Hiya Georgina,
Sorry to hear about the fish losses. Given that 3 were bottom dwellers, I'd
say the new gravel had an effect on them. Plus there is a possibilty that
because of the changes the water became significantly 'harder' this may have
caused the death of the harlequin and contributed to the loss of the catfish.
How was the gravel change carried out? Did you empty the tank, saving as much
'old' water as possible? or just scoop the gravel out? (Not the best method!!)
Did you clean the filter at the same time? (bad idea). Lastly did you thoroughly
wash the new gravel (I know it's obvious but sometimes if you are in a
hurry.................) If you changed the gravel AND did a filter clean this
may well have had a negative effect on your filtration as virtually all the
beneficial bacteria would have been lost. In any event that's in the past, what
to do now. First off if the water is cloudy, do a partial change, maybe 10%
every couple of days, this will reduce the amount of free particulates.
Check your filter to make sure that the finest filter media is clean and clear,
this media is what will help to filter out the particulates. The cloudiness is
probably mainly a 'bacterial bloom' indicating that the filter is unable to
remove the excess bacteria. This will settle down as the filter starts to cope
with the load put on it. But this will take time, you can also help by reducing
the feeding, even to the extent of not feeding for say 5-7 days. This will also
help to reduce the bloom. One final point, please do not replace your losses
before the water has cleared and has become stable, allow at least a couple of
wekks once the water clears before restocking as it is not unknown for cloudy
water to re-occur within a week or two.
I hope that your losses have come to an end now and that things will
eventually come back into 'balance'
Regards
Steve

japmis <japanese_misfit@...> wrote:
dear all
i recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed all the gravel in my tank
because it was totally infested with malaysian trumpet snails (i think
there were more snails than gravel!). i think the tank then cycled
after that because it was cloudy for a few days. since then i have
lost four fish, firstly a cory, then a harlequin, then another cory
and this morning an otocinclus! what can i do to stop my fish
dying??!! is it related to the water change? my molly fry (x8) are
all fine and growing well. help!

Georgina
23/f/Reading UK




To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
tropicalaquaria-unsubscribe@...





---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links

To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/tropicalaquaria/

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
tropicalaquaria-unsubscribe@...

Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.





The greatest rewards are those least likely to make you rich

---------------------------------
To help you stay safe and secure online, we've developed the all new Yahoo!
Security Centre.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]