Tank Disaster

[sherry]

Aspen, I'll start by saying I havent' added any new fish in weeks.

I am just overwhelmed and horrified and don't even know what to say ;(

My favorite fish are dead.

There are 6 down, including all three of my hillstream loaches and my beautiful triple red Male apistogramma cacatoides.

What I know.
Nitrates were 15
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0

tank clear as glass

everyone was alive last night and may have been alive this morning.

Yesterday Morning I did do some replanting in back and pruning and kicked up some gunk, I also plumbed in a new co2 reactor, but HAVE NOT turned on the co2 yet. Just got the tubes and everything placed.

AT the same time I tried a new piece of wood and took it out in 5 minutes.. the wood had been seasoned already in a friends tank and I have no reason to believe it wasn't perfect. It had also been dry for weeks.

EVeryone was fine all day into the night.

This morning, I think everyone was fine.. I didn't notice anything amiss. and the first thing I did notice after I took my shower was a dead blue neon right in the middle of the tank on bare substrate. I noticed it from 5 feet away from the tank, so I cant' imagine I'd miss it before.

The only other thing was my kid's babysitter had washed the floor in the room with a little bit of clorox cleanser in the water.

The tank is covered but has a feeding hole...

could I have lost all of these fish from fumes. ?

As I was looking, one of my feather fins back tail had gone from red markings to white.. and he was flaring madly. I did an immediate 35% water change and he calmed down. Everyone else's coloring is good. His tail is still pale.

I miss my apisto and my loaches. They were truly incrediblely beautiful fish.

all plecos and other tetras adn rainbows are fine. 2 female apistos are fine.
but are more yellow than they were yesterday adn seem really mad at eachother. .I think they miss the male. I miss him too.


I am broken hearted.

I am not fine.

 

[aspen]

gosh i'm so sorry to hear about that.

>>'The only other thing was my kid's babysitter had washed the floor in the room with a little bit of clorox cleanser in the water.'

there are a lot of things that can do something like that, from a little bit of a harsh chemical on a new decoration or bucket, to an electrical problem or whatever, but a little chlorox in the air hasn't killed my fish yet. i bleach things in the basement occasionally.

without being there, and not having seen what went on, i could only guess. if you haven't already, i would run some carbon and do another water change.

rick

 

[sherry]

I've got some chemipure in the filter and will do another water change.

thanks!

this just sucks. I had the most gorgeous male cacatoides and I really adored him.

and I still don't know what caused it. no new decor.

 

[fishgeek]

any bubbling when you stirred up the substrate?
anaerobic pockets ?sulphides?

just guessing
andrew

 

[aspen]

even separating 2 rocks that have been together for a while can release nasty anaerobic material into the water.

rick

 

[Mike Wise]

I had a childrens day care center that kept losing fish. When I went to check the tank, I discovered that the air pump, used for filtration, was sitting close to the floor. The faint smell of ammonia was present. They used an ammonia based cleaner to disinfect the floors every night after they closed. The ammonia was being pumped into the aquarium by the air pump. I recommended that they move the pump to a higher location. Their fish losses disappeared. So you see, simple changes can cause or cure problems. I'm truly sorry for your losses. Hopefully you can find substitute fish; it's impossible to find replacements for favorite fish.

 

[ronv]

What I know.
Nitrates were 15
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0


2 female apistos are fine.
but are more yellow than they were yesterday adn seem really mad at eachother. .I think they miss the male. I miss him too.


I am broken hearted.

I am not fine.

Grasping at straws, I wonder if spawning has occured and one of the females killed the male.. That wouldn't explain the loaches tho... Puzzling.

 

[sherry]

I would have thought that losses from the rescape/pruning in back would have happened sooner .. not 24 hours later... , but who knows...

nobody has died since yesterday morning. my little girl apisto cacs keep looking for the male.

 

[nightowl1350]

Sorry you lost some fish. I think Mike maybe on to the problem with the air pump near the floor....chlorine gas could have got into the tank and killed them. I had apistos over a year ago and one acted very funny after a w/c. I did the only thin I could and added some hydrogen peroxide to the tank and it did help (adds more air to the water as it dissipates)

 

[aspen]

hydrogen peroxide doesn't actually work that way. H2O2 is an oxidiser. the extra O atom joins easily with other substances, or oxidises them to leave water, f/i with iron:

H2O2 + Fe ----> H2O + FeO

there's no free oxygen left. just iron oxide and water.

it readily joins with, or oxidises, other substances.

rick