Archivarium 2004

Marcos Avila · Moderators Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Location: Hiroshima (JP)

Sunday night I was doing a partial water change in my tank, and since it was quite infested with bluegreen algae I had the end of the hose exposed, sucking up what I could. Normally I keep the tip inside a net, or really pay attention not only so I don't tear up any plants, but also because the tank has Amano shrimp, Otos and some hyperactive Siver-Tip Tetras that eat from my hand and check out anything that goes into the tank, like little piranhas.

Anyway, one second of distraction and *whack*, a little female got too close to the tube tip and took a fatal blow to the stomach, it made a horrible gash and half the inner organs jumped out Sad

I couldn't even catch her to perform euthanasia, she disappeared back into the caves, with her companions that one minute ago would try to breed with her now trying to bite off the exposed flesh. I know it's the law of the jungle, but it had been quite a while since I'd killed a fish with some stupid mistake Crying or Very sad

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Irons · Moderators Joined: 27 Feb 2003 Location: Buffalo, NY

Sorry to hear about the loss. It's always rough when you harm your pets. I've had to be rather careful myself lately. The praecox seem to thing the debris might be a good source of food. Goats I tell you.
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Irons.

SLACkra

I did almost the same thing. I was gravel vacooming to remove as much bga as possible. I suckd up a neon accedentily. I didn't knowtice. I had sucked up a lot of gravel so I boiled some water to "sterilize it" in a hope to kill the bga that was there. lets just say he got cooked. it sucks when you harm your fish at least he died fast.

andrew
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7.5g Nano Reef
1 four legged wonder napper
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Taratron · Benefactors Joined: 05 Feb 2003 Location: AZ

I'm sorry to hear the news, Marcos....I know you'd never intentionally hurt one of your fish!

As someone who has sucked up zebra danios, nearly a four inch long rainbowfish, and almost sucked up a trio of dwarf puffers at the zoo, I know well how you feel. I would hope some form of shock settled in so she didn't die in much pain.
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nonamethefish · Moderators Joined: 06 Feb 2003

As far as stupid accidents are concerned, you aren't alone. I widowed a male bluefin killifish even worse than your accident.

Sorry to here about the fish.

Jamie N · Members Joined: 05 May 2004 Location: San Diego, CA

glad to know I'm not the only one to suck fish up a gravel vac. . .

I drain directly to my backyard so once I sucked up a platy who was consequently hidden under some grass for no less than 15 minutes while I frantically tried to flush out the hose with treated water. I finally found him, dumped him in quarantine and he sprang back to life!

You'd think I'd have learned my lesson, but a couple months later I sucked up a platy fry (must have been the first one's son, I tell you!) that I didn't even know was in there! One second I was thinking, "is that a fry?!" next second, whoosh. Sadly the little guy didn't make it. Crying or Very sad

tonysghs · Members Joined: 08 Jan 2004 Location: north carolina, US

yes, I too lost a tadpole because I left my siphon unattended for a minute. he kinda worked like a cork in the tube, so I realised he was in there after the water stopped flowing and had misfigured him and killed him intantly.
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Trill the man

I'm sorry to hear the about the loss. I remember the personality that female Sliver-Tipped Tetras can show.

To add my own story: Years back, when I had gold fish, I was doing the usual cleaning, not noticing a small calico tail goldfish getting rather close to the tube, until *Fwump* Shocked

! It got jammed in the end of the tube, with a fairly loud noise! Luckily, after stopping the flow and literally blowing him back out, he survived, and is still living in a large tank at an old friends house Smile

.

Phil Wink

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SherryNE · Moderators Joined: 05 Feb 2003

So sorry to hear it. I dropped my little son's poor betta down the garbage disposal last week Embarassed

I got him out, but he is in poor shape, and I felt horrible.

travis simonson · Members Joined: 21 Nov 2004 Location: Englewood, CO

I was doing some rearranging a few weeks ago to make room for more plants and had taken quite a bit of the lace rock out of my tank and placed it in an empty bucket. It sat there for over an hour until, as I was returning it to my tank, I noticed my alpha-male Ps. demasoni desperately swimming around in about 1/2" of water at the bottom of the bucket. He was almost half-exposed but had somehow managed to get enough O2 to stay alive. Tough little devil. I put him back in the tank and it was as if nothing had even happened. To this day he won't go into the 'caves' in the lace rock though, he prefers the open water now Laughing

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