Thank you for the great comment! This is very interesting and similar to what I am hearing from a friend who also has experience in this area. I hopefully have a connection that will be able to test for bacteria levels and contaminants. The damage is done, but I would at least like to get some closure on what happened and learn from the experience. On another note the yellowfin bluefish that I normally fed them when available always came with the gut, entrails, etc. removed even though it is also a small fish.

​@@AquariumDomain.First of all I'm sorry for your loss, I've been in a similar situation. Something else that might be worth keeping in mind is we've recently just ended the El Nino and are entertaining the La Nina. These events affect the majority of the earth and depending on the location these effects operate on a lag. So like when the El Nino reaches it's peak in the Pacific for the UK (where I'm from) our experience of the El Nino's peak is around 3-4 months later. So while the El Nino is entertaining La Nina in Pacific right now in the UK, where I'm from, we should start entering La Nino's weather in a few months time. I'm pointing this out as depending where the fish originated from and when they were harvested they could of been harvested during or close to the El Nino's peak for their area. A large part of Silversides diet consists of algae as well as Zooplankton and during the El Nino along with all the other crazy things it triggers it also triggers a lot more toxic algae species to bloom and increase the toxicity of usually mildly toxic ones (like technically they're toxic but usually it's so mild it's harmless to most marine life). As I'm sure you know any time such toxins enter one organism it concentrates and gradually gets passed up the food web. Obviously no one can say for sure in your case, as said above it could be from poor cooling procedures when they were caught (though surly you'd be able to smell the ammonia as well as see unusual discoloration/slight bloating or feel they're not as firm when handling them from them start to rot slightly? If someone knows otherwise please correct me). And obviously it could be a chemical they were exposed to at the store etc. Just pointing out this could be another possibility, plus would make sense that you haven't seen them on the market for some time as El Nino's cause massive die offs. So any Silversides they managed to source were ones that have been able to survive through to that point in the El Nino meaning they've been eating plenty of toxic algae and concentrating it. From the research done there has been found to be a strong correlation between El Nino's and other similar ocean warming events and the increase of cases of ciguatera (broad term for food poisoning from consuming marine fish). There's also been a strong correlation found between ocean cooling events like La Nina and the decrease in cases of ciguatera in humans. It hasn't been proven, to my knowledge, that the correlation is causation and could potentially be very strange coincidences but with how strong this correlation is and how consistent it has been from the research done I personally believe it is. Which is why I take extra preparations when it's going to be a major El Nino year both for my outdoor animals for the more extreme winter that it will cause but also stock up on any marine based foods (especially ones which eat algae/plankton) for myself and my animals and not buy anything new until we've been in La Nina for a few months out of pure paranoia 🤣

Thank you!

Thank you, and sorry for the late reply, KZfaq put your comment in "held for review" for some reason.

Thanks Ryan!

Man that water quality for an I door koi powder is horrific....idk how big or how many koi u have, that trash can system is garbage. Tge money u put into that,you could have got a sponge uv filter into a modified pool sand filter to a k2 bio filter e, and get a big aerator to power adequate air stone and divert the other half of its potential to a submerged in pod k2 bio reactor, you will have mechanical pre filter, uv chem filtration, then bio mechanical with the modded bead and a separate bio in pond reactor that will be 4x adequate and 8x what u need, I have a 600 gal indoor pond with the a forementioned set up, with 7 10 inch koi, fed heavily 2x a day, woth crystal clear water, best health, and I only have to backwash my filters 1x a month and it's barly tan water from the backwash, I spent 350$ on my system, though it's not designed for what it is applied to, you need to house enginuity and plumb the system correctly. But u can spend under 400$ and get a filtration system adequate for weekly backwashes for a 2000 gal pond or in a 600 gal pond u can maintain it sparingly and there is no value spikes in tests. I'm installing a 1800 gal outdoor pond and I'll be able to use the same setup I have indoors on it woth underground plumbing to a filter shed, amd bring them inside for winters in a 800 gal upgraded sized temp pond with the same setup using the same biomass and filtration, your setup may keep tge fish healthy ish and water quality that gives you the ability to see the fish. But idc about plants, the muck and junk in ur system is worrisome.

In my 1.0 of the filter the first chamber was a settling chamber with suspended media up top. It works out like it is being indoors, but I know from experience that if it had to contend with broken down leaves and other heavy organics like in an outdoor pond it would get completely clogged. 😊

Thank you.

Thank you.

Many thanks! 😊

There was just one Eel, an Emerald Moray. I had to remove him and put him in the refugium of the 1500 system...the Bamboo Sharks were trying to eat him.

