Adrienne Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I have been working on getting a number of guppies - approx 50, of varying ages and colours for the tank in the school biology lab. I left the teacher to set up the tank, i.e. clean it out, partially fill it (about 8cm), turn the filter on etc. This was done a couple of weeks ago. Yesterday afternoon I added the guppies and one 10 bristlenose, plus lots of floating plants. I added all the water from my tank and used the cannister filter which had been running on it. This filled the tank to about 35cm. Went to look this morning - all dead!!!! Not one survivor. Got my test kit out and the ammonia was at the top of the level I could test for. pH also at the top of the low range kit I have. Discovered - the existing filter had not been cleaned by the teacher since the eel died last year (about 6months ago) and had been sitting in a dirty tank until put in this one. In fact the filter had never ever been cleaned at all despite my instructions. Lesson - 1. never get someone else to do something for you without explaining word for word what you want and checking its been done. 2. never ever add fish to a tank without testing the water parameters first. I am fanatic about cleaning my tanks and filters. No wonder the last 3 eels didn't make it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 jeepers that's terrible... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I wasn't going to admit this :oops: :oops: but then I decided that if one person learns from this I'd do it! :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 good on you, lol.. its exactly the reason NO one but me is allowed to do stuff with my tanks... i even yell at the flatmates for touching the glass cause it makes it grubby, lol :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Ummm... not meaning disrespect to teachers or anything... but am I correct in assuming the teacher who was meant to do the cleaning was a biology teacher? Does he/she have any clue at all about the kind of environment required to keep fish healthy? Or of water chemistry or other such factors? And is he/she going to be teaching kids, while using the tank in the classroom as an example of a balanced (if tiny) ecosystem? Crikey. I would suggest that it is perfectly reasonable for you to expect your instructions to be carried out, and it's not you who should be embarrassed to admit to the problem - it's the teacher! I hope you gave him/her a very strict talking-to after this unfortunate incident. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 got to agree with whetu is the teaching standard not including common sense Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Would you like some more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted February 8, 2009 Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 thta really is a bad experience. but i think all learns from a mistake, no matter how much "why did i do that" factor it has. i think everyone starts as a novice fish keeper, and what makes you a vetera is the following 1: fish dont die as often anymore or for stupid reasons 2: you have hard to care for fish that dont die 3: you have fish taht are big, meaning they have obviusly survived for ages and still alive lol but you know, now you learnt the lesson. sorry to hear bout your fish though if you do plenty of water changes - you can actually prolonge the times you clean your filter. but to be safe, you should anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 I assumed that as he was a biology teacher he would have had a better idea of the need to keep the fish environment healthy. But then, just because my husband is a chemistry teacher it doesn't mean he is infallible either as he has been know to cause rather large explosions at times! However, when the eel arrives in the next few weeks I will be doing regular trips over to 1. check its being fed correctly 2. check the water changes are being done properly. 3. check the filter is running correctly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 Gee, sorry about the loss! Are you talking a high school biology teacher? I don't get it, I wouldn't expect someone who teaches biology to necessarily understand about keeping fish. Unless biology teacher's over there have something like that in their lessons?? But then, even more reason to listen to someone who has experience, duh! Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stella Posted February 9, 2009 Report Share Posted February 9, 2009 I probably wouldn't trust an EXPERIENCED FISH KEEPER to do anything on a tank of mine unsupervised without giving them written instructions! Everyone has different ideas on what to do, and different ideas on how to do it. Sorry for your loss. You would think this bio teacher would start paying attention and doing some reading of their own by now, so many losses over time! :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.