Temperature shock?

[mrwizard]

Hey everyone, so my 40gal community tank needed a good water change as I hadn't done one for 2 weeks, my gf gave birth to our gorgeous little boy coby so i didn't have time for maintenance last week, so I done one on Saturday, I'd say about 60-70% wc, I didn't notice til the tank was nearly full again but looked in the tank and all 6 of my cardinals were on their backs lying on the sandbed breathing quite slowly, I quickly got my net out and was going to put them in some old tank water that I just took out but as I was scooping them up they all swam off except one, he died now two days later they're all fine. Was it the shock of the colder water that caused this? Thanks for any replies

 

[rreekers]

was the new water at least close to the original water temp?.. say +/- 5 degrees or so? did if feel.at least similar to the human touch? if so I would say no, I don't think it was shock from the water temp

my best guess is that your nitAtes and/or ammonia was high... aka fish poisoning, once the fresh water was in and settled...is this when they purked up? if so I would guess it was poisoning.

what is your set up? stock, filtration., size of tank?

 

[librarygirl]

In addition to the questions above by Rreekers regarding temp difference, is the PH out of your tap significantly higher or lower than the tank's PH? Did you remember to add dechlorinator with the water changes? Those are the only things I can think of at the moment. Sorry about your fish.

 

[mrwizard]

was the new water at least close to the original water temp?.. say +/- 5 degrees or so? did if feel.at least similar to the human touch? if so I would say no, I don't think it was shock from the water temp

my best guess is that your nitAtes and/or ammonia was high... aka fish poisoning, once the fresh water was in and settled...is this when they purked up? if so I would guess it was poisoning.

what is your set up? stock, filtration., size of tank?

No it wasn't close to the original temp, I'm in the uk and we've been having some really cold weather lately so it freezes the pipes which makes the water even colder, just didn't think it would be that much colder.

All my water tests came up fine before I done the water change
ammo 0ppm nitrite 0ppm the nitrate was at about 40ppm but I think thats because I left it for two weeks it's usually around 20ppm after one week so it makes sense that it was double. All the fish were acting normal again and as if nothing happened as soon as I tried scooping them up, weird.
I've got a 40gal 4' long tank with an angelfish, 6 sterbai corys, now 5 cardinals was 6, 6 harlequin rasboras, 5 black phantom tetras a bn pleco and about 10 rcs and I'm running a fluval 205 canister filter on it.

 

[mrwizard]

In addition to the questions above by Rreekers regarding temp difference, is the PH out of your tap significantly higher or lower than the tank's PH? Did you remember to add dechlorinator with the water changes? Those are the only things I can think of at the moment. Sorry about your fish.

No I can't say that the ph is different out of the tap I don't test it every water change but when I have they've always been around the 7.6mark, out of tap and in the tank.
Yep added the dechlorinator I worked hard to build up my bb I ain't gonna lose them all now by missing that out lol
I feel bad about the one I lost aswell, can't remember the last fish that died in my tank

 

[richardh]

I'm in the uk as well and certainly relate to the cold weather! My tap water is very cold at the moment, I guess around 5C. I have my tank set at 25C, so there would be a 20C difference IF I just added as is. I always use the hot water tap to balance the temp as close as possible before adding. Never had a problem.

My guess is the huge temp difference upset them (as it would anyone!). Incidentally, cardinals can be difficult to keep. I had one die yesterday for no apparent reason as well.

 

[adadkins1]

I would agree that the large temperature difference is the culprit. Do you not have hot water? That way you could at least mix the warm and cold to get the temperature somewhat close. If you cant, try getting the water out and letting it sit out in a room. That way it will be the temperature of the room after an hour or so. Try adding the water very slowly too, so your heater can kick on and hopefully keep your temp from dropping too much.

 

[mrwizard]

I'm in the uk as well and certainly relate to the cold weather! My tap water is very cold at the moment, I guess around 5C. I have my tank set at 25C, so there would be a 20C difference IF I just added as is. I always use the hot water tap to balance the temp as close as possible before adding. Never had a problem.

My guess is the huge temp difference upset them (as it would anyone!). Incidentally, cardinals can be difficult to keep. I had one die yesterday for no apparent reason as well.

I've never thought to use warm water out of the hot tap, I'd be worried about boiling the fish lol, might have to try it out tho can't be losing any more fish

Another quick question a little off topic but with your cardinals are they all the same size or is one bigger than the rest?
I've had mine for a few months now and they don't seem to be getting bigger, but theres one that's alot bigger than the rest, im just thinking maybe it's a dominance thing?

 

[mrwizard]

I would agree that the large temperature difference is the culprit. Do you not have hot water? That way you could at least mix the warm and cold to get the temperature somewhat close. If you cant, try getting the water out and letting it sit out in a room. That way it will be the temperature of the room after an hour or so. Try adding the water very slowly too, so your heater can kick on and hopefully keep your temp from dropping too much.

The thing about mixing them is I use a hose pipe to do my water changes as carrying 20 buckets every week is no fun lol, I'm thinking if I fill a big bucket up with warm water and add some bit by bit whilst the cold is going back in too, should have the same effect right?
Adding the water back in slowly sounds like another good option.
I usually keep my heater off along with the filter when doing water changes cause there on the same extension lead so might have to change that to keep the heater on at all times.
Guess this is another reason for me to hate the winter lol.

 

[mrwizard]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I had a feeling it was the different temps, thought I'd post on here just to be sure. Thanks again and merry Christmas

 

[Hholly]

Can you get a "Y" attachment for your hose to mix the hot and cold water? Or install a mixer tap?

 

[richardh]

Another quick question a little off topic but with your cardinals are they all the same size or is one bigger than the rest?
I've had mine for a few months now and they don't seem to be getting bigger, but theres one that's alot bigger than the rest, im just thinking maybe it's a dominance thing?

mine are only young, a month or two old. No real noticeable difference in size. All about 2cm long.

 

[rreekers]

get a bigger bucket, fill it about 1/2 full with the cold water, then add the hot water till it feel like the temp of your tank. after a while you will figure out the ratio of hot and cold.
- 5gallon bucket, 50% water change = 4 bucket fulls (20g)

good luck

 

[mrwizard]

Can you get a "Y" attachment for your hose to mix the hot and cold water? Or install a mixer tap?

Yeah I didn't think of that actually, I'll have to see if I can find one, thanks

 

[mrwizard]

mine are only young, a month or two old. No real noticeable difference in size. All about 2cm long.

Yeah I think mine are still young, at about the same size as yours except the bigger one he's about 3cm, I'll have to keep an eye on them I'm sure there getting to the food before the bigger fish I got gobble it all up but I'll have to spectate them for a while to make sure. Thanks anyway.

 

[mrwizard]

get a bigger bucket, fill it about 1/2 full with the cold water, then add the hot water till it feel like the temp of your tank. after a while you will figure out the ratio of hot and cold.
- 5gallon bucket, 50% water change = 4 bucket fulls (20g)

good luck

Thanks for the idea I'm gonna see if I can get an attachment for my hose first so I can use the hot and cold at the same time. Thank you

 

[iheartmyed9]

It's cold here in the states too and my water hose is right outside the window and I still use the bucket filled in the sink and I have a 55,62, 10 and 10 and I rock that little 3 gallon bucket for it all. It sucks hardcore but it's safe for the fish. Thank god Christmas is almost here Santa bring that water changer.

 

[Reygan2]

Thank god Christmas is almost here Santa bring that water changer.

lol! I'm with you on that one

 

[blert]

gf gave birth to our gorgeous little boy

Congratulations!!! Have a Merry Christmas and a Great New Year!!!

 

[mrwizard]

It's cold here in the states too and my water hose is right outside the window and I still use the bucket filled in the sink and I have a 55,62, 10 and 10 and I rock that little 3 gallon bucket for it all. It sucks hardcore but it's safe for the fish. Thank god Christmas is almost here Santa bring that water changer.

Yeah I know what your saying, don't think I'm not concerned for the fish.
I want the 'American water changer' also, the one which takes the water out of your tank then refills it, what's better than that?? for some reason they stopped selling them in the uk (crazy I know, people over here must love their buckets lol) and shipping price from over there to here is ridiculous! I think I could pay someone to change my water for me for that price lol