Please help - Water Conditioner Disaster

[princess43]

I did a water change three days ago, with conditioned water. I didn't realise until the next day that I'd put way too much conditioner in the water that I added. As soon as I realised my mistake, I did a 50% water change and have been doing a 25% water change every day since, to try to redress the balance of the water. My readings are fine now, but over the last two days, 6 fish have died, with no apparent signs of illness whatsoever. They were eating and swimming right up to the end. Is this due to my mistake with the water conditioner, i.e. putting in too much?

Also, the day after my mistake, I woke up to find that my betta was looking poorly. His long graceful fins seem as though they are stuck together, and stiff. He's keeping himself to himself and not eating, probably because he's struggling to swim, not being able to use his fins. Aquasafe, the water conditioner that I use coats the fish to protect it from parasites etc. Is the fact that his fins are stuck together a direct result of too much of the coating that the conditioner puts on the fish. If so, please tell me what I can do. I'm desperate to stop anymore fish dying, and it's breaking my heart watching my Betta, and thinking that this could all have been caused by my own stupidity.

Please, tell me if my mistake is likely to wipe out the whole tank and what to do to prevent this happening. This has cetainly been a wake up call for me. I have been so worried. I will certainly NEVER make such a stupid mistake again!

 

[WILDER]

Sorry to hear this, how much of an overdose are we talking about.

 

[WILDER]

If you had overdosed quite alot, it would of been better to add the water without conditioner in it to dilute the overdose.

 

[Bloo]

mmm that sounds quite odd - most water conditioners you can fairly "safely" double dose without much consequence (though I'm not suggesting anyone do this on purpose!). What did you use and by how much did you overdose? If you really overdosed, the only thing you can do is water changed really.....

 

[princess43]

Unfortunately, I overdosed by 4 times! I have been doing water changes every day since though, but fish still keep dying. I've had another one die since my last post. I never thought to add unconditioned water though, is this safe for the fish?
When I do my water change tomorrow, should I do it with unconditioned water? Will this help redress the balance, or stress the fish even more?

 

[Bloo]

No, I would not use unconditioned water - you seem to have done loads of water changes already. Do you have any water testing kits and are you able to provide PH, Nitrite, Nitrate & Ammonia readings ? How long has this tank been set up and running fully cycled ? What and how many fish are you keeping ? How many gallons does your tank take ?

 

[princess43]

The tank holds 26 gallons and has been up and running for 5 months.
The PH and ammonia tests are fine and I'm getting the rest of the water tests done today at my lfs.
Since my last post I had another two deaths, so the fish that remain are:
4 swordtails
2 mollies
5 platties
2 peppered corydoras
1 betta
4 guppies
and 2 peppered corydoras
To date I have lost 11 fish. Do you think the problem is from overstocking?

 

[Bloo]

Very sorry to hear about all your losses - it's really horrible to see that happen
However to be honest i think you possibly overstocked. And if I am counting correctly, you had 31 fish of varying sizes etc. in a relatively new (ish) tank. It's hard to say for sure, but I think the water conditioner accident might have been the last straw, rather than the cause of all those deaths Just hope that no further fish die and once the death rate settles, let your tank stabilize properly before deciding to replenish some of your stock again.

 

[princess43]

I won't get any more fish now for a good few weeks, and I will monitor the water parameters.
My only worry now is my betta. Since the water disaster, his fins have been clamped as though they are stuck together. He is swimming but dragging his stiff fins behind him. Again, can this be a direct result of the water disaster, as it says on the conditioner bottle that it puts a protective coat onto the fish. Is it the overdose of the conditioner that stuck his fins together, and if so, what can I do to help him?

 

[Bloo]

I'm no betta expert, but why don't you drop a post in the betta forum (just cut and paste the link to direct them to this link (http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=87424) and I'm sure the guys & girls over in the betta section will very swiftly advise you what is best for your chap. I would almost imagine the would tell you to seperate your betta, but I'll best leave that to them to tell you for sure good luck.