PICS! 20 long, dwarf compressiceps

[barrettsline]

I can't wait for mine!


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.517842,-95.122791

[eklikewhoa]

Oh man, you have nooooo idea. I didn't even know til I went and saw how many different types Mike has... and he's discovering more and more types as he keeps breeding 'em.

So they aren't actually different L#'s but a variation within.

[aquabee]

NOW I'M PISSED.

The L-144 just died. I talked to Mike and we're thinking that pleco died from munching on contaminated wood. Slowly. I have a feeling that my chocolate white trim pleco is going to end up with his late friend. And I have a feeling my white clouds are eventually gonna be dead too, just cuz they were exposed for so long. Even though they're doing a touch better, they're still not normal. And chances are that if the toxin damaged their little livers or accumulated in whatever fat stores they have, it's going to continue to kill them. Who knows.

I hate this. There's nothing I can do because the contaminant is gone, but the damage remains.

[Complexity]

Oh, no, I'm so sorry! I didn't know L144's were wood eaters. This is so sad! I'd still consider adding melafix and pemafix to the tank. It might help the fish repair any damaged tissue. Might not help, but it can't hurt to try. It must be horrible to watch all the fish die like that.

[SunnyHouTX]

B, this is terrible news indeed! But things are changing in there and pretty soon everything will be healthy again. Who would've thought the wood was the culprit!

[barrettsline]

This is nuts! This has to end. And it's going to B. in the end it's going to be better than it ever was or you could imagine. I'm sorry that you have to go through this. Now that the woods out the only thing I can say is this, keep your chin up. Do your water changes. I know there is somthing that with help in removing the toxins from the water. I hate to bring this to light but whatever may have been in the wood is also in anything the water has contacted. Substrate, rocks, filter. Do you have to capability of doing a complete break down and re-clean. Flush everything with tap water, to clean and kill? Don't fret, you can refill with water from the 125 that you have but, you to remove everything to beat this. I hate to say all this but it's there and gonna stay for a while. Yes eventually it will be gone but there's no telling how many more days or weeks. Again, I don't want to be the bearer of bad news but, I can promise it will get better. Let me know, keep us up to date.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.636153,-95.238306

[eklikewhoa]

Since theres not much left I vote drain and restart!

[aquabee]

Thanks guys. Appreciate you all staying on board with this situation. Just got home from work and all fish and remaining pleco are still alive.

I think what I'll end up doing is another massive water change on Monday (can't do it before because of horrible work scheduling). Eventually I'm going to do a start-over, depending on whether my white clouds improve to normal or not. If everything dies in the next week or two, then I'll empty the tank. I'll rinse and dry the sand as best I can, bleach and dry the rocks, and drain and dry the tank/heater/pumps. I'll replace all the filter media as well. This'll mean I have to rebuild my cycle, but I have a huge bottle of Stability for whenever I add my next fish.

Just wondering what to do with the white clouds at this point. I'll keep them and watch for the next week or two. Can't give 'em to a store if they don't improve to normal... can't tell if my tank is totally recovered or not if the white clouds don't ever become totally normal, unless I add new fish and see how those do. Any thoughts?

[eklikewhoa]

This is still very questionable as to what or where the problem is.

If it were me... I'd fill a bucket and toss the remaining livestock in that with the filtration using water from one of the existing tanks. Then again I'd probably would have torn the whole tank down at this point, rinsed and gave it a fresh start with treated water and let the cycle work itself out. The white clouds have always been strong fish IME.

Definitely keep anything that came in contact with this tank away from the others for the time being, that's for sure.

[aquabee]

That's for sure, Q, but I really think it's the wood. The white clouds are improving after removal of the wood, just not to totally normal. They're even eating a bit now. I can do the whole bucket thing... just can't use any water from existing tanks cuz all I have here are the 8 gallon with an acidic pH and the 3 gallon rescue, and the pH in this tank is 8.4. I can put them with heater/filter/airstone into a bucket with dechlorinated tap water and some Stability. But if I put the current filter onto the bucket, I feel like there might be contaminant stuck to the media. So then I'm left with having the white clouds and pleco in the bucket with just an airstone.

I really think I got rid of the main source of toxins but only time will tell. In any case, I'll end up restarting the tank but it'll have to wait a week or two cuz of work and then travel. If work wasn't so horrible this week/weekend and if I wasn't out of state most of next week/weekend, I'd have made all these changes by now and the tank would be drying out. :(

[eklikewhoa]

Ooo... so I'm guessing where "here" is doesn't include the moba tank and I shouldn't begin to ask.

Yeah with all that in mind it would seem as the best choice is the waiting game.

[aquabee]

Correct. I am so bad at waiting things out but it seems I have no other choice right now, at least through next weekend.

[barrettsline]

Patience is a virtue I wasn't born with either B. if it was me fish would be in a bucket, sand in an ice chest, rock in a bucket with some light bleach, tank emptied and filled with straight tap water.

Fish- air stone will be fine for them for about 1 1/2 - 2 days.

Sand- thoroughly washed in an ice chest NO BLEACH, at least 30 minutes of solid water churning movement. Agitating the sand by hand. While still in ice chest fill bucket with HOT water and pour over sand to "sterilize".

Rocks- bucket with bleach (1- cup to 5 gallons) let soak in as hot of water you can get out if your faucet for 2 hours. After soaking, drain water, put the rocks in the tub or sink an fill with hot water let soak for about an hour. Then remove and smell the Rick, if you still smell bleach, rewash with hot water until smell of bleach is gone. Also scrub the rock clean.

Tank- wipe down completely with water and rinse thoroughly.

Filter- wash an rinse thoroughly with clean tap water.

This is exactly what I do when peeping for a new tank or when doing a breakdown rebuild. I haven't had a problem yet. The hot water soak and rinse is simulating the heat from the sun. It has the same effect in water as it does on you in the air ... Makes you sweat. When the smell of bleach is gone your good to go. I performed these steps on my 150, 72, 50 gallon aquariums, filled and treated with prime and introduced fish for example on my 150 within a day and haven't lost a single fish (not saying that to hurt feelings, just to state my success with my meatheads)

Now that I'm off my soap box so to speak, let me know if help is. needed, I don't think anyone here would be opposed to helping as much as we have talked about it.




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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.531990,-95.157798

[eklikewhoa]

you could add bleach to the system as it is to sanitize them all.... Just an idea.

[barrettsline]

That would be to much risk of killing the fish. The toxin leached from wood and bleach in a system is just bad news.


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=29.532047,-95.157784