4 Discus died and 3 are acting strange

[grabberorangestang]

Today I came home from work expecting to look at my newly aquascaped show tank and I came home to find 4 of my discus dead and 3 look poor. Here is the backstory. I ordered some manzanita branches from manzanita.com, I soaked them for 2 days and then added them yesterday. I also added an aquaterra 3d background, which I siliconed in place, sat. It cured 24 hours before being filled with water.

I took all the discus out, put them in a brute, and then added the 3d background and manzanita. I attatched a few pieces to a piece of slate under the sand.

For the time being I put the sponge filter in a brute and put the rest of the discus inside it along with most of the tetras they are housed with.

My issue is IDK what caused this to happen, am I missing something completely obvious?

Manzanita?
Slate?
3D Background?

Thanks for the help... I feel terrible for the fish

[nc0gnet0]

What type of silicone did you use?

[grabberorangestang]

GE Type II 100% Silicone

[grabberorangestang]

http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=444949-72643-GE5000X2&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=4402709&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1

To be exact.

[nc0gnet0]

Well, it appears to be a poisoning issue of some sorts, hard to say where the source was. Not a big fan of the GE silicone, I prefer to use stuff made specifically for aquariums, although I know others swear by it.

For now I would be changing as much water as possible and possibly add carbon to the filtration. I might even be inclined to remove the fish from the tank until it is sorted out.

[grabberorangestang]

It had 500ml of purigen running the whole time. I took the fish out and put them in a brute with new water. I will keep them in there for a while maybe until whatever it is leaches out? A month?

[STHH]

Sorry for your losses. Hope those harmful chemical is removed. You may want to consider using carbon to and run it in your filter for a few days before putting the fishes back. Don't really know how you are going to test the water, however.

[gundala]

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?94917-GE-Silicone-II-SAY-IT-AIN-T-SO!

[Kal-El]

That's your issue. GE I 100% silicone is the only one that can be use for sealing tanks. I have never had any issue with this type. Joey DIY king also recommend only the GE I. GE II has mold resistance added to it that is poison to fish.

[John_Nicholson]

Yep silicone I 100% is ok, silicone II kills your fish. It has stuff in it to help kill mold and mildew.

-john

[Keith Perkins]

That's your issue. GE I 100% silicone is the only one that can be use for sealing tanks. I have never had any issue with this type. Joey DIY king also recommend only the GE I. GE II has mold resistance added to it that is poison to fish.


Yep silicone I 100% is on, silicone II kills your fish. It has stuff in it to help kill mold and mildew.

-john

Agreed. I think you're going to need to strip the background out and redo it unfortunately.

[grabberorangestang]

Thanks for the help. Yeah I guess I goofed thinking silicone II was the right one. I had used it in the past without ill effects, but this time I used an entire tube. Somehow I have to try and save the background now eh...

[grabberorangestang]

Can someone link me directly to the exact silicone? The ones I am finding say under the specs mildew resistant

[jasa73]

I wonder if it's the background itself. I ordered a 3D background for my aquarium but I havent put it in because it smelled funny. It's been several weeks and it still smells funny, I'm not sure I'm going to use it at this point. I doubt it was the manzantia...even if it leaches something into the water it would most likely be tannins which would be fine for the discus.

[John_Nicholson]

jasa73 is the silicone. It is a known fact.

grabberorangestang GE I is what I have always used. The label will say 100% silicone as long as they have not changed anything.

-john

[grabberorangestang]

jasa73 is the silicone. It is a known fact.

grabberorangestang GE I is what I have always used. The label will say 100% silicone as long as they have not changed anything.

-john

Thanks John, What scares me is what I used said 100% silicone as well. I hope the label says that it doesnt have mold or mildew inhibitors. Thanks again