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Talking to the local LFS/pet shop this morning, re deaths, they occasionally get unexplained deaths it many tanks at the same time. (they are not connected at all)


The possible conclusion is they are cleaning the water pipes with a strong anti bacteria, or adding something to the water which they regually do.

If you change and save the water on that day (and it does not evaporate) you introduce the problem into your tank.

This could possibly be the answer as the tank was not as crystal clear as it should have been and I put it down to a few sudden deaths.

Remedy add Pimafix ever day as prescribed and a Bio Starter also every day. After 7 days do a 25% water change but keep adding the Bio starter for at least two/three more weeks. Changing 25% twice weekly.

I once saw a LFS loose all their Goldfish stock (that was all they sold)overnight due to some thing added to the water.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Yeah I once did a gravel vac with some hair gel on my hands (Its so hard to get off ]:|) after there was some oily looking stuff floating at the top of the tank Thankfully none of the fish were hurt

Last edited by dude_dude at 06-Sep-2005 02:23

I think that one of the other major causes of fishy deaths that most hobbyists will be unaware of will be seasonal influxes of flagellate protozoans in the water during periods of drought etc. Chlorine in the tapwater just doesnt seem to get em all. The only really effective way to get rid of em is with metronidazole, but that can kill as many fish as it saves.

Reptile keepers have known about these infestations for many years, when outbreaks have been bad the only solution has been to turn to bottled water. Protozoans typically just give mammals and humans a case of the runs, but in reptiles and fish- they can be lethal. The uk in particular had a problem with a kind of toxic blue algae in reservoirs a few years back, and while humans were unaffected quite a few fish dropped dead.

Noticeably a lot of the worst toxins and diseases leave no visible trace in the water whatsoever, a lot of aquarists harp on about water clarity when a lot of the time it has nothing to do with water quality per se. Most fish come from rivers and lakes with water pretty far from clear, and those fish that come from blackwater areas can live in coffee coloured water with no probs.

While obviously having decent mechanical or carbon filtration will make your water nice and clear this doesnt equate to making it safe. A lot of people have excellent filtration , and if theyve governed the water scrupulously for toxins you can still end up with almost tea coloured water in mature tanks and have absolutely no problems whatsoever.

Its a bit like trends with having tanks with massive flow rates, largely its a bit of a fad, because when you look at the figures -filters with average flow rates but larger areas of available surface media and large containers for that media are preferable.Hence the popularity of the eheim stuff.

Its one of those situations a bit like a new aquarist whos read a lot of advertising blurb, and has actually only kept fish for a couple of years moaning at a zookeeper whos kept his fish alive for over 20 years about filtration.
This is why most zookeepers just raise an eyebrow and go off and do something else away from the beginner. Cos he knows that underneath that rather brown looking aquarium is another custom made filtration tank of practically the same size that is filtering water to a higher level than any commercially available filter. Its not fast, but it is thorough.It doesnt need to flow fast because it nails just about every particle in one go, and the bacterial beds in it are so massive that no ammonia survives.Hes also aware that theres no way his rather rare and sensitive species are going to appreciate being whizzed round a tank because of high flow rates.

The fact that the water is a bit brown really isnt keeping him up at nights.

Obviously there is a different standard for marines where circulation to all parts of the tank has to be rigourously maintained, but with freshwater tanks people tend to get a bit paranoid.

Of course this doesnt excuse the lazy keeper with a 2 gal goldfish bowl with naff if any filtration. ]:|

Lol dude, i appreciate the hairgel issue- thats why im a greasy greebo who doesnt use hair products. Righteous

Last edited by longhairedgit at 06-Sep-2005 06:01

longhairedgit


We have been in drought conditions for several years this sounds very plausable. Is it possible they put something into the water to remove/kill this and other nasties.

Keith

Last edited by keithgh at 07-Sep-2005 03:35

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Great thread this one.
We people using tap water are never sure of what exactly we are putting in our tanks when we do a water change are we
Having a few large tanks, bottled water is certainly out of the question for me though.
I really don't know any way to avoid bad water?