Help, help, help fish are dieing

[Steve M UK]

I have been suffering with an algae bloom in the past couple of weeks. Tonight I thought enough was enough, so during a water change I hoovered it off. Fish became distressed; my clowns are almost verticle at the water's surface and bicolored angel is on the bottom.

Any ideas would be very gratefully received. I have some RO water on the go, or should I do an emergency water change.

Many thanks in advance (sod's law isn't it, a few days after skipper after skipper puts my tank on the slide show it all goes tits up):confused:

[Beverly]

Put some carbon in your system ASAP. Could be toxins released during your clean up. Also check ammonia, temp and SG of your tankwater.

[Steve M UK]

Thanks... carbon in. SG, ammonia and temp are all fine.

I hate this, the clowns are blowing bubbles on the surface; it would be cute if they weren't on their last legs (fins?). This is fast becoming a laugh or cry moment.

[Minuteman]

Did you check the rest of the parameters... salinity, ph, etc?

[Steve M UK]

Checked everything all ok, just taken a clown out of the tank and the bicolored. Shrimps are all ok and the last clown looks very sick.

I'm not happy.

Corals all shrivelled. Hobby is losing its appeal by the second

[Phyl]

Sounds like you're suffing low oxygen levels. Can you get an airstone in the tank? Increase your surface agitation... Whatever you stirred up may be depleting the system of oxygen.

[Agu]

I would suspect oxygen depletion if you've been having a couple of weeks of an algae bloom. Waterchange water that hasn't been aerated is actually low in oxygen and could have pushed your tank over the edge.

Vigorous aeration can't hurt and could help. If you don't have an air pump or a connection to a powerhead where you can draw air, raise a powerhead so it's actually sucking some air.

Good Luck,

[Mariner]

I'm not familiar with the term "hoovered" -- we don't really speak the King's English here in Alabama ;) Anyway, do you mean that you took the hose of an electric vacuum to your algae???
Mariner

[Agu]

Originally posted by Mariner
I'm not familiar with the term "hoovered" -- we don't really speak the King's English here in Alabama ;) Anyway, do you mean that you took the hose of an electric vacuum to your algae???
Mariner

It means he vacuumed the tank, like in Hoover vacuum . Down in "bama the term is sucked up. So you'd suck up all the detritus with a siphon, he just hoovers it.

[Mariner]

Ahhhh... thanks Agu. I was getting these mental images of a guy with a big wet/dry electric vacuum trying to suck the algae off his rocks.:rolleyes:
Mariner