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unsolved deaths (was Rubbermaid...)



    A heartfelt thanks again for all of the responses on and offline 
regarding the mysterious fish losses I was suffering that I originally
attributed to something toxic leaching from the garbage cans I used to store
water in. Professional water tests at a lab yeilded nothing wrong with
either the original tank water or my replacement water.

    I'm left with no choice but to believe that the problem was
pathological.The only way I can think of that anything was added to the tank
was with the feeding of daphnia that, although it had been triple cultured,
originaly came from a nearby lake.

    Whatever the problem, it seems to have run its course, with no new fish
losses for more than two weeks now. My SAEs were the hardest hit, with only
1 of my original 10 left. I also lost 4 clown loaches, 3 threadfin rainbows,
4 black phantom tetras, a couple of praecox rainbows and 3 harlequin
raspboras. Most troubling was that these fish looked well overall right up
to the time of their death. I literally watched one SAE feeding with the
other fish in mid-water do a quick couple of spirals, then sink to the
bottom dead. I wish I had better access to a fish pathology department
somewhere...)

    My apologies if this whole subject has been off-topic for this list, but
it strikes me that many of the problems we have with fish in planted
aquariums stem not from things we are doing for our fish, but from the
rather extraordinary trouble we go to in maintaining our plants.
Unfortunately it seems that the fish often suffer the collateral damage. I
find it difficult to think of one part of the system without the other.

    On a more plant specific note, several people have asked to see a
picture of my display tank. I don't have a web site per se, but I have a
picture up of the 100 gallon tank at
www.superaje.com/~mistnfrost/2x100gal.jpg  for anyone that wants to take a
look.

Thanks again,

Ron Barter
Perth, Ontario
(613) 264-8127