Fish Keep Dying! HELP PLZ! :<

[dillinger916]

I hope this is the right place to post this. If not I apologize.

I have a five gallon tank and I just got 2 turquoise guppies Friday night, as well as four ghost shrimp. Sunday night I was going to feed them and only saw one, I eventually found the other, it was inside a little decoration I have in my tank, dead. I feel so bad! Two days and dead! I have a thermometer in the tank, a filter, I put in a new cartridge before I put the fish in. I got my water tested the same night I bought the fish and they person who worked at PetSmart said it was fine. Both of the fish *looked* fine too, even earlier today they were both swimming all around.

A few months ago I got three fish (forget the kind) and two snails for my 5 gallon, the person working at PetSmart at the time said it was fine, then they died within a few weeks, all of them. When I went back after a different person working there said that wasn't a good environment. Every time I go there they tell me something different :\

I guess... is there a reason why a fish could die so fast?? Also, one of the ghost shrimp was eating on the dead fish, is this OK? I feel bad for the fish, but I'd also feel bad taking away something the shrimp is, I'm assuming, enjoying. Also, could a ghost shrimp kill a fish somehow?? Eating it while the fish is sleeping or something? Haha, stupid question I'm sure, just don't understand how the fish could die so fast. And what can I do to keep my fish alive??? I'm afraid it might be too cold, but I was told as long as the thermometer was in this range indicated on it that it's OK... but what temperature should fish be in? Also I feed them two times a day, as it says on the fish food, is this OK? I have some live plants in the tank, there are some brown parts on a few parts of some of the plants, could this have contributed to the fish's death? Anything else I should know?? Talked to one of my friends, he said fish are just hard to take care of... is this true (maybe this is the wrong forum to ask ;p)? Any recommendations on any fish that are maybe "easy" to take care of?

Sorry for blabbering on, but again, I feel really bad about all these fish dying and I want to make sure I have my stuff together before I decide to get anymore. Thanks for your time and thanks for any help!

 

[ysic_liz]

Hey,

I'm brand new to all this as well and I've had a similar situation to yours. Check my posts out for my story (under freshwater - unhealthy fish section).

I had lots of different stories told to me too... but the most imperative thing I discovered is to "cycle" your tank.

What did the fish shop test? Just pH? That's basically all my fish shop tested.... when you should be testing at least pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. If any of these exist in the water, it can poison the fish (except for Nitrate - there is a healthy limit for that).

Easiest way to test yourself is an "API Freshwater Master Kit". Not too expensive and easy to use.

And research, research, research.

I can't really help with the actual fish side of things, I'm still going though fin rot with my betta.

Hope this helps a little bit.

Liz

 

[dillinger916]

Thanks! I appreciate the reply. Yeah their tests tests (repetitive much? haha) five different things I believe, I know it includes the four you named. I'll check out that kit though, thanks for the reply! =) I'll check out your posts right now. xD

 

[Lynae]

Hey there!
You are going to need to purchase a Liquid Master Test kit.. The test strips, especially the 5-1 strips, are notorious for being totally inaccurate. It is the best purchase you will make for your tank....and you can feel like a chemist when your testing the water!! (as theres little tubes, a pipette, and different chemical reactors you get to tinkle with..)
Sorry about your fish...
I'm tired right now as its the middle of the night in over here... but others will chime in with more educated posts!!

 

[dillinger916]

Haha yeah, I'm half asleep myself, I'd be asleep but I've been looking around this forum xD. Sounds like I definitely need to get a kit though and it's something I'm going to look into for sure. Thanks for the reply!

 

[dkpate]

Your tank is probably not cycled, and changing out the filter took away a lot of the good bacteria (nitrAtes) if it even had any. It suprises me that the shrimp are still alive, because as far as I know, they need really good water conditions. Anyway, I would change out 50% of the water asap, because you probably have ammonia in there, especially with the dead fish, and I would take the fish out in case it had some sort of disease.
Also, welcome to AA! Glad you joined, and feel free to ask any questions, even if you think they are dumb!

