Fish Smell

[MainelyFish]

I recently setup a 20 gallon tank and I have been running it for a month now... I notice that it was giving off a strong fish smell coming from the tank about 2 or 3 days after my previous water change... I checked the ammonia numbers and they where running about .25.... I have never had that strong of a smell out of my larger tank... What could be causing the fish smell? is it ammonia, bacteria, could my son be over feeding? (its his tank so he usually feeds them)

The only other thing that I can think of is that my son being 8 doesn't like sleeping in the dark so he actually has a lamp on in his room all night... pretty bright so the tank almost always has some form of light...

Could that have any effect on the tank in creating that tank smell... I know the light is good for the tank so I am working on something to take care of it...

[emc7]

First off, make sure the dead fish smell isn't a dead fish. Shake out decor, look under rocks. Sometimes a rotting corpse will stink for a week. Also snails & shrimp.

When you do smell it? Ammonia and other noxious gases collect under the lid and waft out when you first open it. A healthy tanks shouldn't smell much, maybe a bit like soil, but not "bad". Do water changes until the ammonia is under control and smell again.

Next, look around the water level, at the water line, under the lid, on the water fall part of the filter. Escaped food and dying algae often stink when they are wet, but not consistently submerged. Food in the tank gets eaten, but food stuck to the lid is partially rotting fish meal and smells like it.

[MainelyFish]

ok its not a deaded fish as all of my fish are accounted for... I have the feeling that it is over feeding...

[Bryan619]

Replace the carbon. If ur filter uses a cartridge that has carbon in it ,it needs to b replaced. That will clear the smell up in hours.

[Obsidian]

Do not change out the whole filter pad. This tank has only been up for a month and is cycling. You do not want to take away the filter pad at this time.

If the filter has a separate thing of charcoal- take it out. Otherwise leave it alone for now.

Being as it is just now cycling the numbers will rise a bit so you will want to step up on water changes as determined by your readings. You will want to check those regularly so you can follow it along.

Get yourself some Stability or Colony to boost your cycle process.

[lohachata]

have you been washing your armpits in the tank ??????? lol
i think you are right...overfeeding...