ahhhh crap! need calming down asap!!

[spacemonkey]

pardon my frustration but i seen this coming about two weeks ago. I've been away training for my new job, and left my tank in the "care" of my parents. I might as well have killed the fish before i left!!! well i just got back for the first time since i left, today. My coral beauty was dead, my scarlet cleaner shrimp is dead, my yellow tank is on it's side mostly white losing it's color. still breathing but i'm not holding out much hope. my burgandy starfish is dead. feather duster is dead,
all thats left, is my goldstriped maroon clown, royal gramma, and blue (industructable) damsel. i put ammolock in immediatley because of the carnage i figured the ammonia must be through the roof... I was going to purchase a 130g tank next week to give them all a bigger home, now i'm thinking of just getting out of the hobby all together... i don't even know what i should be looking for.. i've been gone for two weeks and have no idea what behavior lead up to this disaster... any help or calming words would be great...
pi$$ed off in canada

 

[spacemonkey]

ok, i've calmed down a bit now. I lost half my tank, that aint so bad i guess. I think this web site needs a venting forum!

 

[beth]

Originally posted by spacemonkey
I think this web site needs a venting forum!
LOL...you want venting, go to the shark tank
First, do a large water change. Then check your water readings. Of course, you need to get back to zero readings with ammonia and nitrite. Check you pH and buffer if needed.
First thing you learn in this hobby is that vacations are out of the question unless you have an experienced aquarist taking care of your tank.

 

[luvnluk]

I've been there, I feel for you!!! Beth is right, vacations are tough.......I would do a large water change!!!

 

[cindyski]

omg, my tank will be set up and running by november and i am going on vacation in january!!!! nobody checking my house knows anthing about fish!!!!!! being a new set up, would just a clean up crew and maybe by then some corals be ok? (just stay away from fish till i get back ??)

 

[elitsoh]

i know what you are going through ..im in mich and lost power for 3 days last week....lost all fishes and shrimps .crabs..
good luck

 

[jillian ayers]

What did your parents do to mess up the tank?

 

[sebae0]

i live in michigan also and had no power for 2 days and didn't lose a thing, good luck i have battery operated air pumps and it was summer so temp didn't drop.
i was leaving the next day for vacation for a week when the power finally came on, talk about worry and luck.
trust me i'm looking into a generator now!
i have 1 180 and a 135 sw and 1 120 and 2 50 fw and didn't lose anything talk about luck.

 

[kissiefish]

If your going on vacation and you have someone checking your house, maybe they would be willing to sit down and learn a bit about what they need to do. I know my friends are quite interested in my tank, and I think at least one of them would be interested in taking care of my fish and I would trust them with it. Just a thought, not everyone has the same situation with friends.
~kissiefish~

 

[nicky1.8t]

hey sorry for your loss i hope you have the best of luck coming foward

 

[sinner's girl]

wc good. but you need to find what caused the death of the fish. the yellow tang not eatting algea for two weeks may have done it....if water evaporated too much and salt level got to high...parent(s) over feeding.
what were the levels before you left? any younger siblings that could have put something in the water thinking that there were helping? what size tank? is it possible too many fish and they just got stressed out?
just fishing for ideas here,
sorry for your lose.

 

[sleasia]

I have been on this merry go round three times already...I have also been close to tossing in the towel and giving up on this expensive hobby. I think the problem is that its next to impossible to control parameters as tightly as needed, especially while you are away. the hobby has been around so long you would think by now there would be systems developed to automatically analyze water, dose and control the parameters for us....but when you think of how much money a month we all spend, its no surprise that efforts aren't pointed in this direction.

 

[dzones]

I have yet to face any vacation time since my inception into this hobby but how about this?
If you go to the dollar store and puchase one of those little "pill" dosage containers for like a buck...the kind that has a little compartment for each day. Then put your food amount in each little day compartment. that way when your freind comes over to feed the fish, they just feed whatever is for that day only. If you use a combo of dried and frozen then just keep it all in the freezer.
Just a thought but it should take care of the overfeeding problem.
Any input on this???

 

[cindyski]

i think that is a good idea dzones

 

[mightyoxjuice]

Simplify everything as much as possible.
Denzel Washington from the movie "Philadelphia" " I just don't get it explain it to me like I'm a four year old"

 

[sleasia]

Dear Pissed off in Canada...I read this somewhat late...but at least you didn't wipe out your own tank yourself like I did by adding a boxfish...who got sick, exuded his poisons and wiped out the tank.......what a royal bummer.

 

[bigarn]

This thread is from 2003 ... I think he's calmed down by now.

 

[exile415]

LOL !! BigArn.. its 05 now .. he's calmed down .. or maybe he just quit.

 

[fishieness]

what ever he did it still leaves me in a pickle.... my mom caring for the tank when i go to college.... :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:
Thats not for another 2 years, and i do want to go close by.. mainly because of my tank... but i repeat
:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:
ill have to spend my last month of summer doing nothing but explaining. And hopefully by then my tanks will be established enough so not too much work needs to be done. And i can come home on weekends if i go nearby right?

 

[puffer32]

When i go away, I place baggies in the frig with exact amount of food to be given every other day, that way, no worries about overfeeding, if anything i make sure they are alittle underfed (a week or so of lean meals won't hurt) I also make sure my water is to highest point it can be at without overflowing, and the salinty is at its lowest so when it evaporates it doesn't get to high. And keeping a cover over the top helps too. I plan summer vacations with ac set at 75 so no worries of power outages and fish tank getting to cold. Of course you have to worry about outages in the summer and temps getting to high, but nothing is perfect!