Switched from prime to safe- dead fish

[Wiksta]

Yesterday i made the switch from prime to safe. I have a 180 gallon aquarium so it just makes sense. Last night i did a 40% water change on all 3 tanks, using safe. This morning i wake up and every fish in my smallest tank is dead. The fish in the other 2 tanks look fine but it has me worried. They were just feeder fish i have had for like 3 weeks in the small tank. My other tanks are cichlids and tropical. I just want to make sure i didn't do anything wrong... I have done multiple water changes on that small tank in the past few weeks and even up to 50% with no fish loss. What do you guys think? Coincidence? I used a .1gram scoop of safe. Says that's good for roughly 25 gallons. Thoughts?

 

[Angelphish]

Yesterday i made the switch from prime to safe. I have a 180 gallon aquarium so it just makes sense. Last night i did a 40% water change on all 3 tanks, using safe. This morning i wake up and every fish in my smallest tank is dead. The fish in the other 2 tanks look fine but it has me worried. They were just feeder fish i have had for like 3 weeks in the small tank. My other tanks are cichlids and tropical. I just want to make sure i didn't do anything wrong... I have done multiple water changes on that small tank in the past few weeks and even up to 50% with no fish loss. What do you guys think? Coincidence? I used a .1gram scoop of safe. Says that's good for roughly 25 gallons. Thoughts?

Could have been shock from the water change.

 

[duanes]

When using dry de-chlorinators I like to mix the granules thoroughly in a jug of tank water before adding to the tank, so since Safe is basically the dried form of prime this might be my only worry?
Although there may have been some unrelated factor at work.
It may be that some pathogen was infecting the feeder tank, and it took 3 weeks to manifest itself. It often takes a month or 2 or more for a pathogen or parasite to show up.
And if this was the case, luck may just have saved your other fish from a bunch contaminated feeders.
And as angelfish stated, if the feeders were already compromised, a water change could have been the straw that broke their back.

 

[Wiksta]

When using dry de-chlorinators I like to mix the granules thoroughly in a jug of tank water before adding to the tank, so since Safe is basically the dried form of prime this might be my only worry?

.
Although there may have been some unrelated factor at work.
It may be that some pathogen was infecting the feeder tank, and it took 3 weeks to manifest itself. It often takes a month or 2 or more for a pathogen or parasite to show up.
And if this was the case, luck may just have saved your other fish from a bunch contaminated feeders.
And as angelfish stated, if the feeders were already compromised, a water change could have been the straw that broke their back.

I did mix it in like 1/4 cup of water to ensure it was mixed. I haven't been using feeders in years but decided to try again. Im quarantineing them for a few months before giving them to my oscars. Some did have some white spots on them (not ich, larger spots and just a few) so maybe they had something. Really hoping it's just coincidence. I have done up to 60% water changes on that thank with them without any loss so i don't think it's shock from the water change

 

[Wiksta]

Should i be weighing it or measure by volume? Currently im using gram scoops for volume measurement.

 

[duanes]

Gram scoops should work, in the lab we used to call the use of sodium thiosulphate based products bucket chemistry. Straight sodium thio would come to us as a salt, not unlike rock salt, and we'd mix very thoroughl for about 20 minutes using magnetic stirrers. For home use, I'd drop a handful in an old milk jug and slosh it around until I was tired.
Although the spots may not have been ick, they may have been a bacterial infection like columnar or ?????.
In cold water columnaris often appears as white raised patches (or columns) resembling a fungus, as opposed to warm water where it presents as duck lips.

 

[Frank Castle]

It may be that some pathogen was infecting the feeder tank, and it took 3 weeks to manifest itself. It often takes a month or 2 or more for a pathogen or parasite to show up.
And if this was the case, luck may just have saved your other fish from a bunch contaminated feeders.
And as angelfish stated, if the feeders were already compromised, a water change could have been the straw that broke their back.

u took the words right outta my mouth, Duey. I agree, if the other tanks are fine and the feederfish are dead, no doubt it was probably the pathogens in their final stages.....I have seen batches of feederfish where all of them just die at once, it's nothing new.

 

[Wiksta]

u took the words right outta my mouth, Duey. I agree, if the other tanks are fine and the feederfish are dead, no doubt it was probably the pathogens in their final stages.....I have seen batches of feederfish where all of them just die at once, it's nothing new.

If it was a pathogen, what's the proper way to get the tank ready for new fish? Couple water changes ok? Full breakdown and clean?

 

[skjl47]

I used a .1gram scoop of safe

Hello; This has already been discussed but I am curious. A gram is, I think, a mass (weight) unit. My question being how is a 1/10 of a gram measured with a "scoop". The metric unit for volume is the milliliter (ml) or cubic centimeter (cc). Depending on the density of Safe it may not be that grams and milliliters are equivalent? ( Feel free to correct this as it is off the top of my head.)

since Safe is basically the dried form of prime

Hello; yes this is my understanding.

I did mix it in like 1/4 cup of water to ensure it was mixed

hello; A 1/4 cup is not much water. But perhaps of more importance could be how long was the mixing time? I have been schooled that the dry safe is stable once mixed for about a month and after that time it should not be used. Perhaps the safe solution can be mixed a day or few ahead of time. Also if you do WC weekly mix up an amount for two or three weeks as this may make the measured amounts easier to work with???

Currently im using gram scoops for volume measurement.

Hello; I refer back to my initial question. How is a gram scoop figured?

Full breakdown and clean?

Hello ; This is what I do for a known or suspected pathogen.

 

[Wiksta]

hello; A 1/4 cup is not much water. But perhaps of more importance could be how long was the mixing time? I have been schooled that the dry safe is stable once mixed for about a month and after that time it should not be used. Perhaps the safe solution can be mixed a day or few ahead of time. Also if you do WC weekly mix up an amount for two or three weeks as this may make the measured amounts easier to work with???


Hello; I refer back to my initial question. How is a gram scoop figured?

Not sure. I bought off amazon. (LaMotte 0700 Soil Test Measuring Spoon (Set of 5)). I can always get the one for weight if necessary. Im swirling the powder around for a few minutes. There is no visible powder before i put in the tank.