Soo, I'm cycling a 90 gallon tank. The ammonia is almost nonexistant, more than 0 but less than 0.25; the nitrites are through the roof, my test goes up to 5.0 and that's what it's showing. I'm not sure what the nitrates are, I haven't tested them today (two days ago they were at 20, but ammonias dropped and nitrites have risen so they probably have too).
My pH is about 6.4 and the temp is 86.4 F.
There are 6 goldfish about 3-4 inches in the tank. I was using them to cycle the tank - yea I know, some people think this is cruel but please try to focus on my issue not the fact that you may not like my methods.
The tank has been set up since the first week of February. I'm using a mix of dirt and sand as a substrate and my tank has been clear since a few days after setting it up when the dirt cleared out.
This morning everything was fine, the water looked great it was still clear. A few minutes ago I walked out into my living room and there were large flake like things floating in my tank. It looks like someone dumped a handful of large fish flakes into the tank. They're almost a translucent white-ish color. They don't float on the surface, they're just suspended in the tank moving around it. I put my hand in to try to grab one of them and it broke apart, but they don't seem to be breaking apart from hitting the plants or fish. It almost felt slimy but it was hard to tell in the water and I couldn't get it out in my hand. The goldfish seem to think it's food, I watched a couple suck them up and spit them out - they were still whole when they spit them out too, not broken up at all.
This morning I added a small patch of Riccia Fluitans to the surface of the tank. But I don't think it's related.
Does anyone have any idea what this is or why it's in my tank?
My pH is about 6.4 and the temp is 86.4 F.
There are 6 goldfish about 3-4 inches in the tank. I was using them to cycle the tank - yea I know, some people think this is cruel but please try to focus on my issue not the fact that you may not like my methods.
The tank has been set up since the first week of February. I'm using a mix of dirt and sand as a substrate and my tank has been clear since a few days after setting it up when the dirt cleared out.
This morning everything was fine, the water looked great it was still clear. A few minutes ago I walked out into my living room and there were large flake like things floating in my tank. It looks like someone dumped a handful of large fish flakes into the tank. They're almost a translucent white-ish color. They don't float on the surface, they're just suspended in the tank moving around it. I put my hand in to try to grab one of them and it broke apart, but they don't seem to be breaking apart from hitting the plants or fish. It almost felt slimy but it was hard to tell in the water and I couldn't get it out in my hand. The goldfish seem to think it's food, I watched a couple suck them up and spit them out - they were still whole when they spit them out too, not broken up at all.
This morning I added a small patch of Riccia Fluitans to the surface of the tank. But I don't think it's related.
Does anyone have any idea what this is or why it's in my tank?