Added powerhead to tank - instant death!?

[GoodMike]

have any of you had experience with the koralias? they are a high flow, low pressure power head. The opening in which the water comes out is about the size of a quarter, or larger, so it is not just a jet of 400 gallons per hour, they spread that flow out big time. they are one of the better power heads for increasing flow with out blowing your fish all over the tank. Make a small opening with your mouth, and blow on your hand hard, you feel the stream quite a bit, open up wider and blow, chances are you are blowing out MUCH more air..and you cant feel the stream like you did before...same concept here.

Increasing the flow of a tank does not, and will not explain why a fishes fins are not rotting away...which brings me back to my equation, new fish + stress = problem

If the fins are rotting away i would hit the tank with something a little stronger and more effective than melafix personally. Go to your local store and see what they have on the shelf for fin rot. Grab up the antibiotics, do some water changes, add some salt.

[COM]

I don't think that the powerhead has anything to do with the gourami situation. I have a Koralia Nano that I bought for the benefit of my Vampire Shrimp. It sends a fairly gentle current out to a fairly wide area, as Mike suggests. I have some fish that don't particularly like it, and they simply don't swim near it.

[emc7]

what on earth is a anaerobic pocket

I don't think we actually answered this question yet. When material (dead plants, fish poop, etc.) decays there are different ways it can happen. Stuff in the air or aerated water is eaten by aerobic bacteria that produce ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, like in your filter. Anaerobic (without air) bacteria digest stuff that is buried. Some of the byproducts are toxic.

If you have an area of substrate with no water flowing through it and with dead stuff in it, you can have a pocket of anaerobic activity which can release toxins when disturbed. While I've never observed this myself, its common practice to regularly stir think layers of substrate (like sand) in the hopes of stopping this from occurring.

[welchrock]

another update: one honey gourami has 'rotted' away to almost nothing but torso. no pectoral fins, minimal tailfin. amazingly, he still seems to have some interest in food. the other seems to be far less affected and may make it. all the other fish - seem normal but are being very carefully watched.

powerhead - out of my tank indefinitely!!!

[GoodMike]

Originally Posted by welchrock

powerhead - out of my tank indefinitely!!!

Even though this is not the source of the problem? interesting

[emc7]

If the powerhead is stressful for the gouramis, then its a problem, even if its not "the problem". Let him solve the sick fish issue before he goes back to tweaking the big tank.

[welchrock]

Monday morning update: the 'better' of the two honey gourami's seems to be stabilized or maybe even improving. the other i caught a glimpse of briefly when my light was off, and he disappeared when it clicked on. still alive at least!

have been treating the tank with Tetracycline-soaked (Gel-Tek) flake food. i've had good luck with the Gel-Tek products and thus far it's having the desired effect - all the fish seem to be especially interested in the treated food and i think the (still cause unknown) fin-rot progression has stopped.

thanks again to everyone who has helped me with this strange issue. if and when i put the powerhead back in, it will be under extremely well-monitored conditions, and after a bottom-cleaning water change.

annnnnd not to open up another pandora's box with this thread, but i have a few questions about fin-rot for those with experience with it: would it totally eat away the pectoral fins of 2 fish within 2 days? although i've never had a major battle with it, i always thought it effected the tailfin. my poor fish look like they had their 'arms' entirely cut off.

[emc7]

I've seen slow fin-rot (steady erosion over a week) and heard of fin-rot (from TOS) as fast as you described, so it does exist. And there have been recent posts about it, so at least one fast strain is out there in LFSs.

The other possibility is what happened to my demasoni, the other fish chewed off the fins. In this case, the only fish I would suspect would be the snakeskin gourami. Gouramis can be aggressive toward other gouramis even while being peaceful toward everything else. But from your earlier post, it seemed the fin kept going, even after you separated the affected fish.

[welchrock]

in this case it's definitely just fin-rot, and not fin-nipping. my snakeskin is the shyest fish in my tank, and in the multiple hours i spent watching the tank over the weekend, didn't make a move at the honey's once. if anything i think their fins are too diseased to be appealing for snacking.

on the plus side though, my two honey gourami's are still alive and the healthier one seems to be improving.

[welchrock]

monday evening update: both troubled honey gouramis have stabilized and might pull through! the one stays in hiding most of the day, but comes out at tetracycline-soaked feeding times (super-small amounts, twice per day). the one that's in better shape has even begun using his dorsal stumps in an attempt to go back to his usual activities - poking at my wood and moss.

moving on though, what are everyones thoughts on trying the powerhead again? if i were to put it back in, i'd have it facing a corner, the back of it taped off with electrical tape covering 70% of the intake, and would be sure to add it only when my tank's stress-level was near-perfect. any ideas?

(thanks again everyone)

[jones57742]

Originally Posted by welchrock

... any ideas?

Ascertain the location of the nearest municipal solid waste receptacle to the powerhead ...

TR

[emc7]

Is the tank only 36" long? I use power heads of that flow, but in 55 gallon 48" cichlid tanks.

I don't think tape is a long-term solution to an underwater problem. I would expect the tape to get sucked in or the pump to get loud if you mod it. But if you mean as a temp. test, then it might be a way to find how much flow you need. If it's too strong, post it for trade for a smaller one or use some sort of spray bar (long pipe with many small holes) on the output.

[GoodMike]

koralias are a different animal. You can cover most everywhere that water comes in from, and the pump will function perfectly. and again, 400gph from an outlet the size of a quarter or larger is much different than that out of a normal powerhead. Yes, its the same volume, no its not the same pressure.

There is nothing wrong with the powerhead, if you dont want it, send it to me

[welchrock]

Originally Posted by emc7

Is the tank only 36" long? I use power heads of that flow, but in 55 gallon 48" cichlid tanks.

yes my tank is only 36 inches long.

[welchrock]

Originally Posted by GoodMike

There is nothing wrong with the powerhead, if you dont want it, send it to me

hey if you have a Koralia nano - please PM me and i'd gladly trade!

[welchrock]

update: the better of the two honey gourami's is still doing quite well. the other one had a good run of 3-4 days where his activities and movement increased, but today he's looking like a goner.

still torn about what (if anything) to do with this koralia powerhead.

[welchrock]

final update: all three of my honey gourami's have died. the last one going this past thursday. still clueless on what exactly caused the deaths - but i'm definitely not putting the powerhead back in EVER.

common sense tells me that it wasn't just stress that caused their behavioral change and near-instant fin rot. it had to be something stirred up from the bottom that afflicted them the worst because they are the most delicate members of my tank.

[GoodMike]

would you like my shipping address?

[lohachata]

geez mike..you could at least have the decency to pay the man for it.

[GoodMike]

ill pay shipping! i got some decency!