The Most Terrible Thing Just Happened

[FishySarah]

The most horrible thing happened.

I just moved my goldfish into a bigger tank and had a tank free, so I moved a bunch of my tetras and a few rasboras into the tank. I cleaned the tank, put a heater in it, made sure the temperature was ok, and moved in the fish.

Well, I just went to feed them just now, and every single fish is dead.

I freaked out, horrified. I know I dechlorinated the water, and the fish had been in it less than 12 hours. I know the tank was cycled. When I went to scoop out the poor dead fish the problem became clear- the water was so hot it almost burned me.

I don't know how this could happen. The heater was not turned up full blast and it is not hot in my apartment. The heater, which I had not used before, may have been faulty. That is the only thing I can figure.

I am furious with myself, I should have checked the temperature. The thermometer was off the chart, but I didn't notice when I passed the tank throughout the day.

I am really upset. I never had a disaster like this before. Some of those fish that died I had for three or four years. I was really attached to them.

I know there is nothing anyone can do, I just wanted to share and tell everyone to always check the temperature of your tanks throughout the day when you use a new heater. Don't have the same disaster I did.

 

[Jenste]

i am so sorry!!! this is always a fear of mine - - hope you recover soon and don't abandon the tank...

keeping my fingers crossed for you hun

 

[star4]

Really sorry to read this, what an awful thing to happen.

 

[fry_forever!]

I'm sorry to hear that... Same thing happened to me before - I lost almost the whole tank of fish because I turned the heater up too high (d'oh! :stupid: ) and when I came back it was near 100F. I always keep a close eye on the temps now.

 

[mr130gallon]

i actualy had something like that happen to my 17 gallon, but i caught it before it fried my fish, and brought it down to a reasonable tempurature, the heater is really crappy though.

 

[Defiance]

Really sorry about your loss

I really would crack if my heater/s killed my fish

Naming the heater may be a good idea, not to panic but just to inform others that use the same model (my motto is, nothing is 100% guaranteed except death, bit harsh but it's stood me in good stead)

Also maybe worth checking the manufacturers news are in case of old recalls etc (longshot i know)

I know it can be done externally, but i think it's high time heater manufacturers made a built-in safety cutoff, i for one would willingly pay more for that kind of peace of mind

Such a sad post, hope you get back on track and don't lose heart

ATB Tony

 

[5teady_2012]

Thats awful, sorry for your loss..

I am a nightmare in my house for the temps, im constantly checking them or shouting for someone to check them, ever since one of my heaters racked up a very high temp, but i was lucky like above to catch it in time..

So sorry though

 

[Deleted member 55926]

God, that's awful. Think of what they went through. I hope you find some sort of reconciliation with a new tank, although I can't imagine what it must be like to lose fish that are years old.

I check my thermometer whenever I pass the tank, just because I've heard lots of stories of heaters breaking and the temperature going too low. Now I have double the reason to check.

 

[chesterscot]

sorry for your losses you must be gutted
to prevent this I have 2 underpowered heaters so if one sticks on it wont boil the fish and if one breaks the other can help keep the water warm till you can sort it
regards scot

 

[Scott MacAdam]

So sorry about that. I've had heaters fail but never overheat.
As mentioned above by another user, I would be really interested to know the brand/model of the heater if you would be willing to post it. This way all of our TFF members can be aware that this may be an issue with their own tanks and also, I can research similar problems with the same brand to see if we can find a trend and then avoid this type of heater all together.

 

[steelhealr]

Sorry for your loss. Everyone goes thru some learning experience in this hobby. Everyone. Hang in. SH

 

[betta989]

IM SO SORRY I hope they are in a better place with lots of friends confusing aint it

 

[jennybugs]

What a sad thing to happen As steelhealr said, we all go through that. I had it happen on a marine tank and I lost some of my lovely corals and a couple of fish because of it. Chin up *hug*

 

[crazychris]

Sorry for your loss. I've heard that heaters are more likely to stick ON rather than OFF. I use Visitherm and have only had one go wrong. I saw it had water inside the glass tube!!!!

 

[CrystalClear16]

Oh thats terrible

This and a leaking tank are my worst nightmare (I don't have a back-up tank!)