Drastic temp change: What do I do?

[HydeMarina]

I did a 1/4 water and filter change about 12 hours ago and noticed the water was chilly. Upon further inspection, I noticed my heater had been unplugged. I plugged it back in and being the beginner aquarist I am, I didn't think to turn the heater down and slowly increase the temp. Several hours ago when I went to feed dinner I noticed the fish were acting strange (gouramis laying on gravel or floating and getting caught in filter current, loach shaking strangely, glass cats shaking, goldfish and koi looking gaspy and random jumps out of water) No body attempted to eat. All others seem "okay". I noticed temp was up to 82-83F (BIG jump from the ~65 I found it at earlier). I unplugged heater, turned off light, added another bubbler and ran water test (stats below). I used prime and stability in my water change. Other than the drastic temp change, what else could be going on? How do I correct my heater mistake?


3)When they were introduced to the tank, did fish from where they came from have symptoms: All fish were fine prior to ~3 hours ago. I got the most recent ones 2 months ago.
4)Numbers, size, and types of fish in your tank:

• 1 angelicus botia (loach) (2.5 in)

· 1 Emerald Cory (3in)
· 1 Angel (~3in)
· 1 Fancy Guppy (1.5 in)
· 2 otos (1.5in each)
· 4 glass cats (2.5 in each)
· 2 sunrise dwarf gouramis (1.5 in each)
· 1 $.27 Goldfish (5 in)
· 2 small koi (5 in each)
I know this is a LOT of fish for my tank but I’m moving in with my fiancé in December so I have combined my 20 and 29 (several weeks ago) so that I could set up my 20 at my fiancé’s house for them to move into while we set the 29 back up (going to try to save as much water as possible but it’s a three hour drive).

5)What, how much, and how often you feed:

• TetraFin goldfish crisps,
• Hikari tropical sinking wafers (bottom feeders),
• tetra color plus tropical flakes.
• Flakes and crisps are fed what they can eat in a few minutes twice a day. I feed 3-4 wafers every other day.

6)How much water you change and how often: ¼ every 1-2 weeks
.
tank and equipment:

7)When was the tank set up: August
8)How many gallons: 29 Gallons
9)What's your water temperature: 81F
10)What's your ph:8.3
11)What's your ammonia level: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 100ppm
13)Type(s) of filter(s): Tetra 40i

What is your water source? RO system with College Station city water
if you use RO water have you added anything ? I add Prime and Stability
Have you used any chemicals to clean or repair the tank ? No
when was the last time you did a water change ? About 12 hours ago.

[mistahoo]

Re: Drastic temp change: What do I do?

Holy cow! 100ppm?!?!?? Water change immediately! About 70%. You don't need to dose stability if the tank has been setup since august. When moving your tank, it's better to grab your bio media and keep it in a bucket of water instead of lugging water with you. Tank water does hold beneficial bacteria, but not as much as the media. Saves you the trouble of carrying a lot of water.

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[mistahoo]

Re: Drastic temp change: What do I do?

Also what filter are you running on it? I wouldn't have unplugged the heater, but lower the temp on it gradually to desired temp. Now if the heater is heating past what it was set to, it's time to trash that heater and get a new one. Ehiem jagers are decently priced and very reliable. It's best when you do a water change to get the water coming in to be a similar temp to the tank.

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[HydeMarina]

Filter is Tetra Whisper 40i. When you say "bio media" what exactly does that mean? I'll do a water change right now.

[HydeMarina]

Just retested Nitrates: ~40ppm Lost one of the dwarf gouramis. The koi seem to be struggling now even though everyone else is acting better. My white koi seems to have some strange hemorrhaging on body and both seem disoriented (bursts of erratic swimming without caution for what they hit)

[troy tucker]

The temp change was to much. Koi can take low temp but the other fish can't. then you raised the temp to fast and to high for the koi.

You do have a high bio loud on the tank. That can cuase prob. but in this case its more the temp change. 1/4 water changes are ok if you do thim more often 2 a week, 1/2 water change 1 a week, 3/4 or more is best. but the water needs to be close to temp.
The gouramis and the angel will die under 65d.

[SunnyHouTX]

Re: Drastic temp change: What do I do?

Also get a power strip to plug everything in so when you do a water change, just turn off the power strip before and turn back on after. This will minimize the risk of leaving the heater unplugged.

[troy tucker]

The Bio media in your filter sould be a sponge but can be other things. bio balls, ceramic rings and blue filter pad can be bio media. It will hold the bacteria that brakes down the bad stuff.

Didn't see on the first read but 100ppm nitrate is way to high! you need to get that down.

[mistahoo]

Re: Drastic temp change: What do I do?

Filter is Tetra Whisper 40i. When you say "bio media" what exactly does that mean? I'll do a water change right now.

Troy did a good job answering this. Bio media is anything used to get bacteria to grow on. Since you're using a whisper 40i, your bio media would be that cartridge. Your substrate also hosts a large percentage of beneficial bacteria (BB). Those are the two main things you want to preserve to restart a tank. Just keep enough water to keep it submerged while you're on the go.

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[mistahoo]

Re: Drastic temp change: What do I do?

Just retested Nitrates: ~40ppm Lost one of the dwarf gouramis. The koi seem to be struggling now even though everyone else is acting better. My white koi seems to have some strange hemorrhaging on body and both seem disoriented (bursts of erratic swimming without caution for what they hit)

40ppm is still a bit high, but much better and not as poisonous as 100ppm. Gourami probably probably died to high nitrate and drastic change. Hemorrhaging was probably an after effect of the drastic temp change not once but twice in a row (1st water change and plugging in heater, 2nd unplugging it). I would add aquarium salt and raise the temp just a wee bit (78?). If it gets any worse, isolate the koi, but try not to remove them from water (i.e. use a bucket and guide them in). Then treat the separate tank with antibacterial and feed vitamin and garlic soaked foods.

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[mistahoo]

Re: Drastic temp change: What do I do?

Also get a power strip to plug everything in so when you do a water change, just turn off the power strip before and turn back on after. This will minimize the risk of leaving the heater unplugged.

+1 I've got everything on a power strip except my lights, two filters, and a powerhead

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[HydeMarina]

I just got home and the koi are looking pretty terrible. They were stuck nose down into plants. One has beaten itself up I assume from trying to fight the rock or something and the other seems to have done trauma to his/her eye (it's pushed in, not popped out). Goldfish is hiding behind the rock down low. Cory and otos seem fine. Guppy is starting to act all erratic like the kois were. Angel has bloodshot eyes and isn't as inquisitive as normal. 3 of the glass cats look the same but the fourth one died. Gourami seems stable and the loach I saw move behind the rock but haven't gotten a good view. I'm about to retest water but I don't know what to do about the fish that are pretty rough off. I don't have an extra tank to move anyone, the other tank is three hours away. I will definitely get a proper power strip instead of the 6ft extension cord with 3 plug spots. What a rough way to have to learn a lesson...

[HydeMarina]

pH: ~7.8
ammonia: .25ppm
nitrite:~0
nitrate: still ~40ppm

the fish seem kind of photosensitive too.

[mistahoo]

I would consider upgrading the filter. That filter isn't strong enough to handle that much of a bio load. .25ppm ammonia is bad. 40ppm nitrates is also bad. Did you do any deep cleaning? You could possibly have wiped out the BB or a good chunk of them? If it were me, I'd do another water change to get those numbers down. Maybe a 50% this time?