electricity has no effect on fish???

[IKeepPacu]

after feeding my 250 their usual big handful of hikari, i stuck my hand in the tank t move something around. and WHAM!!! actually jumped back at the nasty current going thru my water. being the genius i am, i tried again with the same results turned out one of my fish (most likely a pacu) ate through BOTH 300w heaters, and exposed the wiring to them.

with enough electricity in the water to knock me back at 5'8 and 150 lbs, why did it seem to not have any effect on the fish??? coloration seemed normal, behavior, they were jumping out of the tank like they usually do at feeding time. not a single thing seemed different to them

and, will i have to worry about any long term effects?? max it was like that was around 48 hours, which was the last time my hands were in the 250.

 

[kusojijii]

I would guess the water is acting like a Faraday Cage to the fish, you were grounded so you got bit.

 

[bearfan]

I would guess the water is acting like a Faraday Cage to the fish, you were grounded so you got bit.

I'm no electrician, but that's what I was thinking. If the amps were higher, the fish would be affected. I've seen where they shock lake water with I don't know how many volts and fish are stunned, float to the top and stuff. I can't believe he did it twice!

 

[mercury904]

electrical signals always tends direct itself through the earth's core...thats why thunders are always downwards coz they want the (negative) ground...In your instance you're like the missing link between electricity from your tank and the earth's ground...you are the bridge

 

[jcardona1]

I asked that same question a while back. This is the reply I got from one our members:

The fish dont feel anything because although there is a voltage present in the tank, it has no path to ground, so no current is flowing. They are like birds sitting on a power wire, they may be at 4,000 volt potential, but no path for the current to flow to ground.

When you come along and put your hand in the water, YOU become a path for the current to flow to ground. What you are feeling is actually a current flowing through your body, induced by the stray voltage thats present in the tank.

This is of course a bad thing, because the insulation has broken down in something, and could potentially leak enough voltage into the tank to cause a dangerous amount of current to flow, though YOU.

Like Dr Joe said, check your wall outlet and it's potential to earth, I have seen weird wiring faults do VERY strange things and apply all sorts of voltages to things that shouldn't have them.

Cheers

Ian

P.S. our domestic voltage here is 230v, not 115, so we have to be even more carefull with that sort of thing.

 

[kusojijii]

oh yeah! glass is an insulator, duh

 

[Mylek]

always wear rubber shoes

 

[IKeepPacu]

I can't believe he did it twice!

i win this months Darwin award for that

 

[IKeepPacu]

so i shouldent have to worry about any effects on the fish from the possible 48hour exposure to the current, right?

 

[kusojijii]

there is no current in relation to them, electricity needs a path to ground to flow