need some fish help (freshwater)

[evan9381]

so a few weeks ago, we got rid of this dumb beta fish of my g/fs and decided to get some freshwater fish. we got them home, into the tank, and within 2 weeks, all but like 2 had died...(had probably 9-10)...so we think maybe its something in the tank, i happened to have 2 extra tanks, we set another one up, dechlorinated the water (according to my g/f, this is all we had to do...im not the fish person here), and put the new fish in. within a couple days, 2 tiger barbs died, as well as 2 red eyed tetras...thinking i need to get something else for the tank, go to jacks aquarium, talk to a guy i always see in there, and he tells me that if we changed the water, theres no bacteria, gives me a bottle of this stuff, said for my 10g tank, add 4 capfuls...i told him how they were at the top of the water not moving, and he said its caus theyre stressed out. ok, now i know whats going on. he was cool enough to replace the fish that died

 

he told me the bacteria stuff would be pretty instant...get home, a fish has died in the 45 min we were gone...fuck. theres another one that is trying to swim on his back, so i know hes about to die...i added the bacteria, and within 20 min, the fish dies. i took him out, let the tank get everything mixed together, and add the fish that we just brought home...this is on sunday.

 

within a couple days, one of the brand new tiger barbs is just floating next to the water heater with his head down, but as soon as i walk up, he swims away quickly like he was just takin a nap or something. wed night/thursday morn, he croaked. the other one who seemed to be just fine died today out of no where. then, out of no where today, one of the red eyed tetras died.

 

im trying to figure out WTF is going on with these damn fish. theyre nice to have in the house and have something to look at, but at the rate theyre dying, its becoming too much of a PITA to keep up with them

 

i hate to keep going up and replacing these fish (7 day return period if they die and the water checks out ok), and i would much rather just keep these fish alive for more than a week at a time

[kirks5oh]

a lot goes into getting fish to survive. if they survive the first few days, you're golden.

 

get a kit (pretty cheap) from the fish store to measure various chemicals in your tank--nitrate levels being off is frequently the culprit. don't go to shitty generic pet stores either. go to aquarium adventure in the plaza at 161 and sawmill road. bring them a sample of your water and they will run an analysis and tell you what's wrong.

 

also, do you have proper filtration?? do you have charcoal in your filter?? is your water temperature where it should be (75-80ish degrees for most fish)

 

when starting from scratch with a new tank, its a good idea to let the water filter in the tank for a good week or so to build up some healthy bacteria in the tank.

[AJ]

like kirk said you need to check water conditions but you also have to use Reverse Osmosis water City water has Chlorine in it and will kill fish with the quickness and well water has too many nutrients and high levels of iron for fish. aquarium adventure is good but there is a Jack's aquarium between wal-mart and best buy at easton. you also has to cycle a tank when its first set up. for all the work you have to do with fresh water the only thing you have to do is add salt and have way cooler fish to chose from.

[evan9381]

so you're saying that the water dechlorinator and bacteria i got at the store is not going to be enough to dechlorinate this water and get a bacteria build up going??

[AJ]

from what people have told me that stuff is no good and will kill fish in some cases.

here is a freshwater message board you can search http://www.fishforum.com/?gclid=CPOp3se01IsCFSMKGgodj1cbbQ better to read before you kill more fish.

[mrs.cos]

I have always gone thru 30 day cycle of water with craptacular 2-5 feeder fish.($.15-$.29) to let the water adjust, before putting in "good" fish, but that is just me.

[evan9381]

my girlfriend decided that if these fish die, shes not gonna buy anymore...cant really blame her...probably spent 70$ on fish in the last few weeks

 

just had the other red eyed tetra die today, down to like 4 or so fish

[AJ]

only $70 so far? damn salt water are way more expensive i bought a Flame Angle last week for $60 and thats just one fish in the two tanks i have.....DOH

[evan9381]

if it was up to me, and i had money like that to spend, i would have a huge 100 gallon tank and some sweet salt water fish

 

unfortunately, fish arent my thing, and i dont have cash like that

[Miller]

I'm sorry i cant just hand you teh puss e

[Rustlestiltskin]

shoulda started out w/ feeder fish when puttin a new tank together.. they live, then u buy nice ones

[XChris1632X]

I had 6 red belly piranahs and from what I understand they are one of the weekest fish when it comes to their immune system and I know they get stressed out very easily. Cleaning the tank seems to put them in a coma. I let my tank sit for two weeks with feeder fish. It has something to do with the fishes waste that puts off a bacteria that can kill the fish. If you let the feeder fish sit the waste will eventually put of its own waste and build up another bacteria that fights of the fishes shit's own bacteria. It takes time to happen. Give it some time and then start out and buy some cheap tetra. They look alright and they can teach you more about owning fish. I never even tested my tank other than temp, and every once in awhile the ph level.

[87GT]

Whenever I started up another rig I would clean the hell out of everything in the tank, the gravel, water bubblers etc. Make it spotless and remove all algae. This will take some time, like most of the day.

 

Then I would fill it up with tap water and there is chemicals you can get at the store to clean out the chlorine and whatnot. I would let this sit running for a few days with all the water filters running. In these few days it should change the water so it is suitable for fish. Also in these few days you can figure out how to adjust the temp of the water so it stays at a certain temp.

 

After that like everyone else has done buy some cheap fish and throw them in there. If they are still alive after a few days then go buy the ones you want.

