oil in tank

[Santoki]

Today I woke up to find my male anthias dead. He was very feisty and aggressive and never had any problems. I also noticed there were tiny oil droplets floating on the water surface. I have never seen the skimmer foam head so low. There was no foam at all. Needless to say, I was very upset and have never see this before.
My question is, is it possible for a dead fish to release oil? I can't imagine so, but I can't figure out how the oil got into the tank otherwise. I have a cat that watches the tank. The only other explanation is that he was walking around the kitchen stove top and had oil on his paws and decided to go fishing. However, I could not find any signs of him having been fishing. No water splashes, his paw seemed clean and dry... I'm really at a loss and would like to figure out what happened. Any ideas?
Thanks,
-Robert

 

[James404]

It is not uncommon to see an oil like slick on top of the water, usually from what you feed the tank. It may not be harmful but it can be a sign that more surface skimming or surface agitation should be added.

 

[Santoki]

yes, I've seen that after feeding, however, what I saw this morning is many hours before the first feeding of the day, and many hours after the last feed of yesterday. I know this is not normal for my tank.

 

[coralnut99]

If you have sufficient surface agitation, as well as surface skimming, you shouldn't be able to discern any surface oil contamination. But since you can see it, I can only think of two possibilities: 1.Household aerosols/cleaners made their way into the tank 2. Equipment in the tank had a melt-down such as a powerhead to where the epoxy seal around the motor was compromised. Even the smallest contamination can make skimmers go bonkers.

 

[wantacookie]

Call BP, maybe they can hook you up with some dispersants.

 

[ANGRY JOHN]

Call BP, maybe they can hook you up with some dispersants.

:lol: