Why fish die after a water change and tips to prevent it.

 

Regular water changes are essential for ensuring a healthy aquarium environment. However, many beginners encounter difficulties when performing water changes, resulting in the unfortunate death of their fish. It is important to note that this is often due to common mistakes made by hobbyists rather than any inherent flaw in the practice of water changes. By avoiding these mistakes, fish owners can ensure that their water changes are beneficial for their tank inhabitant

The ecosystem of our tanks.

In an aquarium, fish live in a complex ecosystem along with plants and beneficial bacteria. This ecosystem is created by the interactions between the three components, and it is crucial for maintaining a healthy environment for the fish. When fish produce waste, it contains toxic ammonia that can harm the fish if not properly broken down. Fortunately, the bacteria in the tank can convert this ammonia into simpler, less toxic components that can be utilized by the plants. The establishment of this ecosystem takes time, and any changes to the water chemistry should occur slowly to allow the fish to acclimate. Natural changes in the water chemistry occur gradually, and the fish can adapt to them over time. Therefore, it is essential to maintain a consistent water change schedule to keep the aquarium environment stable and healthy for all its inhabitants. 

 

 What goes wrong?

Ironically, clean water can be harmful to fish compared to water that contains bacteria and parasites. This is because making significant changes to the water chemistry, such as performing a large water change of more than 60%, rinsing the gravel, and cleaning filter media, can cause a massive water chemistry change. This sudden change can cause temperature shock, stress, loss of appetite, and ultimately, death in fish. 

Aquarium water contains beneficial bacteria that help to break down toxic ammonia present in fish waste. However, large water changes can eliminate these beneficial bacteria. The bacteria living under the gravel can be washed away when rinsing the gravel, while colonies can be destroyed when cleaning filter sponges or filter media. When fish produce waste containing ammonia, it can remain in its toxic form without the beneficial bacteria to break it down. The accumulation of ammonia can cause ammonia burns and ultimately lead to the death of the fish. Therefore, it is essential to perform water changes gradually to avoid a sudden change in the water chemistry and maintain a healthy ecosystem for fish, plants, and beneficial bacteria. 

Should we stop performing water change?

     Now reading the above context, it may seem that water changes are risky and not useful at all. But if we follow regular water changing, and some simple steps we could bring down the risk of killing the fish and disturbing the tank ecosystem.

Without water changes the dissolved toxic wasted would get accumulated which will not harm the fish right away but will slowly damage its immune system, making the fish prone to dying even by small diseases or stress.

Having good bacteria in the tank also means the presence of some amount of bad bacteria, parasites, and viruses. Fishes living in healthy water conditions will not get sick even when exposed to the disease. Also, as the water quality drops the number of parasites increases too.

When we talk about keeping a fish healthy and increasing its life span the best thing you can do is keeping good water quality.

How to perform the water changes in the right way.

As stated earlier some common mistakes lead to disturbance in the normal conditions of the tank. Here we would know the right way of changing your fish tank’s water.

                                             

Frequency of water change.

Water changes should be scheduled for regular maintenance of the tank. It can be done on the weekends or according to your convince. Remember to keep the water changes regular rather than occasional. A moderately stocked tank should undergo a 20% water change every week. A 50-60% water change should be conducted every 5-6 weeks to prevent any type of nitrate accumulations. If a fish dies or an outbreak of some disease goes for a 10% water change.

 

 I would strongly suggest watching this amazing video created by Ready Aquariums about water changes:

The process.

Here is a step-by-step process of a basic water change process:

•          Unplug your heater, filter, and other equipment.

•          Vacuum out the water through a siphon and make sure all big-sized derbies come into it.

•          Clean the glass with an algae scraper or simply by an old brush.

•          Remove dead leaves, stems, or any other big-sized derbies by hand.

•          Any decoration if covered in algae can be scrubbed with a toothbrush. Make sure you  just wash it with warm water without using soap.

•          Trim out dead stems or overgrown plants if any.

•          In a bucket of water add 2-3 drops f Dechlorinator or any other water-treating liquid                   available in pet stores.

 

•          Slowly add new water. Make sure you don’t directly put it over the fish in the tank.

•          Switch on the filter and heater and keep the aquarium light switched off for 1-2 hours.

 

Tips for water change:

-           Keep water changes scheduled. Know the time period for which the tank remains clean and plan water changes accordingly.

-           Never randomly do large water changes.

-           Don’t clean the gravel and filter on the same day.

-           Clean the filter 2 days after the water change.

-           Clean the filter every 4-6 weeks rather than cleaning it weekly.

-           Always add Dechlorinator in the new water or let the water sit for a day before adding it to the tank.

-           Keep the fishes in the tank during the regular 20-50% water changes. They can be moved in another tank during large water changes.

 

These simple tricks would help you prevent the risk of dead fishes and disturbance in the ecosystem of the tank.   

This is the free version of the article published in Creature companion June edition. You can get the complete digital copy by clicking here