Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

So I just found my first dead fish floating in the tank this morning.

Background: I started 20 tilapia fingerlings in a 55 gallon tank a little over a month ago. I don't have a grow bed yet, so I have biowheel filter going along with an air stone. The major problems I have had with this new tank setup is that I have had persistant cloudy water along with a green algea bloom. I have performed weekly 10-15% water changes, and I have also rinsed off the filterpads (notthe wheels) at least once a week also. I have maintained a good temperature.

I tried some different food this past week, and the overabundance of floating pellets (which the fish weren't used to)in the food seemed to have triggered some nasty smelling water with bubbles on top. I added some Tetra clear water solution, and then I added a quarter dose of Tetra algea control.

All the other fish seem to being fine. Most of them have tripled and even quadrupled their size, but this one fish that died was a lot smaller compared to the others.

Any thoughts?

What are your Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate and pH levels?

How are the rest of the fish looking?

If your water is green from Algae you really need to prevent light from getting to the water and reduce feeding as it sounds like there is a high buildup of nutrients. Time for a growbed or two.

They probably died.. because they were "Tetra" -fied...

Oh man is it one of those weekends again Roz.... uurrrggg.... *tries to think of something funny but ends up with nuthin*

So now I have lost 3 fish in the past 24 hours.

I had done another 15% water change this morning after I discovered the first dead one.

I haven't been testing my water up to this point, but I borrowed a good testing kit from somebody tonight, and here are the results:

pH: 7.4 - 7.8
ammonia: 0.25 - 0.50 ppm
nitrite: 0 ppm
nitrate: 5.0 ppm
All of these see like normal ranges. I don't know what the pH was before , so I can't tell if there was big change or not.

Most of the remainining fish seem to be hanging out at the bottom of the tank, and not swimming around as much as they usually do.

Perhaps add some salt if you dont have any already and hold off on the feed till the ammonia gets down to 0.

Also, avoid the aquarium products for fish you intend to eat. There are usually warnings on the packaging saying such. Tilapia eat algae, and they are happy in murky water. I would not fuss with trying to clear it up. In fact some people purposely let algae bloom for the tilapia. Just make sure the water is well aerated. A dying algal bloom will suck up a lot of is solved oxygen.

Do you still have the water test? Perhaps test the tap water? (Those weekly changes could have brought in some chlorine, for example?)

What's your water aeration look like ?

I have been treating any additional tapwater with the AquaSafe. I even soak the filter pads in some treated water after rinsing them with tapwater.

I have one bubble stone with a air pump made for a 60 gallon tank, and the penguin 350 biowheel filter. Between the two of them, the water aeration and circulation looked really good, but maybe it was still not enough to hhandle a dying algea bloom.

I added a water circulater in the same corner as the bubble stone, so now some of the bubble stream gets shot sideways.

So far, no more deaths

I think you are right. I had been puurposely letting the algea bloom. But when I tried the new food with the pink floating pellets, the algea haze seemed to hold the disolved pellet particles in suspension, and turned the water a nasty orange brown, which then led to some the nasty smell and foam on the top of the water. So then I tried some clearing solution, and then after that I tried a quarter dose of algea control.

I would not even use the Aquasafe. Aerating the tap water for a while before adding to the fishtank should do, I don't even bother with that. All of my fish deaths have been plumbing related so far. Egg whites work for clearing the water up. You can use barley straw to control algae. If your ph is too low, add crushed seashells to a sock, and hang it in your sump. Again, avoid the aquarium chemicals. This is a closed system, which means it ends up in your food.

aerating will help with chlorine, but not chloramine. Find out what is in your water supply.

It will work for chlorimine, it just takes longer.