Algae Fix killing our fish!?
- Thread starter Jag1980
- Start date
Is it possible that one or more ingredients reacts with chemistry? I used it once to treat algae. I followed the directions and dosed three times. After the third time, I lost nearly all of my fish. In testing the water, I found nitrites to be elevated. I wonder if the death of the algae could have caused this. Any thoughts?
Decaying matter contribute to rising levels of ammonia aside from depletion of oxygen. Best to correct the main cause of algae problem than the problem itself.Andrewtfw;1863676; said:
Strike that.... I ended up losing 7 cichlids, not 5TheMacQ;1863634;1863634 said:I'm pretty sure that Algaefix killed my fish. About 2 months ago my cichlid tank suffered an algae bloom. I put in the recommended dosage of Algaefix and was simply amazed at how quickly my tank cleared. I mean it was quick. The next morning however one of my Fuelleborni cichlids was acting very erratic, and actually started floating to the top. I waited just a bit before pulling him out - and literally 24 hours later he was fine.
Well I did the same thing this past Friday. I used the recommended dosage, and 24 hours later half of the cichlids in the tank were listless - breathing but clearly something was wrong (one of them, could not close his mouth). The next morning - 5 cichlids were dead!!!
I am never using this product again, and agree that it should be banned. It is completely insane that this product is on the market.
Someone needs to write up or help me with a online petition to get them to relabel there products or completely remove it from a fish aquarium product.
I could bring this up at a biological board meeting at CSUF. I am sure i can get a few biologist to help conduct some tests and provide evidence.
I've used it in all my tanks, and I've never lost a fish OR invert to it... maybe I am just lucky. I would guess that with a sudden huge die-off in algae, nitrites would be a big problem. That biomass doesn't just disappear. My tanks have never had serious green water, so probably the algae die-offs just haven't overloaded my system. Maybe substantial water changes after using Algae Fix would help?
rawimpact;1888007; said:
That would be great, when is the next meeting?
Something like this would be a huge plus and get more listening attention on the problems that this product causes.
It's like cigarettes, thousands of people get cancer and die from it and some people don't.
People need to know the dangers of this product because it does kill our fish, but not in every treatment.
Here is a before and after picture of my Spotted Rubber Lip Pleco.
After the second dose of Algafix, 2 weeks apart.
Pleco looked like it was going to have a heart attack or something.
Within a couple days my fish got like this with very heavy breathing
He would freak out and go crazy for about 20 seconds then stop.
One time when he stopped I picked Pleco up by his tail and it was like Pleco was dead, I set Pleco on its back and it stayed for a few Min's then when back on its belly.
Would not eat anything at all.
3 to 4 days later, Pleco was dead..
Did you test your water during this process?
When a large amount of algae dies off all at once, it could possibly create an ammonia spike.
Most "Blamed Deaths" I see from algacides are usually a secondary effect of the medication. It did what it was prescribed to do, but it doesn't prevent Ammonia spikes.
Ammonia is more toxic the higher the pH, so in an area like WA where the pH will be higher, these ammonia spikes might be more lethal in comparison to users who have softer water.
Testing the Ammonia afterwards, instead of at the time of death, might be a mute point because the Ammonia spike could be filtered out through Nitrifying Bacteria by the time you test it.. (hours later)
Also, Algae provides alot of oxygen, which nitrifying bacteria needs to grow. Algae and plant life also consumes Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate in all 3 stages of the nitrogen cycle.
So if you take away supplemental nitrification, while depleting the oxygen source for your nitrifying bacteria, at the same time as an ammonia spike is created, you will have problems.
Algae also consumes Co2.. which if all the algae is removed all at once, you will have a sudden increase in Co2 levels. Depending on your alkalinity, this sudden shift in Co2 could cause your pH to crash.
Many of the symptoms you described from the effects of the Algaefix, are also symptoms of ammonia poisoning. The reddening of the fins and sporadic behavior would be my first guess.. Any heavy/rapid breathing would probably be hyperplasia of the gills.. and with the Chaetostoma already being a coldwater fish, they have a huge need for o2 Intake, and with hyperplasia it could simply not process oxygen..
Either way.. You shouldn't try to rely on algacides, and just have better husbandry practices, and (hopefully) good cleanup crews.. or, a scrubby pad!
Just my 2 cents hope it helped.
When a large amount of algae dies off all at once, it could possibly create an ammonia spike.
Most "Blamed Deaths" I see from algacides are usually a secondary effect of the medication. It did what it was prescribed to do, but it doesn't prevent Ammonia spikes.
Ammonia is more toxic the higher the pH, so in an area like WA where the pH will be higher, these ammonia spikes might be more lethal in comparison to users who have softer water.
Testing the Ammonia afterwards, instead of at the time of death, might be a mute point because the Ammonia spike could be filtered out through Nitrifying Bacteria by the time you test it.. (hours later)
Also, Algae provides alot of oxygen, which nitrifying bacteria needs to grow. Algae and plant life also consumes Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate in all 3 stages of the nitrogen cycle.
So if you take away supplemental nitrification, while depleting the oxygen source for your nitrifying bacteria, at the same time as an ammonia spike is created, you will have problems.
Algae also consumes Co2.. which if all the algae is removed all at once, you will have a sudden increase in Co2 levels. Depending on your alkalinity, this sudden shift in Co2 could cause your pH to crash.
Many of the symptoms you described from the effects of the Algaefix, are also symptoms of ammonia poisoning. The reddening of the fins and sporadic behavior would be my first guess.. Any heavy/rapid breathing would probably be hyperplasia of the gills.. and with the Chaetostoma already being a coldwater fish, they have a huge need for o2 Intake, and with hyperplasia it could simply not process oxygen..
Either way.. You shouldn't try to rely on algacides, and just have better husbandry practices, and (hopefully) good cleanup crews.. or, a scrubby pad!
Just my 2 cents hope it helped.
