So, I have a Glofish update…
Some of you may remember “Jonah and our fish tank debacle,” but if not, you can find it if you search my page from about a week ago.
Essentially, I got Jonah (who is autistic and mostly nonverbal) a fish tank for Christmas and despite all my best efforts and time/money thrown into keeping up the aquarium, all the Glofish have been dying. I thought I did all the right things and kept all the right temperatures and water changes and everything, but it was for naught. The NO2/NO3 (nitrate/nitrite) levels were continuously in the “pink” no matter how many water changes we did.
So here is the update.
5 out of 8 fish are now dead. 😭
But I now know what killed them.
The first thing was overfeeding. I had been letting Jonah feed the fish with generous “finger-fulls” of fish food two times a day, seven days a week. All the excess food gathered in the gravel of the tank and began decomposing, raising the ammonia levels.
The SECOND thing that killed them was…
“Math.”
Yes. Math killed our fish. (Bear with me).
So I decided that since all the fish were dying anyway, I would do a 100% water change. I fully expected NO fish to survive, but at least we could start the nitrogen cycle over with new aquarium elements (including live plants, new rocks, substrate, gravel, etc) and just get new fish in a few weeks.
So I put the remaining fish into a 2-gallon bucket with their old water and dumped EVERYTHING from the tank to start new.
We added all new elements.
I filled up several jugs I had saved and pre-treated the water. Then I began filling the tank.
I figured my 29-gallon tank could hold around 10-11 jugs. (Each jug was 2.3 gallons)
You guys.
I was WAY off.
I’d like to say that I did my 8th-grade algebra teacher proud and figured it all out myself, but if my measurements (and calculator app) were correct, my “29-gallon tank” only held 19.9 gallons.
I had taken a picture of the tank before I bought it in the pet store, and when I looked at what the dimensions were in the picture, I realized the ACTUAL dimensions I measured were not the same.
“THAT’S FALSE ADVERTISING!” 🤬
And then I went on Petsmart’s website to see if other people had that problem.
Do you know what I found?
Petsmart sells that exact tank in MULTIPLE sizes, including a “20-gallon” variety.
And, if my “math” was correct, that is the size I actually bought.
🤦♂️
Apparently, even though I took a picture of a 29-gallon tank in the store and fully-believed I purchased a 29-gallon tank, I evidently did not put that particular tank in my cart.
Because… I’m me.
🤷♂️🤦♂️
I have been assuming I am working with around 25-ish gallons of water, when in reality, with the smaller tank and the substrate displacement, I’m working with closer to TWELVE GALLONS.
So what does that mean?
It means I’m not working with NEAR as much water as I thought, which also means EVERYTHING I’ve added to the water is much more concentrated than it should be.
I have been stocking and measuring EVERYTHING at over TWICE the recommended amount…The number of fish, the water conditioner, added bacteria, water changes…
EVERYTHING…
Yep…
That’ll do it. 😬💀
Five fish dead, because I can’t measure or add.
sigh
So I acclimated the remaining fish to the new tank for about 20 minutes and added them back in to the mix.
I told Jonah the fishies are now just “full,” and they only get hungry 3 times a week, and only want a little cap-full of food when they do eat.
So we have taken weekly feedings down from 14 to 3.
The water is much more clear. There is no algae. The NO2/NO3 readings are back at acceptable levels.
But most importantly, the last 3 survivors have now made it a week together.
Jonah has taken the loss of his other fishies in stride… meaning I haven’t told him that they died… and he hasn’t noticed or mentioned they are gone.
Maybe having a new tank setup makes having “less fish” okay.
I suppose we may try to get one or two more, after the tank has stabilized, but I don’t want to risk getting more fish only to accidentally breathe wrong (or add wrong) and have more fish DYING.
Jonah hasn’t mentioned wanting more so…
🤷♂️
These fish… I swear.