I Killed My Fish. :(

[Kellibug]

Hi everyone!! My name is Kelli, I am new to this forum.

I have had freshwater tanks for many, many years. When I clean the tank, 1/2 the water comes out and I just add tap water conditioner as I add the fresh water. I never measure the amount I put in. Bad I know but I have been doing this for over 15 years and never had a problem.

I changed the water yesterday and I used some tap water conditioner, also some "Biological Aquarium Supplement." This is a new chemical that I have not used a lot but. I also recently started using some aquarium salt. I was so afraid of using salt for many years. I fear that I might have added too much salt when I changed the water. I have not changed any of the water in quite a few months......life has been a bit of a roller coaster.

The only thing different is that when the water was 1/2 out of the tank, I did not notice one of my plastic plants had fallen into the heater. It stuck to the heater and melted a little.

Is there a chance that the melting plant released toxins into the water or did my reckless chemical adding finally catch up to me?

Thanks,
Kelli

 

[lilfishie]

what fish died? sorry to hear of your loss

 

[Kellibug]

Some platys, a big snail, our little albino catfish, some zebra danios and some silver dollar fish, I can't remember exactly what they were.

 

[lilfishie]

the salt would of probably caused the 'catfish' to die as most don't tolerate it.

when doing a water change you should always turn your heater off( assuming it was still on since the plant was stuck to it when half empty)

do you have a test kit at all

 

[Kellibug]

I have had salt in the water for a while and the catfish has been with us for a few years.

I have a test strip and it seemed fine. Not sure if that tests for salt content though. I fear that I added too much salt. After getting over the shock of seeing all of them floating, I went over what I did.

I always under estimate what I need but my 4 year old was "helping" and getting water all over the floor and I was distracted. I think I looked at the back, say how much salt to add for a 39 gallon tank and I went under that. But I did not replace all 39 gallons, just half so I think that is where I messed up.

Salt is new to me but I kept hearing and reading that my mollies really love a little salt. I was trying to figure out why none of my mollies and platys were breeding anymore and I kept hearing and reading about salt.

Ugh....I feel bad. My 4 year old is so sad that Mommy made the fish sick but she is happy about picking out the ones she wants.

 

[Wills]

Hi welcome to the forum!

While mollies sometimes benefit from the salt the rest of your fish will not as said catfish are particularly sensitive to it.

The test strip test kits are notoriously unreliable do you have a liquid test kit at all? What where the readings from the test strips for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

What is the total stocking of the fish in the tank both before and after the deaths? Just wondering if you have any aggressive fish that has matured and could have attacked the other fish?

Wills

 

[Gvilleguy]

I'm sorry you lost your fish. If it helps any, most users on this forum have made mistakes at one time or another that have resulted in loss of fish. I know I have.

 

[Kellibug]

Thanks y'all. I only had 8 fish, all listed in my other post. They have been doing fine for 6 months. Same fish, with a little salt. I honestly think I screwed up the salt.

I will look into getting a liquid test kit. My strips today are showing the nitrate is a little high. This seems to be an ongoing problem for me. The ph is slightly low and my alkalinity is low.

I am going to change half the water again and see how it tests.

 

[Timmy_Bee]

I have not changed any of the water in quite a few months......

How long is 'quite a few months'? i doubt this helped...

 

[drobbyb]

You may be a victim of 'Old Tank Syndrome.' Basically when you do not change the water for a very long time (anything over a month is considered a long time) your fish get used to the poor conditions. When you finally perform a water change, they new water is very different from your old water and it can shock your fish, sometimes killing them in the process. Regular, frequent tank maintenance is best.

Freshwater fish DO NOT need salt. Period. Even mollies will do quite well without salt, but they need hard, alkaline water to thrive. It is true that they can be converted to full saltwater, but it is not necessary.

The high nitrate problem is due to lack of frequent water changes. Nitrate is the end product of the nitrogen cycle. Nitrate is removed with water changes.

Something that a good many fish keepers miss is that we only test for a few chemicals in our tank's water. There are literally hundreds of chemicals that build up in a neglected tank. Water changes keep those in check. Your water may look nice and crystal clear, but that does not mean that it is healthy.

 

[Gvilleguy]

Good points, Robby. I was not aware of the other chemicals we do NOT test for building up over time.