Fish tank

[bhath19]

Okay, here's the problem: I have talked to many people, especially on here, and they've told me the solution to keeping my tank and fish clean and healthy is to do a 20% water change every other week or 10% weekly. This is NOT working. I'm not blaming anyone, especially on here. I've lost 5 of 7 fish. I have a 5 gallon tank with a filter that works well. I've heard that it is a lot tougher to keep a 5 gallon tank clean than a 10 gallon. I used to have fish when I was little, and my dad has had them too, and he would clean the tank probably once a month or when it was dirty and do the whole water change at once. He never lost any fish, he would change the water and leave it out for a few hours to let it adjust to room temperature with the filter running. I am probably going to do this, what does everyone think?

 

[Rocket2001]

We'll need some more info to help...

How long has the tank been set-up?
Exactly what kind of fish were in the tank?
Do you know what your water parameters are?
What kind of filter do you have?
and probably a dozen more questions but answers to these would be very helpful

 

[rubysoho]

first of all, what type of fish did you have in that 5 gal? second, how long has the tank been set up. Did you cycle it without fish first, or did you just stick the fish in. Also, what are your water perameters (pH, nitrites, nitrates, ammonia). This will give us a better idea of what is wrong and we can help you from there. 7 fish in a 5 gal sounds overstocked so maybe you had an ammonia spike and that is what killed the fish. With 7 fish in a 5 gal, you'd need to do small changes at least twice a weeks to keep the water clean and the ammonia down.

 

[Todd2]

7 fish in a 5g seems an awful lot. Reply with information and we'll try to help.

 

[Keepers_girl]

I have many small tanks and I follow the 10-20% water change per week with great success but I agree with Rocket2001 that more info is needed so everyone can give you really good advice.

 

[bhath19]

I didn't have seven fish at once, probably at the most I had 4 at once. I just want to know if it's cool to change all the water at once. I would clean out the whole tank and fill it with new water and let it set out overnight with the filter running, and then put the fish.

 

[rubysoho]

50% should be fine, you dont want to loose all the good bacteria, but please answer the questions from above and perhaps we can let you know WHY you've lost so many fish and help you prevent it in the future.

 

[bhath19]

I have a one of those filters that hooks onto the back of your tank, it's a Regent with a filter cartridge that has carbon in it. Tank has been going for 5 weeks.

 

[rubysoho]

can you get those water perameters? cause that could have been a big factor. What may have been happening was your tank started to cycle and an ammonia spike occured, killing you fish, but I need the water perameters to understand more. What types of fish did you have in there?

 

[Menagerie]

50% should be fine

50% water changes are too much, which is why much smaller water changes are recommended.

I believe you will still continue to loose fish unless the underlying problem is fixed.
Please tell us what your water parameters are and what type of fish you were keeping. How long did you have the fish before they died? Did you always get the fish from the same LFS?

 

[bhath19]

What is wrong with doing full water changes maybe once a month or when the ammonia is high. First of all, I would take the water from the old tank and some of it into a bucket and then put the fish in there. Then I would empty all of the water out of the tank and clean the tank and gravel. I would refill the tank with water and treat it with water conditioner and leave it out overnight with the filter running. Then I would put the fish back in the following day. This has worked for everyone I know, and they have not lost even close to the amount of fish I have lost. I just want to know if anyone cleans their tank this way.

 

[Menagerie]

when the ammonia is high

Ammonia should not get high in a cycled tank.

I would never do that, but with a 50 and 80 gal, I am not about to remove all the fish and all the water.

Are you using a heater in the tank? What fish are you keeping?

 

[bhath19]

I currently have a male and female guppy left. I had 2 swordfish, 2 more guppies, and a mollie. The most at one time was 4. I just emptied the whole tank yesterday, and cleaned it out and refilled it and left it out overnight while the fish were in a fish bowl and I put them back in the tank this morning and they are doing good. I only have a 5 gallon tank, and it is much harder to keep clean, as I was told from here. And no I don't have a heater, haven't had a hard time keeping the temperature stable.

 

[grimlock3000]

What is wrong with doing full water changes maybe once a month or when the ammonia is high.

EVERYTHING is wrong with that. First up, you should not have ammonia in the tank anyway. Next, refilling the tank from scratch changes the water parameters. This process also stresses the hell out of your fish, even if you do not realize it. Also, cleaning the gravel is a BAD IDEA! This is where more of the good bacteria hide that helps break down ammonia. Basically what you are doing is nuking the tank once a month to clean it, and creating more problems than you solved.

If you are unable to keep a stable tank with small water changes, you are doing something wrong. We can help you figure out what it is. I would start by figuring out the nitrogen cycle, getting a gravel siphon, test kit, and doing regular water changes.

This has worked for everyone I know, and they have not lost even close to the amount of fish I have lost.

