Petshrimp.com Discussion Forum

Hi all,

Well as many of you know I had quite a bit of trouble with shrimp… i.e. they all died.
But what some of you may mot know is that I was also having other unexplained deaths in my tank.

Keep in mined as all this was happening I had 6 Black Neons (from fall 04) and 9 Neons (combo fall 04 and winter 05) in the tank as well, all of them doing well…

This past winter I bought 3 Japanese trap door snails, once in the tank 2 did not move and died in about a week and 1 died about 2 weeks later.

This past spring I bought 11 Cherries and they died with in 4 hours of being in the tank.
I also put in a bushy nose pleco at the same time. (He is doing good... but not eating wafers)

After testing the parameters and finding about the copper in the water, I was able to remove the trace amount by using cold tap water and letting it sit before putting it in the tank.
After we retested for copper and found none I bought 2 Green’s… the both died with in 4 hours also.

Ok, so no more shrimp…

I bought 2 German Rams and the female died 3 days after.
The male lasted a week.

1 neon died. After a tank clean up.

Ok less sensitive fish, bought 1 Dwarf Gourami… 3 days later he died as well.

Great what is my tanks problem????

I’m able to take the Java Fern covered rocks/clay brick, the Java Moss covered black plastic mess (that covers my tank bottom) and rocks to the pet shop.

He tested for Iron and found that it was off the chart then he was able to look at some of the rocks that I had and saw that some off them had bands of minerals running through them.
He suggested this was the reason as to why the Java Fern was doing so well and why my animals were dieing.

I have since removed the suspect rocks and will be doing water changes to try to remove the residue Iron.
Hopefully everything will be ok now.

The moral of this??

Get an Aquarium Test kit… it will be much cheaper.
And be sure of the rocks that your putting in.

This saga has cost me $79.80 CND (including tax)... and were not done

TKD

How are you introducing them into your tanks?

Hi rclover

I do the usual 20 - 30 min float the bag in the tank and slowly add water.
I have dome this for years and not had problems like this...
Keep in mind that we are talking about 3 different types of animals too.

TKD

Hi TKD

Sorry to hear about your loss but at least you finally found the culprit, sorry that you had to lose so many in the process though.

Heads up, you will succeed again, now that you found the root of the problem.

cheers

Just wondering.. anybody know in what mode copper leaves the water by letting it sit? How does that happen?

Hi,

chlorophyll
From what I have been tolled. It is by using hot water is how we get Copper into the aquarium. By using cold water it does not a tracked the Copper ions.

amber2461
I'm not declaring victory yet. I still need to do water changes and then get the water retested. I will be using a betta as a test to see how the water is. If he survives I will put him in a bowl and try with some shrimp.

If the shrimp live and reproduce then I will be happy and not untill then.

TKD

It is also good to make sure that the shrimp you are bringing home have plant pieces to hold on to for their journey or they get terribly stressed out.

From what I have been tolled. It is by using hot water is how we get Copper into the aquarium. By using cold water it does not a tracked the Copper ions.

Yeah.. why would we use anything other than cold water anyway?

What I was puzzled by was how a heavy metal like copper would leave water that is left to sit. I'm guessing that part isn't true, was mistyped, or I misunderstood.

Look at the piping near the water heater. They are all copper tubes for hot water output. Do you suggest the copper is from those tubes?

Hi all,

In regards to the copper issue, both the pet store guy and Mustafa said the same thing... use cold water to avoided getting Copper...

It seems to work as my copper levels did go down when I used to cold water method.

TKD

Hi guys, I was recalling we had to get a new water heater over a year ago and I had done some research on it at the time. Unfortunately I can't find the link that explained why there is so much corrosion in a water heater tank, but I'll give you a link that explains water heaters in general, in a bit.

If I recall correctly, due to heat, oxygen and the presence of different metals that make up the tank itself, along with the fixtures and piping, electrolysis eats away at the components. Because of this, water heaters have what is called a "sacrificial anode" which is basically a magnesium or iron rod. So electrolysis eats away at the anode instead, and helps prolong the life of the water heater tank.

So due to the heat, a water heater has all kinds of corrosive things going on involving metals. It also tends to collect sediments along with various minerals. Not only that, water heater water tends to "sit" in your tank, whereas cold water bypasses the water heater altogether and is constantly running, so to speak, feeding the local pipes whether you have your faucet turned on or not.

Anyway here's the link which in part explains a bit about water heaters.
http://home.howstuffworks.com/framed.ht ... om/GWH.htm

> "Yeah.. why would we use anything other than cold water anyway? "

It does sound silly doesn't it? But I have to admit I used to use part hot water during the winter months, testing the temperature with my fingers to get it closer to tank temp before adding to tank. Seeing your location, Chlorophyll, I would think you would not have that problem. Well of course, I don't do that anymore! I prepare the water in advance and will have to add it slowly this winter, letting the aquarium heater keep up the temp to what it needs to be.

-GB

That is true about my location.
I recall not long ago reading the instructions for that Python gravel syphon water changer thing, and was taken aback when it suggested using the hot water tap to send in the correct temperature water when doing water changes. Of course correct temperature is good, but incidentally I was taught from a very young age that the water from the hot side of the tap is not the best suited for drinking because of extra stuff.... didn't know what that "stuff" was, just that there may be contaminants in hot tap water.