very close call

[asoftuk]

Earlier on today i went to the LFS to purchase some female siameese fighters.

Upon returning i noticed one of the tanks was extremley hot. The heater had failed in the on position which had raised the tank to a temp of 100 degrees(F).

1 fish is dead the only neon all the rest seem ok. the tank has cooled down a bit although a few fish seem to be struggling. Hopefully they are going to be ok.

 

[wetwetwet]

Sorry to hear that m8

Add some extra airation or angle nozel of inlet to create more surface disturbance to get some O2 in there


good luck

 

[Nidge]

You should get a thermometer with an alarm, just an idea.

 

[mhoward1999]

This happened to me one time. I added ice to the tank. I put dechlorinator in an amount sufficient to dechlorinate the ice as it thawed. It cooled the water more quickly than if I had just left it to cool at room temperature, but was slow enough that it didn't harm the fish. I found it to be a big relief to see my fish stop panting as quickly as possible! I guess your tank has cooled by now, but for future reference, I guess.....

 

[cutechic]

Good luck, I hope the fish are all right

 

[DogFish]

I am glad you appear to have caught it on time. I am curious, how old was the heater and what brand was it?

 

[asoftuk]

I am curious, how old was the heater and what brand was it?

The heater is unknown due to the facts that the only markings on it are the temp adjust marks. The age is unknown as it came with the tank 6 months ago and was not newly purchased. I do know it is a 300 watt heater

All fish seem to be ok and are going about their usual habbits now but im going to keep an eye on them just in case there are any underlying problems.

On a good note the ich has now gone due to the high temperature.

One puzzling thing is all the guppies are hanging about at the top while the siameese are on the bottom of the tank with the sucking loach and shrimps. This has only just started since the temperature change. They are not gasping for air and look fine.

 

[LeapFrog_85]

I'm glad everything is ok.

 

[Annastasia]

Glad it turned out okay.
Sorry about your neon.

 

[Doggfather]

good to know everything is ok now

 

[Socrates]

This happened to me one time. I added ice to the tank. I put dechlorinator in an amount sufficient to dechlorinate the ice as it thawed. It cooled the water more quickly than if I had just left it to cool at room temperature, but was slow enough that it didn't harm the fish. I found it to be a big relief to see my fish stop panting as quickly as possible! I guess your tank has cooled by now, but for future reference, I guess.....

Could you put just regular ice in a zip lock bag and float it?

 

[G_Sharky]

That's messup Brother, you almost boiled your fishy's, Good to hear that it did do a whole lot of damage

 

[mhoward1999]

This happened to me one time. I added ice to the tank. I put dechlorinator in an amount sufficient to dechlorinate the ice as it thawed. It cooled the water more quickly than if I had just left it to cool at room temperature, but was slow enough that it didn't harm the fish. I found it to be a big relief to see my fish stop panting as quickly as possible! I guess your tank has cooled by now, but for future reference, I guess.....

Could you put just regular ice in a zip lock bag and float it?

Yes, that would eliminate the need to use dechlorinator, but you would still need to take out some of your aquarium water to accomodate for the displacement caused by the ice. In a small tank, or in a pinch if you were low on chemicals, that's a great idea, though!

 

[drobbins27]

This happened to me one time. I added ice to the tank. I put dechlorinator in an amount sufficient to dechlorinate the ice as it thawed. It cooled the water more quickly than if I had just left it to cool at room temperature, but was slow enough that it didn't harm the fish. I found it to be a big relief to see my fish stop panting as quickly as possible! I guess your tank has cooled by now, but for future reference, I guess.....

Could you put just regular ice in a zip lock bag and float it?

Thats a great idea!

Im happy your fish are ok, I had this problem once also

Sorry bout the neon, he went to a better/cooler place