What's up with my fish tank?

[Carolinamidwife]

We have a 10 gallon tank (with a filter) that houses 7 tetras, an algae eater, and a newly added teeny frog. We had a snail up until last week but it died. All of these fish are about an inch or less in length.

We have had the tank for about 3 months and I do a 25-30% water change once a month or so and I vacuum the gravel with a siphon.

Everything has been fine until last week the filter died and the tank got a little chunky. I replaced the filter and did a 2/3 water replacement, vacuumed it, etc.

Immediately there was a layer or orange sludge back on the bottom of the tank. I vacuumed and did a 25% water replacement again. Sludge came right back.

What is this sludge and how can I make it go away and stay away? The water is not cloudy at all, it's just a layer of orange sludge on the gravel. It's not possible the snail was eating all of this stuff is it?

Thanks for any advice!

[nd_deadhead]

I don't know what the orange stuff is, but the cause was probably the new filter - or more specifically, the loss of the old one. When you replaced it, you removed all the good bacteria built up on it, and threw the system out of balance.

You did exactly the right thing by doing water changes right away. You might want to continue with frequent water changes, which the good bacteria population builds up on the new filter, and catches up with the fish population in the tank. Reduce feeding will help too.

I'm glad your fish survived the catastrophe! I've not had much luck with small tanks - there's not much room for error. You're doing a good job! But I wouldn't get any more fish (or frogs) without a much bigger tank.

I know someone who had two tiny frogs in an aquarium - and they grew to about golf ball size! I hope yours stays small.

[Carolinamidwife]

Thank you for answering!

My fish tank hell continues. Today the filter was so full of sludge I could tell by standing there and just listening that something was wrong. I have taken to scooping the orange sludge out scoop by scoop (I knew all of that practice at waterbirths would be useful someday) but sludge still coats the plants and decorative tank items. The water is not brakish and the fish are active.

Would it kill the fish if i broke the tank down and started over? I thought I had read somewhere that breaking a tank down and really cleaning the components is a bad idea.

Thanks again, it can be surprisingly hard to find info about this.

[outlier]

Is it possible you're overfeeding your fish? They can actually get by on very little. If this orange sludge is some kind of cyanobacteria, it won't grow if it isn't fed.

I ask because I had one incident a couple years ago where I accidentally dumped a huge amount of fish food in my tank, and despite scooping up what I could and siphoning the gravel a bunch of times, it took several months for that tank to get back to normal. I had LOTS of algae and crazy amounts of snails for a while until their food supply was finally gone.

As for breaking down the tank, it's not great for the fish, but they may be okay. You can buy tank bacteria starter kits at pet stores to jump-start the regrowth of good bacteria in the tank and on the filter. However, if overfeeding is the problem, breaking down the tank won't do any good at all.

[Carolinamidwife]

Yeah, it's entirely possible I am over feeding them. I will be honest and tell you I actually have no clue how much to feed fish and I have been basing it on how much food I see sitting on the bottom. I will try cutting back and see if it makes a difference.

Incidentally, would a snail eat some of this? This stuff started about a week after our snail died.

Is there anything that can be added to the water currently to help it back to normal or are all of those additives baloney?

[nd_deadhead]

I don't like using additives.

If you have food lying ont he bottom of the tank, you are definitely feeding too much! I feed my fish about twice a week (when I rememebr), and feed a little at a time, over about 10 minutes, so that can grab everything before it hits the bottom.

A snail might eat some food from the bottom, but remember - snails poop too! So they are not "tank cleaners".

I wouldn't recommend starting over - you'd lose whatever good bacteria you have in the tank, and put your fishes at risk. Keep up with your frequent water changes, and be patient.

Is it possible that what you're calling sludge is actually a brownish algae? If so, turning off the tank lights, and maybe even putting a cover on the tank (if it gets a lot of natural light) for a few days might help.

Hang in there!

[Carolinamidwife]

Um... I'm not even going to tell you how much I have been feeding them.

It's possible that muck is some kind of algae and I will cover the tank for a bit and see if it cuts it down.

Thanks again, I really appreciate the help!

[outlier]

Originally Posted by Carolinamidwife

Um... I'm not even going to tell you how much I have been feeding them.

I feed my fish a small pinch once a day, and the food is always gone before it's able to sink more than a couple inches below the surface. The kind of fish you and I have will spend much of the day picking at algae and other crud in the tank. If it helps, try to think of the flake food as a basic nutritional supplement to the food they're already eating.

I'm sure your tank will be fine in no time!