Dead Fish,, bad advise?

[kaystank]

i purchased 2 platys and to mollys last night brought them home to a new tank,, which i didnt pretreat... 3hours later the first fish died,, temp on tank was 74 woke up this morning and they were all dead... where should i go from here??
also the pet store told me not to touch the tank for six weeks no matter how bad it looks... everything i have read so far on here says otherwise,, any advise?

i also have a little bit of excess fish food on my gravel do i need to get that out or will it "go away"

 

[nanu156]

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...hless-cycling-everything-you-wanted-know.html

do this follow it to a t when you are done then buy new fish

the fish food is fine for the fishless cycle so don't stress over it

and yes your advice was terrible

bring the dead fish back to the store in a baggie and demand a refund

 

[kaystank]

thanks!

thank you i am gonna try this fishless cycling thing,, isnt going to be much fun for my 3 year old who wants her fishies NOW lol but maybe i can get her a goldfish in a bowl to keep her entertained!
thanks again

 

[nanu156]

gold fish in a bowl is always bad news they get too big foul up the water and its just generally a bad idea

i have a little one too so i can empathize

maybe a betta in a small tank if you really just have to do something now but honestly i would teach her a lesson in patience if i were you and wait it out

 

[Monoxide]

I personally would do the fishless cycle. Id get rid of the fish and restart. And read info on fish keeping/fishless cycle. And read about taking test strips and reading your tank for a healthy tank/fish. This is an issue with fish keeping people want to buy fish and put them in tanks, then they die and give up. As a fishkeeper person I wish people could get into fish keeping and the more you read and different kinds of fish and info I know. I wish we could bring young people into fish keeping young.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

You need to add a dechlorinator to the water....Either Prime or Stress Coat is what most of use.

 

[aakaakaak]

You need to add a dechlorinator to the water....Either Prime or Stress Coat is what most of use.

+.5

Prime or Aquasafe.

I think Prime is the preferred if you can manage it. I'm switching to it myself.

Yeah, I think you killed your fish with chlorine. It doesn't harm us, but then again we're not swimming in it 24/7. Both Prime and Aquasafe will dechlorinate your water.

You still need to cycle your tank as well. Prime and Aquasafe only remove chlorine and chloramines. (Then prime neutralizes ammonia while aquasafe clears the heavy metals. one or the other.) You can use the pure ammonia "fishless cycle" method, but I still haven't been able to hunt down the right kind of ammonia. I use Tetra Safe Start. Others use Seachem Stability. Others swear by Dr. Tim's One and Only. All of them work in their own respect. Do your own research on your preferred cycling method. You'll learn soooooooo much more looking it up.

Oh, and get a substrate vaccuume to clean up gunk off the bottom of your tank...like old food.

Sheesh, almost forgot, one more thing: look into "acclimation" and what it means to fish.

WELCOME TO MFT!

Edit: Final warning I promise (fingers crossed): Never ever ever EVAR trust a local fish store attendant. They're there to sell you crap, not keep your fish alive.

 

[OrangeCones]

Prime and Aquasafe only remove chlorine and chloramines. (Then prime neutralizes ammonia while aquasafe clears the heavy metals. one or the other.)

To clarify, Seachem's Prime will remove chlorine, chloramine, bind ammonia, and remove heavy metals.

 

[aakaakaak]

The heavy metals thing isn't advertised on the bottle or on the site last time I checked. That was the last thing holding me back from switching to Prime 100%.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

Never used or heard of Aquasafe...I will have look at It. I have always used Stress Coat and have never had an issue. I tried to switch to API's "Tap Water Conditioner" once but lost a discus the next day. Could have been user error or something else, but I was not taking the chance! Over all I am very happy with the API stuff.....

 

[OrangeCones]

The heavy metals thing isn't advertised on the bottle or on the site last time I checked. That was the last thing holding me back from switching to Prime 100%.

aakaakaak, it has been advertised for all the years I've been fishkeeping (30+ years). From Seachem's site:

Prime® is the complete and concentrated conditioner for both fresh and salt water. Prime® removes chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. Prime® converts ammonia into a safe, non-toxic form that is readily removed by the tank’s biofilter. Prime® may be used during tank cycling to alleviate ammonia/nitrite toxicity. Prime® detoxifies nitrite and nitrate, allowing the biofilter to more efficiently remove them. It will also detoxify any heavy metals found in the tap water at typical concentration levels. Prime® also promotes the production and regeneration of the natural slime coat. Prime® is non-acidic and will not impact pH. Prime® will not overactivate skimmers. Use at start-up and whenever adding or replacing water.


Link for manufacturer's site: Seachem. Prime