Well I am new to this forum and new to having a fish tank. I started out with a 29 gal tank and put in river rock instead of small gravel. I also have a heater one of those filters that make that little water fall from walmart. I have spent a lot and the darn fish just died. What I am wondering is what i did wrong or what I need to change. I have been thinking that it might be the rock i used? Would an undergravel filter help the rocks do build up a lot of junk. Any advice would be greatly apreciated. I lost 4 fish from ick and dont want to loose more.
My fish died! :(
- Thread starter Adrockamn
- Start date
I doubt it was the rock that killed them...
Do you have test kits for your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?
I would encourage you to check out the stickies at the top of this forum. Pay special attention to the thread about "cycling" your tank. My guess is your fish died due to ammonia toxicity from your uncycled tank.
Do you have test kits for your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels?
I would encourage you to check out the stickies at the top of this forum. Pay special attention to the thread about "cycling" your tank. My guess is your fish died due to ammonia toxicity from your uncycled tank.
Adrockamn,
You probably didn't cycle the tank first.
The fish also were pre-exposed to disease.
And undergravel filters are a waste of money.
First I would recommend reading the beginners stickie -->
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...eshwater-beginner-stickies-read-me-first.html
You should also purchase at least the test kits of Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte.
Those tests will allow you to observe your cycle.
Because of the Ich, you will also need to cure that before you add more fish.
You probably didn't cycle the tank first.
The fish also were pre-exposed to disease.
And undergravel filters are a waste of money.
First I would recommend reading the beginners stickie -->
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...eshwater-beginner-stickies-read-me-first.html
You should also purchase at least the test kits of Ammonia, NitrIte, NitrAte.
Those tests will allow you to observe your cycle.
Because of the Ich, you will also need to cure that before you add more fish.
I agree with the above posts since you bought the rock. I would get the test kits, read the "stickys", and cycle the tank longer. Also, make sure you buy your fish from a reputable fish store. In the beginning, I bought fish from Petsmart, which I never had much luck with. Since I started buying from a store that specializes in fish, I've had no trouble. Good luck to you.
I find that larger geavel leaves more places for the gunk to build up, it's hard to vac, try regular gravel or even grab a $4 bag of playsand from Home Depot.
By the way, we all made these same mistakes, it comes with the territory, everyone is bound to make these (what we call) "Newbie Mistakes". I really like when people like you join the forum, simply because you said this " What I am wondering is what i did wrong or what I need to change. " and actually meant it. We get alot of people that seem to think what walmart/petco/ insert any other store that sells fish here, told them is the word of god and we don't know what we're talking about, despite the fact that most of us have been doing this for years with slim to no losses, most of us keeping sensitive species and having them thrive. Some people take longer to learn, I'm glad you only had to make these mistakes once and now are eager to correct them, looks like you'll be around here for a while, enjoy your stay!
Welcome to the tank!
By the way, we all made these same mistakes, it comes with the territory, everyone is bound to make these (what we call) "Newbie Mistakes". I really like when people like you join the forum, simply because you said this " What I am wondering is what i did wrong or what I need to change. " and actually meant it. We get alot of people that seem to think what walmart/petco/ insert any other store that sells fish here, told them is the word of god and we don't know what we're talking about, despite the fact that most of us have been doing this for years with slim to no losses, most of us keeping sensitive species and having them thrive. Some people take longer to learn, I'm glad you only had to make these mistakes once and now are eager to correct them, looks like you'll be around here for a while, enjoy your stay!
Welcome to the tank!
I agree with getting smaller gravel or sand. You don't say how big the river rock is...but you could consider getting the sand or gravel and layering the bottom with that, then propping the river rock up against the walls and other rocks in the tank. Fish love to explore caves and swim throughs. I don't recommend having the river rock on the bottom if a lot of gunk builds up. The uneaten food starts to rot, and that just adds to your water quality problems.