 

[dillinger916]

****! I was about to sleep, really tired. Also wasn't sure what I should do with the fish because I could take it back to the store and get a refund... but I can't go until I wake up and wasn't sure where I could put it if I took it out in the meantime... is it really possible for a fish to get sick and die that fast?? Just curious, not calling you a liar, haha. Also, are there any signs? I know about the white on the fin, but it didn't have any of that, like I said a few hours before both of the fish were swimming around fine. I just want to get every possible question I have answered so I can change my luck with these fish. I have a very strong conscious and I'm very much an animal lover and I hate to see animals die. :<

Thanks for the reply and thanks for welcoming me! =)

 

[dillinger916]

The censored word was the d-word by the way, haha, sorry, didn't know that couldn't be said.

 

[Lynae]

Haha...yup... I've been censored for words I thought were fine too!!! I'm bad...
It is possible for fish to suddenly get sick and die, especially in a 5 gallon tank.
The harmful things in water, that fish in the wild live with too, have to be diluted.
In the wild, its rainwater and evaporation. In our tanks, its partly some evaporation, but its mostly all manual siphoning and water changes.
In small tanks, water changes are more important than feeding!

 

[dkpate]

Yes. Ammonia burns their gills, and if you have a lot of it, then their gills could be affected, and they suffocate.
I brought 7, H. Rasbora's home about 2 months ago, and right away 2 died, and then the next day another one died, I looked REALLY close at the last 3, and noticed what looked like someone had melted their little pectoral fins together. So I treated the tank with Melafix, sadly it was too late for one of the smaller ones, but the other 2 I still have. My tank was cycled also, so they came with some sort of funk.

 

[dillinger916]

How often should I do a 50% water change? Should I ever change all of the water? And what does cycled mean exactly?

 

[Asbestos]

50% should be done ever week. Cycled means that the tank is ready to have fish in it, that it can take the ammonia from food and fish waste into something less harmful. Also never change ALL of the water, and the water you put back in, with the water change put in a dechlorinator and make sure the water is not too hot or too cold.

 

[Zagz]

Start out with reading these articles. They will help clear up any confusion you have. Then I would recommend starting a fishless cycle and starting over.

Nitrogen Cycle

Tips and tricks for your fastest fishless cycle!

 

[dkpate]

If your fish are alive in there right now, I would do 50-70% water changes every single day. I made the mistake of starting out with fish and had to do that every single day for 4 weeks, but my fish survived and now my tanks are all cycled!

 

[dillinger916]

For some reason those articles aren't loading for me. I'll check back a little later and see if they'll work for me. I do have a fish in there right now that's still alive (not sure about the four ghost shrimp, it's hard to find them, haha), so I'll do what you said dkpate... but I won't know if my tank is cycled until I get one of those kits to test my water correct? Haven't had a chance to get one yet, but I'm going to get one ASAP. I also need to add water conditioner every time I do a water change right? Stupid question I'm sure.

 

[dkpate]

Yes and yes. You will be able to test the water with the kit, and then when you have 0 nitrites and 0 ammonia, and 5-40 nitrates, your tank is cycled. And yes, add dechlor every time you change the water. If you are using a bucket, add the dechlor to the water in that. And make sure the water is the same temp as the water you took out. Not a stupid question. Water has chlorine and you will need to remove the chlorine with the dechlor every time, or you can kill your fish.

 

[dillinger916]

OK, thanks a lot for the help, looks like I need to get a kit, so hopefully once I do everything will be better. Thanks again!

 

[Lynae]

Ahaha....lets hope...
But usually... it brings another set of questions!!
We'll still be here

 

[Mark Hewitt]

50% should be done ever week. Cycled means that the tank is ready to have fish in it, that it can take the ammonia from food and fish waste into something less harmful. Also never change ALL of the water, and the water you put back in, with the water change put in a dechlorinator and make sure the water is not too hot or too cold.

I think nearly everyone has parents or friends who kept goldfish in a bowl 'years ago' and they didn't have a filter and from time to time changed all of the water in the tank.

Indeed in Pets at Home you hear them talking to people quite often who act surprised when the salesman tells them they should never change all of the water.

50% doesn't need to be done every week, you can get away with less, but it wouldn't do any harm.

 

[Lynae]

Mark, they live in Sacramento...I don't think everyone knows what 'Pets at home' is!
I had to google it, apparently its the biggest pet chain store of the UK.
Who knew!