# How till kill all your fish...



## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

I'm really pissed and bumming about what happened yesterday, so I thought I'd vent a little....

My pH was a little low yesterday because we have soft water around here, so I wanted to increase the hardness some. Since one of my mom was going out anyways, I asked her to pickup some crushed coral to fix this. Instead, she told me we have calcium hardness (calcium chloride) that we use in the pool, so I check it out, and it was 100% calcium chloride and according to sources on the internet, safe to use.

So I went outside and grabbed the bucket clearly labled "100% Calcium Chloride" and added a small amount to my tank and proceeded to monitor the tank's pH over the next hour to make sure there were wasn't a drastic increase in the pH (eventhough it would be unlikely, seeing how calcium chloride should raise the GH and leave the pH relatively uneffected unless the water is dosed in high ammounts).

Well, after about an hour, my P's weren't looking so hot at all and I couldn't figure wtf was going on. I checked all my parameters and everything was money, so I started to panick a little. I double checked to make sure the calcium chloride was safe to use, and it was, IF IT HAD ACTUALLY BEEN CALCIUM CHLORIDE!









Instead, by some move of genius I will never fully come to understand, someone had used the only bucket (which I guess had been empty) of calcium chloride and put chlorine in it instead. So instead of raising the hardness, I gave all my fish a mega-dose of chlorine over the course of an hour. I moved them over to my other tank immediately, but the damage was done...so far 8 of my 10 Cariba have died (sizes 6-10", some I've had for over a year now) and 2 are still pulling through.

You have no idea how incredibly pissed about this I am.









P.S. Sorry this was so long and had no point, but whatever.


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## PuffPiff (May 23, 2005)

thats one of the most f*cked up things i've ever heard


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## rvd (Jun 6, 2005)

Damn it dude, that is f'n terrible..


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## PuffPiff (May 23, 2005)

update us on the other fish's health


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## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

Thanks, I will do. I just hate it b/c theres nothing I can really do now except hope they will pull through. Plus, I'm at work all day so I can't even see until I get home.


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## PuffPiff (May 23, 2005)

i hope your other two make it dude


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## kove32 (Oct 26, 2004)

Wow dude.. I'm REALLY sorry.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Definately am sorry to hear of your loss..


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

Man that is such a freak accident. I feel to bad. I couldn't imagine how I would feel to lose such beautiful fish like that. I am so sorry to hear for your loss. I hope some of the others can make it through. Did the chlorine smell like chlorine? and if it did, did you just not think anything of it?
~Taylor~


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

I'm really sorry to hear that, man








Hope the remaining two make it.

Just a reminder that natural methods to alter parameters should always be preferred above chemicals.


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## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

taylorhedrich said:


> Man that is such a freak accident. I feel to bad. I couldn't imagine how I would feel to lose such beautiful fish like that. I am so sorry to hear for your loss. I hope some of the others can make it through. Did the chlorine smell like chlorine? and if it did, did you just not think anything of it?
> ~Taylor~
> [snapback]1075179[/snapback]​


To be honest, I didnt sniff the stuff or catch a whiff of it. Plus, I have no idea what Calcium Chloride is supposed to smell like, so I probably wouldnt have thought anything of it.



Judazzz said:


> Just a reminder that natural methods to alter parameters should always be preferred above chemicals.
> [snapback]1075184[/snapback]​


Yeah, I had always used crushed coral, but if it had actually been what it was supposed to be, I doubt there would have been a problem.

Thanks for all the support guys.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

btw; are you planning to get new piranha's, or do you have other plans now (other fish, throwing the towel)? Or is it still too premature?
Man, I can't even imagine how I'd feel to loose my entire shoal


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## sadboy (Jan 6, 2005)

Sorry to hear that








I would hit to lose my entire shoal and I know it would be hard.
But after reading the first few lines of your post, I knew that something bad like that must have happend.


