Bad first post I know ..... had my cowfish for several months wasn't aware ofbhis poison until after the purchase... he was happy and the life of the tank... we hand fed him and he was very social.... yesterday we purchased a porcupine puffed and a rock beauty.... they were all fine when we went to bed ...... woke up today to everything dead minus a clown fish and a blenny ... who both were on they're way out until removed.... all in all I'm out a few hundred bucks.... no more cow fish for this guy....
cowfish nuked entire tank :(
- Thread starter josh24360
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Pufferlove
Aquarium Advice Freak
Darn thats really bad!!!! 
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
And what makes you think it was the cowfish? Could have easily been something else the way i see it.
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
? Thats not what i mean. What makes you think the fish died from the cowfish? And what would have killed the cowfish in the first place? Im not sure why you think the cowfish is to blame.
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
Quite a number of things actually! Was your cowfish even torn up? Or any of this fish? Of it was a toxin your other fish probably would not be living either.
The fact that you added new fish could leave many possibilities on the table.
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
Do you run carbon?
Was your water a milky color?
Was your water a milky color?
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
Most often if your running carbon the toxin will have a minimal effect if any. It could have been the cowfish but i wouldnt automatically think so just because he was in the tank.
What is you water testing? Fluctuation can occur when adding fish regardless of how established your tank is. Also new fish can come with disease and parasites. Some that can kill in less than 24 hours.
Idk about all the readings other than it.had 0 ammonia last night I did check that.... I just don't know why they would be fine eating at 5 am and at 11 all dead ... also the 2 new fish had Ben at lfs for past month I have seen them there before the purchase ....
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
josh24360 said:
I would not be attributing the fish deaths to anything until i knew the water quality. If the cowfish had no apparent trauma or marks im highly doubting it even more.
Stray current, low oxygen, level spikes, severe ph drop, disease, aerosols, chemicals, etc can all kill overnight like you describe.
It could be something as simple as oxygen depletion. That would explain why it took less than 24 hours. Hows your flow? Air exchange and the like?
crister13
Aquarium Advice Addict
The introduction of a fish, overfeeding. Something breaking down......
Schism
Aquarium Advice Addict
crister13 said:
Yes, if you have a low oxygen tank to begin with and you introduce a big load into the tank, the oxygen levels could not keep up, hence why it took 12 hours and why a few fish remained when the fish load began dying off and more oxygen became available.
Totally possible. Is it what happened, well that we dont know yet.
