Ferts Killing Tetras?

[TorqueWorks]

Trying to figure out this one. After I put flourish, excel, and iron in my tank in the morning, I come home to a dead glow light tetra. Am I doing something wrong? I always put in the tank on the opposite side of the tank the fish are occupying. :c11:

[Fishguy2727]

Isn't Excel the one for nitrogen (nitrate)?

I think it may be more of a coincidence than it seems. Unless it keeps happening I wouldn't worry about it.

[Pamela_S.]

Excel is the one for Carbon.

I'm sorry about the loss of your fish, and i am sorry I don't have a suggestion as to why it happened.... How much of the ferts did you put in though?

[Lady Hobbs]

So glad to see your post because this confirms the same thing that has happened to me. I posted here not all that long ago that each time I dosed with Flourish (not Excel) I lost two fish. First it was a rasbora and a black skirt, then 2 black skirts, then 2 rasbora and finally 2 more black skirt. More than just a coincidence for me since I'd had all these fish for 2 years with never a loss of any of them.

I now dose with Flourish half doses twice a week rather than 1 dose once a week. I used one capful for my 55 gallon. No losses since.

I am also going back to Leaf Zone where I never had a loss of life.

[Pamela_S.]

Hmmmm..... I use the Flourish and the Excel and recently began the Iron and haven't had any fish loss.... I only dose about once or twice a week, and usually after water changes.

Maybe there is something else going on... could the ferts possibly be reacting to something that may be in the water causing the fish to die (since this has happened to more than one person)?

Now I am curious!

[The Wedge]

After that fish problem I had a little while back with my Cacatuoides...I was using excel and leaf zone at the time. Really similar. The only reason i use excel it seems to keep the hair algae at a minimum (It seems to work very well at that). I only add 2/3 the recommended dose of my API Leaf Zone...once a week right after the water change. I always do a 25 % water change. My plants are doing well. I just add my Leaf Zone a little of the dose at a time...so it isn't a big jolt to the biosphere.

[TorqueWorks]

Hmmmm..... I use the Flourish and the Excel and recently began the Iron and haven't had any fish loss.... I only dose about once or twice a week, and usually after water changes.

Maybe there is something else going on... could the ferts possibly be reacting to something that may be in the water causing the fish to die (since this has happened to more than one person)?

Now I am curious!

Good question. I am e-mailing Seachem about this.

[Lady Hobbs]

Oh don't worry. They'll say it can't be their product.

What gets me is these black skirts are hardy little devils. I have moved these guys from tank to tank so many times without ever even a stressed fish. Ticks me off to have stupid plants I lost some of them.

[Evil Slimy]

In my experience dosed in the recommended amounts they are both safe. Maybe they were overdosed by not taking into account a 20g tank doesn't contain 20g of water? Doesn't seem to be the case but it's all I can think of.
I seriously doubt it's a straight forward problem because there are thousands of people that have been using them for years and years in their planted tanks. If either really were the culprit it might be a weird interaction with pH or who knows what else....

[NickFish]

You should put the flourish right into your filter. Do not let it sit in the water, as soon as you put it in it should be mixed right up.

I do full doses of the entire Flourish line of products, flourish, excel, iron, tabs, and I have had no problems. In fact, I just last month starting doing full doses. I used to do 1/4, then 1/2, and now I'm doing full. Maybe you should build up to it.

[Sasquatch]

Try not dosing with the iron for a while. Flourish already has iron in it, and a decent amount at that. You may be overdosing with the iron, which can be toxic at high levels.

Other than that, I dose with Flourish and Excel and have never had a problem with fish mortalities.

[Fishguy2727]

The actual volume versus the empty volume would not concentrate them to lethal levels.

It does seem really odd and I would love to know exactly what was going on.

[DragonGoby]

Perhaps if you put your iron/flourish directly in your tank, and that your fish go swiming right into the "cloud", then it's toxic for the fish?
We use flourish, excel and NPK, but we put them into the water for the WC. So it's already well mix when it arrives in the tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

I pour the fert directly into the flow of the canister filter. Could be something screwy takes place with my hard, high pH and high phosphate water, my dechlorinator and this fert. I'm not saying it's the fert. Just something, for me, at full doses something happens.

[demosthenes]

i use excel and API leafzone and pour them both straight in with no problems. my tetras even seem to like swimming through the cloud of leafzone (maybe cause it's brown like blackwater?). also my gourami always tracks my hands and ends up getting excel dumped right on him and he doesn't mind at all he actually seems curious. i'd be seriously surprised if your losses were because of the ferts. i am sorry to hear about it though and good luck.

[Ryuu]

Sorry to hear of your loss...