saminator0107 Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 (edited) Hey all! So, long story short i saw my heater glowing red in my 15 gal. Earlier today my gf found 2 dead fish in the tank. Water parameters are fine, 0 Nitrate/Nitrite, PH 7.4, Ammonia is 0. Temp is set at 75. I HAD 6 medaka, 3 ottos and 5 ghost shrimp. 1 medaka died and an otto died. We also cannot find another medaka, i believe the shrimp got to it. We put the ottos in last week to help with algae. The tank has been going for nearly 3 months, so its been cycled. Im thinking the heater had something to do with it. Or maybe one of the ottos were sick and somehow it got the other fish sick? Its a 15G bowfront, so its not overstocked. Ive never run into this situation before. Im concered i will wake up tommrow with more dead fish. The other fish seem to be acting as they always have, nothing weird. I got the ottos from my trusted LFS where i get almost all my fish. We put the ottos in 6 days ago. Edited March 8 by saminator0107 Added when we put the ottos in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abby Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 my heater glows red when it is on/heating. I would assume that's why its glowing red also to note I can't tell if it is the coils that are red or my other statement, I found this on Google too 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saminator0107 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 On 3/7/2024 at 10:36 PM, Abby said: my heater glows red when it is on/heating. I would assume that's why its glowing red also to note I can't tell if it is the coils that are red or my other statement, I found this on Google too Yeah it has a light when it comes on. Just never noticed it glow before, but then again you can only see that when the lights are off, and obviously i dont really look at it when the lights are off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Payne Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 I've got 2 of those and have never seen it actually glow. That would be concerning to me. Do you have a thermometer to check the temp? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saminator0107 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 3:34 AM, T. Payne said: I've got 2 of those and have never seen it actually glow. That would be concerning to me. Do you have a thermometer to check the temp? Not a tank thermometer, but i used one of the food thermometers that you use for meat, and it read 75. Unfortunately i woke up to another dead otto today. Not sure whats going on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryanisag Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 Well maybe they are separate issues. Did you remove the heater? Can you feel a tingle in the water like stray voltage while the heater is on? Can you replace heater with 50 watt? That heater is probably oversized. Even if the LFS has a great track record, things will eventually slip through the cracks. Any chance of disease? Are the ottos eating? Do any of the fish have pinched stomach? The ottos might like the warmth but the shrimp and medaka like an unheated aquarium. Maybe ditch the heater all together and put the ottos in another tank. Hopefully something I mentioned might help. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saminator0107 Posted March 8 Author Share Posted March 8 On 3/8/2024 at 4:46 PM, bryanisag said: Well maybe they are separate issues. Did you remove the heater? Can you feel a tingle in the water like stray voltage while the heater is on? Can you replace heater with 50 watt? That heater is probably oversized. Even if the LFS has a great track record, things will eventually slip through the cracks. Any chance of disease? Are the ottos eating? Do any of the fish have pinched stomach? The ottos might like the warmth but the shrimp and medaka like an unheated aquarium. Maybe ditch the heater all together and put the ottos in another tank. Hopefully something I mentioned might help. Good luck I have not removed the heater, and no there is not tingle from the water. Ottos have been eating fine, nothing out of the ordinary. Only reason i have the heater is for the shrimp and the ottos, because the room stays at about 68 F. Ive heard its better for the shrimp to have it around 75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryanisag Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 I'm not an expert on ghost shrimp but I have heard that the common name "ghost shrimp" actually refers to many species of grass shrimp and I don't think they particularly need it warm. Also I am now remembering that some of them can be quite aggressive and possibly predatory... IDK maybe they are eating the fish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 I’m almost positive the ghost shrimp did not harm your fish. If they are not ghost shrimp and were mislabeled that could change things. Ghost shrimp will make fish “disappear” but only after the fish has passed. They can also handle 68 degrees like a champ. My instinct would be to research ottos and possible illnesses they get. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tlindsey Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 @saminator0107 What product are you using to test Nitrate. It's possible that one the Ottos you purchased may have been ill. I suggest quarantine new fish before adding to the main aquarium. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wuht Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 I had a cheap no name heater that glowed like that. Eventually it ended up failing from the seals going bad and water getting inside but I'm not completely sure if that was caused by the element or not. Sorry I can't give more advice other than replace it if it will help you sleep at night. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 If you checked with another thermometer and it's normal temperature, it's highly unlikely that the heater is causing an issue. You should test your water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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