Sand?

[jayjay]

They were directly linked but do you know for CERTAIN it was these pockets?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

They were directly linked but do you know for CERTAIN it was these pockets?

I am certain because there is nothing else which could have posibly caused two perfectly healthy and active oto's to drop dead within such an incredibly short period of time.
Seriously, i checked everything over and that is the only thing (which also happened to be directly linked to their deaths) which could posible have caused their deaths (they were also the only two fish n the tank which were affected in any negative way)- so i am certain that it was that.

 

[jayjay]

How many otto's did you have? How many died?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

How many otto's did you have? How many died?

2 died. There were 8 in total in the tank at the time. The two oto's that died were directly above the spot i was cleaning in the corner, the other oto's were else where in the tank and were not affected at all.

 

[OohFeeshy]

The pont being, unless you are incredibly hated by the Fates, the chances of any pockets of toxic gas forming then killing fish are slim to none. And unless you have plents that have large roots, you'd never need enough sand to psoe any threat to anything.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

The pont being, unless you are incredibly hated by the Fates, the chances of any pockets of toxic gas forming then killing fish are slim to none. And unless you have plents that have large roots, you'd never need enough sand to psoe any threat to anything.

I think it mostly depends on;
a. How fragile/sensitive the fish is to water quality- oto's are notoriously sensitive to water quality.
b. How much gas is released at once.
c. How close the fish in question to the area of release of gas.

I'm still not convinced its adviseable to leave anerobic pockets to build up- it takes minimal effort to stir up the substrate every now and then and this is all that is needed to prevent such toxic substances building up in your tank.

 

[jayjay]

I'm still not convinced that those pockets killed those ottos.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I'm still not convinced that those pockets killed those ottos.

Well, wether you are yourself convinced or not, there is nothing else that have posibly could have killed them or threatened their health.

Hydrogen sulphide is a highly toxic substance to fish, and oto's are very sensitive to water quality- two perfectly healthy, active and eating oto's don't just randomly drop dead after been exposed to relatively large qauntities of hydrogen sulphide for no reason, other than the reason that was what killed them.

 

[RRasco]

Toxins aside, here are pics of before and after my gravel to sand change for reference. I think it looks a million times better with sand....and im still not done.

 

[jayjay]

Well if you stir it every week, surely you've stirred it when other fish are close to it......

 

[ICE CUBE]

is it possible 2 have a snail tank and feed some to my fish

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Well if you stir it every week, surely you've stirred it when other fish are close to it......

The majority of my fish wait on the other side of the tank when i am cleaning (as i clean it in 3 different scetions from left to right)- also, the majority of my fish are very hardy types like platys, guppys, common and sailfin plecos etc. The oto's are the most water quality sensitive fish i have.

 

[jayjay]

Yes, depending on your fish.

It's just you do it all the time though you've only had 2 fish die, if eerytime you did it something died I maybe more convinced.

If they are so sensitive why didn't the other go, surely you stirred by them once......

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yes, depending on your fish.

It's just you do it all the time though you've only had 2 fish die, if eerytime you did it something died I maybe more convinced.

If they are so sensitive why didn't the other go, surely you stirred by them once......

As i have said, both died- the others were unaffected as they were at the opposite end of the tank (which is 5ft long)- by the time the gas had travelled to the other end of the tank, it would have been thoroughly dispersed.

Also, as i have also mentioned, this was the only and one time i left the tank subtrate unstirred for so long- it was also the only time the deaths occurred. Deaths do not happen on a weekly basis in my tanks as i keep them very clean and also stir the sand on a weekly basis (apart from of course that one incident).

 

[demonmagus]

Well if you stir it every week, surely you've stirred it when other fish are close to it......

the otos were killed after a month of not stirring I think

woops, posted at same time

I think sand is a good idea if you like it, some trumpet snails will sort out the gas pockets, and it looks great