Help! 2 angels dead within 10 minutes!

what water conditioner are you using?
what does it treat?

I would call the water company and see if they changed anything in the water supply anytime in the period between this water change and the last one.
when did you test water parameters, and what were they?

my boyfriend lost almost a whole tank full of fish once when the water company changed something and the pH dropped to below 6. before that it was always in the high 7's.
 
So sorry to hear about this... gotta tell ya' I'm very skeptical re: toxic effect of the resin log though (trapped gas or otherwise). It can happen, but it's relatively rare and usually happens in association with serious tank neglect. I think a toxin in the water (chlorine, chloarmine, some other bucket residue perhaps?) is the most likely culprit.
 
Okay, here's the update: All said and done, the tank is currently EMPTY. I have moved the survivors (2 bala sharks, 8 danios and the butterfly loach to a 5.5 gallon (small I know, it's all I have for use as quarantine). I also have a ninth danio suffering from "pop-eye", so he is in a large bowl/ some aquarium salts. I also am thinking about adding some sort of medication, but am not sure what would help?

When I discovered the danio that survived (albeit with pop-eye), I researched possible causes. What I think happened is this:

"Pop eye can also be caused by gas bubble disease as a result of oxygen super saturation (excess levels) of the water with the gas, nitrogen. Super saturation occurs whenever the pressure of a gas in the water is higher than the pressure of the same gas in the surrounding atmosphere, whereby the difference in gas pressures causes the gas to get pulled too quickly out of the fish's bloodstream, leaving behind gas bubbles. The other symptoms of this are the appearance of bubbles under the fish's skin. It's caused by excess oxygen in the water, particularly from filters that blow air directly from outside to inside the tank, and from pressurized tap water that did not get mixed. "

So the culprit was the water change itself, as I use the "python" hose that hooks right up to the sink. I thought it was okay, since I mix a five gallon bucket of water with the conditioner and add at the same time the hose is filling the tank. Maybe smailler water changes, more frequently is the answer, too. Or a sump tank...will research that more.
 
It was lucky that I had nothing going on today; I have drained the tank, sifted through the gravel in search of possible dead "things" that would release bacteria, and moved the tank. I will post updates as I go, maybe in a less morbid thread...it's like a new beginning...
 
DrVador, thanks for the info...I was skeptical of the "gas" toxin as well, as gasses usually rise to the surface fairly quickly. I guess I won't swear off artificial decor completely. Or will I?

Wataugachicken: I will do that; thanks for the advice. I don't think I've tested the water right out of the tap before...a newbie error I suppose.
 
maybe, maybe.... I've only heard that the "gas bubbles" thing happens with drastic temperature changes between the old tank water and the new water. i may not be remembering correctly since it's been a while since i had to think about it, but it's something like if you put warmer water into the tank it will cause bubbles in the fish because the warmer the water is, the less O2 it will hold. the sudden raised temp will cause O2 to separate from the blood and cause bubbles within the fish before the fish has a chance to 'exhale' the excess oxygen for that temperature.

Do you have a link for the explanation you found because i would like to read it further (and it good to give credit when you copy/paste from somewhere). but this is my take on what you found, anyway.

"Pop eye can also be caused by gas bubble disease as a result of oxygen super saturation (excess levels) of the water with the gas, nitrogen. How does nitrogen lead to super-saturation of oxygen? These are elements, completely separate from each other. Super saturation occurs whenever the pressure of a gas in the water is higher than the pressure of the same gas in the surrounding atmosphere no, supersaturation occurs (in this case) when water holds more of something than it normally would. you can put a certain amount of liquid sugar into boiling water, but the same amount of sugar could not be held in liquid form by cold water. when you cool down that boiling water, the cooler water is now supersaturated. While the tap water may in fact be supersaturated as compared to the pressure found in the aquarium, you would have seen lots and lots of tiny bubbles coming out of the end of the python, and bubbles would have been left on the glass when you filled the tank. , whereby the difference in gas pressures causes the gas to get pulled too quickly out of the fish's bloodstream, leaving behind gas bubbles seems to me the excess gas would evaporate out into the atmosphere almost immediately as it entered the aquarium. the fish have nothing to do with it unless they are sitting right in the flow of completely new water and 'inhaling' the excess gases. Or they would have to be in a pressurized aquarium. The other symptoms of this are the appearance of bubbles under the fish's skin. It's caused by excess oxygen in the water, particularly from filters that blow air directly from outside to inside the tank, and from pressurized tap water that did not get mixed. It is not caused by excess oxygen - air pumps and pressurized tap water will only contain the same amount of oxygen that is already in the air - about 21%. Air pumps do not selectively pull oxygen from the air. Tap water in fact may contain even less oxygen than is in the air because of the addition of chlorine, which will try and gas off as soon as it can. Any oxygen that cannot be absorbed by the water (depending again upon temperature) will simply rise to the surface and gas off"
Click to expand...
 
I agree with wataugachicken. I don't believe that supersaturation of oxygen (or nitrogen) whichever your quote was actually talking about was the reason for your dead fish. I still don't know what it is, but the explanation you found seems nlikely for the reasons that wataugachicken pointed out. But kudos for you for continuing to research and find an explanation. BTW, if that was the problem there would be no reason to clean out your old tank.
 
I am leaning toward a change in your tap water. This time of year the water departments are scraping the bottom of the reservoirs because the water levels are so low. They end up sucking up a lot of cyanobacteria which makes the water taste and smell bad. They treat it by adding potassium permanganate and extra chloramine. They're supposed to remove the potassium permanganate before the water hits your faucet but who knows? Maybe the dechlorinator you used wasn't enough to knock out the chemicals completely.
 
Hmmm. How would I test the tap-water? I have a PH test, which only goes up to 7.6, and the tap water is definately higher than that. By the time it goes in the tank, it is pretty much around 7.1-7.2, which the fish seem to like.

SleepySkater - the driftwood was not real, it was a resin ornament from PetSmart. I rinsed it well with hot water and a scrub-brush (only used for tank stuff, so no soap there).

The article link for my info is: http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/dec07/fish-popeye.htm.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom