Could they be toxic?

[Fishy1]

Could scraping algae off your back glass or blowing off your rock with a turkey baster produce some kind of toxin in the water? My daughter has a 135 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. She just did this and immediately her 6 chromis went into fits. Two died quickly, 2 are still breathing hard, and the other two have yet to be seen........all other fish and her corals are doing just fine. This is mind boggeling!!!! All she did was feed them all.....they were fine, then scrape the algae and blow off the rocks. Anyone ever heard of anything like this before?

Thanks,
Janey

 

[bgreenlee]

Re: Could they be toxic?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7591665#post7591665 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishy1
Could scraping algae off your back glass or blowing off your rock with a turkey baster produce some kind of toxin in the water? My daughter has a 135 gallon tank with a 100 gallon sump. She just did this and immediately her 6 chromis went into fits. Two died quickly, 2 are still breathing hard, and the other two have yet to be seen........all other fish and her corals are doing just fine. This is mind boggeling!!!! All she did was feed them all.....they were fine, then scrape the algae and blow off the rocks. Anyone ever heard of anything like this before?

Thanks,
Janey

Hands in the tank while she was scraping the algae?

 

[Fishy1]

Yes, one hand was in the tank.......

 

[bgreenlee]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7591754#post7591754 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fishy1
Yes, one hand was in the tank.......

Possibly have lotion or some other chemical on her hands when she did it? My wife has put her hands in my qt tank before and reeked havoc on it. Maybe a similar case.

 

[Fishy1]

She did wash her hands before she went into the tank.......with soap. She rinsed as usual and then dried them......she's done this many times before. Do you think this is the likely culprit? Or could it be the algae scraping? So weird since it's just he Chromis that are affected......

Janey

 

[phishcrazee]

I've heard of cyano in large quantities can kill things when disturbed, but I don't know first hand just read things about it.

 

[Fishy1]

Update.....two Chromis are still alive this morning Not sure what shape they are in because the lights aren't on yet and they are hiding.

The cup my daughter uses to place her frozen fish food in sits on the countertop beside the kitchen sink. She did dishes earlier and wonders if a bit of soap suds could have splashed into the cup without her knowing. Wonder if this bit of suds mixed with food would have had this reaction......grasping at straws at this point.......I guess it boils down to something on her nand/arm something in the food or something in the algae scraping and blowing her rock off......probably never know Always wonder why only the Chromis were affected too.

Janey