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SAE death
I have also had unhappy SAE's jump out of the tank.
They have also died on me.
I have two tanks. The only difference between them is
their size and the way I deliver CO2. The "good" tank
(with forever-happy SAEs) gets CO2 via traditional
compressed gas plus an Amano glass diffuser.
The "bad" tank (which currently has no SAEs, yikes!)
uses the Nisso 900 CO2 producer. This device
produces CO2 by sending an electric current into a
piece of solid carbon. Supposedly, only CO2 + H2 are
produced.
I can vouch for the CO2 production; it works pretty
well. However, whenever I change the carbon stick
(more like a rectangular plate), I get unhappy SAEs
and unhappy invertebrates. It clearly produces
something in those early days as it gets going that is
toxic to the more sensitive animals.
The symptoms look like oxygen deprivation (fish at the
surface). SAEs are from fast moving streams in Asia,
and seem to need higher O2 levels than other fish. I
don't know what to do about this problem; I can't afford
to switch CO2 methods right now. I turn off the unit
at night during its "break in" period and make sure
water changes are regular. I may see if I can get
away without SAEs in there since it seems cruel to kill
them like this. Perhaps Ken Guin also uses the Nisso
CO2 unit?
Roxanne Bittman