mj Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 Hi first post (well second as I replied to a post on my way to make this), I have a 75 litre tank with rocks, driftwood, lots of plants, 4 freshwater mussels, 3 "goldfish" (sorry not sure of the exact type - just plain everyday goldfish), 4 borneo suckers a ramshorn (I think) snail and a koura... these guys were all living happily for the last few months ... I had a problem with green water which I believe was due to the rocks and driftwood that I added. I was changing 20% of the water every few days (sometimes more). The days I changed more Robert (Cray - my koura) seemed to come out and play a lot more ... anyway on Saturday I noticed around lunchtime that he was out of his cave sitting next to a piece of driftwood which was very odd - I went out for a few hours and when I returned much to my dismay he was in the same spot, only upside down and motionless. I immediately took him out and placed him into a bowl which I use as a temp spot for fish plants etc hoping he might miraculously spring back to life but alas he didn't I went and got another 2 koura (both found under the same rock) and took the opportunity to drain my tank completely so I could better arrange the rocks for both the koura and the borneo suckers. This was yesterday - I wake up this morning and both koura are dead and so are 2 of the borneos - I cannot see the other 2 borneos so am not sure whether they are dead too I have no idea what has caused this. I have done some tests on the water: ph = 7 nitrate was between 5-10 - say 8ish ammonia = 0 n02 was approx 0.5 water temp was around 21 at change - my apartment is warm so my "coldwater" tank isn't all that cold - was around 23ish before the change there is a cocoon the top glass (out of the water) which I believe is just from the snail and I doubt it would have any ill affect (other than the influx of baby snails soon to come) my fish tank is my new hobby and I feel terrible that my lack of knowledge in this area has possibly been the cause of all this death Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 koura do not like temps over 20 degrees. I would say that 20 c degree is max for koura. The suckers probably died becuase the koura died and polluted the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 75L is about a 2ft tank isn't it? That is too small for goldfish let alone the other inhabitants. Have you checked the mussels are still alive? When they die they pollute the water fast. Not sure how rocks would cause green water. Is there any filtration on the tank? Much water movement? Sunlight? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted March 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 yup mussels are still alive, I have a filter which I have positioned the spouts diagonally down the tank so that there is movement at varying depths - the tank does not get any direct sunlight, I use the lights a lot - main reason was for the plants (my apartment is quite dark with the tank placed in one of the better places for natural light the koura was still alive at about 2am this morning but dead when I checked around 5.30am (with a borneo right nect to/under it) - can the water be polluted that quickly? I completely replaced the water yesterday which is what I am suspecting? the existing borneos did not take to the sudden change? the koura I can understand as it was a complete change for these 2 - although my original one lasted for a few months in 24ish degree water I'm not sure if my other 2 borneos are dead as I can not see them (I'm hoping they are ok) I feel terrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted March 31, 2008 Report Share Posted March 31, 2008 I would say that, if you did a complete water change then the ammonia would of got them from the shock of the water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted April 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 that's what I'm starting to think ... horrible way to learn what not to do. I'm assuming that white cloudy water is ammonia? when I first filled the tank it was white and cloudy as and unfortunately I was in a rush to get to work and put all my fishies back in. The same thing just happened when I removed all the rocks today to find the other 2 borneos, also both dead guess I have learned a painful lesson here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 Ammonia is invisible - white cloud usually equals bacterial bloom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowfax Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 did you use water out of the tap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spink Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 My sympathies to you It is a painful lesson to learn, one i have learnt myself, but fish keeping is one of those hobbies that requires time - lots of it - and research. Don't give up though, you can make it work with a little more patience, knowledge and time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted April 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 oh I assumed all the white cloud was ammonia after the suggestion that it may have been the cause - ammonia level was 0 this morning although that was about 16 hours later... yup I just used tap water and I added aqua plus tap water conditioner and nutrafin cycle the irony is I was doing this to make the habitat more enjoyable for the deceased ... more caves for the koura and borneos to hide in one thing for sure is I won't be doing a complete water change again in a hurry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted April 1, 2008 Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 That is a shame Unfortunately we all learn the most important lessons the hard way. There is a fair bit said about crayfish/koura on this site(and the other fish, I am a little native-obsessed...), you might find some interesting things if you trawl through the archives. The search function does work, despite what it says. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted April 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 hahah that is how I found this site looking for info on koura I love animals, especially those found in the water - I find myself spending hours just watching what they are doing (quite often at 3am in the morning when it comes to koura!!) cheers for the heads up on searching as I wasn't going to bother Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted April 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2008 actually I think I have found the problem ... I have a bowl which I use for plants etc and I had some Impatiens growing in it (testing if it could grow underwater) ... it seemed to be ok so I added this to the main tank when I did the complete water change anyway I found this site this morning http://www.cnykoi.com/articles/plantpoisonous.asp and it is listed :-? I had googled these plants prior and found a link where someone had said they were growing them in their aquarium - I guess it was a plant aquarium only Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadowfax Posted April 2, 2008 Report Share Posted April 2, 2008 bugger! atleast you know what happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mj Posted April 3, 2008 Author Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 so what should I do now to ensure that any toxins the plant introduced are gone? clean the filter / replace the filter fibre altogether? completely change the water? remove and boil the pebbles? or do I simply leave it for a few weeks before reintroducing a couple borneos and another koura? or all of the above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 3, 2008 Report Share Posted April 3, 2008 If it was me I would soak everything in bleach - budget or janola will do. Then rinse it out very well and lie in the sun to dry out and remove the last traces of bleach. Soak your bowl as well. I also soak my filter wool, sponges, bricks and bio balls before I reuse with never a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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