Aquaponic Gardening

A Community and Forum For Aquaponic Gardeners

Is it ok to introduce new fish to a system that has recently been treated for (ich) parasites-

The garden seems to have slowed to a halt (for the most part besides the tomatoes and lettuce) zuchinnis flowers are forming and the baby zuchs- are turning yellow then brown and dying.

Broccolli and cauliflower are slow to form anything

I suspect the plants are not getting the required amount of nitrogen for accelerated growth, due to the

lack of fish eating and relieving themselves - thus not much fish waste is being pumped to the beds.

I have added very little sea weed as a supplement.

I want to know if it is OK for me to introduce a bunch of (100) goldfish to the system knowing full well that some (may) be infected w/ parasites... I want to jump start the garden again with fish poop.

 Will the high salinity in my sytem automatically go to work on the all (ich) that is brought in and completely eliminate the presence of (ich) parasites? 

Also is it OK to add Beneficial Bacteria from a (bottle) to help process the extra ammonia that will be present in the tank once I add the fish?  

Views: 152

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Do you know the exact salinity you have in your system now?  And do you know the salinity that the new goldfish will be coming from?  What is the water temp?

 

Some plants are probably suffering more because of the salt.  Was the system cycled up before?  What do your water tests currently say?  If you have any nitrate reading, I wouldn't sweat too much about trying to increase the load fast or anything.

 

How big is the system and what is the current fish load.  Adding 100 fish all at once can be a pretty sudden change if it isn't a big and mature system.  It doesn't necessarily take much fish poop to keep a system running so as I said, if you have any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate going on, then it isn't urgent to get more fish in there.

 

I'm not that keen on the Bacteria from a bottle since if the bottle has been sealed up for any length of time then the bacteria has probably died.  Some people swear by it but I see it kinda like something someone tricked you into buying so you can flush it down the toilet.  If your system was cycled up before and if you have any fish left or if you have only been fishless for a short time and you haven't gone and sterilized the system, then you still have bacteria and all it takes to bring them back up to speed is some ammonia or fish poo.  (Don't add ammonia if you have fish.)

Thanks TCLynx - for taking the time to consider all my parameters (again).I have an idea of what the salinity is in my 100 gal. reservior (not filled - 6" from top (probably a little under 80 ga.l realistically. I put in 2 1/4 lbs of SeaSalt this time (1st time i did 2/3 water exchange). So, when I did the treatment again to re-establish a salt content again.- I used a less because i figured there was still some left in the tank form before- the first time I treated the (ICH).

My system was cycled up but only for a short time when I encountered the ich and then treated - it has been out of balance since then. At this time I only have 5- small Koi 4-6" or so. My grow bed is 32 sq ft. at only 6' deep.

My ammonia is at 0

Nitrites at .1 ppm

Nitrates unknown (i know I need to get a master test kit)

Water temp 74

PH 7.2

 

 



TCLynx said:

Do you know the exact salinity you have in your system now?  And do you know the salinity that the new goldfish will be coming from?  What is the water temp?

 

Some plants are probably suffering more because of the salt.  Was the system cycled up before?  What do your water tests currently say?  If you have any nitrate reading, I wouldn't sweat too much about trying to increase the load fast or anything.

 

How big is the system and what is the current fish load.  Adding 100 fish all at once can be a pretty sudden change if it isn't a big and mature system.  It doesn't necessarily take much fish poop to keep a system running so as I said, if you have any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate going on, then it isn't urgent to get more fish in there.

 

I'm not that keen on the Bacteria from a bottle since if the bottle has been sealed up for any length of time then the bacteria has probably died.  Some people swear by it but I see it kinda like something someone tricked you into buying so you can flush it down the toilet.  If your system was cycled up before and if you have any fish left or if you have only been fishless for a short time and you haven't gone and sterilized the system, then you still have bacteria and all it takes to bring them back up to speed is some ammonia or fish poo.  (Don't add ammonia if you have fish.)

My zuch did the same thing.  The plant look awesome big green leafs and multi. flowers.  None of the fruit made it past a couple of inches.

Yep need the rest of the test kit.  I would probably not get 100 fish for only 80 gallons.

You probably need to get a salt test kit or something when you go to the aquarium shop so that you can some how measure the salinity and make sure you have at least 3ppt of salt in the system when you add the new fish and if they are coming from already salted water, you probably want to have the change be 3 ppt.  So if they are in water at 1 ppt, you will want your system at 4 ppt to help you combat the ick as best you can.  You probably need to leave things salted for a few weeks at the lower temperature since the parasite's life cycle takes longer in the cooler water.

Ok - Appreciate vey much!


TCLynx said:

Yep need the rest of the test kit.  I would probably not get 100 fish for only 80 gallons.

You probably need to get a salt test kit or something when you go to the aquarium shop so that you can some how measure the salinity and make sure you have at least 3ppt of salt in the system when you add the new fish and if they are coming from already salted water, you probably want to have the change be 3 ppt.  So if they are in water at 1 ppt, you will want your system at 4 ppt to help you combat the ick as best you can.  You probably need to leave things salted for a few weeks at the lower temperature since the parasite's life cycle takes longer in the cooler water.

Reply to Discussion

RSS

© 2024   Created by Sylvia Bernstein.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service