Dead fish! Can someone explain???

[verucaproduce]

I haven't seen a pump like that in YEARS! My friend had one on a tank when we were growing up.

Definitely get a hob filter instead. Dump the water, and rinse everything. No soap. Then start your fishless cycle. I have never used that new fangled 'cycle in a bottle'. I have always had good luck with clear ammonia and patience.

 

[new2betas]

They sell those in Oz too. I got one for a 1 gallon tank when I had a single rasbora who needed a temporary home for a few weeks. It did the trick for that one fish under those conditions, but I would never consider using it in a permanent setup. Keep the air pump though... it'll come in handy.

I'd replace it with some sort of Hang-On-Back filter. Something like this perhaps. You should be able to pick up something like this in NZ in any fish shop.

AquarWorld Aquarium Hang On Filter H250 - The Aquarium Shop Australia

PS. Be very wary of listening to any sales assistant regarding fish. I have found from experience its much better to ask here instead.

That looks like a great filter that Sharon mentioned. On my two 10g puffer tanks I have 20g hob filters on them, but they are pretty dirty fishes...lol. I pretty much double my filter per gallons on all my tanks. My 29g tank has a 60g filter on it and one of my 5g betta tanks has a 10g hob filter on it.

 

[twoplankskier]

yeah that seems like a good idea. i might get one if i can find one cheap. are they reasonably quiet?

 

[fort384]

As long as you keep the tank full, they are quiet. Mine is in my bedroom, can't even hardly hear it at night.

 

[gzeiger]

I agree. I have a 400 gal/hr pump running pretty much silent. It does get loud if you lower the water so it splashes, but if you keep the water high it's fine.

 

[twoplankskier]

ok great. ill have a look for one tomorrow. if i cant find ammonia what are my other options for a fishless cycle. other than raw shrimp?

 

[HooKooDooKu]

...
I'd replace it with some sort of Hang-On-Back filter. Something like this perhaps. You should be able to pick up something like this in NZ in any fish shop.

AquarWorld Aquarium Hang On Filter H250 - The Aquarium Shop Australia
....

Because I like to place my tanks up against the wall (or nearly) I like the FluVal filters. Fluval Internal Filters from Hagen - Filtration & Circulation - Fish - PetSmart However, I must suggest that you SKIP getting the FluVal 1 for a 10 gallon tank. That particular filter is really only good for a quarantine tank. To get the needed features, you really have to start with the FluVal2. However, I must admit that the FluVal2 is huge (compared to the FluVal 1) and takes a lot of space in a 10 gallon tank. If I could go back and start my 10 gallon tank over, I'd get on of those 20 gallon wide tanks (same height and depth as a 10 gallon, but it's twice as wide) and use the FluVal 2 or FluVal 3. The extra witdh would allow lots of space to hide the filter behind some dense set of plants.

 

[LandGhoti]

ok great. ill have a look for one tomorrow. if i cant find ammonia what are my other options for a fishless cycle. other than raw shrimp?

Raw shrimp is a great way to fishless cycle. I used this method; I put two in my 29 g and it took roughly 3 weeks and was fully cycled. IMO, it's the easiest way because you don't have to continually add ammonia; the decaying shrimp does that for you. All you have to do is test your water daily to see where your parameters are. Once they're where they should be, you remove the shrimp and add fish (not too many at once).

 

[HooKooDooKu]

ok great. ill have a look for one tomorrow. if i cant find ammonia what are my other options for a fishless cycle. other than raw shrimp?

One apparent source of ammonia without other additives seems to be ACE Hardware Store brand Ammonia cleaner. The label only lists 10% ammonia solution, no other additives. It's less then $3 for a quart.

 

[marchmaxima]

Raw shrimp is a great way to fishless cycle. I used this method; I put two in my 29 g and it took roughly 3 weeks and was fully cycled. IMO, it's the easiest way because you don't have to continually add ammonia; the decaying shrimp does that for you.

Until the weeked, I'd have supported this one. I too have had success with the raw prawn as ammonia source. Then I read a thread that has thrown the mud all over the method.

Unbeknownst to the owner of the tank, the prawn that they used contained a pathogen. Suffice to say it caused an absolute disaster when the fish were introduced. Some further research and it appears that this isn't an isolated case. I have no idea on the probability is, but it's certainly made me consider using fish food in future.

 

[twoplankskier]

okso i finally found some ammonia after a long hard search. the process is FINALLY starting =]]]

here are the results for today:
PH - 7.6 (added PHdown after)
Ammonia - 2.0ppm
Nitrate - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm

 

[gzeiger]

A pH of 7.6 is perfectly fine. I don't think I'll be alone in saying you shouldn't try to adjust your pH as long as it's stable.

 

[fort384]

Yeah pH of 7.6 should be fine. Using chemicals to alter tour pH will lead to increased algae growth, among other problems. So long as it is stable, most fish can survive and even thrive in a wide range of pH.

 

[twoplankskier]

ok so i went out and bought a hob filter to get things going better as i didnt think that the little bubbler thing was doing much at all
here it is:

 

[shanklyred]

Hi, i've just got my first aquarium, it was a friend who gave it to me through his loss of interest. it already had fish in it. i moved it myself and set it up again, waited for the water to heat to 75, then put the fish in. he told me to wait 1 week before i get more fish. i bought ten neons a red fin shark and a plec, to go with 2 clown loaches 2 black skirt tetras 2 flame tetras and a glowlight. the glow light and 5 neons have died. there seems to be a film on the top of the water. i know i need to do a cycle, but how do i do it with the fish i have? i only have 1 tank.???????

 

[gzeiger]

The film can be removed when you change out water. Just take a pitcher or cup and skim the surface as you remove water and dump it into a bucket.

If you used the filter that was already in the tank you shouldn't need to cycle, but if the tank was idle for a period of time or you changed the filter pad you may need to.

You need to buy a water test kit that measures at a minimum ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The tank can be cycled with fish in it, but it is hard on the fish and some may die of ammonia poisoning if you don't change water enough. Neons are known to die frequently soon after purchase, so it's not clear from the information you provided what killed your fish, but generally you should not have added so many at a time and you shouldn't add any more until you're sure the cycle is complete.

To cycle with fish you just need to test the water daily for the three things I mentioned. The fish will produce their own ammonia from urine and breakdown of food and other waste. Change water as needed to maintain ammonia and nitrite both below 0.5 ppm. You didn't say how big your tank was, but with so many fish you may need to change water quite frequently.

When ammonia and nitrite are consistently zero before your water changes and you get some reading of nitrate, your cycle is complete. From that point forward you just need to change water as needed to maintain nitrate below 40 ppm. Depending how much water you change and how many fish you end up with that may be weekly or less frequently.

 

[shanklyred]

thanks for that, that is really usefull.(so glad i found this site) my tank is 36x12x18" not sure of it's capacity. first thing i do tomorrow is get a testing kit. the woman in the shop told me it would be ok to add the fish, but i think i'll go with the advice i get from here. thanks again for your help. i'm sure i'll be on here alot from now on. the filter is the same one. all the original fish but one have survived so far, i've had the tank about 3 weeks now.