Weird odor issue

[rich_one]

Okay, so, among my many tanks, one of them is a 40 breeder for a solo flowerhorn... I never thought I'd own a flowerhorn, but here I am... owning one. LOL... anyway, I have a strange issue with it.

Every time I feed him, a bad odor comes from the tank after a few hours. It can get pretty strong before eventually dissipating. I feed him pellets, only enough that I see him eat. When I put 2 or 3 and he's ignoring them, I stop feeding. So this doesn't seem to be an overfeeding thing. This 40 breeder has a Penguin 350 HOB filter and a Rena XP2 canister, both with carbon. And yet, almost like clockwork, this odor shows up shortly after each feeding. After about 24 hours, it goes away. Poof. Like it never happened. Feed fish, repeat. Weekly 50% water changes.

I'm at my wits end. No other tank I have has this issue. I'm on the verge of trying to research chemicals I can use to assist... and I try to use as few chemicals on my tanks as possible. Anyone ever experience this and/or have suggestions? Thanks!

-Rich

 

[chriscoli]

I've had this happen, too. But I find it's usually associated with a particular brand of food in some (but not all) of my tanks.

Try switching brands of food and see if it still happens.

 

[rich_one]

You know... it's interesting you say that. My wife complained at our hold house about a bit of an odor issue at times... on a smaller scale, but she says it was there... and it seemed to coincide, now that I think about it, when I switched to my current brand of fish food. I hate to admit that, but that could be a possibility. I don't want to name the brand here... not sure if it is appropriate... but I really like the brand. However, I also have considered changing it for one reason in particular. IMO, seems to cloud my water when they are eating, and I've used brands in the past that did not do that. But I really like the ingredients.

Hmmm... a lot of food for thought here.

-Rich

 

[Pat Kelly]

I get a garlic smell at times from the NLS. Used to it. Funny sometimes strong. Other times don't notice it.

 

[rich_one]

I never had the problem when I was using Ken's pellets. But now that I think about it, when I switched to my current product, my wife did complain from time to time about the odor.

Interesting. I may have to try an experiment...

-Rich

 

[jonclark96]

I have had the same issues with several types of food. To test, just take a pellet and put it in a glass of water and let it start to degrade. I haven't noticed any bad effects on the fish, just on the people. I usually power through the container of food then switch over to another brand.

 

[rich_one]

I'm near the end now, and up for a new order of food very soon... so yeah... I may be doing exactly that.

-Rich

 

[CichlidAddict]

Garlic is an additive in some NLS pellets believed to be preventive of diseases. Does it smell like left over Chinese take out?

 

[jonclark96]

I have never noticed a smell with NLS.

 

[dogofwar]

Sometimes some rotten food on the hood or edge of the tank can cause a smell.

Matt

 

[Jt731]

Naming the brand is like telling people your baby names, everyone has an opinion and they always know a psychotic axe murdering child molester with that name

 

[Pat Kelly]

This thread reminds me of the episode of Deadliest catch where the late Phil Harris said he could find the crabs because he could smell the crab farts and see the bubbles. LOL

 

[Andrewtfw]

Sometimes some rotten food on the hood or edge of the tank can cause a smell.

Matt

I've had food caught in the inside tank trim or between the glass canopy and center brace. This happened when big cichlids pushed pellets out of the water when rushing to feed. After a few days, it gets real smelly.

Sent from my VS985 4G using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Gyarados]

Had this problem with Hikari Massivore. Pretty much every feeding would create a pretty rancid odor for about 30 minutes. I'd switch food if my fish didn't love it so much.

 

[rich_one]

LOL @ Pat!

Yeah, it's not due to food stuck under the hood, and it happens literally within a couple hours after feeding, then dissipates over the next 24 hours.... then the cycle repeats itself again after each feeding. I'm going to switch food brands and see what the results are. Just as an fyi though, the brand is not NLS... I largely have not used NLS, though I may be about to switch to it. I'm torn right now between NLS, Cobalt, Xtreme and New Era. Not necessarily in that order.

-Rich

 

[chriscoli]

Rich, that's EXACTLY what I experienced. Mine did not happen with NLS, Cobalt, Xtreme.

 

[Hannibal]

Thank goodness I am not the only one who has experienced this. The first time it happened I didn't know what was going on and actually pulled all of the rock out of my 75 searching for a dead fish lodged somewhere.

 

[jonclark96]

Thank goodness I am not the only one who has experienced this. The first time it happened I didn't know what was going on and actually pulled all of the rock out of my 75 searching for a dead fish lodged somewhere.

I did the same thing. Thought there was a dead fish, stripped the tank and couldn't find anything. I searched around the back of the tank, thinking I would find a dead body, but nothing.

Two days later, I fed the tank and noticed the smell again. I did an 80% water change and the smell went away, so I chalked it up to being lax on the water changes.

Fed again the next day, and boom - the smell was back. I finally put two and two together and realized it was the food.

 

[rich_one]

Officially switching to Cobalt. Christine, you are correct... that problem is not conducive to happy spouse! LOL...

-Rich

 

[rich_one]

Can someone point me to a good source for Cobalt foods? Pm me... they have to be able to provide their full range of foods. Thanks.

-Rich