Question for you all...I hope I didn't mess up.

[Robby Jacobson]

So I finally got a chance to get to a hydroponics shop and buy maxicrop. I add a about a cup maybe more, first the water is a cloudy light brown. is that normal?

second I noticed that it is Maxicrop liquid seaweed with iron is this a bad thing. I only have 10 common goldfish, after adding the maxicrop with in an hour two were floating on top. what I don't know is if they were dying before or if they were sick.  they have been in the tank for four days. I have yet to get any ammonia reading, I know that they are eating because I watched them.

Any help, advice or shame on me are welcomed

Robby

 

[David]

A cup or a cap?  A cup seems a bit extreme to add in one shot unless you have a really huge system.  I usually only add a cap full or two of nutrients to 16 cubic feet of media.  Seaweed with iron is ok.  It's what I use. Is your system fully cycled or is it still cycling?

If you added a cup and the water turned brown my guess would be that it was enough stress to push the fish over the edge.  Regarding ammonia, if this is a new system I wouldn't be feeding fish until you have a level on it and know where it's at.  If you are using tap water to fill with then there is probably plenty of ammonia already in the water.  The goldfish are ammonia machines compared to other fish I have raised.  They can dirty the water fast.  Unlike humans, fish can go for weeks without eating and still survive.  Most people overfeed in the beginning and this is the biggest mistake that they make.  When it doubt, stop feeding, check your levels and make sure aeration and salinity are correct.  Fish need salts.  These are electrolytes for the fish and help to insure healthy fish with strong immune systems that are not likely to contract diseases from stress.

I can't say shame on you because you are trying and that's what counts.  If you never tried and failed then you would never gain experience.  I have failed lots of times in the beginning when I was learning.  Just learn what you have to learn and keep going. 

As for the brown water, what's done is done.  I wouldn't do a water change at this point unless the ammonia level was over 4ppm.  Normally it will settle out if you leave it alone.  You may lose more fish during this time so just be patient.  The less you mess with the fish the less stress they will have. 

[Robby Jacobson]

Thanks David,

Yes I messed up that one, slowly one by one the fish were floating at the top. I just started cycling. Now that my fish are all dead I will let the water clear before adding more and I have learned that a cap full is more that needed. on side note my seeds are growing fast. 

thanks again

Robby