Not Sure What to Do! Need Help!!

[Welsh]

Monday I went down the river to get some stones for my tank. I washed them thoroughly before placing them inside and everything was going swimmingly until Tuesday afternoon, that was when I used rubber bands to tie my java fern to the rocks. The rubber bands were brand new and stupidly I didn't wash them before using them, which then ended tragically. Since Tuesday I have lost 18 of my fish, every single one of them gasping for air at the surface. At first I thought it was the stones that caused the problem, they were new and they were underneath a very busy dual carriageway but then my mother mentioned the latex from the rubber bands and that is when the penny dropped. The tank glass is white, the filter, is white and even the plants are white so my theory is the elastic bands killed all my fish.

Now i'm stuck on what to do, since this stuff is all throughout my tank and filters i'm not sure whether I should throughly clean the entire tank and re-cycle, or do a massive water change. The tank has been setup for over a year as well so it is properly established.

Thanks

 

[loveconvicts]

sorry I can't help but interested!

 

[GuppyLover]

Monday I went down the river to get some stones for my tank. I washed them thoroughly before placing them inside and everything was going swimmingly until Tuesday afternoon, that was when I used rubber bands to tie my java fern to the rocks. The rubber bands were brand new and stupidly I didn't wash them before using them, which then ended tragically. Since Tuesday I have lost 18 of my fish, every single one of them gasping for air at the surface. At first I thought it was the stones that caused the problem, they were new and they were underneath a very busy dual carriageway but then my mother mentioned the latex from the rubber bands and that is when the penny dropped. The tank glass is white, the filter, is white and even the plants are white so my theory is the elastic bands killed all my fish.

Now i'm stuck on what to do, since this stuff is all throughout my tank and filters i'm not sure whether I should throughly clean the entire tank and re-cycle, or do a massive water change. The tank has been setup for over a year as well so it is properly established.

Thanks

If I were you I would completely empty it and clean the entire tank. I would say re-use your filter media but since it has the white on it I wouldn't suggest it.

 

[Welsh]

Yeah, that thought crossed my mind too. What I will do, is take an established filter from my betta tank and then do it that way. The worst part of this re-cycle is going to be removing all the gravel and cleaning it I am not looking forward to that lol

 

[ChelseaLake]

Oh my goodness! I am SO sorry to hear this!

Who knew? Eesh! So the rubber band leached a bunch of nasty stuff, killing your fish? That's awful!

My condolences.

 

[Welsh]

Well, I've torn it down and set it back up and I love how clean it looks maybe i'm a bit mad but I love cycling tanks, just to get the clean, crisp look haha

How would I go about cleaning the driftwood? It has moss and anubias attached and I would really prefer not to have to take them off.

 

[McLumpy]

Well, I've torn it down and set it back up and I love how clean it looks maybe i'm a bit mad but I love cycling tanks, just to get the clean, crisp look haha

How would I go about cleaning the driftwood? It has moss and anubias attached and I would really prefer not to have to take them off.

Sorry about your loss, Welsh. I truly appreciate you starting this thread though. Your incident definitely made me rethink using rubber bands when I decide to take the plunge and attach Java Fern to my Mopani.

As far as cleaning the driftwood w/o disturbing your moss and anubias, I would think that dipping a toothbrush in hot water and scrubbing the uncovered surface of the dw would do the trick. Then lightly rinse the entire dw w/ lukewarm water.

 

[itsgracia]

Sorry about your loss.

 

[Welsh]

Sorry about your loss, Welsh. I truly appreciate you starting this thread though. Your incident definitely made me rethink using rubber bands when I decide to take the plunge and attach Java Fern to my Mopani.

As far as cleaning the driftwood w/o disturbing your moss and anubias, I would think that dipping a toothbrush in hot water and scrubbing the uncovered surface of the dw would do the trick. Then lightly rinse the entire dw w/ lukewarm water.

That's a good idea, thanks

Also, I have plants that I have nowhere else to put and I have heard of people cycling with plants but I've also heard of the plants dying too so i'm at a loss with what to do.

The plants are Java fern, anubias, java moss and cabomba, I was wondering whether I could add them without killing them? I also have a few prawns in the tank, to help along the cycle so there will be a lot of ammonia in the tank throughout the weeks. I only bought them last week too, so I really don't want them dying yet haha

 

[McLumpy]

That's a good idea, thanks

Also, I have plants that I have nowhere else to put and I have heard of people cycling with plants but I've also heard of the plants dying too so i'm at a loss with what to do.

The plants are Java fern, anubias, java moss and cabomba, I was wondering whether I could add them without killing them? I also have a few prawns in the tank, to help along the cycle so there will be a lot of ammonia in the tank throughout the weeks. I only bought them last week too, so I really don't want them dying yet haha

You're welcome!

I did that w/ my Mopani, (minus any plants though), and the toothbrush did wonders getting the 'nasties' out of the crevices. Just be sure to use a sterile toothbrush, (obviously).

I don't know about adding your plants back in the tank to assist w/ the cycling, but I'm sure somebody does.

Best of luck w/ your recycle! I hope it goes well for you!

 

[Tim Wheatley]

That's really interesting. I had no idea ebands could leech anything harmful...

 

[meegosh]

Sorry to hear about your losses! I always stayed away from rubber bands (or should I say gum bands since I'm from Pittsburgh ) because they looked ugly in the tank. I always using fishing line. One spool of that will last you a long time.

 

[GuppyLover]

That's a good idea, thanks

Also, I have plants that I have nowhere else to put and I have heard of people cycling with plants but I've also heard of the plants dying too so i'm at a loss with what to do.

The plants are Java fern, anubias, java moss and cabomba, I was wondering whether I could add them without killing them? I also have a few prawns in the tank, to help along the cycle so there will be a lot of ammonia in the tank throughout the weeks. I only bought them last week too, so I really don't want them dying yet haha

I would put them in since they would be carrying good bacteria but you do run the risk of losing them.

 

[Welsh]

What if I keep them in the un-cycled tank with the few remaining fish I have? Will the plants stand more of a chance of surviving?

 

[jsoong]

Plants don't have problem with cycling. They will eat up the ammonia & reduce the spikes, plus any bacteria on the leaves will seed the tank & speed things along. So I would say put the plants in (after a good rinsing to get rid of all the nasties.)

Plants usu. die back from being disturbed. Crypts are famous for this. However, your listed plants should do fine with the move. You might want to prune off any dead/decaying/yellowed bits.