# Please read. Never use Algaefix



## thegameksk (Oct 27, 2009)

I had a bad casse of algae. My tank was literally green. My lfs said I should use APIs algaefix. They told me it wouldnt hurt the fish or plants. It said the same thing on the bottle. I used exactly the suggested amount on the bottle. I started to use it. It did nothing to my algae. I wokr up 2 days ago to find 2 catfish dead, 2 algae eaters dead, and one of my bettas dead. I did a full cleaning of my tank after this and stopped using it. The next day I awoke to find my 2 other catfish dead. After this I removed my last betta from the tank. This morning I awoke to find him dead. Never use this stuff it will kill your fish. My question is what do I do about my tank? Im scared to put anything else in the tank.


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## prettylittlefishy (Aug 12, 2010)

I'd take the rest of the fish out and just use elbow grease and scrub it hard.


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

thegameksk said:


> I had a bad casse of algae. My tank was literally green. My lfs said I should use APIs algaefix. They told me it wouldnt hurt the fish or plants. It said the same thing on the bottle. I used exactly the suggested amount on the bottle. I started to use it. It did nothing to my algae. I wokr up 2 days ago to find 2 catfish dead, 2 algae eaters dead, and one of my bettas dead. I did a full cleaning of my tank after this and stopped using it. The next day I awoke to find my 2 other catfish dead. After this I removed my last betta from the tank. This morning I awoke to find him dead. Never use this stuff it will kill your fish. My question is what do I do about my tank? Im scared to put anything else in the tank.


That's horrible!
I had the same experience with a medication. My LFS said it would not kill my bacteria and the back of the box also said it. 
So a few days later I tested the water out of curiosity and the ammonia was off the roof! Fortunately my fish hadn't been affected yet but I had to redo the entire fish tank. 

Check your water parameters and make sure everything is alright, you might have damaged your cycle. 
Still, I would start over with a new cycle and then add fish.

If your fish are all dead there's definitely something going on.


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## thegameksk (Oct 27, 2009)

There are no more fish in the tank. That stuff killed them all. The only thing in it now is live plants. I want to get more fish but im worried about outting anything else in it


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## Kokonoko (Jul 28, 2010)

Yea... I personally would start over completely. Empty the tank out, scrub everything down thuroughly, rinse everything off, and restart on the whole cycling shabamb again. =( I'm really sorry to hear this happened!

Prittylittlefish said, elbow grease time.

PS: Imo, I'd be giveing some "what-for" to the people who sold me it, asking them to please put some in thier fish tanks as an example!


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## thegameksk (Oct 27, 2009)

Do you think I should get rid of the plants? Could whatever killed the fish still be on the plants and possibly kill more fish??


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

I'd get rid of the plants too, just in case.

I just googled Algaefix and killing fish and found you're not the only one this happened to.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

Anything API (except for Stress Coat, Stress Zyme, Aquarium Salt, and BettaFix all of which I use) is bad for bettas.


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## thegameksk (Oct 27, 2009)

So how do I clean the tank? After the first few fish died I scrubbed it with hot water. What else can I use that wont harm any new fish I purchase? 

Also can a mod put this information about Algaefix into a sticky? I dont want this happening to anyone else.


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## vaygirl (Sep 10, 2009)

Good question. I'd think hot water would do the trick but obviously you've done that. Maybe hot water and then let it sit out in the sun for a day or two, then more hot water. I've heard of people using vinegar. You could try that. Just make sure you rinse really, really well. I know you're probably leery of using anything on it. :/


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## thegameksk (Oct 27, 2009)

I awoke today to find my last fish dead with the same spots on his body as the rest. So what now? Are my tanks unusable? I put in a complaint with the BBB. I asked for 100.00 to get new tanks since I think mine cant be used anymore


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## Drift (Jul 26, 2010)

I used API's Algaefix before in my community tank before and never had a problem.
I don't need to use anything of that sort anymore though.

