AquaticSuppliers.com     Cafepress Store

Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: I made a HUGE mistake and created a problem!

  1. #1
    Registered Member
    Join Date
    Feb 2012
    Location
    New Lenox, IL
    Posts
    378
    Real Name
    Kirby

    Default I made a HUGE mistake and created a problem!

    I made a huge mistake after doing a water change.....after wiping down my tank and heater and cleaning my AC Filter I walked away and forgot to plug them back in! I use an air powered sponge filter too. I noticed several days later that my Wilds were a bit lethargic and not moving around much. I don't turn the light on and didn't notice they weren't eating either. I finally stuck my finger in the tank and realized I was in trouble. I work 2nd shift and my wife is gone during the day so we keep our house at a cool 68 degrees. Guess what my tank temp was......68 degrees. I changed about 12 gallons of water with heated water I keep in a barrel and got the heater plugged back in. I couldn't do a full water change because I had to leave for the day. Roughly 24 hours later the tank was back up to 84 degrees. I changed 50% of the water Sunday. I was in the hospital all day yesterday and noticed this morning that they didn't eat any of Al's FDBW. What do I do now? I was going to start by raising the temp higher. But what else should I do? I completed the questionnaire below. Tank size is 50 Gallons.

    Problem

    1. Please explain the problems with your fish. When did you notice the problems and did anything unusual happen that you think started them? Not eating. Left heater and AC Filter off for 5 days.


    2. Symptoms (i.e. turning dark, excess slime, not eating, clamped fins, flashing, darting, clamped gills, white/yellow/green poop, hiding, headstanding or tailstanding, white on tips of fins, rotting or fungus, blisters/white zits on fish, bloated, cloudy eyes, wounds). Not eating.


    3. What medications/ treatments have you already tried and what were the results. Include dosage and duration of treatment. Nothing yet.



    Tank/Water

    4. Tank size and ages, numbers and sizes of fish. 50 gallons. 5 Wilds about 6". 4 years.


    5. Water change regime (What percentage and how often). 40% twice a week.


    6. How long has tank been running? Is it bare bottom? If you have substrate, what type and how deep is it? 4 years, sand bottom (doesn't even cover the bottom)


    7. Do you age your water? If you do for how long and what is the ph swing.


    8. What type/brand water conditioner do you use? Do you add it to the tank or aging barrel? How much do you use? Safe, yes water is aged, heated and mixed 2:1 RO/Tap


    9. Parameters and water source;

    Note: Water Parameters are important in diagnosing problems within a tank. If you don't own test kits for the following information, you can purchase them, test your parameters and post this info as soon as possible.


    - temp _84____

    - ph _7____

    - ammonia reading _0___

    - nitrite reading _0__

    - nitrate reading _<5___

    What type of water or combinations of water sources do you use? If it is an RO/tap/well water mix, please list percentages in the mix.

    - well water ____

    - municipal water _33%___

    - RO water _66%___


    10. Any new fish, plants or inverts added recently. No.


    11. Please tell us what you feed your fish and how often. This can be critical information for solving the problem so be as specific as you can. FDBW and Discus Chow



    12. Include any pictures or videos you have which shows the symptoms. If you can't add them to this post, please provide a link to them.

  2. #2
    Registered Member Tshethar's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2015
    Location
    Central Arkansas
    Posts
    598
    Real Name
    Bill

    Default Re: I made a HUGE mistake and created a problem!

    Let's see what others say, but I would watch them closely and baby them a little. Easiest thing would be to do an extra water change or two this week, and just make sure things are as clean as they can be (without re-cycling the tank), so that nothing pushes their immune systems since they got a bit of a shock.

    Most likely they will slowly bounce back. Raising temps sounds like a good idea, and maybe tempt them with a little of whatever is their favorite food. If they don't eat it, vacuum it out and try again the next day. Might take them a week, I'm thinking. I had this situation with my tank when using a housesitter--left heater and canister off, air pump on--and they bounced back fine but sometimes the digestive system needs a little time to come back online fully. Just keep an eye out for anything else by way of symptoms.

  3. #3
    Administrator and MVP Dec.2015 Second Hand Pat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Central Florida
    Posts
    31,727
    Real Name
    Pat

    Default Re: I made a HUGE mistake and created a problem!

    Hi Kirby, I am thinking a watch and see approach also. How are they behaving now? Brian might suggest adding salt to help them feel better.
    Pat
    Your discus are talking to you....are you listening


  4. #4
    Administrator jeep's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    O.P. KS
    Posts
    6,607
    Real Name
    Brian

    Default Re: I made a HUGE mistake and created a problem!

    The good thing is if they are still alive, they should rebound. Raising the temp too fast could be very dangerous, so I would raise it slowly up to 86-88 over two days and keep it there for about a week. 5TBS salt per 10g certainly won't hurt anything. The important thing here is to make sure your water changes are temp matched with aged water. Ph swings can compromise this immunity just as temp changes.

    This happened to me recently but my room temp wasn't that low, maybe around 73 and mine rebounded immediately.

    Healthy discus can handle large temp swings. Some people lower the temp 10 degrees during a water change to induce breeding, and one person I know goes as far as 15 degrees.

  5. #5
    Administrator jeep's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    O.P. KS
    Posts
    6,607
    Real Name
    Brian

    Default Re: I made a HUGE mistake and created a problem!

    Just be on alert, I seem to remember people reporting issues with hex after prolonged low temps. I would keep an eye out for this and treat accordingly if it arises and treat with 93 temp and pure metro (not general cure).

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

Cafepress