Broken heater turned out to be something else!

[leoslizards]

I think I figured out what's wrong with my heater in my main 29 g tank. Nothing! Looks like my thermometer is broken and not the heater. I raised the temp on my heater to the max, 96ºF and yet my thermometer said the water temp was just under 60ºF. I added an extra 50watt heater I had in another tank and slowly raised the temp on it but the thermometer still said 60º, so I raised the temp on it to the max also and still no change.

Well I was on craigslist yesterday and some guy was giving away 3 10gallon tanks complete with fish, HOB filters, stand, and a big box full of accessories. I called the guy up and had someone go pick the stuff up for me. I has hoping it included some heaters but there was none but I got a box full of goodies.

So anyways I cleaned one of the tanks that had the fish in it (didn't know what kind of fish I got, the water was really nasty, brown and cloudy), added some fresh clean water and put a thermometer (glass tube kind) I found in the box, btw the tank also had one of those sticker kind thermometers.

Later that night I noticed the temp on the 10g tank was 84ºF and I was like Wtf. There's no heater, how could the temp be so high? The tank has a hood that holds 2 incandescent bulbs and those things release a lot of heat but they where off for hours. I double checked both temp on the glass thermo and the sticker thermo and yup they both said 84ºF.

I started thinking to myself if this tank is at 84ºF in room temp then my main 29G tank should also have a high temp. I then put my hand against the glass and it felt cold but when I put my hand against the glass of my 29g it felt very hot! I looked at my thermo and it said 60ºF still so that's when I knew something must be wrong with it. I later found another glass type thermo in the box and put it in my 29g tank. Three hours later I checked the temp and it said 90ºF!!!!!!! 8O I instantly turned off the 50w heater and started lowering the temp on my main heater. If I would of still kept trying to bring up the temp I would of made fish soup! and all thanks to a faulty thermometer. I'm glad I got that extra thermometer but I'd still feel a lot safer if I tested it with a digital one. I saw some on ebay for a good price. I could get about 5 or 6 for $36 (one for each of my reptile tanks as well) or I can get a used 55g tank. Hard decision... -_-

Anyways, on a lighter note. I got an awesome deal on craigslist! I got three 10 gallon tanks, 3 under gravel filters, 1 two tank iron stand, 4 HOB filters (some with biowheels), 2 glass thermometer, 2 automatic fish feeders, 3 airpumps, 3 wannabe python cleaners, 6 nets, a couple airstones and tube fittings/elbows, a bag full of fake plants, 3 big decorations (castles and such), a lot of food, and it was all free!

Oh, I also got some fish and a crab. One fish was a minnow, I put him in my main tank because I was afraid one of the other fish might eat him. The other fish was a common pleco about 6" long and the other fish is some sort of catfish. I don't know what kind of catfish though, he a silverish color with a lot of little black spots and yellowish eyes. He's about 4" to 5" long. I was going to take a picture of him but my digital camera's batteries ran out and I lost the charger. -_- The crab is about 1½" with a huge claw and a really tiny claw. The guy said he got it from the ocean like a 5 months ago but I'm not sure. I'm not even sure how a saltwater crab can live in a freshwater tank.

Anyways, I'll get some pics up as soon as I find my charger.

 

[Regen311]

Congratulations on finding that on craigslist! I found a 55 gallon with stand and hood for 55 dollars recently, and there is also a 6' with wood stand, hood, etc. for 150 in my area. Craigslist is awesome for that kind of thing if you keep checking it it seems.

I have a digital thermometer, and I love it. So much easier than trying to squint to read the temperature! I don't know if they're more accurate or not, but it definately makes everything a bit easier. It's a good thing you were smart about the temperature thing and realized the problem! At least you'll know that if you had ich in your tank, it's probably completely dead

 

[Devilishturtles]

Awesome deal.

As for the catfish, google a Pictus Cat and see if that is what it is.

 

[coldmachineUK]

If you go with glass therms I find it's a good idea to use two just in case. I put one near-ish to the heater, and one elsewhere in the tank. Then you'd have to be twice as unlucky for them both to be broken!

 

[leoslizards]

Awesome deal.

As for the catfish, google a Pictus Cat and see if that is what it is.

Hmm... very similar but with smaller dots and twice as much, but defiantly the same eyes.
But yeah looks alot like it. http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/pimelodus_pictus.htm
From what I've been reading, looks like I can't keep him in my main tank. I have some guppies, dwarf gouramis and a really small ABNP. :?

 

[courtnee]

Since your catfish looks alot like a pictus and you say it has smaller dots I have to wonder if it is a four-line pictus cat. They look a lot like spotted pictus cats.



They are darker, their whiskers are darker where as spotted pictus have white whiskers. The spots are smaller and more in a row, why they are called four lines, looks like they have lines.

I have two of them and they look like my 2 spotted pictus but I can tell them apart. They are more gold in color compared to the spotted pictus being more silver, the spots, whiskers are darker and they are bigger. They grow bigger Also the eyes are wider apart as the head is wider.


Here is a link to them

http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Catfish, Pictus.htm

 

[leoslizards]

No, I think it might be a pictus then. Mine has bright white whiskers.

The day I got him he would swim all over the front of the tank but I put a decoration in the tank and haven't seen him since. He's very shy now, I went down stairs last night and saw him swimming around but when he saw me he quickly went back into his castle so I haven't been able to get a good look at him. But he looks like the one in the top of this pic. He even has that blank spot on his skin right under his dorsal fin.

I think I saw this on the bottom in the gravel the other day. I thought it was maybe a part of the crab that had shed his shell but it looked to large to be a leg. If this is indeed a part of my catfish, do I have to worry about anything like infections or something? Will it grow back?

 

[courtnee]

I would check both the fins in the front and see if they are both there. If one is gone I would worry because as far as I know it will not grow back and also that would be very damaging. A good wound.