# A Bit of a rant fish & bleach do not mix well :(



## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

i left for the week to visit family in gibbsons i asked my landlord to just turn on & off morning & night my lights on my 55gal as i already put feeder blocks in the tank & what do i come home too a fish tank full of dead fish  with a note with $20 taped to it from the landlord saying there sorry they tryed to clean the bit algy they seen in the tank with a rag & bleach that it would not come off so they added some bleach to the tank in hope that it would kill the algy for me { i just wish my landlord would have called me first before trying to do a nice thoughtful act but it killed my fish } so i have now done a 90% water changes twice to today so i when back to the pet shop i always go to & told them what happened they gave me 5 neons for $1 each to try in the tank so far there doing well & they loaned me there test kit to checked it with that i need to take back tomorrow all is good now i hope will check it agian in the morning . im just glade my bonded breeding pair of wild blue rams where in my bedroom in a 25 gal breeding tank with my emraled corycats there lights are on a timer  im now going to get a timer for my 55gal this has been a big expencive Learning exprence for me & i know my landlord ment well but still but still it herts to come home to a tank full of dead fish & a note taped to it .
i do plan to buy more neons & corycats & mybe kribs agian if i can find a good seller of them 
sorry all for the rank i just needed to get it off my chest .
also my 5 octo cats where the only living fish in the tank but i think they might die soon as they have a lot of red marks all over there small bodys i have moved then to a 5gal tank with fresh clean water from my 25gal with tap water mixed in & some meds mixed in to try to help them 


what i had in the tank  that died 
3blue rams 
15 neons 
7 harlequins 
5 bronze corycats all babys  poor little guys 
1 pleco 
2 kirbs breeding pair with eggs in a rock hidaway hold 


also if any one has any new stocking ideas please let me know


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

That bites big time, can't believe they didnt think the bleach would kill the fish. Sorry to hear! make sure you don't stock it too quick, chances are the tank will have to cycle again as the bleach probably killed anything and everything alive in the tank.


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## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

ya im going to give it a few weeks before i add new fish to it other then the 5 already in the tank  i also now need to save up to buy new fish as $20 from my landlord is not going to cut it when i do go on the fish hunt also the plants in the tank seam to be ok but you never know what will happen in the coming weeks


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## kim86 (Sep 5, 2012)

Wow that's a huge bummer. Usually tank sitters kill fish from over feeding. But bleach? How does anyone think that's a good idea? Oh man. Good luck with everything!


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## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

Wow! I'm so sorry to hear that... +1 on slow stocking..


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

corrie said:


> i also now need to save up to buy new fish as $20 from my landlord is not going to cut it


More like your landlord should be giving you a break on a week's rent


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## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

ya my landlord knows nothing about fish keeping & i did had them come down so i caould show them how to do the lights on the tank i guess they did not pay to much atenchen to what i was telling them 
as for taking $ out of my rent that's a no they think the $20 they left on the tank is good enuff for me to re buy the fish they killed i did show them all my resets i had for all the fish that they killed it was over $50 worth they told me i was nuts to pay that much for fish that just swim around a tank all day & eat that you cant do anything with them & its a wast of good $ that could go to somthing usful . i dont get people like that but thats ok i injoy having fish so to me the $ spend on fish if worth it to me


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Not cool, sorry to hear. Atleast u learned timer and forget it. 

If I was in your shoes I'd take it upon myself to deduct the full retail value plus taxes(fish don't depreciate like electronics) from the rent. It's just their opinion that you spent too much money on fish, that's your call not his. I'd put it to him like this I break some appliance in the unit and you say no that's too much money for a new oven I only use stove here's $20 go buy a cheap used one at surrey new n used. 

Now I know that's what damage deposits are for but still I'd just deduct the difference anyways and if they complained I'd just explain it properly. Otherwise when I was leaving and after I had my deposit back I'd even it out on my terms.


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

Agree with everyone else, the landlord is a complete idiot and goes above and beyond that by calling you out for spending $50 on fish. He'd probably call me bat--- insane for spending that much for a toonie sized piece of coral that literally just sits there. I'd be livid if somebody ever said that to me. ESPECIALLY after killing them 

Agree with Cam, since you have the receipts, you can make a claim for him to at the very least repay you the cost of the fish. When I was working at a LFS we helped a customer give an estimate of $$$ lost when the landlord cut power without notice so they could make a legal claim.

