help a fish mom who (thought she) forgot the dechlorinator!!!

[HelplessNewbie]

What might I do to help my fish recover?

Can someone take a look at these videos and tell me if they seem normal-er now?

*face palm*

I never thought I would do it, but I forgot to add dechlorinator yesterday during a 10% water change. Next morning, I discovered white cloudy water, 3 of 4 endlers shimmying at the water surface, my pygmy cory schooling in bigger groups and my 3 amano shrimp huddling in the back corner behind the sponge filter. Also, a mystery snail died overnight.

My 20 gallon tank details are in my signature.

I tested the water and the chlorine was .8 ppm (same as my tap water) and ammonia was 2 ppm!!! PH is 6.6 (low. from my expected 6.8), KH is 40ppm (normal) and GH is 300 ppm (normal for this tank). So, I immediately did a 25% water change, dosed 3x Fritz Complete, added hob and airstone, added 1 T pond salt. I was so frantic that I soaked myself and part of the wall with tank water.

Right after this, the amano came out of hiding, and 2 endlers seemed to cruise around like norma, with the male performing his usual mating dancel. One was suspiciously staying away, closer to surface. Most of yhem appear to be grazing like usual.

I can't tell if my pygmy cory are shimmying because they seem to do it normally when hovering in place.

@Colu, maybe you can suggest something to soothe the fish?

Edited October 9, 2023 by HelplessNewbie

[Colu]

On 10/7/2023 at 1:58 AM, HelplessNewbie said:

What might I do to help my fish recover?

Can someone take a look at these videos and tell me if they seem normal-er now?

*face palm*

I never thought I would do it, but I forgot to add dechlorinator yesterday during a 10% water change. Next morning, I discovered white cloudy water, 3 of 4 endlers shimmying at the water surface, my pygmy cory schooling in bigger groups and my 3 amano shrimp huddling in the back corner behind the sponge filter. Also, a mystery snail died overnight.

My 20 gallon tank details are in my signature.

I tested the water and the chlorine was .8 ppm (same as my tap water) and ammonia was 2 ppm!!! PH is 6.6 (low. from my expected 6.8), KH is 40ppm (normal) and GH is 300 ppm (normal for this tank). So, I immediately did a 25% water change, dosed 3x Fritz Complete, added hob and airstone, added 1 T pond salt. I was so frantic that I soaked myself and part of the wall with tank water.

Right after this, the amano came out of hiding, and 2 endlers seemed to cruise around like norma, with the male performing his usual mating dancel. One was suspiciously staying away, closer to surface. Most of yhem appear to be grazing like usual.

I can't tell if my pygmy cory are shimmying because they seem to do it normally when hovering in place.

@Colu, maybe you can suggest something to soothe the fish?

The best thing to do is what you have already done water change add dechlorinator and a small amount of salt I would add an extra air stone as chlorine can damage the sensitive Gill tissue and damages the slime coat on your fish making it more likely to get secondary infection I would just keep a close eye on your water parameters just in case you get another ammonia or nitrite spike keep eye out for any gasping at the surface that would indicate damage to the Gills

Edited October 9, 2023 by Colu

[HelplessNewbie]

@Colu, so glad you are here! What should I do if they start gasping at surface?

[Colu]

On 10/7/2023 at 2:10 AM, HelplessNewbie said:

@Colu, so glad you are here! What should I do if they start gasping at surface?

Increase the level of aquarium salt  1 table spoon for 5 gallons the salt will aid Gill function and increase surface agitation Gill's will need some time to heal  fish can suffocate due to damage to there Gill's caused by the chlorine 

Edited October 9, 2023 by Colu

[HelplessNewbie]

I woke at 5am to find all fish were hiding. Decided to catch as many as I could and moved them to quarantine. Performed 80 water change and reapplied Fritz Complete. Added salt, too.

Added even more seeded filter media to the tank.

Observing now.

[HelplessNewbie]

Okay, had a chance to review what happened. It turns out that recent city water works resulted in chlorine/chloramine flush!

We realized this after subsequent water changes for new qt resulted in cycle crashes (dechlor not forgotten), too.

I am changing my process now to retest the  water parameters immediately after and then 1 hour after water change.

Edited October 9, 2023 by HelplessNewbie

[Colu]

On 10/9/2023 at 8:47 PM, HelplessNewbie said:

Okay, had a chance to review what happened. It turns out that recent city water works resulted in chlorine/chloramine flush!

We realized this after subsequent water changes for new qt resulted in cycle crashes (dechlor not forgotten), too.

I am changing my process now to retest the  water parameters immediately after and then 1 hour after water change.

When they flush the pipes you need to add at least 3x the usual amount of dechlorinator you can dose prime upto 5x the recommended dose in an emergency