Is it possible for a fish to get burnt by a heater?

[dmStewy]

Is it possible for a fish to get burnt by a heater? And if so And if dose it stand to reason that a perfaclty healthy fish that gets burned would die in a few hours?
I am asking this because I have a lavender tang that I believe got burned buy the heater. I bought a lavender Tang about 5 weeks ago from a LFS it has been in my 20L QR take ever since it had not shown any signs of parasites of and thing wrong with it. It has been eating a swimming around the tank fine since I got it. The only problem is that it is still a bit skittish and will hide under or behind a rock or the heater.
When I got home today it was fine other then hiding when it saw me the next time I looked in the tank it was laying on the bottom of the tank with a very dark line running down its side the line is about the width of the heater darker in the middle and lighter on the edges. It is still alive but not swimming and not breathing very well. I thought about it for a bit trying to figure out what had happened and I thought of the heater so I reached in a touched it and sure enough it was hot enough to burn my hand it a few seconds. Under or behind the heater has be one of this fishes favorite places to hide since it has been in the tank.
Anyway I am just wondering if any has ever had this happen and if there is anything that I can do or if it is too late.

Thanks

 

[FrankenReef]

I wouldn't think the fish would stay in contact with the heater long enough to be burned. Was the line on the fish horizontal or vertical and was there another line on the other side? I have heard of anemones getting burned but never fish; not saying it can't happen though.
If the line was horizontal and on both sides it could be part of his camo color and tangs often like to play dead.

 

[khaosinc]

I know they are not fish, but I know reptiles will often manage to burn themselves on things like a malfuntioning heat rock as they don't register heat like we do. I imagine it might be similar for a fish. If it was hiding back there when the heater was off.

 

[FrankenReef]

Good point. I have heard that as well.

 

[LukFox]

I'm quite sure I've seen a couple forum posts about fish being burned by heaters, so it's possible. I'm not sure it would outright kill the fish though. Does the texture of the skin look any different in the black area? I'm not sure there's anything you can do but make sure it doesn't happen again, and feed well if the fish makes it.

 

[poppafish29]

I had two clowns that hosted my heater and slept between the heater and glass all night. Their bodies were literally against the heater all night.

 

[snorvich]

When heaters malfunction, and they often do, they almost always malfunction in the control mechanism, and it seems like it is always in the "on" position. A ranco controller will prevent such occurrences.

 

[kaimarkhirst]

It is absolutely proven that fish do get burned by heaters, so do cephelopods, elasmobranches and invertibrates.

I know as i've seen it, treated it and seen some of my prized species die from it so yes, it does happen and thats why we or anyone for that matter, unless unavoidable, never keep heaters in marine or brackish aquariums, or my ray and shark pen for that matter.

Treatment for a heater burn is near impossible as the burn kills all cells off, including anti-bacterial blood cells and tissue.

If its only slight, then itll grow back just fine but with similar legions to that of a human. If its bad, youve got no chance im afraid. Either one requires perfect water quality and a stress free time, or dosing with antibiotics admitted via needle ina qt tank....

Can i see some pics so i can give you a clear picture of this??

 

[JHemdal]

I would vote that it isn't a heater burn. Uronema often leaves "burn marks" on the side of the fish - a picture would help ID the problem.

Jay

 

[namxas]

While your fish may or may not have been burned, certain fish are indeed prone to such hazards (this is not one of our fish):

 

[kaimarkhirst]

pics are needed to id this.....

Kai

 

[dmStewy]

I do not have a camera so I cannot supply a picture. The fish did however die about an hour after I posted last night. All I can say for sure is this. I was in my fish room and this fish was fine acting normal no miss coloration at all. Less than an hour later in had a vertical, black colored patch on one side, and was lying on the bottom of the tank breathing heavily, an hour later or so it died. The water temperature was right where it was suppose to be, but the heater was so hot that if you touched it would burn you. The only thing in the tank was the lavender Tang, two snails and some live rock.

 

[EaZy DuZ iT]

Im more leaning towards glass heaters or specific type of material that can expose the heatness worse. Heaters like Rena Smartheaters doesnt seem to get as hot.