    how big /type is the sucker?
    they can produce a lot of waste!
     
    MOD_Dawn, Feb 25, 2009
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  8. matrixmommy

    matrixmommy Thread Starter New Member

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    This is what she said in answer to those questions:

    "With the rocks, I'm not exactly sure what kind or anything. It isn't the smaller colored rocks, they are bigger and smoother and natural looking. The only other things besides the fish in the tank is live plants. We do have a piece of drift wood that a plant sits in, it's real wood. The dechlorinator is just the cheap stuff at petco that they recommend. Not sure of the name. It's in a box with extra fish stuff and I can't go digging around right now. The sucker.. I have no idea what kind he is. It isn't a pleco, it looks more like a cat fish, but I'm pretty sure it's not a cat fish.

    When we had the old tank it was basically the same set up but we had a extra hidey thing for the fish, kinda like a flower pot with holes all in it. We also had blue gravel. Same filter, same plants. We did add the molly and betta though when we switched tanks."

    LOL! I really need to get her to join the forum so I don't have to do this! Hehe...anyway, I think the dechlorinator is Aquasafe since that's usually what they recommend at the big box stores (at least in my experience).
     
    matrixmommy, Feb 25, 2009
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  9. MOD_Dawn

    MOD_Dawn Active Member

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    without knowing the readings it's nearly impossible to pinpoint if something is amiss. Also, certain rocks are bad...like really bad. Vinegar/ph down test for leaching. Hopefully her bloom will get better without knowing the specifics of the water.
     
    MOD_Dawn, Feb 25, 2009
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  10. matrixmommy

    matrixmommy Thread Starter New Member

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    K. I'll let her know.
     
    matrixmommy, Feb 25, 2009
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