Fish and Eyes devastated by rust poisoning

[Schnauzer]

Everything died in my 30 gallon fresh water tank, including my beloved Rope Fish. I feel horrible for this because it could have been prevented. What's worse, I think it might be the cause of Eyes, my Leopard Gecko going blind this past year. How could I have been so stupid? Usually my pets live for years... some even live past their life spans.

I take very good care of my pets, but the rusty tank stand supporting my 30 gallon (previously my mum's tank and stand that she's had for almost 30 years) started to rust last year. I didn't think much of it other than it was messy with the flaking and staining the carpet orange. I had no idea that the rust was somehow coming in contact with the water in the tank, killing all of the fish. I'm good at identifying fish diseases, but I'd never seen anything like this. It didn't look like anything too terrible, but the Iridescent Catfish and Gouramis were peeling their slime coat in a strange way. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't figure out what. They all died one by one. It left my Reed Fish and Rope Fish alone for a while, but they have very tough primitive skins. When my Reed Fish died a long horrible death, my Rope Fish became depressed... They're social and need tank mates. They especially love the company of other Polypterus (Reed and Rope are both Polypterus species). My wonderful Rope Fish eventually died a slow poisoned death as well, but thankfully not as terrible as the Reed Fish's passage, thanks to her extra resistant skin.

When I cleaned the empty tank, I saw Rust build-up on the top edges and in the filter. The tank had to have sprung a leak somewhere that was coming in contact with the iron stand. This just made me sick! Then later, when I thought I needed to change Eye's lightbulb (Titan just knocked it out of the socket), I noticed rust build-up on her light hood that didn't end... The only thing below it for the rust flow to continue would be into her tank, even though I didn't see any in her sand because she stirs it up. This is just terrible! Her tank was directly under the 30 gallon. Nickel poisoning can cause blindness, so I don't see why rust poisoning can't. I guess she's been getting a slow dose of it over this year. Poor thing! I've been teaching her to eat from my hand for a while, but she has trouble because geckos rely on seeing motion to catch prey.

I moved her to a different tank, stand, and put her in my room. I cleaned EVERYTHING. I hope the damage done to Eyes is not permanent, because she's only 11 years old and should live to be 20. With the way she's going now... I don't know. She has about 10-20% vision in her left eye and that's it. I can't find any info on detoxing a reptile, but pumping her full of vitamins can't hurt. In the meantime, I'll have to re-seal that 30 gallon tank and do something about the stand. This is just terrible. I wish I knew what the problem was before it was too late, but luckily it doesn't seem like it's too late for Eyes. She seems like her normal lazy self right now.

[Schnauzer]

Thanks B. I can't help but feel like I brought home those fish to re-populate the tank only for them to die. I really loved the Rope Fish... That's a rare find. I've looked for another one and can't even get one special ordered from that BIG pet store that has exotics, unlike PetSmart and Petco. I'm just happy I moved Eyes, because if I didn't figure that out when I did, she would probably be gone within the year. She's actually eating better than she was, and yesterday she opened her eyes a bit. They're still very clouded though. From now on, I'm only going to use wooden stands for my aquariums, just for safety, because I guess you never know when the iron ones could start rusting under the tank.

[PetBrags Pet Lovers Paradise]

This is good information for other fish owners. I'm so sorry for your loss. But, you're a great pet parent. You must not feel guilty for something you didn't realize. It could not have been helped.
Best to you,
Bragger