Heater malfunction, dead catfish, algae

[Phlegethon]

Ok. It's been 12 days. Night before last I woke up and saw that my filter/heater had stopped during the night, dropping the temp in my tank down to about 71 (normally it's set to 77). I fixed that, then performed some clean-up on an algae bloom and a 20% water change.

The filter is a [acronym:5427cb99e0="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:5427cb99e0] TetraTec PF300. I have liked it up to this point, now I would hesitate before buying one again. A very short interruption in power apparently cuases the impeller to lock up sometimes, which renders the inline heater useless.

The next day 3 of my albino corycats died. I don't know what killed them, but I'm guessing it was too much stress with the temp drop, cleaning and water change. They first got very pale, then had trouble swimming. They seemed to have a dark spot around the belly, on the underside.

I hope the last 3 will pull through.

My other fish, 8 tetras and a pleco, are doing fine.

Water parameters:
77 degrees
pH 7.0
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrie 0.05ppm
Nitrate <5ppm
Light: 2.75watts/gallon 12hours/day

Any advice on how best not to kill corycats?
Also any ways to get rid of green hair algae would be appreciated.

[Allivymar]

Oh that sucks Phleg; I'm sorry

Its possible the change in temps was the issue; how quickly did those temps change (specifically going back up to 77F; I know you have no idea how quickly it dropped). It could also be disease, and just poor timing, but I kinda doubt it. Are the other 3 showing any signs?

As for green hair algae, I'm having the same prob in my planted tank. I believe Florida Flag fish find it yummy, but not 100% positive; hopefully someone else will pop in to verify that.

[e-cat]

Originally Posted by Phlegethon

Ok. It's been 12 days. Night before last I woke up and saw that my filter/heater had stopped during the night, dropping the temp in my tank down to about 71 (normally it's set to 77). I fixed that, then performed some clean-up on an algae bloom and a 20% water change.

The filter is a [acronym:72ab7a00d6="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:72ab7a00d6] TetraTec PF300. I have liked it up to this point, now I would hesitate before buying one again. A very short interruption in power apparently cuases the impeller to lock up sometimes, which renders the inline heater useless.

The next day 3 of my albino corycats died. I don't know what killed them, but I'm guessing it was too much stress with the temp drop, cleaning and water change. They first got very pale, then had trouble swimming. They seemed to have a dark spot around the belly, on the underside.

I hope the last 3 will pull through.

My other fish, 8 tetras and a pleco, are doing fine.

Water parameters:
77 degrees
pH 7.0
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrie 0.05ppm
Nitrate <5ppm
Light: 2.75watts/gallon 12hours/day

Any advice on how best not to kill corycats?
Also any ways to get rid of green hair algae would be appreciated.

your post said that your ammonia is 0.00 , was this tested after or before the water change? since your filter stoped working the could have died from the waste in the water, did it look like they where bleeding from thre gills by any chance? if so it could have been from high nitrite.

[Phlegethon]

Hi -

The reading for Ammonia has been 0 for the past two weeks. Nitrite has been below 0.05ppm and Nitrates below 5ppm. The temperature drop took place over a period of 6 hours, I'd say it came back up in about 3-4.

One more died, last night he had a swollen gut and was somewhat pale in color. I have observed no bleeding from the gills. The remaining two look OK but we'll have to see.

On a positive note, my Pleco has become quite bold, venturing out during the day and eating up algae on the rocks and glass like crazy. As for the green hair, I'm going to trying adding a few Amano Shrimp to take care of the problem. Half my bottom-feeders died anyway.

Thanks

[tkos]

I would buy a small extra heater and attach it to the otherside of the tank. Set it lower than your current one and if the problem arises again at least the second heater will kick in.