bad lesson API ALGAEFIX dead plecos

[Doug fir]

SO I put api algaefix in the tank today what a mistake used there dosing and took out my two plecos after water change time for another water change and get this product out of the tank. Did a Internet search and looks like alot of fish keepers have had similar issues with this product.

live and learn.

[Doug fir]

What a difference freshwater makes fish look alive again woa discus were not effected swimming and eating

[pcsb23]

Sorry to hear about this. There does seem to be a problem with this product, I've just done a little cursory research and it is quite shocking (assuming my maths is correct - it usually is though).

At the recommended dosage of 1 ml for 10 US gallons this gives 26 ppm - 10 US gal approx. = 38 litres so 1/38000 = 0.00002632 or 26ppm.

According to the safety data sheet for algaefix it contains 4.5% of the active ingredient dimethylimino ethylene dichloride so we now have a dosage of 0.045 * 26 = 1.18ppm

Now according to the PAN database http://www.pesticideinfo.org/List_Aq...Rec_Id=PC34167 this has a low LC50 threshold for many fish. So people understand an LC50 rating is the dosage and time taken to kill half of the test fish population.

A couple worth noting
Rainbow trout have an LC50 of 0.04 to 0.05 ppm at 48 hours
Red Rasobora harlequin have an LC50 of 0.66 ppm at 24 hours

For the trout this is approximately 30 times the LC50 and twice the LC50 for the rasboras. In other words at the stated dosage for algaefix ALL of the trout and ALL of the rasboras will be dead. Sure it kills algae, but it will also kill your fish.

Better to use H2O2 would be my advice.

[jmf3460]

this is a popular topic on another forum I am a part of. many people have had many different success and failure stories with this product. I myself have used it very effectively and with no casualties nor concerns. I dose half doses and sometimes one third doses depending on the level of green water I have and the fish inhabiting the affected tank. I started at half dose just because of my invertebrates in the tanks but have successfully dosed on many occasions without any deaths of even very fragile tetras and shrimp. i have however heard many stories like yours. i am sorry for your plecos.

[zergling]

I've used this product two or three times last year. I was having problems with green hair algae that was resistant to spot treatment of H2O2 or Excel (Glutaraldehyde). Aside from a few hours of cloudy water, I didn't have any casualties anytime near the use of this product. I still have one of the pleco's and most of the cardinal tetras from that time last year.

As always with algae problems, you'll need to resolve the cause of the outbreak in the first place. Otherwise, the algae problem will just relapse.

[Miss_Fish]

I have seen lots of fish die from this product. I would not recommend it to anyone.