Hello. My husband and I set up a 30 GAL fish tank a few weeks ago. We used spring water and let the tank sit for 3 days while the heater warmed the water to 78. After 3 days we went to Walmart - which I know isnt a very good place to buy fish but the only place around here - and bought 4 glow fish, 2 angel fish, an alige eater and one black moors fish. All the fish have died in the past week except the 4 glow fish and the alige eater. The water is crystal clear and the temp is still at 78. Wonder what killed those fish? I dont want to buy anymore because I feel like a murderer! Any thoughts?? Thanks for your time. *SUNSMILE*
Dying fishys!
- Thread starter buddylove
- Start date
They probably died of ammonia. Do you have a test kit? If not, I highly suggest getting one. I use the API Master Test Kit for freshwater. If the ammonia tests higher than .25ppm, do a 50% water change.
The reason you have an ammonia build up is probably because your tank hasn't cycled. letting it sit for three days doesn't do the trick. Do a search on "fish-in cylce" on the forum and you should get what you need.
Also, read through the stickies in the beginner forum. That should put you on the right track. And next time you add fish, add them slowly, don't add them all at once. A couple every two weeks would be better.
Welcome to the tank!
The reason you have an ammonia build up is probably because your tank hasn't cycled. letting it sit for three days doesn't do the trick. Do a search on "fish-in cylce" on the forum and you should get what you need.
Also, read through the stickies in the beginner forum. That should put you on the right track. And next time you add fish, add them slowly, don't add them all at once. A couple every two weeks would be better.
Welcome to the tank!
i am sorry about your fish. i have been to so many fish stores in the last few weeks and the difference in the way the stores care for, display and carry is all over the place. one store even had poor fish with hearts tattooed on them! now i carefully check out the store before i buy. could be the poor fish were doomed before you brought them home. if you have no other stores in your area perhaps you could order online? i cant find the fish i want so i am thinking of doing that myself.
You did things somewhat similar to me. The GloFish and Pleco are pretty hardy fish, and will probably survive, but dont add any more! Your tank needs to cycle. Like Kissyboots said, go get a test kit to test for pH, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite.
To help with your cycle, you can buy some bacteria supplement to help with the growth of beneficial bacteria. I use Top Fin but Cycle also works well. I'm going on 8 weeks now for my tank to cycle. Dont add more fish, buy a test kit, and make sure you keep up with water changes and doing gravel vacs.
To help with your cycle, you can buy some bacteria supplement to help with the growth of beneficial bacteria. I use Top Fin but Cycle also works well. I'm going on 8 weeks now for my tank to cycle. Dont add more fish, buy a test kit, and make sure you keep up with water changes and doing gravel vacs.
Just to interject here that a lot of people feel that the "bacteria in a bottle" products, such as Top Fin, Cycle, etc. are essentially useless. Cycle certainly didn't help my cycle any. The debate continues about whether or not BioSpira, now sold as SafeStart works or not, but it seems like most agree that the others don't. For whatever that's worth. Good luck with your cycle.
I bought a5 level test kit today. It tested the Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness, Alkalinity and pH of my tank. The results were... 0 on the Nitrate and Nitrite. It says that I've used Very Hard Water (how can I change that?) and the alkalinity is Ideal and the pH is 8.4. I also bought some tablets to put in the tank that is supposed to get rid of the ammonia in the tank. The water is clear and its warming up. I hope Im doing right by my fish. Thanks for the help.
Nitrates at 0 indicate that the tank wasn't cycled.
I would advise to let the ph alone. I have hard water too and most people tend to agree that the ph just needs to be stable and there is no point in trying to lower it.
Sorry I can't comment on the tablets b/c I never used them so I will just say that doing regular water changes will reduce the ammonia level and nitrite once that shows up.
Keep testing and keep doing water changes. I think that is the best thing for you in this situation.
I would advise to let the ph alone. I have hard water too and most people tend to agree that the ph just needs to be stable and there is no point in trying to lower it.
Sorry I can't comment on the tablets b/c I never used them so I will just say that doing regular water changes will reduce the ammonia level and nitrite once that shows up.
Keep testing and keep doing water changes. I think that is the best thing for you in this situation.