Good luck! I would be incredibly frustrated too!


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## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

ty everyone i am thinking of deducting the cost of the fish that died mines the $20 they already gave me from my rent but im going on tomorrow (monday) to see a friend that works in a law office to see if that would be sure it would not violate my rental lease as i dont want to get a eviction notes from my land lord .


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## Bunny (Oct 13, 2013)

I'm with the others on this - at the very least get the full value of everything they killed back. They would go and dump bleach into a dog's waterbowl, so why would they think it was appropriate for a fish tank? You mentioned they also killed some eggs from a breeding pair, I'd include that in the cost of what they killed.

(But check legality first....)


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## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

ya i am going to check legality first before i do deducted the costs from my rent . as for the breeding pair & there eggs i lost in this it was there first batch of eggs but im not sure when they layed them as i was not at home i might add them in to the cost as well but im not sure what i would price them at there where about 15 to 20 eggs that i removed when doing the full water changes


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Who would want rental troubles for $50 but I'd be firm, you did ask for help but only lights on and off. They did all the other stuff on their own. And really bleach with fish ?? You don't need to be a genius.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Don't wait weeks to repopulate the tank. It won't make a difference either way as the chlorine won't last long in the tank. The main concern is re-cycling the tank. You'll have to start with a light fishload or get some seeded media and restart, depending on how much bleach (does it still smell like bleach?) he used and how long it was in there. There may still be some beneficial bacterial alive in the filter and in the substrate.


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

What 2wheelsx2 said. 

As for going after him in law, I would just forget it. A good relationship with your landlord is very important. Next time if you are not going away for more than 7 days, just shut off the light for the whole time being. Your fish won't need any feeding or cleaning for only 7 days.


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## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

the bleach smell is gone & im not sure how long the bleach was in the tank but the black cabon stuff you put in the filter looked white in color when i changed it when i was doing the water changes so im thinking they used a lot of bleach & i think all my beneficial bacterial that was in the tank is dead from the bleach so im just going to start over with small amounts of fish to be added each week to the tank also the 5 nenos in the tank so far are doing good they are eating & swimming around fine but they do hide in the plants every time i move near the tank they just need to get use to me being in the same room with them .


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## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

ok i did not know you leave the lights off for that long i thought the fish & plants needed to lights to grow & be healthy also i was only gone for 5days so next time i have to go i will just shut the lights off before i go . 
ty


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The plants will suffer a bit but the fish don't need it. 5 days isn't a big deal though. I run all my tanks on timers and I never turn the lights off manually. On my high tech CO2 injected tanks, since I can't dose when I'm away, I sometimes will reduce the photo/CO2 period.


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## waxbytes (Jun 12, 2012)

Most people are clueless when it comes to fish, other than how to cook them.


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## Hammer (Apr 22, 2010)

I agree with Charles. it's bad that it happened, but you want to retain a working relationship with your landlord. no matter how clueless, they were trying to do you a favour, with devastating results. Next time, lesson learned, ask someone who you are one hundred percent sure about or do what Charles suggests and shut the lights off and let it be. I had something like that happen when I was kid, a well intentioned mother and brother tried to feed my Oscar pancake batter. Just my opinion, as your landlord may not see your point of view as it is clear they know nothing about fish and have little appreciation for it. However, this position is based on the assumption that you like where you live and that, for the most part, you like your landlord. if not, give them 50$ less.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I agree with not bothering your landlord about more money. As the old saying goes. Don't crap where you eat. Not worth causing a scene over $30. After all you asked them to watch the fish. Let it be a lesson learned. I also agree that what they did is absolutely ridiculous. Hope you figure it all out.


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## maxcatt (Dec 25, 2013)

sorry for your lost ! never asked landlord help feeding my fish ! because they may don't have Get aquarium fish experience


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I'm a firm beliver in written instructions.

Leave notes for do / do not.

use timers for lights/food/water top-up.

I also agree that it is not worth the problems/bad feelings that may result in wanting more money

good luck on the new start


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## corrie (Aug 10, 2014)

ya im just going to leave it as a learning lesson & i have bought a timer now for the lights on the tank so if i leave for a few days they will be fine on there own  ty everyone for comenting .


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