Can a broken water heater kill an Arowana?

[doods]

i tend to highly disagree that you buddy would notice the difference between the arowana, i have 6 aros and practically know they're scales like the back of my hand

but a nice gesture for sure and would definitely cushion the blow

as for the electrocution if the fish touched the heating coil and the tank at the same time it would then be grounded , this is my theory along with the drastic temp change

you probably didn't keep the fish but you could have dissected it to find glass like gutting a fish, (sounds harsh but works)

and so sorry to hear about the loss bro

I kept the fish in my friend freezer so he can still see his beloved fish. Don't wanna throw it away because he had the fish since it was lil. Maybe he will dissected afterward when he comes back.

Did you feed the arowana the day you came and found the heater broken, then came 2 days later with an new heater? If you did, most likely the temp drop kill the fish. Low temp will effect the way fish digesting food, and rotten food inside fish can kill it. I made a fatal mistake last month, did a water change 2 days after I fed my fish. One of my arowana got bloat, and died 2-3 days later. BTW, I don't think you need to explain to your friend. You did him a favor by looking after the fish for him when he's away (on vacation?) All you need to let him know is the heater was shatter, and the arowana died 2 or 4 days (whatever it is) after that.. Just let him have the fact, and he can draw whatever conclusion he likes


I'm not sure if anyone said there's no current in the tank. They just said fish didn't get shock, since it was not grounded, just like bird lands/rest on a power line.

I wish is that easy to tell him, he loved the fish very much. It was hes only buddy since we are all working here in saudi arabia as expats so this is our only hobby that can relax us when we came home from a hard days work.
I'll tell him the facts certainly but I don't know how he will handle it coming from vacation, feeling home sick and away from his family, and I'm gonna welcome him with this sorrowful event.

And I will certainly say all the valuable inputs the guys here in MFK regarding my question so that he can also analyze by himself the reason why his arowana died. Well hell be back next year Jan 9, cant still think how am I going to deliver the sad event.

 

[jlnguyen74]

same thing happened to my feeder tank, heater broke and eletricuted all the feeders and killed 3 plecos. I touched the water and it zapped me.

I'm pretty sure the fish were fine until the moment you touched the water. You completed the circuit. You "electrocuted" all your fish!

 

[Addikted2Cichlids]

I think this has to be researced more, I find it hard to believe if im floating in a pool of water and someone throws a high voltage power line in the water, that I would be fine as long as im floating..

 

[doods]

I think this has to be researced more, I find it hard to believe if im floating in a pool of water and someone throws a high voltage power line in the water, that I would be fine as long as im floating..

yes thats true, and how do the electric eel zap its pray? their all floating right? I mean swimming in water without any contact to any other surface like rock or wood. So does this work on the broken heater? maybe somebody here would like to do an experiment buy putting a broken heater (glass broken) and submerging it in water, and test the water with a tester and check if there is live current flowing in the water and check how many voltz of electricity its producing. just an idea guys

 

[aussiemonsters]

Have had some experience with electrofishing, in the pic we are electrofishing AUL's and relocating them back to the dam which has overflowed. Not a good pic but you can see the anodes mounted on the front which create the field note the rubberboots,gloves and fiberglass handles on the nets. Everyone with a net who is actively netting fish leaning over the side also has a kill switch under their foot in case they fall over. Anything within the field in the water gets shocked

 

[Addikted2Cichlids]

I had a broken heater once, my fish were going crazy one morning when I woke up. They were swimming all over the place smashing into the glass. So i went over to check what was going on, everything seemed normal other than the fact they were all going crazy, so I opened the lid to put my hand in the tank to keep them from smashing the sides because they normally cowered in a corner when a giant hand came in. I then realized that i got a nice little shock, I quickly unplugged the lights and checked the water again, nope, still a current.. I then unplugged my heater and checked the water, it didn't shock me.. So due to the fact that my fish were freaking out more then I have ever seen before, by far, this is the reason I believe they can be shocked.. But it possibly may have just been a coincidence..

 

[T1KARMANN]

All electrical goods in the UK have a fused plug not sure why the rest of the world is not the same

 

[HungDang]

All electrical goods in the UK have a fused plug not sure why the rest of the world is not the same

here in US, only those electrical plug that near water have that !

 

[CLDarnell]

here in US, only those electrical plug that near water have that !

Most "near water" outlets are GF protected. Here in the US, the only fused plugs I can think of are some Christmas lights lol.

 

[HungDang]

pure water(H2O) is not a conductor, but water with some other thing in it is a good conductor! that's why they use water water to detect Cl2 from German during WW2. Electrical eel and electrofishing using the water surround the fish as a conductor, so the electrical current can pass through the fish !