I would try boiling your gravel and decor if you have an old large pot. Or just boil some water and poor it in a bucket with everything and let it sit for a while. Then rinse everything very well. I use an old window screen over top of the utility sink in our basement. That way you can spread it all out and rinse all of it easier. I then use paper towels with the boiling hot water on the tank and some elbow grease. I don't poor boiling water in the tank directly in fear of it shattering. 
Clean your filter out too!
Make sure you re-cycle your tank before adding a new fish.  

If you can get money from them for a whole new tank that would be a lot easier and then you could just toss that one out. 

I hope that boiling everything works.


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## thegameksk (Oct 27, 2009)

Ill try what you said. At this point I worry about putting anything into the tank, I washed it and scrubbed for hours 3 times. Each time when I woke the next morning my fish were dead. I just dont want to see any of them die anymore. When I woke up this morning I could tell my last one was going to die. He was having trouble breathing and couldnt swim very well. It was heartbreaking to see and ive seen that 3 times the last 5 days.


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## JKfish (Apr 8, 2010)

Oh, gosh that's horrible  I'm sorry that happened.

Bleach is the way to go if you want to totally clean your tank. Make a mild (1-3 parts bleach and the rest water) solution, and carefully scrub down or soak everything. After you do, rinse well (several times) in hot water.


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## Maryrox247 (Aug 10, 2009)

Im so sorry about what happened! By the way you mentioned that before he had spots?


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## SmokeNLark (Jul 22, 2010)

I use bleach too. I make a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Let it soak for 10-15 minutes, then rinse REALLY well. I usually rinse 10ish times, let it air dry, then do it again to be sure. Bleach will kill anything in it and break down anything bad. The bleach breaks down into harmless gases when evaporated. Hot water works too, but I feel better using bleach.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Be really careful boiling or baking rocks (not recommended)-some can explode and really not needed

Be careful mixing chemicals too-the chemical reaction can be dangerous as well

I would wash everything with vinegar/water, rinse well and let it set dry for a day or so and then rinse again with fresh water and re-fill and re-start


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## Phoxly (Jun 14, 2010)

Yeah what OLF said, I wouldn't go to extremes such as bleech or nuclear fusion, the product was made to be safe with animals so its very unlikely that it is OH SO toxic you have to do some crazy drastic cleaning comparable to cleaning a crimescene on CSI: Miami..


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## Phoxly (Jun 14, 2010)

You also could have had a parasite in the tank, and algaefix might have ignited their population, since you said they all had "spots" on them...


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## betta99 (Aug 16, 2010)

well that sucks. i'd just suggest that you clean out the tank thoroughly and maybe test a few hardy fish out first before stocking it with more fragile ones.


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## Chicklet (Feb 9, 2009)

I'm inclined to believe you had a pre-existing problem that just happen to annouce itself at the same time you added the "Algaefi" Have you looked at your water source, has something change in it,

On another note, I had a couple yrs back bought a bran new 10 gallon tank, Set it up with pre established Cycled filter, rocks decor etc, As I always do, Anyways this tank was different every fish I put in there died within 12 hours, I really got stumped over that one, Went thru the whole gambit of different things and still dead fish. So I tore the tank down and set it aside, Then a few days later I decided to set it back up and try again, well the fish still died even sooner, So I went to the store and bought several cheap goldfish, Brought them home and dropped them in the tank. Needless to say a couple of them died straight off, But a couple survived and seemed to be doing good, So I let it run that for a few days or so, then tried the other fish, they lived, so I returned the goldfish, Still use that tank today with no troubles, I really never did know why the tank acted the way it did, Never had another one like it...


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## thegameksk (Oct 27, 2009)

The tank was fine for months until I added the product into it. Then it was all downhill.

As for cleaning, whats better vinegar or bleach? Also can I use vinegar/bleach on decorations? Should I buy a new filters as well?

I dont think I will use the gravel again. Which is easier to clean? Gravel or sand? I plan on using live plants so which would work better.


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