These darned angels!

[Fishmaker]

haha at least thats one good relief. after all your mission was a success. Icks Terminated.

[Tek]

Well, something super bad happened & we can't figure out why. :( Water parameters were fine this weekend. Everyone was fine yesterday, last night, all day (aside from the Ich). Then the water change & the addition of salt.

About 5 minutes after I posted last, one of the sharks turned belly up. Didn't die, but something was definitely wrong. We rushed her to the quarantine tank, did a little fishy CPR and got her going again. Went back to the tank and the other 2 sharks were doing the same. I grabbed one, hubby grabbed the other and off we ran to the quarantine tank in my son's room. Hubby's shark jumped out of his hands, to its death, which came about half an hour later. He feels like a heel. :(

We got the non-tile floor hitting shark back swimming and upright & went back for the corys who had gotten still & had started to turn on their sides. The angels, at this point, were at the top like they were gasping for air. There's PLENTY of filtration, water movement & air in there. 18" Bubble bar, air stone, 2 filters (1 Marineland Penguin 350 & 1 API Nexx).

We had to do something quick, so we took a 5 gallon bucket and got water out of the 180. We netted all the fish and put all of them in there with an airstone. They are FINE in there, aside from being crowded. No issues, whatsoever. Checked water parameters in the tank & nitrates are SKY high. How did this happen?? Water change, upping the temp & adding FW aquarium salt??? We've done water changes numerous times with no issues. Never added salt or raised the temp above 78, tho.

Off to PetCo I went to have them double check our test, get some Microbe-Lift Special Blend, some more water conditioner & new filters. I threw the old filters out & hubby put in the Special Blend. Gonna let the guys hang out in the bucket for tonight & test again in the morning. If everything is ok, I will try adding 1 fish tomorrow and watch it closely. Not gonna risk anything else tonight.

So... stressed & confused.

The same thing happened to a friend's tank when he rapidly increased the temp in the tank. The fish gets into a mode of shock and then go belly up, but they recover in as quickly as minute if you put them in cooler water that is why when you took them to the quarantine tank and the bucket they perked up.

Tropical fish do better in warmer water if the level of water is not so high. I would recommend next time (hopefully there won't be one) that you drop the level of water to about ten inches before you slowly heat the water.5 degrees in a few hours is a big deal. I would have stopped at 82 and tried to keep it there for about 10 hours, then add more water after the fish have acclimatized. It sounds like you have a really good heater

[sunkenmetal]

The same thing happened to a friend's tank when he rapidly increased the temp in the tank. The fish gets into a mode of shock and then go belly up, but they recover in as quickly as minute if you put them in cooler water that is why when you took them to the quarantine tank and the bucket they perked up.

Tropical fish do better in warmer water if the level of water is not so high. I would recommend next time (hopefully there won't be one) that you drop the level of water to about ten inches before you slowly heat the water.5 degrees in a few hours is a big deal. I would have stopped at 82 and tried to keep it there for about 10 hours, then add more water after the fish have acclimatized. It sounds like you have a really good heater

Thanks for the info

[Tek]

Thanks for the info

You are welcome. Many water change related deaths are attributed to not conditioning the water when more than likely it was a temperature spike. I have forgotten to condition my tanks multiple times, and the fish in the turtle tank are supposed to be turtle food so I never even condition the water in that one, even though there are plecos in there.

Both tropicals and cold water fish are susceptible. I have noticed that Cories, Plecos, Angels, fancy bred fish, Catfish, Sharks and younger fish are more sensitive to it. Livebearers such as Guppies and mosquito fish seem to be affected less by it.

The signs are: fish starts swimming erratically. Some swim in circles. Some dart to the top, others try to jump out. Plecos and cories lay on their sides, swim a little then lay on their sides again. Angels park themselves in a corner with their heads down as if trying to catch their breath. Fish then go belly up. Everything happens in just a couple of minutes. Fancy fish go first, then young fish, then cories and other cats, then cold water fish/ and larger fish.

Plunging them in cold water should bring most back. Even if it is laying belly up, it may not be dead yet.

[sunkenmetal]

You are welcome. Many water change related deaths are attributed to not conditioning the water when more than likely it was a temperature spike. I have forgotten to condition my tanks multiple times, and the fish in the turtle tank are supposed to be turtle food so I never even condition the water in that one, even though there are plecos in there.

Both tropicals and cold water fish are susceptible. I have noticed that Cories, Plecos, Angels, fancy bred fish, Catfish, Sharks and younger fish are more sensitive to it. Livebearers such as Guppies and mosquito fish seem to be affected less by it.

The signs are: fish starts swimming erratically. Some swim in circles. Some dart to the top, others try to jump out. Plecos and cories lay on their sides, swim a little then lay on their sides again. Angels park themselves in a corner with their heads down as if trying to catch their breath. Fish then go belly up. Everything happens in just a couple of minutes. Fancy fish go first, then young fish, then cories and other cats, then cold water fish/ and larger fish.

Plunging them in cold water should bring most back. Even if it is laying belly up, it may not be dead yet.

Kinda like throwing cold water in the face of someone who has past out lol

[Tek]

Kinda like throwing cold water in the face of someone who has past out lol

LOL, That's it exactly