Dead Angels

[barrydp]

I recently lost 2 angels to an attack (most possibly from my catfish), as no one seems to believe that my silver dollars are capable. While removing the dead fish i noticed that 2 big lumps of wood that i had recently added to the tank looked like tea bags in that there was a brownish colour leaking from them. I removed the wood , however, i now have what looks like an oily grey film on top of the water and the water has become very mirky, not bubbly or cloudy but just mirky, i did a big water change and nothing happened. I have 2 filters running ...any ideas what this could be.?

 

[SuperColey1]

Sounds to me like you didn't 'pre soak' the wood for long enough when you first got it. Bogwood releases tannins into the water so when you first get it you should leave it in a bucket of water for a couple of weeks then wash it again before putting it into your tank.

If this is the case and it is Tannins, it won't hurt your fish or plants, and if you want to clear the browny water then just put your carbon pad into your filter for a few days.

 

[barrydp]

Thanks for that, although i was told by my LFS that they had pre soaked it(€30 per piece).. Ill just sit and wait for it to clear i suppose.


Edited for language

 

[dogfood]

Presoaking doesn't remove most of the tannins. Some types of wood will continue to leach fairly large amounts of tannins for many many months. I've boiled wood in a big pot about 10 times and the water still ends up being very dark even on the 10th time.

 

[Iron Man]

I've always used Malaysian driftwood. Its dark, beautiful, doesn't have to be weighted down, and doesn't cloud the water at all.

Also....I'm not sure but I don't remember of ever hearing of any type of catfish attacking angelfish? Silver dollars if they have a reason will chase something around a lot. I had 6 fairly large ones in my 55 gallon once with swordtails and they just would not leave the swordies alone for a second. They chased them around because they smelled their algae filled poop.

They never would completely loose interest and I got tired of watching that so I finally got rid of them (took them back to the lfs).

Did your angels eat a lot of algae?

 

[cane76]

did the angels have injuries when you took them out?what catfish have you got?have you tested for ammonia,nitrite etc.?how long has the tank been running?

 

[jimbooo]

is it possible that the angels killed each other. they can scrap quite badly (from experience) one may have killed the other but was injured itself in the process and died soon after.

just a thought.

if you have a floating film on the surface lay kitchen towel on it and lift off immediatly. only works for thick film though not cloudy water in general.

 

[barrydp]

The injuries to the Angels included both missing an eye.? An yes it could have been a fight between angels but the third died with no physical injuries. The tank has been running for months now and i never had water problems until i introduced this new wood, its clearing now but there is still a film on the top, i will try the kitchen paper thing, sounds good! My catfish is a Occelifer (7 inch) in answer to the other question.

 

[Iron Man]

It could have been a fungus problem....angels are very sensitive to disease and fungus that other fish are not.....could be why they died and the other fish did not.

 

[Squid]

Presoaking doesn't remove most of the tannins. Some types of wood will continue to leach fairly large amounts of tannins for many many months. I've boiled wood in a big pot about 10 times and the water still ends up being very dark even on the 10th time.

Pre-soaking does remove the worst though.. You just have to soak it for longer.. I soaked mine changing the water each day for about 4-5 weeks until the tanin levels were acceptable.

Squid

 

[barrydp]

So i skimmed the oily water from the top, did a 20% water change and a good clean of the filters, and within 20 minutes the oily film was back and the cloudiness..? doesnt seem to be affecting the fish though.?