drunk fish?

well my older brother turned seventeen this week and threw a huge party much alcohol was involved including a keg...but anyways the next morning the fish were doing backflips and swimming sideways then the next day the water got really foggy and kept on getting more and more foggy... later to find out one of my brothers friends poured a handle of Bacardi rum in the 150g tank are my fish drunk and should i be worried?

Jon,

To be honest, this doesn't sound good. I don't know how much a handle is, but I'm glad that it's such a large tank...

What species are in the tank?

If it were my tank... I'd first kill the person that dumped the rum into the tank.

Then I'd take emergency measures... How often do you do maintenance on the tank? If you do weekly water changes of 20%... I would do a larger water change of perhaps 40
%. And like 20% a day for a week or so after that.

If you don't do weekly water changes, and only do monthly, I'd do 20% a day for a week or so.

Make sure the water is close in temperature and you treat it with a water conditioner like Chlor Out or Amquel Plus...

Keep us posted.

well today was the first day it cleared up and the fish are back to normal..

in the tank i have...
2 angelfish
1 redtail shark
2 silver dollar fish
1 betta
1 big obnoxious catfish no clue the species


I'm 14 and the tank is in the basement so it's really hard to do water changes like that but I do make sure the filter pads are alwayss clean and that the fish are fed. honestly no one in my family takes care of them I have to beg my step dad to get a ride to a LFS. last time i really cleaned the tank was like 6 months ago but since then the pH and the nitrates are all the same.. It seems like a very low maintenence tank. I honestly don't know how im pulling this off

also my dad found a 55g on the side of the road last week and hes cycling it and cleaned it all up nice soon i'm going to live with him I can't stand it here I mean people pouring rum in my fishtank?? It's pretty ridiculous.

I'm glad that it's clearing up.

14 is young to take the responsibility of a big tank like that. I had a couple of 10s at your age, and that was plenty with school and sports...

I commend you for your effort!

There is equipment on the market that would help you with water changes.

What I use is a Python syphoning system. If memory serves me right, it's around $50.00? Perhaps your can get your brother and his friends to kick in on it.

If your basement is a walk out, you can just start the syphon by sucking on the end of the hose (beware of bottom water cooties) and run it out the door.

If your basement is completely underground, the python may pull a suction upstairs depending on your water pressure.

There are attachment lengths available for it as well, to get you further distances from the sink.

I'd say your saving grace on your tank is the fact that it is so big. The rum probably dissapated, and perhaps, with any luck, evaporated.

thanks good idea if I'm gonna save my money for one of those. do you think I could suck the water out into the washer machine?? we just bought new ones and there pretty big. since the fish tank is in the wall of the furnis and the washer and dryer its all a back room in the basement but i really appreciate it the help.

If I were your mother, I wouldn't be crazy about you draining it in the tub of the washer...

However, there is a drain behind the washer. A drain pipe, you should be able to just use that. It should be large enough to handle the flow.

You might be able to get a python cheaper online than in a local fish store.

Also... garage sale and like a Local Sales Network (online) or Craigslist... You could put a free ad on some place like that.

Unfortunately, a lot of people just jump feet first into the aquarium hobby and spend a ton of money. Then they have overstocked tanks, and they overfeed, and everything goes wrong and they hide the huge expensive mess in the back of a garage, or down in a basement... So you may be able to get one nearly free...

Good Luck to you!

Fish have a very low tolerance to alcohol, which is, after all, a toxin at the root of a word called intoxicated. Not that I'm saying anything bad about such things so long as we inflict them on ourselves and not a helpless lifeform. The fish room should not be the out-of-control party room, and aquariums need regular, partial water changes to keep the water safe. A responsible person is admirable in any situation. Thank you.

29g long my bad