Help with CSI of tank demise

[Anonymous]

My friend (not kidding actually it isn't me thank god) had a tank crash while out of town. He has been having problems with his breaker blowing. Today the tank is dead after a maximum of 26 hours with no power. It was 1130 yesterday when the tank was last seen ok, at 1330 today all inhabitants of the aggressive tank were dead and power was off to the tank. Here is my theory on the demise of the tank. Power goes off, tank has a huge bioload of fish ( 1- 10 inch stars and stripes puffer, 1 9inch porcupine puffer, 1 green moray eel ~24 inches, 1 7 inch panther grouper, 1 20 inch shark, all in a 180 gallon tank. After power goes out, oxygen starts to drop rapidly because of no water flow and too large of bio load, puffer dies first releases toxin and kills all the rest. Any one see any other reaasons all would be dead? I suppose all could have died from oxygen depletion, but not a single one had bite marks or had been eaten which leads me to believe it was a fast demise, therefore toxin. Only one survivor of the disaster a 3 inch snail. When the tank was powered back up there was no electricity in the tank, so electricution was probably not the culprit. Any other ideas?

 

[Anonymous]

/\/\/\/\/\/\//\ BUMP

 

[Anonymous]

Even if no toxin was released they could have all died from low oxygen - once oxygen is low enough to kill one fish the rest are going to already be impaired enough that they won't start chowing down on the dead.

Was the one snail survivor found at or just above the waterline?

jayo

 

[Anonymous]

Just below the water line on the side of his overflows.

 

[Anonymous]

Bummer! But I think you've hit it on the head as far as causality Ranger. I won't bother to comment on the bioload in that tank 8O

 

[Anonymous]

My thoughts exactly. All that was missing was a whale shark or 2 and a hump back whale.

 

[Anonymous]

I think that a lack of O2 leads to more tank crashes than people give it credit for. Just as a point of interest Ranger, did he have a DSB in that tank?

 

[Anonymous]

If I recall he had about 2 inches to 3 possibly.

 

[Anonymous]

Just wondering if there was a DSB if the lack of O2/circulation caused it to "burp", but I guess not.

 

[Anonymous]

I am 99% certain it was the lack of O2 that is the culprit. If not I think there would have been some eating off of the corpses. Even if the puffers went first and released toxin, I still think the rest would or were dead from O2 deficiency.