# New Rocks Dead Fish



## NPMIKOLE (Apr 18, 2011)

So the other day i went to petsmart and bough a 25 pound bag of dark blue rocks and a 5 pound bag of glow in the dark rocks. i also bought a glass theromometer . the next day when i was getting ready to do the rock change i was taking the new glass thermometer out of the tank and the bottom of it hit the tank and all the little metal balls in the bottom of the thermometer fell into the tank and i freaked out and took all my fish out real quick and kept them in a tupperware container. i took all of the water out ane all of the rocks and got all the little metal balls up with a magnet and then rinsed the tank 5 or 6 times to make sure there was nothing in it. then i started rinsing my rocks... i rinsed them very well and got alot of stuff off. after about 30 minutes of rinsing i put them in the tank and filled the tank back up and put the filter back on. it looked really clear for about a hour or 2 then it started gettin cloudy, the next day saturday, it was worse and the fish wouldnt eat.. then easter sunday i had to go out of town till 5. when i got back i couldnt find the bloodfin tetra.. he died







so i put all my fish in my 10 gallon tank that i set up real quick with no rocks or anything just a filter and a heater and the only one still alive is the dragon goby. i changed everything in the tank out again and washed the rocks for another 45 min in super hot water and cleaned everything in the tank with hot water and refilled it and is gettin cloudy again. im adding the right amout of conditioner and salt. i dont know what went wrong.. HELP!!


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## Guest (Apr 26, 2011)

More then likely the new gravel leaked contaminants into the water. I've never seen glow in the dark substrate but I know it can't be 100% fish friendly as it would eventually leak something into the water. Try cleaning out your filters with tank water to get rid of anything that may be adding to the cloudiness.

Also why are you adding salt?


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## maknwar (Jul 16, 2007)

sounds like you didnt cycle your tank. Until you get your tank cycled, they will have a hard time.

I recommend seachem stability, see if you can get your hands on some. Follow the directions on the bottle.


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## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

Mercury poisening from the thermometer breaking.


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## NPMIKOLE (Apr 18, 2011)

the gravel i bought was top fin premium quality aquarium gravel, the blue rocks and the glow rocks were both the same brand of rocks that i got from the fish store. the only fish that lived was my dragon goby and he is doin good today. the water has cleared up so im hopin he will make it. when the thermometer broke in the tank the red stuff in it didnt break or get in the water it was just the tip of it with the metal balls.


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## Ægir (Jan 21, 2006)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> Mercury poisening from the thermometer breaking.


They dont use mercury in most thermometers anymore, and most countries have banned them because of the health risks... they use an alloy (galinstan), or alcohol based mixture now.

The little metal balls at the end are just weights to keep it right side up.

AS for what killed the fish, cleaning everything over and over killed the bacteria in your tank... an ammonia spike or bacterial bloom
Set it up, let it cycle again... and then add your new fish

Glow in the dark gravel doesnt sound 100% trust worthy either...


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## sadboy (Jan 6, 2005)

Sorry to hear that you lost your fish. But what did was a over kill by cleaning the tank so much. By removing all the bacteria from your tank, you levels all spiked up. I am sure of it. Did you check your levels. As far as your tank being cloudy well it could have been two things, one the new rocks you put in were no clean, or when you changed everything you kicked up all the sh*t that was on the bottom of your tank.


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## Nzac (Oct 13, 2010)

check the gravel, I would almost bet the paint is coming off of it. I had a similar problem with black top fin premium gravel 2 months ago. not to mention salt can attack the paint as well, learned that 20 years ago with my first saltwater attempt.


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## scent troll (Apr 4, 2005)

i would guess the actual cleaning process killed the fish. if they were in an established tank its likely you shocked them by completely flushing out and rinsing everything. the water parameters changed too drastically. not to mention they may have been extremely stressed being in a tupaware container for a period of time.

its a no fault situation, just bad luck. but its almost certainly the sudden change from a cycled to what was effectivly an uncycled tank. some fish are sensitive to this.

the glow in the dark gravel sounds interesting. im a little hesitant to ever add a product like that. remember that everything that goes into that water eventually ends up flowing through the fish. i dont know what they use on glow in the dark gravel, but it might be a risky buy. if i were you at this point i might go for a different substrate, recycle your tanks water and start fresh. 
like i said, no fault...but sometimes things happen to the best of us.


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