Bad juju? Plants melting, fish and snails dying.

2393 Views 4 Replies 4 Participants Last post by roadmaster, Jan 19, 2017

0xDEADBEEF

Discussion Starter · Jan 16, 2017

I have started a new little 4gal tank next to my freshly rescaped 30gal.

They use the same water source, the same water conditioner (API Stress Coat+), substrate (Fluval Stratum), rocks and wood from the same source (Neptune Aquatics) similar plants (mostly various anubias) Bacopa Caroliniana, Telanthera Cardinalis. Banana Plant.
The only diff is big tank has big sun sun canister and little one Finnex PX-360.

The small tank has little higher pH (7.6 vs 7.2 in the big one) otherwise the water params (ammonia, nitrates, nitrites very low, otherwise the water we have is very hard, lots of lime) are pretty much the same, probably because there is more substrate and wood in the big tank.

Everything is fine in the big tank.

I put Dwarf Gourami, my last neon green rasbora, two amanos and few bladder pond snails in the small tank. And after two days rasbora and snails!!! are dead, gourami swimming sideways and his feelers are melting and all the plants in the tank are melting becoming glassy and soft. Even anubias! WTF?
The shrimp seem to be OK. I moved gourami to the big tank and it recovered so I hope it is going to be fine.

But does anyone have any idea what is going on with this tank? What would melt the plants so bad, kill the fish and even the snails? Something leaching from an odd rock? From silicone (I used some clear GE Silicone II to stick the rocks together but it should be safe for aquariums - everyone uses it and I have used it before) Something from the filter media?

I am tempted to rip out all the hardcscape, plants, filter media and start anew.

Suggestions?

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Econde

· #2 · Jan 17, 2017

0xDEADBEEF said:
I have started a new little 4gal tank next to my freshly rescaped 30gal.

They use the same water source, the same water conditioner (API Stress Coat+), substrate (Fluval Stratum), rocks and wood from the same source (Neptune Aquatics) similar plants (mostly various anubias) Bacopa Caroliniana, Telanthera Cardinalis. Banana Plant.
The only diff is big tank has big sun sun canister and little one Finnex PX-360.

The small tank has little higher pH (7.6 vs 7.2 in the big one) otherwise the water params (ammonia, nitrates, nitrites very low, otherwise the water we have is very hard, lots of lime) are pretty much the same, probably because there is more substrate and wood in the big tank.

Everything is fine in the big tank.

I put Dwarf Gourami, my last neon green rasbora, two amanos and few bladder pond snails in the small tank. And after two days rasbora and snails!!! are dead, gourami swimming sideways and his feelers are melting and all the plants in the tank are melting becoming glassy and soft. Even anubias! WTF?
The shrimp seem to be OK. I moved gourami to the big tank and it recovered so I hope it is going to be fine.

But does anyone have any idea what is going on with this tank? What would melt the plants so bad, kill the fish and even the snails? Something leaching from an odd rock? From silicone (I used some clear GE Silicone II to stick the rocks together but it should be safe for aquariums - everyone uses it and I have used it before) Something from the filter media?

I am tempted to rip out all the hardcscape, plants, filter media and start anew.

Suggestions?

Is your tank fully cycled? There should be no ammonia no nitrites and some nitrates. Just wondering.

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Maryland Guppy

· #3 · Jan 17, 2017

0xDEADBEEF said:
otherwise the water params (ammonia, nitrates, nitrites very low,

With the plants just melting this could be ammonia burn.
What are these levels that are very low?

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0xDEADBEEF

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jan 19, 2017

Econde, no the tank is not cycled at all. It is just 2 or 3 days after starting it with completely fresh water. All it had was a little baggie of ceramic rings from an old tank filter to get some bacteria started.

Ammonia burn after 3 days of starting the tank and one water change to get rid of the dust from substrate and 2 days after putting two fish in it and 3 little bladder pond snails which normally survive in my 3gal snail tank that gets water changes like twice a year and has bottom covered with half inch layer of snail poo? Yet the snails
die after two days or so?
I don't think even bleach would kill them that fast. All the API test strip showed was basically pH and 0 levels for nitrates and nitrites.

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roadmaster

· #5 · Jan 19, 2017

Ammonia levels much above zero can kill in hour's or sometimes day's depending on levels much above zero and species of fish/invert's.
PRIME is better/more effective conditioner for your tank's and cheaper over the long haul

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