I was wondering about the tote.. be good to know the grade of plastic. But then NC has used the same make for breeding her cories.. perhaps she didnt heat the water with the cories and this one is being heated. Heat with plastic does cause them to leach.
Wasn't heated when this started.
mhmm, fairly decent reasonings, heat with plastic does cause some things to break down and thus making the plastic leach certain containments.
Wonder if the heater is resting on the plastic tote and melting it a bit maybe?
Also be interesting to hear if any of the other plastic totes are being heated as well or not.
My fry grow out has a heater, again a small plastic tote. No problems. My other tote my cories are in I had it heated as well for fry for months no problems. Right now with the cories its not heated as theyre a colder water cory.
Yep..
The only other unpredictable factor is the 5 year old! I know my two are always up to stuff and can never have eyes on them 24/7! I am by no means questioning NC's parenting or the behaviour of her child, just, ya know how kids are! Have they put anything in the tote?
always always a possibility. Hes usually really good, but you never know with kids. That said, ive not noticed anything foreign in their tank and ive been stuck resting at home due to a dislocated ankle and the living room is my usual spot to rest. The couch is right next to the tote. So clear view. Havent witnessed him doing anything, but kids can be sneaky little turds if they want to.
But thats why I did a near total water change, in case he contaminated it, and added carbon. But it did no difference.
I have no idea what's going on with your fish though a few observations.
I've never seen or heard of anyone successfully keeping fish in a plastic tote for an extended amount of time, if so the plastic should be good safe which most industrial storage totes are not.
Secondly the desk lamp above the tote I assume is warm which against the plastic tote could warm the plastic to a point it could possibly leech chemicals into the water.
Third. Goldfish and tropical fish don't belong in the same tank. Goldfish are cold water fish and guppies and platys are tropical fish.
While people have had success with bare bottom tanks in glass tanks bare bottom tanks can be unsettling for fish as it's unnatural and startling to them. While yours isn't totally bare bottom it's sparce and spotty. Alot goes on in the substrate from gas exchange and nitrification processes,plus adding a layer of substrate will create another barrier between fish and plastic.
Fish do best in an environment that most closely replicates the natural habitat they have evolved to thrive in. Fish didn't evolve to live in plastic. Plastic is foreign to them the less plastic in their environment the better. Now they didn't evolve to live in a glass box in my basement either and glass is more inert and whether plastic or glass one can still attempt to re create a natural habitat.
Add more substrate,increase oxygen by increasing flow. If using lamp try and get a bulb that doesn't put off as much heat. Separate gold fish from tropical fish. Good luck.
My goldfish is a fancy that needs warmer temps than commons, and guppies and platies BOTH can be kept in the same temperature range. Included both species of platy since my platy in there is a hybrid.
Lamp bulb is a good 12" above the plastic as well, not much heat from it either.
And Sterilite brands are safe plastics, food grade.
Fish are kept in plastic containers longterm all the time. What are outdoor ponds. What are the Rubbermaid industrial sized stock ponds.
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I ordered new equipment should arrive tomorrow.
I'm completely gutting this tote pond, removing everything in it, restarting it completely. Tossing all the media it has. Gonna pull cycled media from my other tanks to keep the cycle on it for these guys.
Thats the last thing I can think of that will help with anything since I'm totally at a loss.
