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hi i have a 15L tank with 2 gourami, 1 catfish and 2 bottomfeeders. over the last week the water had a acidic smell to it. every 2 days it smells stronger. what is the problem.

A.Collins

Ammonia.

Does it burn your nose a little, make your eyes water or make you want to sneeze?

Ammonia is a waste chemical produced when fish breathe or digest food.Water changes help dilute this chemical, but you need to grow good bacteria to help deal with the waste.

The tank sounds very small for all of those fish, 15L is not a big tank and cichlids and "bottom feeders" tend to need over 60L and a really good filter too. Even with good bacteria and filtration, your tank can't support so many fish.

For a quick fix (that will last less than a day and will only buy your fish time, change about 8L of water.

What filter are you running?
what type of cichlids do you have and how big?
Can you take fish back, get more tanks or get a bigger tank?

read up on cycling your tank. It involves the nitrogen cycle and is a bit complicated, but essential for keeping fish healthy

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

no it doesnt burn my nose just smells foul. and i think my tank is 15-20L and they are all small with a lot of space to swim in. as for the fish you were asking about, they are dwarf gourami's. the pet store will not accept my fish. my friend got them for me at a pet shop i dont even go to.

A.Collins

Bugger.

How old is the tank? I mean, how long has it been set up with fish in etc?



For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

since christmas. why

A.Collins

If it's only since xmas it's possible that it's still in the cycling process.

Here is a very very very important link read it through a few times. Ask any questions you might have.

Sounds like the tank is overstocked as well as cycling, we should be able to get the tank straightened out, the stocking may need a bit of help.

If you don't already have test kids, stop by the fish store and pick up ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte test kits, run a batch of tests (be careful with the nitrAte one it's got a few extra steps usually) and post your results up here.

^_^

hi my results were:

pH- 7.0
high range pH- 7.4
ammonia- 0
nitrate- 5.0
nitrite- 0

A.Collins

Ok, based on the link I provided in my earlier post, can you explain what you think is going on in your tank and what you need to do?

If you didn't read it before even though I said it was very very important read it now.

Here's the link again


^_^

i dont really know what is going on but my fish look okay and ive done a 50% water change twice.

A.Collins

hi water seems fine now and my fish are very active also, thanks for the help everyone

A.Collins