Emergency! I Accidentally Tainted My Tank!

[aquafrogg]

Hello fishlorians... my tank is in a sudden state of emergency and evacuation. Let’s get into why...

My dad made me a custom lid for christmas, to accomodate my new fancy light. However, he used a different type of silicone— liquid caulk adhesive, or something. He said it would be fine and that it wasn’t any different than regular clear silicone. However... after letting it cure for 24 hours, I put t on my tank and let it stay on all day/night. When I got up to feed my betta (Reggie), I accidentally bunped the adhesive and a shower of white liquid that looks like milk fell into the aquarium. I immediately took out my betta and snail and put them in little containers. Then I did a 50% water change, and I am about to do another. What else should I do? Will my plants all die?

I love my fish and snail so dearly and if they pass on from our mistake I don’t know what I would do.

 

[Fanatic]

HI Bubbles_and_Fins

It’s most likely the water that had collected up on top due to condensation, and it was milky white from being in contact with the glue. I recommend letting any type of glue (exceptions for super glue and plant glue) to dry for 48 hours, providing also that there is no chemical fume smell. Silicone can have an acidic smell for up to a week or more. I personally would continue to do large water changes if the water is discolored at all.

Do you get an ammonia reading?

 

[aquafrogg]

HI Bubbles_and_Fins

It’s most likely the water that had collected up on top due to condensation, and it was milky white from being in contact with the glue. I recommend letting any type of glue (exceptions for super glue and plant glue) to dry for 48 hours, providing also that there is no chemical fume smell. Silicone can have an acidic smell for up to a week or more. I personally would continue to do large water changes if the water is discolored at all.

Do you get an ammonia reading?

The water is not discolored (besides tannins), it looks like what went into the tank was only a tiny amount and not enough to discolor the entire water column. Let me check for ammonia.

Do you think my plants or fish will die?

 

[Fanatic]

The water is not discolored (besides tannins), it looks like what went into the tank was only a tiny amount and not enough to discolor the entire water column. Let me check for ammonia.

Do you think my plants or fish will die?

I don’t think they will, plenty of water changes should take care of this.

 

[aquafrogg]

I don’t think they will, plenty of water changes should take care of this.

Okay good. Phew. Thank you so much! When do you think it is safe to add them back in?

Also... I am in the middle of the ammonia test and t looks like it is starting to slightly turn green? Maybe? It’s hard to tell. When next to the chart, it looks like it could be either 0 or 0.25. I’ll add pictures

 

[Fanatic]

Okay good. Phew. Thank you so much! When do you think it is safe to add them back in?

Also... I am in the middle of the ammonia test and t looks like it is starting to slightly turn green? Maybe? It’s hard to tell. When next to the chart, it looks like it could be either 0 or 0.25. I’ll add pictures

I would do another large water change at least, then if there isn’t any ammonia, you should be able to put them back in.

 

[aquafrogg]

The camera makes it look a ton more green than in real life. Maybe it’s correct? In real life it looks in between 0 and 0.25, but also could pass as either one if that makes sense

 

[HelloKittyPowa]

Large water changes! Better safe than sorry. I'm sure Reggie and Sheldon will be fine. I feel if the readings are normal then that's super fantastic. If it were me and something spilled in my tank I would also remove whatever is inside and rinse with water. I know you got a lot going on in your tank mainly the plants which have to stay put, but that's where the large water changes help. Don't worry you got this! Accidents happen.

 

[aquafrogg]

Small update. I did two more 50% water changes and then added them back in. All the tannins are gone. Reggie is stressed from being in a tiny cup so long and his tail fins are clamped. Sheldon seems fine.



I’m going to leave the lights off for a little while (I only had them on for the picture) to reduce stress and hopefully he’ll feel more like himself. I’m also going to run a full test on my water. I’ll keep y’all updated

 

[Fanatic]

Small update. I did two more 50% water changes and then added them back in. Reggie isnstressed from being in a tiny cup so long and his tail fins are clamped. Sheldon seems fine.

View attachment 513476

I’m going to leave the lights off for a little while (I only had them on for the picture) to reduce stress and hopefully he’ll feel more like himself. I’m also going to run a full test on my water. I’ll keep y’all updated

Awesome, what a beautiful tank you have! I hope everything goes well

 

[aquafrogg]

Awesome, what a beautiful tank you have! I hope everything goes well

Thank you so much for your help!

 

[aquafrogg]

Large water changes! Better safe than sorry. I'm sure Reggie and Sheldon will be fine. I feel if the readings are normal then that's super fantastic. If it were me and something spilled in my tank I would also remove whatever is inside and rinse with water. I know you got a lot going on in your tank mainly the plants which have to stay put, but that's where the large water changes help. Don't worry you got this! Accidents happen.