In all seriousness, the people you know have almost zero knowledge about keeping fish if they do this

SUMMARY:
1.) Stop nuking the tank. Never remove fish from the tank unless it is an emergency (like if someone spills a liter of soad in the tank), or you are moving the tank.
2.) Read up on the nitrogren cycle.
3.) Go to the store, buy a gravel vacuum, test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Might as well get a tank scrubber as well.
4.) Start using the items you purchased on a regular basis, and understand how they work.
5.) Once you stabilize the tank, you can get a small algae eating fish like an Oto. One will clean a 5g tank by itself.

 

[Rocket2001]

Listen i hate to be a jerk but obviously from the info on this thread, the reason your fish are dying is because of you...You don't know what your doing and worse you ask for advice and you refuse to listen to it because you think you know better.

Your fish will continue to die...go buy a book and read it if you don't trust the people here..I'm not trying to insult you but "Aquariums for Dummies" is a decent book to start with....it will explain all you need to know about the Nitrogen Cycle...this is the basic starting step of setting up a healthy tank no matter what size.
Sorry, i'm not trying to lecture but good luck and good luck to your fish

 

[bhath19]

Listen i hate to be a jerk but obviously from the info on this thread, the reason your fish are dying is because of you...You don't know what your doing and worse you ask for advice and you refuse to listen to it because you think you know better.

Your fish will continue to die...go buy a book and read it if you don't trust the people here..I'm not trying to insult you but "Aquariums for Dummies" is a decent book to start with....it will explain all you need to know about the Nitrogen Cycle...this is the basic starting step of setting up a healthy tank no matter what size.
Sorry, i'm not trying to lecture but good luck and good luck to your fish

I have done EXACTLY what everyone has said on here and the fish have died, yesterday was the FIRST time I emptied all the water out of the tank. I was doing 20% water changes every other week as recommended and this was not working, it had been 6 weeks since starting the tank. So don't lecture me on not listening to anyone and telling me I'm killing my fish. I understand that there are probably a lot of ignorant people out there who think they are doing something right and are right, and refuse to listen to advice given by others. Well I have listened to others, and unfortunately for me it is not working so I decided to empty the tank completely and pretty much start over. I probably will just do 20% water changes every other week from now on, the main reason I emptied the tank was that fish were dying and this was pretty much an emergency. Sorry if I offended anyone, I was just upset b/c someone basically called me an idiot. 8)

 

[Rocket2001]

Alright, i can understand your frustration, sorry if i offended you..I'd be exactly the same way. I would recommend that you don't rely only on the advice given from this forum but use it as one of several resources, i do think a good freshwater book is very helpful as is several websites and an expert at your local fish store and the experience of the people here..just use as many resources you can and figure out who you trust the most after weighing all the info you get.
Sometimes breaking down and starting fresh is the right thing to do.
You probably know this stuff but getting back to basics can be helpful too.
So...
lets get back to your tank..logically emptying the tank makes sense but what we're trying to do is build an eco-system and there are several steps we need to take that work together. (Cycling) By make 100% water changes you are going back to the begining of the process and delaying the cycle. And you are causing stress to the fish..yes I know they are only fish but the more stress they are put under the more likely they will die.
And remember during the cycling process your water quality will get worse before it gets better.
You have done the first step...fill your tank with water....have you added Dechlorinator to take the chlorine out of you tap water? (chlorine will kill fish)
One of the problems you face is your tank size..the smaller the tank the more magnified the problems can be.
Once your tank is cycled (about 4-6 weeks) then do the regular water changes..unless your ammonia level is very high (like it has been) you should do the water changes sooner
One thing you should by is a test kit that you can monitor you water parameters with or take a sample to a local pet store that checks water for free...do this once or twice a week while the tank is cycling to make sure all is going OK.
You may lose the guppys because Im not sure the are strong enough to handle the cyclying process. I you lose them you might consider a "fishless" cycle or if you really want to have fish while cycling try zebra danios.
Keep in mind this is my advice..see if others agree with me

 

[rubysoho]

Well, you didn't listen when a couple of us asked for your water perameters. If you don't know these, then you can't find the underlying problem, and you will probably lose more fish if you don't figure these out. If you don't have the liquid test kit, I suggest you take a water sample to your lfs. They should test it for free. Again, once you get these, we can give you more info on what might be the problem. However, now that you got rid of all your tank's water, it will be much harder to figure out what was wrong unless it is something coming directly from your tap water.

Oh, and 20% water changes every other week is not good in a 5 gal. It should be 10-15% ever week because 5 gallons are very small and water quality is harder to keep steady. This is what I've been doing in my own 5 gal and I've never had a problem. Currently that little 5 gallon has 3 female bettas and 2 african dwarf frogs. Probably slightly over-stocked, but I've kept up with my water changes and I monitor my water perameters to make sure they are stable. I also have no ammonia problems/fluctuations. I would guess that water changed every other week caused fish to go through ammonia spikes which lead to stress and probably killed your fish. But again, we can't know for sure unless you give us you water perameters. Honestly, you need to read up on it some more. There is always new stuff to learn and when you start thinking there is no more to learn, you'll find a whole new area to venture into.