So Now What?

[eaglesaquarium]

There are a LOT of toxic things that MIGHT have been added to your tank, since it was second hand. One of them might have been a cleaning agent. The only "cleaning" agent I would use with a tank is pure ammonia (well, actually diluted in water, but you get the idea). This would be fine long term for the fish, assuming that I rinsed the tank, and tested for ammonia before adding fish. Since it was second hand, the person getting rid of it might have used a stronger cleanser, and that could be a part of the issue.


I was thinking about what could be going on with the tank in terms of zero ammonia... the only thing that I can come up with is ZEOLITE. Is there any zeolite in your filter or tank?

 

[quicksandsecrets]

There are a LOT of toxic things that MIGHT have been added to your tank, since it was second hand. One of them might have been a cleaning agent. The only "cleaning" agent I would use with a tank is pure ammonia (well, actually diluted in water, but you get the idea). This would be fine long term for the fish, assuming that I rinsed the tank, and tested for ammonia before adding fish. Since it was second hand, the person getting rid of it might have used a stronger cleanser, and that could be a part of the issue.

thanks for the reply - I know there is no way of knowing IF there is some toxic element in the tank, or WHAT it may be, but would it possibly take weeks to show up? my first round of barbs seemed fine for a few weeks before I saw any signs of stress. any way other than waiting for every last fish to croak to confirm such a problem?

I was thinking about what could be going on with the tank in terms of zero ammonia... the only thing that I can come up with is ZEOLITE. Is there any zeolite in your filter or tank?

no zeolite in my tank - although I did a search on it and one thing that contains a good deal of zeolite is laundry detergent. I guess it's possible previous owner washed it with laundry detergent, but I highly doubt it. He had moved from a house into an apartment, downsized to a smaller tank. His new tank seemed to be up and running fine, he seemed to have his act together - but I know that's no guarantee that he didn't do something stupid.