Filter issues :(

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The_minnow_man

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 17, 2015
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Firstly long time reader. .first time poster :)

So I need some help. I have a small breeder tank about 40gal I use to grow fish big enough that I then move them to our very large outside pond (I live in south Florida) normally they are out of there in 8-12 weeks depending on how small they are when I get them.

The problem. .I had a hang on the side filter which was fine, fish lived etc but water was always dirty. So I decided to get a nice canister filter to keep the water crystal clear. Aquatop uv

So I attached it to the tank while leaving the original also attached. Within two days the water was crystal clear. .but the resident a 10 inch redtail (a week away from being released into the pond) started not eating, vomiting up food, went real pale. Took him out and released him a week early as he looked like he was going to die.

I thought maybe the quality of the water changed to fast.

2 more weeks pass I decided to buy some new fish to grow and thought they would be ok. I removed the hang on filter and went to the pet store as it had need almost 3 weeks since I attached the canister and thought that's more then enough time. .right?

Got 2 little pacu and a tiny redtail about 2 inches. ..

Within 24hours. .all three were dead. I'm out of the country and my house mate said he saw them gasping for air and did like 50%water changes and they wooukd feel great swimming like mad for an hour or so and then they would start circling again :(

No idea what happened. .I haven't been able to check the levels yet

But any advice or thoughts on what happened would be great :( x 1000

It has to do with the canister filter as everything was fine before I bought this


Thanks
 
Sounds like poisoning. First thing is to check for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate level. If that is good, then you probably have a possible chemical contamination.
 
Were there any fish in the tank after you released the redtail?

If not, then there would be no ammonia/nitrite to feed the beneficial bacteria and the colony crashed
 
The_minnow_man said:
Chemical contamination from the new filter? Surly that isn't supposed to happen?
Click to expand...
While this is unlikely, it is a possibility. But other possibilities: were your bio media in the canister contaminated some how; Was there some sort of chemicals on your hands when you setting up the canister; were house-hold chemical products inadvertently get into the tank water. Many scenarios on what might be the caused, but the fact that your fish died that quickly and at the same time indicates, most likely, toxin(s)
 
There was about 2 weeks of nothing in the tank. .however after initially attaching the canister the resident redtail healthwise dropped so much it was going to die. .after less then 24 hours exec thought the previous filter was still attached which he was happy with
 
xraycer said:
While this is unlikely, it is a possibility. But other possibilities: were your bio media in the canister contaminated some how; Was there some sort of chemicals on your hands when you setting up the canister; were house-hold chemical products inadvertently get into the tank water. Many scenarios on what might be the caused, but the fact that your fish died that quickly and at the same time indicates, most likely, toxin(s)
Click to expand...

The bio balls in the canister were in a sealed bag, I rinsed the carbon relatively well, the only house hold chemical I have is washing up liquid which didn't come near the tank and even if it did that stuff is almost harmless
 
I am pretty confident its a toxicity culprit. Perhaps it was contaminated inadvertently by some sort of chemical at the factory. Aquatop canisters are just a US rebrand of the Chinese Sunsun filters of which I own 3 of. I never even rinsed any of these out prior to hooking it up to the tank and running it.

All you can do at this point is rinsed out your entire set-up (tank, filters, décor), and just run the tank with no fish for a couple of months and doing plenty of water chances to hopefully dilute and eventually rid any lingering chemical residue.

Good luck
 
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A couple of months. ...bs to that. I'll return the filter to the store.

Will check the levels but I'm certain they will be fine nothing could have spiked them I'm almost certain
 
Welcome to MFK.
I wonder if maybe the canister with its increased flow through the tank, stirred up somthing in the substrate, assuming you have gravel, sand etc...?
It does sound like a toxicity issue....I doubt it was the canister....I'm not to familiar with this filter but sometimes assembly lube can be a hazard? Certain parts on certain Eheim filters need periodical lubing with food grade silicon lubricant....
I don't know what else other than a bio crash and re-cycle....toxins....temperature. ...beats me. I wish you the best though and I am sorry to hear about the loss of your fish.
The_minnow_man said:
Firstly long time reader. .first time poster :)

So I need some help. I have a small breeder tank about 40gal I use to grow fish big enough that I then move them to our very large outside pond (I live in south Florida) normally they are out of there in 8-12 weeks depending on how small they are when I get them.

The problem. .I had a hang on the side filter which was fine, fish lived etc but water was always dirty. So I decided to get a nice canister filter to keep the water crystal clear. Aquatop uv

So I attached it to the tank while leaving the original also attached. Within two days the water was crystal clear. .but the resident a 10 inch redtail (a week away from being released into the pond) started not eating, vomiting up food, went real pale. Took him out and released him a week early as he looked like he was going to die.

I thought maybe the quality of the water changed to fast.

2 more weeks pass I decided to buy some new fish to grow and thought they would be ok. I removed the hang on filter and went to the pet store as it had need almost 3 weeks since I attached the canister and thought that's more then enough time. .right?

Got 2 little pacu and a tiny redtail about 2 inches. ..

Within 24hours. .all three were dead. I'm out of the country and my house mate said he saw them gasping for air and did like 50%water changes and they wooukd feel great swimming like mad for an hour or so and then they would start circling again :(

No idea what happened. .I haven't been able to check the levels yet

But any advice or thoughts on what happened would be great :( x 1000

It has to do with the canister filter as everything was fine before I bought this


Thanks
Click to expand...
 
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