Thank you! I would take everything out but I don’t really want to go through putting it all together again haha. I think it’s under control now, only time will tell

 

[HelloKittyPowa]

Bubbles_and_Fins Well, I'm glad they are back in their tank, definitely a good idea to leave the lights off. Overall, Reggie needs to have alone time and settle back in and get those clamped fins back to normal. I totally feel this way after I give Kory a salt bath. I just let him be once I see he is fine and back in his water and back off LOL. Salty and fresh don't mix and I can tell when he gets bothered flaring. "Oooo, I'm a lion!!" Moment. However, it doesn't stop me from monitoring. You do the same for Reggie, such a good mama and baby boy.

 

[Swlws]

that all sounded like a nightmare I am glad it all is looking a little better, I held the chalk silicon in my hand today, nearly bought it too! and at the last second I swapped it for a marine silicon that cost nearly 4x more, everything you just went through here is what I am scared of

 

[aquafrogg]

Bubbles_and_Fins Well, I'm glad they are back in their tank, definitely a good idea to leave the lights off. Overall, Reggie needs to have alone time and settle back in and get those clamped fins back to normal. I totally feel this way after I give Kory a salt bath. I just let him be once I see he is fine and back in his water and back off LOL. Salty and fresh don't mix and I can tell when he gets bothered flaring. "Oooo, I'm a lion!!" Moment. However, it doesn't stop me from monitoring. You do the same for Reggie, such a good mama and baby boy.

How long does it normally take for clamped fins to unclamp, usually? I just got home from work and there is still a part that is clamped. Dare I say, it looks like he might have gotten injured by the net?

 

[aquafrogg]

that all sounded like a nightmare I am glad it all is looking a little better, I held the chalk silicon in my hand today, nearly bought it too! and at the last second I swapped it for a marine silicon that cost nearly 4x more, everything you just went through here is what I am scared of

Yeah I’ve learned my lesson. NOTHING shall be used for my fish tank that isn’t designed or tested for a fish tank. Good thing you didn’t get it! Then we’d be in the same boat!

 

[aae0130]

even If you had let it cure good the condensation that comes into contact with it would drip back into the tank. You need to use aquarium sealant or something like epoxy that cures solid and becomes an inert plastic. Even hot glue works but it doesn’t last very long.

 

[HelloKittyPowa]

Injured by a net? In Reggie's case after what happened is the obvious source and I would maybe give it another day. Look at him again tomorrow morning and when your in for the night and see if they unclamp. The main source otherwise would be poor water conditions, diseases, and temperature which is not the case for Reggie. It was a sudden change of environment. A treatment option is catappa leaves. That MopanI driftwood though can really help because of the tannins. I'm sure it'll unclamp naturally. He just had a rough day.

 

[aquafrogg]

even If you had let it cure good the condensation that comes into contact with it would drip back into the tank. You need to use aquarium sealant or something like epoxy that cures solid and becomes an inert plastic. Even hot glue works but it doesn’t last very long.

Yep, we are going to restart the lid and use actual aquarium silicon. Although I’m kind of nervous about that still after this morning’s incident lol

 

[aquafrogg]

Injured by a net? In Reggie's case after what happened is the obvious source and I would maybe give it another day. Look at him again tomorrow morning and when your in for the night and see if they unclamp. The main source otherwise would be poor water conditions, diseases, and temperature which is not the case for Reggie. It was a sudden change of environment. A treatment option is catappa leaves. That MopanI driftwood though can really help because of the tannins. I'm sure it'll unclamp naturally. He just had a rough day.

Hopefully the driftwood will have released enough tannins overnight so that he can have the full effects. I just hate waiting for him to get better, I feel like there is something that I should be doing to speed the process along.

Also, do you know a cheap source for the almond leaves? It’s like $13 for a pack at petsmart. No way

 

[HelloKittyPowa]

Bubbles_and_Fins I know exactly how you feel when it comes to speeding up the healing process. For now just wait this out and see what happens tomorrow. Doing too much to speed something up has chances that it can get worse. Stress is easy to stir up for fish and you don't want that. In his condition it has to be taken delicately. Tomorrow, you will know more about how his condition is, his behavior, and just take it from there, keep us updated for more feedback. I got my catappa leaves on ebay for $6.99 free shipping and you get 10 leaves. The seller also sells more than just a 10 pack, but obviously the prices differ. They work great. I got a pic in my album of Kory's aquarium with a beautiful tint of yellowish brown from the tannins. I know you need it sooner, but really the only place I know is online that sells them and for way cheaper than petsmart.

 

[HelloKittyPowa]

I hope it all works out! Like I said keep us updated.

 

[aquafrogg]

I hope it all works out! Like I said keep us updated.

Thank you for the link! Let me take a peek and order them if he isn’t better in a couple days.

And will do! (Regarding keeping everyone updated)

 

[aquafrogg]

Small update. It appears that one of Reggie’s rays has been broken. I’ll make a separate thread about that asking what to do. It’s cocked one way and is causing a clamped look on the rays below it.

On the bright side, my parameters are back to normal (just realized I had forgotten to tell yall!)

 

[aquafrogg]

Question - Betta With Broken Rays