Another Water Change Disaster!!!!

I think i might cry!!!

You may recognise this scenario  from my previous posts.

Two days ago I did a water change in my 54 litre tank. i changed about 21 litres of tank water with dechlorinated tap water . I planted all my new plants where i wanted them, added my moss and some seashells for decoration. The moss was the only thing that had not already been in a tank ( the seashells were from Stanleys, washed in boiling water before adding).

i added 11 drops of prophyll for the plants and 11 drops of optima amd 15 ml Quick start. I also had to clean the filter because it had got so blocked it had virtually stopped working ( ) but i did this in tankwater.

Yesterday the fish were all a bit quiet. Today they have all been chasing each other manically and 'spawning', although no eggs have been laid.

I noticed about 45 minutes ago that one on the glow lights was breathing really quickly, so i tested my water. I tested this morning also and everything was the same (normal) except my KH has risen from 6 to 10. Then i noticed that there was a lump of fuzzy stuff on the end of my bit of mopani root( see photo).

I have lifted the filter slightly so there is definite agitation of the surface, have siphoned the fuzzy stuff out and replaced the 7 litres of water that went with it with dechlorinated tap water.

Now three of the glowlights and one of the phantoms and one of the corys are all breathing quickly.

Are all my fish going to die!!!!!???!!!

what the heck is going on with my water changes. this is the fourth time that this sequence of events has happened and the final result has always been dead fish.

What do i do??

fc

Thanks AM.  Just realised i didn't add my photo!

Here it is.

Cool! Thanks biff. I think you have answered some of my queries. I will retest the water in a bit when its had time to settle from todays water change.

I use API tap safe and it is for aquariums. I bought the super concentrated one by accident and only need 0.01 ml per 7 litres of water! Luckily i had a hand rearing syringe from my kitten midwife days that measures in 0.01 ml increments!!!

What do think the white stuff is?  I did wonder if it was mould from a sinking pellet i dropped in but it wasn't in the right place and was well and truly stuck to the wood. The mopani wood has been in the tank for  about a year. The white stuff was where the roots of the java fern i have just attached are. Is this relevant?

Why are the fishes breathing so fast?

FC76

How often do you change the water? Have you tested your tap water to get a comparison with your tank water? It may be that by doing large infrequent water changes, you are dramatically changing the water nutrient levels. Fluctuations can cause all sorts of problems. Perhaps see if things improve by doing more smaller water changes.

I also wondered why you are doing such large water changes at one time....................
Don't become obsessed with thinking that water changes are always a good thing.
I also wouldn't add anything "for the plants" unless necessary.
I have never added anything to my tanks except dechlorinator.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I do 20% every 5 weeks. All my fish are lively, healthy and don't die. Nitrate levels are virtually the same as in my tap water. Some fish have bred in the community tanks.  So long as they stay like that, I don't see any reason to increase the work levels for no benefit.
That's why I say "If it ain't broke, don't fix it".

There are people here who do loads of water changes yet still regularly report fish health problems and water changes are not always the answer.

Whatever works for you, stick to it.

I'd say make sure you do frequent tests of all of the main things, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, pH. Find out the buffering capacity of you water. The make changes according to the results, as necessary.

Of course, what I would really advise people to do is to get your plants established before you think about adding fish. I have had tanks planted and running for three months or more before I added any fish. This included the ammonia fishless cycle period. Watching plants grow is less frustrating than waiting for a bare tank to complete a long cycle  . The plants will probably help to quick start the cycle as well, the sterility of tap water seems to be the main problem in getting the cycle going for many people.

20% every five weeks far far to little 30% every five days is about
correct amount i do more than that because i have some very rare
L numbers in one of my tanks so instead of only doing one tank
do all four i have four L397 and a breeding group of L325 i am
trying to get my L397 to breed

Thanks colin ( i know i'm tired when i have to type your name three times 1) colon, 2) coin, 3) colin!!!!!

I may just do as you suggest as my corys are merrily up rooting everything i planted and a lot of it is floating at the top!!!

FC