4 years ago I started my fish journey and I have been getting bigger and better fish. 2 years ago I got Into collecting African cichlids I only hada few at first then one day at work my boss invited me to their apartment and there they had a huge collection of their own African cichlids I told them that I collected them too he said that he is trying to get rid of them because they were getting to much for him ( he's 87) I offered to take them. for the past 8 months they have been doing great breeding and living well. On the 27 of January my mother passed away and since then I haven't had time to do a water change or clean the filters well 2 days ago I woke up and found that 20 of my fish had died there were 4 left and the babies. I have no idea what happened. If anyone could tell me what might have happened I would really appreciate it. I would like to add that I am not going to restart my rank back up I'm going to college next year and and it just wouldn't make sense to restart it if I can't take it with me. So I would like to know any trick you all might have for keeping an empty fish tank up in an Attic that has drastic temp changes. I would like tips on keeping the silicon from drying and the rubber seals on the filter. Something that is safe for fish when I do restart the tank. Thank you
It's over
- Thread starter shawnboy3194
- Start date
Honestly, I would think about selling the tank before I'd store it like that but I know people have done it. I'd personally sell the tank and put the money out of reach until you want to buy a tank again. Yeah, you'll take a loss selling it and then buying new again, but you might fins a good used and break even. If I was to store a tank like that - wash it, dry it completely and let it dry for a week in the house, box it in cardboard with tape on every seam and then store it upright.
I think storing any used tank for a prolonged period of time is going to risk the silicone drying out or cracking on you... best bet is probably as Lusus said, and sell the tank?
Storage might work, but you have to consider that when you decide to re-setup the tank, your not only going to have to test fill it and leave it a few days, but also be prepared to completely re-seal the tank if its leaking..
Storage might work, but you have to consider that when you decide to re-setup the tank, your not only going to have to test fill it and leave it a few days, but also be prepared to completely re-seal the tank if its leaking..
What most likely killed your fish was a build up of organics causing a ph crash followed by an ammonia spike. Test your PH if it is below 6 then you know what happened