Bad (fish) day...

I got home tonight from having dinner with my parents... and found that Strawberry, one of my bettas, had died. He had been sick for a long time, but I still wasn't expecting it...
Then I went over to my 20 gallon community tank and saw the guppies floating.... I guess the heater malfunctioned... the temp was 95!! Somehow 1 guppy survived, as well as 3 cories and all 4 of my otos. I've gotten temp back close to normal... hopefully the rest of them pull through.
I'm just really bummed... Oh, and did I mention it's my birthday too?

 

Well I suppose saying happy birthday doesn't help much, but happy birthday, and sorry about your fishes. I hope the rest of your bday went better.

 

Oh no! Sorry about Strawberry.

 

:'( we're really sorry for your losses, what a thing to happen on your bday!

 

Yeah... totally the way things are going for me lately....
Luckily I haven't lost any more from the heater malfunction (surprisingly the otos are still fine... I thought for sure they would be affected more than the guppies....)

 

:;hb Happy Belated birthday Mlinden... ;D :;hb

sorry to hear about the heater malfunction... the same thing happened to me last month and I lost about 10 cardinal tetras. When I got home from dinner.. checked the heater and almost freaked when I saw that it was 'bout 92*!

I'm glad to hear that your otos made it and you didnt lose everyone in your tank!
~ kate

 

isn't nature amazing! To think that your fish could survive a peak like that! I really am going to have to develop an early warning system for heaters. I keep thinking about it, but just never get around to it. It would sell very well, I'm sure!

Strangely enough, that's how I got my first 40 gallon tank. The guy that owned it had a heater go into cooking mode and lost his tank full of fish, after that just couldn't stomache starting it all again, so gave the tank away! I used it for about 4 years for goldfish before I moved the room around and didn't have room for it anymore. (I wasn't always so fanatical!)

 

:'( I am SOOO sorry to hear about your losses. What a shock! Have you replaced the heater?

I think this deserves an extra birthday gift of new fish, and HUMMMMMMM, maybe a tank? Just to overcome the trauma.
Otoes are such sweet little kids, I am glad to hear they survived.

 

I had another heater that I put in there. I've been having lots of problems with that tank (slow leak if I fill it all the way) so it looks like I may be getting rid of that tank. I have enough room in other tanks for the fish, plus an extra 10 gallon I plan to get up and running. But sadly, no new fish until I can find another tank. I don't like to have too many fish in a 10 gallon if I can help it.

 

have you considered repairing the tank? It's not as difficult as it sounds!

 

no I havent. is it possible if it is leaking from the top? I haven't totally narrowed down where exactly, but I know it is on one side at the top (there are water drip marks and it is always wet) under the fake wood trim.

 

I got home tonight from having dinner with my parents... and found that Strawberry, one of my bettas, had died. He had been sick for a long time, but I still wasn't expecting it...
Then I went over to my 20 gallon community tank and saw the guppies floating.... I guess the heater malfunctioned... the temp was 95!! Somehow 1 guppy survived, as well as 3 cories and all 4 of my otos. I've gotten temp back close to normal... hopefully the rest of them pull through.
I'm just really bummed... Oh, and did I mention it's my birthday too?

I haven't been on the forum as faithfully lately..so am late in wishing you a happy birthday, and telling you how sorry I am for the loss of your fish and the problems with your aquarium. Sometimes it all seems too overwhelming, doesn't it?

I hope you feel better ( sending fish hugs) and wishes that your aquarium problems will soon be solved.

Val

 

Thank you. It's nice to have everyone's support on here. None of my friends understand us fish people, so they don't think its a big deal when they die.

 

With reference to repair, it's very easy if you can empty the tank for 24 hours to do it.

The easiest way is to remove the silicon bead from the inside of the tanks, on all joints and just replace with a new bead. All you need to do the job is a good craft knife to cut the old silicon away, a vacuum to remove the bits, some methylated spirits to clean out the corners and ensure there is no grease or dirt, and a silicon gun with a tube of aquarium safe silicon. Just pipe new beads all round, smooth with your finger and let it dry. The tank will be good for another ten years then! If you need more detailed instructions, let me know.

 

Thanks for the info. I don't think it's the seams... It's leaking from the top, like where the black/fake wood trim is. Is there anyway to fix that? can I just put the silicon on that (seal off between the plastic top and the glass walls?

 

that's no problem, of course you can, but do you fill your tank that far? the trim should be within 50mm of the top of the tank, which is the absolute maximum that a tank should be filled to. The water should never go above this strip, or you run a risk of overflowing or fish jumping out, shortage on the lighting and all sorts of problems.

 

open minds

Isn't that the truth? Too many people won't open their minds if you have a pet that isn't a dog or cat and they don't think of other animals, including fish, as pets. But they are and the bond is just as there for any pet. I know we both get that from our families.. none of them understood why we'd do so much to bring our fish here to Denver with us.

