Fish tank got dyed.

Question
i have a 20 gallon tank. there are three mollies in it. i've had the tank for about 2 months. all my chemical and temp readings are balanced and safe. so for the past month i have been deciding on keeping the bright red rock or adding more rocks and i decided to add more cause i had barely enough to cover the bottom of the tank. so i did like 5 minutes ago. i rinsed the rocks like usual. i took my fish out. and i put the rocks in but now my water is blue. i guess i didn't clean them good enough. im scared the dye might hurt the fish. or if it will settle. i dont wanna do a complete water change or wash the rocks again cause that will kill all the bacteria right? so i have the fish in a seperate non filtered tank right now wondering if i should put them back in or wiat to filter the dye or what?

Answer
Hi Nick,

First, never remove fish from the tank to clean or re-docorate the tank.  This causes them a ton of stress.

As long as the rocks are meant for aquarium use it's typical to have a small bit of residue or dye leftover.  This will clear up on it's own.  You can do partial water changes too but you need to be careful because you can throw your tank cycle off and excessive water changes will also stress out the fish.  Again, as long as they are meant for aquarium use it's of no harm to the fish.

Make sure that you aren't rinsing the new decos or new rocks in tap water.  When you do this and add them to your tank it destroys any of the accumulated beneficial bacteria that breaks down the waste that the fish produce and can cause the fish to get ill.  Anytime you add something new or clean anything existing use water in a bucket that came from the tank and then replace the items and fill the tank back up with clean, conditioned water.

Never do more than a 25% water change unless you have ammonia or nitrite present.  Anything else will stress the fish.  Since you have mollies you need to put 1 tsp. of aquarium salt per 5 gallons in your tank.  This will reduce stress and helps with their slime coat.

DO NOT place your fish in an uncycled, unfiltered tank.  They will stress and get diseased or worse, die.  The dye in the tank will settle down and will eventually go away with partial water changes.

Good luck : ) April M.