Thanks Josh! I haven't have something shake me up like that in honestly 40 years of fish keeping.

Thanks! The Koi are between 5-6 years old.

I appreciate that. It was one of those you think you are doing everything right and then something like that happens...a real gut punch. But I love fish keeping so I am moving forward. Comments like yours help. ty

Don't think there has ever been a guest at my house who didn't love the Koi...they are great for non-fish people too! 😊

Appreciate that.

Thanks Wagner! Definitely a rough patch in the hobby for sure. I found the other day that the Bamboo Sharks have laid 4 eggs, so I am working now to create an environment to see if I can hatch them out.

I really hope that you find a way to hatch them, yr tanks are so big that you well probably be able to breed anything that you want, keep going, yr Lois are also very beautiful, great improvement on the filtration.😮

My guess is (only a guess so far) is that the fish may have been caught over seas using chemicals or exposed to some sort of chemical in a farm raised situation. I am holding onto the bad food and I am looking around to see where I can have it tested to try and figure out definitively what happened.

Thanks 😊

Thanks!

Thank you! 😊

I am very sorry to hear that, my heart goes out to you.

You are correct! They have been replaced with a large dc pump that has that chamber rocking and rolling now. 😊

Thanks. I am pursuing having the food tested, in fact I may have an avenue through a local University to have it tested for free or a much smaller sum than a commercial contaminants test.

Yeah the Grouper really did know something was wrong almost immediately.

Hehe yeah I love keeping Koi as well. 😊 (but just one Koi pond)

Thanks.

I am still doing research, but I am thinking along the same lines that it must be some chemical compound. I still have the tainted food in the freezer, I want to see about having it tested in a lab and try to understand what exactly happened.

Thanks! That was a rough spot for sure.

Thank you! 🙏

Thanks. Not so far, keeping larger, nature style aquariums with large wetland or sump filters helps ease the day to day maintenance a lot.

Thank you.

They were already big, but they seem to be growing again now that they are in the 4500 😊

I have a couple of Cactus Pleco in the 4500, but you rarely see them. Also have Green Phantoms in a few of my tanks...they are one of my favorites.

Thank you

Thanks 😊

Appreciate that, gotten past it but that was my worst week in the hobby :-(

Companies are pumping the fish with carbon monoxide to keep the tilapia looking fresher longer even tho it discolors the meat from white to pink lol its disgusting! I have to by the long packs of tilapia from Sam's that is absent of additives. Prpacked individual filets are the usual suspects. I've seen "fresh" sold like that as well.

It is so scary when you think of all the possibilities. Thank you though.

Thanks Rogue. I am working on getting the Silver Sides tested, my previous co-workers son is a professor at a local University and he might be able to get my sample tested there for no cost or lower cost than a commercial lab...fingers crossed.

@@AquariumDomain. great idea. Let’s hope that the silversides weren’t tainted in any way but if they are it will give you some recourse to ask the store to reimburse you for the animals you lost due to their negligence

Thank you. I guess the fish hobby is like most things that are good in life...they come with their downsides, but overall brings way more joy than down times. 😊

I appreciate that 😊

This was the worst incident I have had in 40 years of fish keeping. It really did take the wind out of my sails for a good week and half....very frustrating and sad.

Thanks 😊 Yeah, most likely what you described or some chemical contamination at a level that maybe doesn't hurt humans, but is deadly to smaller animals.

@@AquariumDomain. Possibly mate they might have used a chemical on it to get rid of the smell if it had gone off.. .. I would go in there and try and find out what they are doing....bet you feel like kicking their ass.

Thank you!

Thank you. It just sucks when you are trying to give your animals the best care possible and something like this happens...just very frustrating situation. Comments like yours help though...ty.

They are out there...lot's of Koi fanatics with deep pockets 😊

@@AquariumDomain. For shits n giggles I asked Tanked how much they'd charge me to do a koi tank like that. 14 feet high, 25 feet long, 8 feet deep from front to back. $40,000 just for the tank alone.

@@KyleenDrake To be honest with that tall of a height I would have thought it would have been even more expensive.😊

@@AquariumDomain. I priced that some years ago. I'm sure by now it's 2ce that considering inflation.

I really appreciate that. It truly was the worst thing I have had happen to me in 40 years of fish keeping. I raised those 3 from babies and was really looking forward to seeing them move into PB 3000.

Thank you.

I suspect that whether it is bacteria levels or some sort of contaminant that it is well within a level that a human could withstand...like how the larger Bamboo Sharks were able to. I hopefully have an opportunity to have it tested at a local university where my coworker's son is a professor...I am waiting to hear back on that. I would like to know definitely what happened if possible.