Thank you. It's nice to have everyone's support on here. None of my friends understand us fish people, so they don't think its a big deal when they die.

 

I've always filled up the tanks so you can't see the waterline.... looks so much prettier that way (ditzy smiley is needed here) I got a used 35 gallon hex tank last night that I am going to setup for the time being for the fish in my 20 gallon and reseal the trim if I can. If nothing else I'm just going to do a good cleaning of it (taking the gravel and everything out first )

LoL even my mom doesn't understand about my love of fish (or animals for that matter) She asked me if I wanted to get a fish tank for her house (yay finally my mts can spill over to my parents house!!) She wanted a 5 gallon tank but doesn't understand that the water will need to be changed more often, especially if she wants more than 1 fish.....

Anyways... I got the 35 gallon hex tank... haven't decided if I can clean it up enough to keep it yet... Can you paint the plastic trim on the tanks? (at least the bottom one and the outside of the top one? It's really beat up looking.... but the tank was free so I can't complain too much...but I've heard that you can't have 35 inches of fish in a hex tank.... is it true? (so far all that would be in there is 3 ottos (I forgot to post.... I did lose one a few days after my heater malfunction) and 3 cories.) I wouldn't mind getting something new if I can fix up the tank a little. But it also doesn't have a hood either... so I'd either have to find one to fit or make one....

 

congratulations on your new aquisition. It sounds like you have the makings of a really nice tank there. As for inches, it depends on how high the tank is. Most hex tanks are quite deep and this reduces the surface area, in turn reducing the oxygen in the water, hence the idea that you can't keep as many fish. This can be overcome by the addition of air curtains or the like, which will increase the surface area and increase the amount of oxygen the water can hold.

The other consideration is that as the bottom of the hex is smaller in relation to a standard tank, bigger fish don't have so much room to swim. Fish tend to like swimming horizontally, rather than vertically! The exceptions to this are fish such as angels, that love tall tanks!

With reference to painting the plastic, this is not very successful normally, as plastic doesn't like paint much. You would be better to clean the plastic up, which is not difficult using wire wool or fine sand paper to rub out scratches and a mild solvent to restore the finish afterwards. Unless the plastic trims are a different color underneath, you can make them look very presentable with a little work.

The hood is entirely different. To make a hood for the hex is very complicated, with a lot of angles and mitres to work out and get right. It can be done, but unless you are confident with mitres, you might want to get one made for you.

If you think you are up to the job, drop me a line and I'll work something out for you in the way of a diagram or two and suggestions on how to go about it.

P.S. I also like to fill the tank to this line, as it hides all the lighting and everything from view, making the surface into a mirror. If your trim is leaking, it suggests that there is a problem with the seal on a joint somewhere though, since the trims normally clip over the top of the glass. I would double check the corner seams anyway!

 

Happy belated birthday Michelle.I'm very sorry for your losses. It's so hard to lose them, especially after a freak accident like that. I hope that you get your tank fixed. Natalie

 

congratulations on your new aquisition. It sounds like you have the makings of a really nice tank there. As for inches, it depends on how high the tank is. Most hex tanks are quite deep and this reduces the surface area, in turn reducing the oxygen in the water, hence the idea that you can't keep as many fish. This can be overcome by the addition of air curtains or the like, which will increase the surface area and increase the amount of oxygen the water can hold.

The other consideration is that as the bottom of the hex is smaller in relation to a standard tank, bigger fish don't have so much room to swim. Fish tend to like swimming horizontally, rather than vertically! The exceptions to this are fish such as angels, that love tall tanks!

With reference to painting the plastic, this is not very successful normally, as plastic doesn't like paint much. You would be better to clean the plastic up, which is not difficult using wire wool or fine sand paper to rub out scratches and a mild solvent to restore the finish afterwards. Unless the plastic trims are a different color underneath, you can make them look very presentable with a little work.

The hood is entirely different. To make a hood for the hex is very complicated, with a lot of angles and mitres to work out and get right. It can be done, but unless you are confident with mitres, you might want to get one made for you.

If you think you are up to the job, drop me a line and I'll work something out for you in the way of a diagram or two and suggestions on how to go about it.

P.S. I also like to fill the tank to this line, as it hides all the lighting and everything from view, making the surface into a mirror. If your trim is leaking, it suggests that there is a problem with the seal on a joint somewhere though, since the trims normally clip over the top of the glass. I would double check the corner seams anyway!

I ended up getting rid of the 35 gal hex tank already... the trim was really beat up looking, and it had some hard water/lime staining that I couldnt get off without using a chemical so I gave up (I figured it didnt have a hood or anything so it wasn't so hard to give up) I've decided to re-seal my 20 gallon to see if that will stop the leaking. It really only does it when I fill it up to the trim, I have it about an inch below it right now and haven't had a problem since. And I keep it in the kitchen so it's on the tile floor so if it leaks a little it won't ruin anything.
Thanks for your offer to help though, I really appreciate it!