My husband cleaned the 55 gallon tank today and killed many of our fish. What happened?

Question

We usually clean the tank, as we have done for over a year, every weekend. The only thing different is that our convicts had babies a week ago, and we skipped a cleaning so as not to disturb the new family. We have grow lights and the algae was pretty visible in the water after missing a week. When he got done, five of the fish were dead within an hour. They are swimming like they are half paralyzed. Some are better now, but some didn't make it. Are they in shock from stirring up the algae?

Answer 1

Hmm, could he have had something on his hands or arms? Soap, lotion, some kind of household cleaner, working on the car or some other man thing lol? Definitely not from stirring up the algae. Did he dechlorinate the water?

And, nothing wrong with changing your water every week, I've done it for the past 6 years, and I know lots of other people that do as well. So keep up with that. That post says he/she had fish that lived 18-24 months? I've got some of my originals that I've had for 6 years. Changing 20% of your water every week will NOT cause your tank to cycle.
End of rant, sorry but I'm so tired of mis-information being put out by beginners, 18-24 months, please...........

Answer 2

Well, there are a few things that I would like to add to the already great answers you have received. First thing is that my wife and I have a 50 gal tank ourselves. We change our water about every other week. When we do we only save 5 gals of our water. We just take a clean 5 gal bucket and scoop it full of water and then we put our fish in there. In the mean time we take all of our plants, rocks, and other decoration out. We take a kitchen strainer and a garden hose and spray the rocks and everything else off real well.

(Note:) Never use any kind of soap or anything that is note fish safe.

Then we take the tank outside and spray it off real well with nothing more than water.

Its a good idea to have an algae eater of some sort. As this will help prevent that nasty green build up on the side of your tank. If you decide to have more than one (Any more than two for a 55 gal tank is a bad idea.) then you should by them both at the same time. As the older algae eaters will kill younger or different breeds. They don't kill them by any violent act. They do it do dominating the tank and leaving little food for the other.

I know this is a long talk but I think Some of the things I have said will pay off if you try to use them. People will tell you to save up to 66% of your old water but in my experience that isn't true. It's the bacteria in the water that the fish need. Just like there is a bacteria in honey that humans need.

I also recommend that you get some kind of temp gage (Digital Thermometer) that you can put under the water that you are running from the tap so that you can get it to the right temp before putting it into the tank. Here is a link that shows the exact kind we use. http://www.tooldesk.com/images/previewFile/ueilg2.jpg

This is the link to where you can buy it. http://www.tooldesk.com/products/default.aspx?searchString=uei

Hope this helps. God Bless.

Answer 3

You see this is where details helps when homing in on the likely cause of the problem. You do not tell us how much water was taken out of the tank or how you "cleaned" the tank. Nor did you tell us what the water chemistry was.
Regardless, I am betting your algae bloom is due to the fact that you skipped your cleaning duty. In doing so you allowed nitrogen to build up and thus generate an atmosphere where algae would thrive. As the algae flourished on the unchecked nitrogen your pH, which naturally decreases over time, decreased even more then it would have if you cleaned it out regularly. Build ups of organic waste will always lower your pH.
So when you "cleaned" the tank you more then likely added freshwater which probably had a higher level of pH then what your fish were previously use to. The most logically conclusion is that you lost fish due to a pH shock.

Answer 4

First you should only change your 20% of the water ever two to three weeks not every weekend. Secondly it could be your your Ph was wrong after the change. Third it could be the temperature was wrong and the fish went into shock and died. Or all three or a combination of the three could have dont this to your fish. And Fourth you NEVER use soap to clean your tank (soap will kill your fish), there are brushes that you can buy at a fish store to clean the glass. The algae had nothing to do with hurting the fish or even killing the fish if its only been a week past due but since you change the water every week yes it can kill the fish. The reason you shouldn't change your water every is that your tank goes through a cycle and the Ph needs to stabilize. You also should check your Ph level by testing the water. I use to check the temperature of the water everyday and I'd check the Ph once a week and changed my water every three weeks and I had fish that would live for 18 to 24 months. Yes some died before then but others lived for along time. And never buy fish from Pet smart or Walmart they will most likely die within two months and/or make your other fish sick and die. Get your fish at a good fish store that takes good care of their fish.

Answer 5

If more than 50% was changed out the differences in KH, GH and pH parameters between the old tank water and the newly added water could have shocked the fish.

Answer 6

these are classic signs of chlorine poisoning, per above

do you normally treat your water with a chlorine removal agent like AquaSafe? If you do, methinks you may have missed it, there are really honestly very few other things that will actually cause the fish to die and especially that quickly, save some dramatic (> 40 degrees) temperature fluctuations

drag, though, no doubt . . . too bad

Answer 7

First of all, when cleaning a large tank... remove fish into containers or bags containing the old tank water. Next remove rocks and clean fully then clean tank with warm water and mild soap to remove all algae, make sure to rinse soap out repeatedly until gone. Next set tank up to meet your needs(clean rocks, plants, jewels,etc.) Add water, if using tap water be sure to treat it with Aqua Safe water treater or a similar type. This adds a stress coat to the fish so they won't get sick and die it also nuetralizes contaminates in the water. Next set up filters, heaters etc. , turn on and allow the water to flter for 2 hours or so before adding the fish. Now adding the fish: if fish are in bags this is much easier... Place fish (contained in their bags with old tank water)into tank.. they will float about on top. allow the fish to get used to the temperature of the new water approx. 15-20mins. when releasing fish into water, open bag, submerse under water and allow fish to aclimate to the water ..coax fish out of bag with old water into new water. That is how it should be done. I know from experience. If not done this way fish coud get sick with viruses or get ich or just stress out and die.

Answer 8

Sounds like too much water was changed. Did he change more water since the tank was dirties? Even if not, If its been longer, you need to take out less water than normal. It messes with the surroundings that they've gotten used to. I made that mistake a few times before I learned what I was doing wrong.

Answer 9

how much of the water did you change? Ive heard only change 1/3 or the water so you dont disturb the balence in the water to much

Answer 10

He has to put them in the same kind of water that they are in while in the tank the change in water temp. may kill them or out them in shock