whetu Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 Stupid admission time. :oops: The other day I bought some adzuki beans from my local bulk store. When I went to sprout them last night I found they were full of weevils! Trying to look on the bright side, I thought weevils = live food for fishies. The weevils were inside the beans, so I decided I would put the beans in the fish tank, and as the weevils came out of the beans the fish could eat them. So I put the beans (about a cupful) into a mesh bag, and popped the bag into the tank. Sure enough, the weevils gradually started to emerge, and the fish ate them as they came out. The fish seemed very interested in the bag of beans and were actively exploring it, so I left them to it. Then I left the room and got distracted. An hour or so later the tank lights turned off (on a timer). I went to bed. This morning OH MY GOODNESS what a mess! The tank looked like it had milk in it instead of water. The fish were showing various signs of stress (bristlenoses shooting to the surface for gulps of air, barbs 'flashing' against the gravel, loaches out surfing the current in one corner when usually they are hidden away at that time of the morning). Unfortunately one little neon tetra was dead. I have done a 50% water change and cleaned out one of the two eheim cannister filters. The water looks much less milky, and the fish seem to be behaving fairly normally again. In a couple of hours I will do a second 50% water change to clear the water a bit more. Just as well today is my 'working from home' day! If I'm going to do really stupid things, I must make sure I do them on a Thursday night. :roll: Moral of the story: If you're going to experiment on your fish, make sure you don't get distracted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted January 29, 2009 Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 oh dear :oops: But very funny :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted January 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2009 oh dear :oops: But very funny :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I agree on both points, Wok. When I first saw the tank this morning I actually laughed out loud. :lol: Then I saw the poor little stressed fishies (and the poor little dead neon) and it didn't seem so funny any more. Time to do another water change. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Oh dear from me too :lol: I had to research to see what adzuki beans were too :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zabman Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 lol! are all your plants ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 lol! are all your plants ok? Yeah, plants seem to be fine. Fish body count has doubled though - I just found a dead cardinal tetra. Number of casualties may rise as I only saw four of the eight tetras that should be in there - that leaves two still unaccounted for. (Everyone is hiding in the plants so that makes it hard to judge.) *sigh* :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
land_lubber Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Thats kinda funny but look on the brightside I have 19 neons for sale to replace your 2 :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Oh dear from me too :lol: I had to research to see what adzuki beans were too :roll: http://www.adzuki.com/ According to that website, to prepare them you first "Soak 1/2 cup of beans overnight in ample water." Do you think 200 litres is enough water? :-? I first came across them when some Somali friends served them hot with butter and sugar as a special dessert. Needless to say, it's an aquired taste! They are also used as a paste in sweet buns. An excellent New Year treat. Of course mine are now all in the compost bin. And the people at the bulk store will be getting a few words from me about weevils in their beans next time I see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Thats kinda funny but look on the brightside I have 19 neons for sale to replace your 2 :lol: LOL thanks! I've actually been phasing out the neons and replacing them with cardinals. The first little guy who died was the last remaining neon in my tank. I have to admit a school of 19 would look pretty nice though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I don't like to laugh at others misfortune, but that is pretty funny :lol: Hope you don't lose any more fish though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zabman Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 St Pierres Sushi does a really really yummy red bean flavoured sweet. I have absolutely no idea how to cook them though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted January 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I don't like to laugh at others misfortune, but that is pretty funny :lol: Hope you don't lose any more fish though Uh-oh. Fishie number three just bit the dust. Another cardinal tetra. Another tetra still MIA and I can only see two of three siamese algae eaters. I just did an 80% water change. Would have done that in the first place if I had realised how toxic this stuff obviously is to the tetras. Funny thing is the water still looks quite milky, even after three water changes today: 50%, 50%, 80%. I think this has to be right up there with one of the stupidest things I've heard any fish-keeper doing! Sure beats the old "forgot to turn the heater back on" or "forgot to put the lid back on the tank." :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 Except...I've done both of those, never had a single loss even when I left the heater off on one of my tanks for two weeks mid winter and didn't discover it until a relatively warm day and found it at 15°. Fish were still perfectly happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 left lid off forgot hose was filling tank dropped desk fan in tank Dropped light in tank dropped fish on floor Forgot sick fish was in brief salt bath tipped ethanol in tank (never play with preserved specimens on top of your fish tank!) ....sigh :roll: Whetu, you don't happen to have another tank you can transfer fish into? Or if you have any worries with that, move some water from another tank into a holding tank and transfer fish into that from the Adzuki Bean Tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted January 30, 2009 Report Share Posted January 30, 2009 I had something similar. I think you will find that the water keeps going milky because its built up in the filter. Another way to make a milky tank i found out is to tip over a JBL co2 setup. Found a tank so milky in the morning i couldnt see if any fish were dead or alive. I turned off the filter (AR850 with a trickle filter) did a 80% water change which cleared most of it up, started taking out dead fish that i could now see and filled it back up, this is whilst looking at the clock thinking shoulda been at work 20mins ago and trying to hurry, nearly out the door and dooh the filter so plugged it back in. Needless to say got home to a tank of milk again, turns out the milky crud was stuck in the filter so when i turned it on it mixed it again, took out the other dead fish and relagated 2 co2 units to the rubbish bin. I'd give both filters a good rinse out, which Eheims do you use? I have 4x2217's 2x2213's and 5 Aquaballs. Love the simplicity of the classics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmchick Posted January 31, 2009 Report Share Posted January 31, 2009 I have a fluval 204 with media you can borrow if that helps? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted February 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 1, 2009 Thanks for the tips everyone (and for the kind offer, Farmchick). The 80% water change did the trick, and the water did eventually clear. It seemed to only be the tetras who really suffered - three confirmed losses and a fourth one missing, presumed dead. If the other fish had continued to show signs of distress I would have transferred everyone into buckets and scrubbed the tank & both filters out, but the barbs and loaches seemed to settle after the first water change. I actually wonder if all the tetras had already died before I discovered the problem, but in a heavily planted tank I just didn't find their bodies until later. The missing Siamese Algae Eater turned up by the way, so it really is the tetras that were the only losses. Whew! I will be keeping a close eye on everything though, looking for delayed reactions. And I promise never to do something this stupid again! :roll: I wonder if fish like ginger crunch... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 Oh whetu, what an experience you and your fishies had, sorry for your losses And I promise never to do something this stupid again! :lol: :lol: :lol: Now that's a tough promise, I know I couldn't do it :lol: :lol: Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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