Sadly with all the different methods of water testing, chemicals and new products that come on the market it can also result in tank fatalities. In under 24 hours I placed an Exo Terra Moss Ball into my tank and lost all of my fish (I did post my review on the product on the stores site as a warning), I had found two fish barely holding on, but they were too far gone to make a recovery.
On the upside, I will get my $5 back for returning the moss ball which I can use toward purchasing new fish. Ironically the same day all my fish had died I got an e-mail from Petco reminding me that it was also my guppies birthday and I can get a 10% discount.
I am still debating loading the video of the night I added the moss ball into my tank so that you can see how spooked my fish were... wish I had realized why they were so scared at the time.
Above are a few images which are inspiring me to create a new aquascape, I especially like the 3rd photo the best.
On the upside, I will get my $5 back for returning the moss ball which I can use toward purchasing new fish. Ironically the same day all my fish had died I got an e-mail from Petco reminding me that it was also my guppies birthday and I can get a 10% discount.
I am still debating loading the video of the night I added the moss ball into my tank so that you can see how spooked my fish were... wish I had realized why they were so scared at the time.
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I have them in all my fish tanks and my fish are fine. Why do you think it killed your fish? I am cycling a tank at present and would have put one in there but i want guppies so wonder if it is a bad idea?
ReplyDeleteI am also cycling a new tank and have just bought an exo- terra moss ball,it seems to have no mention of use in fish tanks on the package,only reptile tanks,so it seems that I have bought the wrong product,and after reading about the death of your guppies I shall not dare to use it..
ReplyDeleteWell the website for the product appears as if it's for aquarium use as it's said to reduce algae, etc and the picture is even of a turtle swimming with it in the water. I'd think people with turtles like one of my friends breeds that there would be fish in the tank as a possible food source or something. If it killed my fish I wouldn't risk it on other critters either but... that's just me, although turtles are possibly hardier than a good majority of aquarium fish.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the Anonymous commenter had better luck with it?? I think it killed my fish with whatever type of resin is used in this product. I had most of those fish for years and to add something new into the tank and have that happen... it's the only thing that I can think to blame for the death of my entire tank since my water tests were fine before.
This is trippin me out ive gota cumberland slider and my water keeps gettin murky and this product sounds like exactly what i need but now i dont know im scared for my balas and koi
ReplyDeleteSince I have received numerous comments on this product and I actually never got around to returning this moss ball, I will try and run some water tests on it... it may take me some time to get around to doing this. However, if you're in a rush I'd suggest buying maybe like 5 feeder goldfish on the cheap, raising the goldfish for about 2 weeks to insure they're pretty healthy (and no water probs, etc) and then dropping this moss ball into there tank to find out the outcome after 24-48+hrs (sure it's risking fishy lives, but they are feeders so that speaks volumes in itself).
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion to remedy your murky water in the mean time is not to rely on this product to do that job. Turtles produce a significant amount of waste and I highly doubt this ball can solve murky water issues. Your best bet will probably be a better filtration system (by better I mean it cycles a significant amount of water, I'd suggest a canister filter system that filters more than the tanks gallon size... I know they can be pricey but it will more than likely be worth the investment), do around 20% weekly water changes (until the water clears up and then you may be able to do water changes twice a month), and some active carbon can possibly aid in clearing up a bit of discolored water as well. I can almost guarantee you that water changes can solve a significant amount of problems (just be sure to treat your water with a de-chlorinator if there's chlorine in your water and that your water is the proper temperature).
Although I haven't tried it... there is a "FLUVAL Moss Ball Ornament" out now at Petco which may be a safer bet than this Exo Terra one.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.petco.com/product/117224/Fluval-Moss-Ball-Ornament.aspx?CoreCat=OnSiteSearch
That was the first thing i went after was a filter ive got a 20 gal long tank and im running a 40 gal tetra wisper its killer in the circulation and it definitly cleared up more than my old filter so i thought it might be how many fish i had in there so i started a second tank for most of the fish cept my koi, bala shark, some frogs and a baby albino pleco and that too seems to be helpin but im not worried there all healthy im just tired of routine changes thanx for your help good luck with your lil friends
ReplyDeletePersonally I'm not a fan of the tetra whisper filters although I know some people are really into them (personally I think it takes up too much space inside the tank if it's the internal system) but I don't believe a 40gal tetra whisper canister filter exists.. as I've only seen there external and internal filters, but if it works for you than that's great.
ReplyDeleteI would be careful with the aquatic life you have living together... most all of them have big bio-loads and require a tank bigger than 20gal. I'm surprised all these guys can even co-habitat together. In this circumstance the only way around routine water changes is probably to have a system that can do water changes for you, or cut back on some of the critters. If possible I'd even try adding in some live fast growing house plants to help on nitrate.
I agree with the space takup of the filter lookin back on it i soulda just bought a canister filter because as we speak im buildin a 55 gal tank ive got alota stuff for it but not a filter yet so sooner or later my proboms will be solved its just the financial means right now arent great but itll get better thanx for all your help sure made me think of things i shoulda done :)
ReplyDelete