Hello, I'm 3 months old...

[Gourami_Girl]

Newbie, reading a lot and trying to get by. Lost 2 Gourami and 1 Platy before finding a post that water clarifiers kill fish (why oh why do they sell it?!). Anyway, the cloudiness dissipated finally after enough water changes and cycling I am guessing. Took about 4-5 weeks. Had an issue with high nitrite levels which is now resolving after logging proper filter changes (I think the carbon leached into water) instead of trying to remember when to change them.

Had an ick problem with my 2 platties, had to quarantine and dose, then return to community. The highfin seems fine but the red wag is listless, but the ick is gone.

The tank seems happy now except for the red wag and my mystery snail. The mystery snail when I first got it was always moving around, but the last 3 or 4 weeks has been hiding under an ornament. I pull it out every couple of days just to ensure it is alive and place it on top of the ornament, without my seeing it move it disappears back under the ornament. Are they supposed to do that? How long do they "sleep" or rest? I added turtle bone to the water for calcium because the shell started getting white striations and made snail jello but the fish ate it, not the snail. Would appreeciate any input.

Thanks.

 

[Ashytails]

I had a mystery snail who -no exaggeration- did not move for over a month. Then finally he just started trucking it again all over my aquarium. When he did pass I wasn't sure at all because he would go so long without moving, I realized he was dead when my tetras took care of him. That's a big sign.

 

[Ashytails]

Also, your aquarium is gorgeous!

 

[Gourami_Girl]

Thanks, I am glad to know he is acting normally. And thanks for the nice comment on my tank, I can't really invest the time in a marine tank but I want it to look like one. I love snorkeling and wish I could spend the time and effort to have a salt tank. Maybe when I retire...

 

[Scottyhorse]

Water clarifier shouldn't kill fish... Maybe if you use A LOT of it. My guess is the tank was cloudy from cycling and that's what killed the fish.

 

[Gourami_Girl]

Scottyhorse, I read on other sites such as tropicalkeeping, bettafish, fishlore, etc. that the clarifier works on the dirt by making it clump together (says that on the package, too) which in turn either also binds the gills of certain fish or the clumps get caught in their gills making it harder for them to "breathe." It killed the two gourami and no others so if it was overuse (I went according to instructions) it should have killed more or different fish I would think. At any rate, I will no longer ever use water clarifiers.