RIP

[Erik]

Lost two fish today, kind of forgot what it feels like as it has been a long time..
While doing a reno on my rivertank I noticed one of the new adopted yoyo's was missing. I found him inside the last stupid hollow resin log I own. He had trapped himself and was already decomposed so badly that I just about lost it on the carpet. I then found my golden dojo dead on the bottom as well. I think the dead decomposing yoyo did him in. What a bummer.
Did a 90% water change immediately..
Happily my 3 mahnerti's (bulletproof fish) , Marks cherry,the other yoyo and my last hillstream are fine.
Need to get some cheni's or something...
Erik:(

[Mark in Vancouver]

Sorry, and supportive email hugs from here. Bad news to lose a fish, I always feel, and I get emotional over a dead tetra.

I don't know if there is a lesson to learn, and I don't mean to lecture at all. But I have my tanks set up so I can take out most of the decor during cleaning - with the exception of the brook tank, full of rocks. In my big Botia tank most of the plants are growing on wood which I can remove.

I take out half the wood and clean that side of the tank, replace it, and do the other half. The loaches have a place to hide during cleaning, and I generally get all of the goo out.

I know your tank is set up differently. Very bad news, either way. Sorry, mate.

[Graeme Robson]

My condolences Erik.

[mamaschild]

Oh, Erik....I'm so sorry for your loss.

[mikev]

Joining the condolences chorus...hate when this happens.

I don't know, but maybe really good hiding places can be avoided? Clowns here, at least, seem to do fine with semi-open hiding places; maybe the same applies to large yoyos? (Mine are small and don't hide at all...).

[Martin Thoene]

Tough luck Erik. Yes, decomposing Botia for some reason have a rather special quality about them ...disgusting!

This is yet another piece of evidence as to why ornaments or bogwood with dead-ends can be dangerous to loaches, particularly Botia types. It's possible the fish was sick and died there, but too many others have got into tight spot trouble for that to be likely. I guess it's possible that the corpse polluted the water and caused the other fish's death, yeah.

Martin.

[Erik]

That was as in I threw it out, the only deco left that was fake and had a dead end.... The open end was buried but I they dug an opening in the sand that I had not seen until I moved some rocks around.
I swear the rec room still smells like dead loach.

Erik