Thanks. This was by far the worst thing that happened in over 40 years of fish keeping, which is very frustrating, but I should be thankful that the vast majority 99.9% of my fish keeping journey has been very successful and rewarding. I can tell you the next video is nothing but positives...including nature creating new life where life was lost.

Thanks, I appreciate that! 😊

Thanks. I am thinking the same.

Thank you. I saved the packaging and the fish. I am working on getting them tested through a connection at a local university. I don't think it will help prevent anything as there was nothing that I could see or smell that was wrong, but hopefully it will bring some closure just to know what happened.

Yes I do. Pretty sure all of my Peacock Bass are from them. 😊

No, but you never know. 😊

Thank you

No, I had to move the eel to the 700 gallon refugium/sump of the other salt system months back as the Bamboo Sharks were hell bent on trying to eat him. In fact I will talk about in the next video ideas/plans I have for the salt systems based on how aggressive the Bamboo's have become at adult size.

@@AquariumDomain. That's great news. Aquariums have an unfair predator prey dynamic. Glad you were able to move him

@@jfazande Totally agree on the aquarium predator / prey dynamic not being remotely fair for the prey. Luckily for me the pvc pipe I put in the tank to save the eels life also made it super easy to move him, as I all I had to do was put the net on one end and pickup the pipe. 😊

Thanks Jeff! Losing those guys after raising them up over the last 3-4 years hit hard...I had that numb feeling for like two weeks every time I came downstairs into the fish basement.

Agreed.

That is probably the most likely scenario.

Let me know once you create the channel and provide the link.

Thanks 😊

I am working on getting them tested through a connection at a local university, so I will have to see what they find and go from there. Often times what chemical levels of certain things are tolerable by humans but not much smaller things like fish, small mammals, etc.

Thanks Phil. This event has made feel paranoid about selecting the food for them at the market. Also just very frustrating that something you can't detect can just wipe out fish like that...truly scary.

Thanks George.

Yeah I agree, most likely some sort of bad bacteria (froze/thawed/froze again) or possibly some kind of contaminant. Moving forward I am going to stick with seafood with no intestines/guts/etc. and with branded packaging.

Thanks Todd. Been a couple of weeks ago now, but that was my hardest week of fish keeping in 40 years in the hobby.

I do always buy raw, no preservative frozen seafood, but I agree with you that there very well could be either a contaminant or a preservative added that is not reflected on the label as they would most likely only look at it from a human consumption stand point.

I am working on doing just that, I have a connection to a local university that I am hoping can do the testing for less cost than a commercial lab.

Very good 👍 i am very curious to find out the results. I would suggest finding a single supplier you trust and buying direct and bulk. Lower risk and develop a relationship. Or you could go full on intense and raise your food or buy it in live. That would be pretty cool to see I think. a really small scale fish farm tank :) though I guess you need to vary the diet some but could be worth exploring. Fish prob would love some live food.

Thanks

It really is harder with the larger fish that would eat from my hand, worst day I ever had as a fish keeper. :-(

Couple of factors, could have been bacteria which could have been killed with cooking...obviously fed to fish raw. Also could have been chemical levels which would have a greater effect on a small animal for a much larger human.

Not following your question, spend a lot compared to what?

@@AquariumDomain. I meant that all those buildings and all those already functioning aquariums must cost you a fortune every month...

@@SamuraiRokerolle Ah gotcha. The dream is that one day the YT channel will offset the cost of the electric one day...at least that is the dream 😊

Not 100%, but probably 98% nothing else makes any sense....no parameter changes, no fish additions or changes in the tank of any kind. Then both Groupers spitting out and not eating their favorite food and losing 3 fish and the 2 big Sharks being messed up for a week and a half...just can't imagine what else it could have been. I am working on getting the fish tested for contaminants and bacteria...so hopefully that will shed some light on things.

Possibly, I believe it to either a bacterial or chemical contaminant. Working to have it tested now, so hopefully I will have a better idea of what happened soon.

Thanks! It really does shake you when something you can't see, smell, detect, etc. can just wipe out 5 years of fish husbandry and the lives of 3 fish, truly was the most frustrated/mad I have ever been in 40 years of fishkeeping 🙁

That does make me wonder how do people who eat little fish like silver sides prepare them? Wonder if they are cooked or not.

Thank you, and sorry for the late reply, KZfaq put your comment in "held for review" for some reason.

@@AquariumDomain. gotta love it when things get monitored.