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Disaster

hypnogogia

hypnogogia

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My 6 year old emptied two tubs of fish flakes into the aquarium while I was away. My wife hoovered up as much as she could bu the water is cloudy and over half the fish have perished. I have taken them out and popped them into a bucket of clean water. I have taken 90% of the water out of the tank. Should I remove all plants as well, clean as much off the bottom and then refill? what's the best I can do?
 
Awh unlucky 🙁
I think it's probably had a massive spike in ammonia, maybe just a big water change and get as much debris as you can out, empty the filter too.
If its heavily planted maybe try and leave them in, if your pulling them out of soil that can spike ammonia aswell.

once full you could stick in some bags of activated carbon to try and stop it spiking again
 
Big water change, which you've already done. Half fill the tank and then empty it again, just be sure to vacuum the substrate if it's gravel or waft as much detris out of it if it's not. Do another water change tomorrow and maybe contine these for the next few days if possible.
Clean the sponges in your filter if you have them, but don't clean them in untreated tap water.

Adding activated carbon will remove a lot of things in your fish tank but ammonia isn't one of them.

Leave the plants in the tank.
 
The only spare filter I have is on the bucket with the fish that I could save. My entire shrimp population and 90% of the fish have perished. 🙁

bog water change complete, other water heating up for a change tomorrow and I have the gyres on full to really stir up the mulm so that the filter can remove it. Will clean that again tomorrow morning as well.
 
Sorry to hear this @hypnogogia

As per all the above comments, it is a matter of flushing the tank out and getting what you can into the filter to remove anything in suspension.

If you can get the remaining stock comfortable for a week (a large plastic box) you can do a thorough job of it.

Little’un here dispensed a pack of Jammy Dodgers into a tank. Sure does test your capacity for understanding.
 
Geoffrey Rea said:
Little’un here dispensed a pack of Jammy Dodgers into a tank. Sure does test your capacity for understanding.
Click to expand...
I remember that.
I’ve done another two water changes today and siphoned above the substrate at the same time. Carbon in the filter and fresh floss as well as a good dose of bacteria. Water still looks a bit murky, but much better than yesterday, and a khuli loach that I could catch yesterday is still quite happy in there. Will test for nitrites and ammonia tomorrow. Anything that I’ve missed?
 
hypnogogia said:
For how long after they’ve been added to the water?
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Taken from a customers email reply from Seachem discussing Prime:


“Prime causes a false negative with salicylate tests. The salicylate tests rely on the reaction of ammonia with hypochlorite or chlorine, and, consequently, any aquarium product capable of removing chlorine (dechlorinators and bisulfite based ammonia condition- ers) can be expected to interfere with color development, even when ammonia is present.

Prime does bind with ammonia to render it harmless to your aquariums inhabitants, however, Prime is stronger than other products and is active for up to 48 hours.”
 
So what's the point? Should Prime be used to remove chlorine and chloramines from tap water or not? We must do water changes often, so how do we treat the tap water after say, 50% water change?
 
Hi all,
peru27 said:
So what's the point? Should Prime be used to remove chlorine and chloramines from tap water or not?
Click to expand...
I'm not a tap water user, (or <"Seachem fan">), but if I was a tap water user I would use it.

The advantage of a <"dechlorinator like"Prime"> is that it would mop up any ammonia (NH3) and convert it to a safer form. It doesn't matter how you get rid of the ammonia, it just needs removing ASAP.

If you have a very heavily planted tank, with plants with the <"aerial advantage">, they will mop up any ammonia from the breakdown of chloramine pretty effectively.

cheers Darrel
 
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