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## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

Judazzz said:


> btw; are you planning to get new piranha's, or do you have other plans now (other fish, throwing the towel)? Or is it still too premature?
> Man, I can't even imagine how I'd feel to loose my entire shoal
> 
> 
> ...


Yeah, hopefully within the next month I will be getting some Cariba again. I need to re-cycle the tank they were in first, since all the bacteria in the wet/dry was probably killed by the chlorine also.


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## Zesty (Sep 17, 2004)

Don't feel so bad, dude.

I had a similar situation happen, but I really had no one to blame but myself.

I gave my fish a bad water change and had to watch them be slowly chlorine-poisoned to death.

I hate to say it, but being at work and not being able to see it is actually a GOOD thing...you don't want to remember your fish in that kind of pain...it's truly awful, and I'm sorry for your loss.

I definitely feel you bro.


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## Genin (Feb 4, 2003)

wow that is truly horrible. i am sorry to hear that.


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## killerbee (Aug 18, 2004)




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## benJii (Feb 17, 2005)

wow, really sorry to hear that, but um not trying to critize u, but piranhas dont need hard water, infact they like soft, in the wild all the way down into the 4's and 5's, not saying to have that in ur tank but i see no reason to raise it, lowering maybe, but not raising


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## Joga Bonito (Oct 30, 2004)

that sucks man


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## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

Tibs said:


> wow, really sorry to hear that, but um not trying to critize u, but piranhas dont need hard water, infact they like soft, in the wild all the way down into the 4's and 5's, not saying to have that in ur tank but i see no reason to raise it, lowering maybe, but not raising
> [snapback]1075244[/snapback]​


Yeah, I understand they like a lower pH and softer water but I run into problems with a very unstable pH because my water is so soft. I was trying to add a little to the GH to try and buffer it so they wouldnt be subject to pH swings.


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## Piranha King (Nov 28, 2002)

sorry about your losses.
wes


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## Azeral (Dec 28, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your loss. Hang in there.


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## Blue (Mar 23, 2005)

Damn!







I'm really sorry to hear that. I guess you can't be too careful sometimes.


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## oojit (Feb 24, 2005)

Eight! sh*t, i'd hate to be you. Wow, that friggin sucks.


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## waspride (Jun 13, 2004)

Sorry for your loss bro, i can't beleive that.


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## eL ChiNo LoCo (Apr 16, 2004)

Damn some more p losses today. Sorry for your major loss. Who moved the chlorine out?


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

That is just horrible...
sorry to hear about it.


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## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

Thanks everyone.

It looks like it wasnt a complete disaster, one 10" and another 5" are still alive today and much more active (Although the little guy seems scared sh**less of the big one and hidding in the corner).



eL ChiNo LoCo said:


> Damn some more p losses today. Sorry for your major loss. Who moved the chlorine out?
> [snapback]1076360[/snapback]​


It was most likely my mom who had used the old container to store chlorine, and I think she felt even worse than I did about it. She offered to get me some more fish, but I'm going to hold off on the offer for a while while I get things going again.

I ordered some Bio Spira which should be here tomorrow, so I can quick cycle the 180g the two remaining fish are in and re-cycle the 150. I'll see how it all goes...


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## elementalheadcase (Apr 23, 2005)

acidWarp said:


> I'm really pissed and bumming about what happened yesterday, so I thought I'd vent a little....
> 
> My pH was a little low yesterday because we have soft water around here, so I wanted to increase the hardness some. *Since one of my mom was going out *anyways, I asked her to pickup some crushed coral to fix this. Instead, she told me we have calcium hardness (calcium chloride) that we use in the pool, so I check it out, and it was 100% calcium chloride and according to sources on the internet, safe to use.
> 
> ...


did i read the bold right?....sorry to hear about ur fish man...best of luck


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## acidWarp (Jun 30, 2003)

elementalheadcase said:


> acidWarp said:
> 
> 
> > *Since one of my mom was going out *
> ...


Hahaha, no, that was a typo


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