What did I do wrong?

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
šŸ¶ POTM Poll is Open! šŸ¦Ž Click here to Vote! šŸ°

wtusa17

Fish Addict
Joined
Dec 21, 2019
Messages
811
Reaction score
184
Location
New Orleans
Did a 75% water change and things went wrong. My diy co2 was still going so with little water volume was that the problem? I lost 2 dwarf neon rainbows that Iā€™m mad about bc I payed $9 each for them. Also I added the dechlorinator about 2 minutes after filling my 29 gal up. What did I do wrong?
 
We need more details.
You did a water change and then what happened, fish started breathing heavily, they rolled over, they jumped out?

New water should always be free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
 
We need more details.
You did a water change and then what happened, fish started breathing heavily, they rolled over, they jumped out?

New water should always be free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
They started to gasp for air
 
did any die?
did they change colour?

if they were gasping for air there was either no oxygen or some sort of chemical in the water that was poisoning them. It could have been the carbon dioxide or the chlorine/ chloramine or both.
 
did any die?
did they change colour?

if they were gasping for air there was either no oxygen or some sort of chemical in the water that was poisoning them. It could have been the carbon dioxide or the chlorine/ chloramine or both.
Yea. Two died which were my rainbows. I think it was chlorine. Iā€™m sad bc itā€™s my first time losing fish bc of my fault.
 
That fast, more likely because of CO2 and lack of oxygen, chlorine takes longer and needs a much higher concentration to have the same effect.
 
That fast, more likely because of CO2 and lack of oxygen, chlorine takes longer and needs a much higher concentration to have the same effect.
Chlorine/ chloramine can kill fish in minutes and rainbowfish are sensitive to chemicals including chlorine.
 
In my opinion a lack of oxygen for a short term, chances are good the other fish will recover, from chlorine the fish may suffer chlorine burns to their gills. If it was only 2 minutes or so for you to add the de-chlorinator as you said which is suppose to work fast that is good but any contact with chlorine may have long term effects on fish and shorten their lives. I would also worry about the stress the event put them through.
 
Last edited:
In my opinion a lack of oxygen for a short term, chances are good the other fish will recover, from chlorine the fish may suffer chlorine burns to their gills. If it was only 2 minutes or so for you to add the de-chlorinator as you said which is suppose to work fast that is good but any contact with chlorine may have long term effects on fish and shorten their lives. I would also worry about the stress the event put them through.
I know. How much do you think this will affect them?
 
I made the same mistake many years ago back when you had to age your water to get rid of chlorine and I had used the wrong water on one of my 6 tanks. I realized my mistake a hour later when I saw I lost a couple of my fish, others lived for several months afterwards. In your case the exposure is much less so hopefully the damage is too. Some fish can handle the exposure better than others.
 

Most reactions

trending

Members online

Back
Top