Renovated Old tank

Jul 28, 2012
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#1
Hey so i just reset up my old tank, I was waiting for some gold fish to pass on and after they did I did a complete overhaul on the tank, cleaned it completely and changed all the water. Then I set it back up and waited for the biological cycle or whatever to kick in. After the water was cloudy and then became clear, I added 5 fancy tail male guppies. Everything went fine for a few days but then one's tail became shredded and it soon died. Then another day passed and anothers tail was shredded. And now, a seemingly normal guppy is starting to float belly up, but the other fish in my tank seem to be doing fine. I have one live plant in the tank, and the temperature is a steady 84-85F. I check ammonia and nitrates and stuff, and the only thing off was that my water was hard, but thats it. What can I do to prevent my fish from dying?
 

KcMopar

Superstar Fish
#2
The tank is now going through its cycle and the ammonia spike is most likely killing the fish. A tank can not cycle without some kind of waste or food being put into it whether by you or fish. This will explain the cycle to you: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...hless-cycling-everything-you-wanted-know.html . for now you should be doing 20-50% water changes to keep the bad nutrients down (ammonia and nitrite).
 

Jul 28, 2012
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#4
The tank is now going through its cycle and the ammonia spike is most likely killing the fish. A tank can not cycle without some kind of waste or food being put into it whether by you or fish. This will explain the cycle to you: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...hless-cycling-everything-you-wanted-know.html . for now you should be doing 20-50% water changes to keep the bad nutrients down (ammonia and nitrite).
Will the live plant I put in there help with this? Hopefully the plant won't die as well, it's a cryptocoryn. Roughly how long will it take for the ammonia to settle down?
Thanks
 

Jul 28, 2012
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#6
okay one last question, there seems to be a thin oily layer on the top of my water, and I read online that it's unused proteins or something? Is it fine as it is or do I need to take action? Thanks
 

KcMopar

Superstar Fish
#7
That will go away with surface agitation. If your water level is high and you use a hang on back filter this can happen. If this is the case you can remove a little water until you get some better ripple on the surface of the water. Or if you have a power head point it up more toward the surface to achieve the same thing. A lot of activity on the water surface will eliminate this and it make the water more oxygenated too!!