Fish Death

[blackgagt1]

I have had 2 fish die in the last two days.  Today i tested the water and the pH, and Nitrite are just as they usually are ph 7.5, and N at 0ppm.  They problem is that the Ammonia is at .5-1, it almost looks like more.

I bought so stuff called Kordon Detoxifier, which removes the ammonia.

BUT that was at Noon now it is still the same so i added another at 3:00PM, still no luck.

 

[Matt Nace]

Hi,

Your tank clearly has not cycled. Why don't you describe your tank, filter, and what fish are in it left.

As of now, do an immediate 50% water change, and retest tomorrow. You might have to keep doing small water changes to keep the ammonia down. Then start looking at your nitrItes. This could go on for a little while for you.

Don't touch the filter in water changes, and feed only a little bit once a day(making sure the ones eatting are each getting a few)

 

[blackgagt1]

I have a 30 gallon tank with a Whisper 30 filter, undergravel filter.  I have 30 fish 1 clown loach, 8 Neons, 5 painted glass fish, 2 upsidedown catfish, 1 Rareal Catfish, 2 red wag platies, 2 glass catfish, 2 abino guppies, and 7 Zebras.

i had just one glass catfish he was what died today.  I went to Petsmart to get a replacement, and ended up getting an extra.  The other death was a Red Wag Platy which was also from petsmart.

I have had the tank setup for a week before i put the fish in.


Could it be that the filter is just not totally worn in yet?

 

[lizwinz]

it sounds like you did not cycle your tank

cycling refers to the nitrogen cycle:

ammonia eating bacteria create nitrites
nitrite eating bacteria then covert the nitrites to nitrAtes
ammonia and nitrites should be 0
nitrAtes should be kept under 30 or 40 i think

this takes SEVERAL weeks and you need an ammonia source such as a FEW fish or doing a fishless cycle see the article on this site

i tried doing it with fish and it was a mess they kept getting sick because of the stress i was putting them through so now i'm doing a fishless cycle

from what you say it seems you set up the tank let it run for a week and then added 30 fish.   if this is what happened i dont think you will be able to keep the ammonia down with out doing water changes like crazy, the ammonia will spike and the fish that dont die from that might die from you doing water changes, it's stressful for them and when fish get stressed they get sick and die

so most likely all your fish will die

also your painted glassfish are a dyed fish, aside from being very cruel it also makes them less healthy and if they do survive the will eventually lose their color when there immune system rids it's body of the poisons that have been injected into its body

 

[skamps]

Here is another article on cycling for reference:

www.aquamaniacs.net/cyclingsafely.html

Your tank is just beginning the cycling process and has a very heavy livestock load.  If there is any way you can return your fish, I recommend that you do so, they will likely all die otherwise.  

If you choose to cycle with fish, keep the livestock load very small, like 3 zebra danios.  When you begin to stock your tank, do so very slowly, a few fish every couple weeks to allow the bacteria population to keep up with the fish load.

I use Amquel to detoxify the ammonia, but depending on the type of test kit, the ammonia will still show.

 

[NickM]

Also Skamps, a product called Prime detoxifies nitrites and nitrates, but doesn't hinder the cycle, and or harm and good bacteria.  


Nick

 

[Matt Nace]

blackgagt1,

man, sorry to hear that you have so many fish. What a mess for a new person to go through.

I would call the manager or fish person in charge and tell them you need to return almost all your fish for credit. If you don't want to fishless cycle, I would only keep 4 danios.

I would take all the fish back, except the danios, do a 100% water change(take the danios out and put them in tank water in a bowl for now),(don't touch the filter), and reacclimate the remainning 4 into the water.

Otherwise, your going to have to do massive water changes every day, or have fish deaths and disease.

HTH, hang in there!

 

[lizwinz]

it's really too bad that some fish stores are not more responsible when they sell fish, being a beginner you'd think that they would know more than you do and would give better advise i found out almost everything that the people told me at stores around me was wrong, it's like they just tell you what you want to hear or just give a quick answer just to get you out their hair so they can get back to work >

the ones in my area are like that, i finally found one that is decent it's 45 min away, but that is where i'm going to get my fish when my tank is cycled, they asked me if i was new to fishkeeping and then asked about my water and gave me really good advise about what fish would be good for me to keep i cant imagine they would have let me walk out with 30 fish without really letting me have it first *crazysmiley*

matt really knows his stuff so if i were you i would take his advise and return your fish and let your tank cycle, i would go a step further and say you should consider trying to find a better store to buy fish from, it will save you time, money and grief to find a store that cares more about their fish cuz they are more likely to be healthy and just use your store credit at petsmart for food or supplies

hang around here and read over old threads and ask alot of questions i've found you'll find better advise here than at most stores

good luck with your tank  *thumbsupsmiley*

 

[blackgagt1]

The problem with returning the fish to the store is that i only bought a few of them from Petsmart.  I bought the others from a store that is about 30 minutes away.  They only have a 48 hour Guarantee.  Only the 2 of 10 fish i bought from Petsmart died.  The ones from the local store are great.  I will not be buying from Petsmart anymore.  They also almost sold me a fish with Ick on it

 

[lizwinz]

some lfs will give store credit for any fish even if you did not purchase it from them the one near me pays 1/4 or 1/2 of the price they charge depending on the type of fish

you wont get all your money back this way but your going to lose all the money you spent when your fish die

you could try to call around and see if any stores near you do this

 

[Matt Nace]

good point liz, most should give you some credit. I don't know if the chain do trade in though...I don't usually go to them.

 

[blackgagt1]

My tank has now been cycled.  There is no ammonia in the tank anymore.  Just the down side is that i gain Ick    I lost my favorite fish to it  my Clown Loach.  I am treating it with Rid Ick.  I am very upset  

 

[blackgagt1]

Newest update i got 2 new glass catfish from petsmart and they have both now died as well that makes 3 dead glass catfish.  Not from Ick and water conditions are now great.  It is from being a shitty fish.  Sorry for the language.

 

[UP UP AND GUPPY]

cycling refers to the nitrogen cycle:

ammonia eating bacteria create nitrites
nitrite eating bacteria then covert the nitrites to nitrAtes
ammonia and nitrites should be 0
nitrAtes should be kept under 30 or 40 i think

NitrAtes should be kept under 20 ppm. Everything else is fine. Also having thirty fish in the tank would be fine only if they were 1" each. You are pretty much murdering your fish by having an overly crowded tank and that is just adding to the bioload. They will eventually all die *SICK*. JUST BECAUSE ITS A 30G DOESN'T MEAN THAT YOU CAN KEEP 30 FISH!

 

[noncentric]

Hhmmm - a follow-up to a 4-year old post...wow UP, you must be doing some serious backtracking.

I wonder what ended up happening...