[Guest vee21]

Ok whatever you do do not add any more fish. What is mostly likely happening is that since the bacteria has not had time to multiple you are building up toxic levels of ammonia or nitrite. Either one of these will kill your fish quickly. It will take anywhere from 30-45 days to build the bacteria that you need to convert the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate (which does not kill fish). There are many ways to cycle a tank. For my first tank I bought two neon tetra's, let the tank cycle for 45 days and then slowly added new fish. If you would like to understand this process just take a look here http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-cycling.html.

 

I have had a fresh water take for about 8 years and my salt water take for 4. Once you get them setup they are really not that hard to take care of and you rarely lose fish (usually because of old age).

 

Hope that helps.

 

Shad

[Lustalbert]

Easy solution:

http://www.mccormick.com/assets/OBTartarSauce.jpg

[ImUrOBGYN]

After scanning through this (all good info to consider, btw), the one thing I haven't seen mentioned/questioned is how are you introducing your new fish to the tank and when you're doing water changes, what is the temperature of the water compared to the current temp in the tank?

 

Two common ways people shock fish are differences in water chemistry and temperature. Temperature is VERY important and one of the most overlooked things during water changes and when adding new fish. And remember, just because your fish may've survived one of those new additions or water changes doesn't mean you haven't already killed it. Even if you see a fish recover from shock, quite often you've weakened the immune system.

 

Introducing fish to an aquarium:

First off, strike Walmart, etc off your fish store list. Use a reputable place with knowledgable people.

 

-Use a quarintine tank if possible. This allows the fish to be observed for signs of illness before introducing them to a healthy, established tank.

 

-When you get home with the fish, put the plastic bag holding the fish in your aquarium and let it float unopened for at least 15 minutes. Be sure to have the clerk to fill your bags with oxygen and not their mouths; never their mouths. If they don't have oxygen , some people are skilled enough to close the bag full of air (and I mean full). Takes a bit of practice.

 

-After the bag has been floating in the tank, and the water temperature has stabilized, acclimating the new fish to the tank's temperature, you are ready for the next step. Do not mix the water from the store with your tank. Carefully open the bag and scoop water from the tank into the bag. I try to add enough water to equal about a 1/3 of what's in the bag already. (You will need to use a cup or something). Let the bag float in the tank for another 15 minutes. You will probably need to close the hood on an edge of the bag to keep it from spilling its contents into the tank. Keep repeating this until you've doubled the water volume in the bag.

 

After the last water addition and another 15minutes, you are ready to release them. Again, remember to prevent the stores water from getting into your tank. Carefully net the fish out of the bag one at a time and place them gently into the water of your aquarium.

 

Some other things to keep in mind:

-When incompatible fish or fish improperly introduced, are added to an aquarium, the weakest fish will be stressed, which could result in disease that affects all of the inhabitants of the tank.

 

-Always feed your aquarium before any new fish are introduced. This will help to reduce aggression toward new tankmates.

 

-Rearrange decorations in the aquarium before the introduction to distract existing fish and remove established territories. This will help the new fish by putting it on equal ground as new territories are developed by all tankmates. This depends more on the species of fish you have but never hurts anyway.

 

-Never clean any aquarium supplies with chemicals. Use warm water or if you absolutely have to, a very light, soapy water and be sure to rinse well!

 

-When doing a water change on my tanks, I'll actually run the faucet at the exact temperature I want using a large cup and fast acting thermometer. I know about where to start, so I don't waste much water anymore. I then fill up my containers, add any chemicals and it's good to go.

 

Hopefully, this combined with the other information will be helpful.

[ImUrOBGYN]

Oh, the general rule is 1in of fish to 1gal of water but Ive found you can go a little more than this depending on fish specie, tank size, care, and filtration. When you're ready for some fish, don't bother with goldfish, not even for establishing a tank. Use something hardy like livebearers, ie; guppies, platies, swords. Stay away from mollies. Some tetras and barbs are pretty hardy, but I'll have to disagree with vee21 on the use of neons and especially cardinals. They may work, just not the hardiest fish. I have had some neon tetras survive hell before, though.

 

Now when you're ready to keep some fish alive, let me know. I've been raising a strain of guppy and to be honest, I am just out of room and overstocked.

[ImUrOBGYN]

Also, fish aren't for petting.

 

Had to triplepostbandwagon this bitch.

[87GT]

Yeah I forgot to mention the bag floating in the tank for 15 minutes. That is very important to do!

[AJ]

i float for an hour with the lights off, gives everyone more time to see the new fish and get used to the idea better. and if you do water changes then your suposed to let the water sit with a heater and power head for 24 hours before you add it to your display tank. i myself don't do water changes in my tanks but i have salt water and lots of live rock.

[Guest vee21]

I agree completely. The neon's were probably not the best fish to use. The ones you have suggested are definitely better. The other way I hear that people are establishing tanks is to not use fish at all. They use ammonia (you can buy it at any store) and then just keep testing the water until there is no ammonia or nitrite. I think the major point to make here is to not add any more fish until the ammonia and nitrite readings are zero (get a test kit they are easy to use). Otherwise there will just be more dead fish.

 

Shad

 

 

 

Oh, the general rule is 1in of fish to 1gal of water but Ive found you can go a little more than this depending on fish specie, tank size, care, and filtration. When you're ready for some fish, don't bother with goldfish, not even for establishing a tank. Use something hardy like livebearers, ie; guppies, platies, swords. Stay away from mollies. Some tetras and barbs are pretty hardy, but I'll have to disagree with vee21 on the use of neons and especially cardinals. They may work, just not the hardiest fish. I have had some neon tetras survive hell before, though.

 

Now when you're ready to keep some fish alive, let me know. I've been raising a strain of guppy and to be honest, I am just out of room and overstocked.