I'm Such An Idiot...

[MegTheFish]

I had to move my 55 gallon tropical community tank last night, and in order to do this I had to take out all of the water. Well I kept as much water as I could, put the fish in the cooler (to keep temperature stable), filter in the cooler too. I set up the tank, filled with mix of old water and new water, made sure there wasn't too much of a temperature difference and kinda just...plooped the fish in. I should of introduced them more slowly, I should of waited till the sand settled...woke up this morning to 80% of my fish DEAD, piled at the bottom of the tank, stuck to the filter intake tube, floating at the top. It was the most horrible sight I have ever seen. I lost all of my lemon tetras, all the red eye tetras, all the glowlights, all the black phantoms, most of my cories, all my bleeding hearts, my new clown loaches, my upside down catfish, a platy, an albino cherry barb, and a few others...over 30 fish in total. I just feel so sick to my stomach and ashamed of myself...some of those fish were rescues too, which makes it even worse. Thank god I had taken my female bettas out and left them in their own tanks overnight because I was too tired to put them back in, needless to say it will be awhile before I dare put them back in this tank. I had done pretty much the exact same thing with my 50 gallon NW tank and my 20 gallon goldfish tank, all were fine, didn't think I would have to do anything different with this tank. I will never move a tank again.

 

[scorphonic]

Ah god...thats terrible news. Sorry to hear that such a mistake can lead to that happening to you!

 

[puppyduck]

That made me really sad just reading it. I'm getting so worried now about moving house with the fish. I'd hate something like that to happen.

Sorry for your losses. Poor little things.

 

[prankster705]

sad story, I"m sorry to see it happen... R.I.P... I hope you get the tank sorted quickly ...

 

[Tolak]

Ouch. So sorry for your loss, especially with rescue fish.

A few things may have attributed to this. The first is new substrate, which may have left something in the water that was incompatable with fish. The second would be filter media. Did you keep the filter media wet during the move?

Another one is water conditions. If your water source is a lake, especially one of the great lakes, they tend to jack up additives during the winter, and especially during foul weather. This in itself can take out fish if not compensated for with the right quantity of the proper water conditioner. I double dose with Prime all winter long, and try to time water changes keeping an eye on the weather. After a good storm, especially if there has been heavy rain, my tap water smells like a swimming pool.

What is your water source, what and how much water conditioner did you use?

 

[MegTheFish]

Ouch. So sorry for your loss, especially with rescue fish.

A few things may have attributed to this. The first is new substrate, which may have left something in the water that was incompatable with fish. The second would be filter media. Did you keep the filter media wet during the move?

Another one is water conditions. If your water source is a lake, especially one of the great lakes, they tend to jack up additives during the winter, and especially during foul weather. This in itself can take out fish if not compensated for with the right quantity of the proper water conditioner. I double dose with Prime all winter long, and try to time water changes keeping an eye on the weather. After a good storm, especially if there has been heavy rain, my tap water smells like a swimming pool.

What is your water source, what and how much water conditioner did you use?

Substrate wasn't new, and the filter media stayed in the filter, which ran on the cooler (which contained fish), then was moved onto the tank about 10 minutes before returning the fish to the tank. My water source is from the tap, so just town water I guess. With the declorinator I use, your suppost to add a teaspoon (5 ml) of it to 20 gallons of water, and I used a 4 gallon bucket. I didn't really measure it out, I never do, but I used a medicine dropper and put a few drops in each bucket. I have a feeling I didn't use enough though, its so hard with this conditioner, its so thick and I would rather use a conditioner that required more ml per gallon, as to me thats just easier. I tested the water (from the tank) at work and there was a slight trace of ammonia, could that be from the tap?

 

[Tolak]

I would bet it's a water problem common this time of year. I use tap water, the source is Lake Michigan, fed from the south water crib a mile out in the lake. Learn everything you can about your water supply. Over the years I've learned what they do & why with my water supply, their main concern is the health of people, they could care less about fish.

You also have to remember that a municipal water supply job is often politically connected, and often filled by some politician's dopey nephew or such half useless employee. More is better in their mind, when in doubt load up on chlorine, chloramine, and chelating agents. This is harmless for humans, but deadly for fish if not properly treated.

I use Prime, it takes care of chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, nitrite, and heavy metals. It is concentrated, but very liquid so it is easy to measure. 1ml treats 10 gallons, I use 1 ml per 5 gallons in the winter, which is a double dose. 20 drops equals 1 ml, I measured & remeasured this long ago. This would equal 2 drop per gallon normal dose, or 4 drops per gallon with a double dose. I use 2 drops nightly per 1/3 gallon of water in my bbs hatchery, it's hard to od with dechlor. Fry tanks need nightly 50% water changes the first 7-10 days, I'll use 3 or 4 times the suggested amount when the water is bad. Prime is a very commonly available water conditioner, and gives you the most bang for the buck without having to go into pond dechlorinator.

The ammonia could be from the dead fish decaying, from bio filtration dying back from excess chlorine & chloramine, or from the tap, as chloramine is a combination of chlorine & ammonia. It could also be a combination of any & all of those things. You could try testing straight tap water, this would give you an idea of any ammonia present.

 

[PufferFishRule]

i use one 2 galons pure spring and then treated tap....works fine for me

 

[davidnso]

yikes! tough stuff =( i had two DOA fishes and i felt sad from that. can't imagine 30!

best of luck to you, hope everything turns out fine!

 

[Bozza]

Sorry to hear about your losses

 

[Miss Wiggle]

so sorry to hear that

 

[tmack]

Did you do any water tests after you noticed the fish loss? Probably not as you were probably in shock. I'm just wondering if disturbing the sand could have released anything that would have caused a quick ammonia spike, or released a lot of oxygen eating organics that could have quickly depleted the oxygen in the water. Was there so much sand particles floating around that it may have coated the fish's gills? Just trying to figure out what may have happened, other than not treating the new water enough.