Can't keep new fish alive

[Schlteacher]

Hoping I can get some advice or suggestions. I have a 10 gal. tank that is 3 months old. My six original fish appear healthy and seem to be doing well. However, I can't get any new fish to last more than a few weeks.

Long version: After about a month and a half with this aquarium, I added a snail and an African dwarf frog. The dwarf frog died after a day and a half, and the snail died a couple of weeks later. I tried another dwarf frog right away after the folks at PetSmart told me to acclimate it differently, but that one also died within a couple of days. (Swimming frantically, then floating on top.) Later, I added three mollies. They were all fine for about a week. Then they started dying off. I lost one the next week, the second the week after that, and the third one appears to be on the way out. Yesterday, I added a golden algae eater. It was fine for a day, but is now frantically swimming up and down the side of the tank, kind of like the dwarf frogs did before they died.

I've had my water tested a couple of times and was told it was fine. My pH is high (8.5 last test) but I was told not to mess with that, just to take my time acclimating the new fish. I have an ammonia test kit and ammonia levels are always 0-0.25. Every other week I do a 25-30% water change. Lately I've been doing 10% changes on the off weeks. Temperature is a steady 78 degrees.

What am I doing wrong??? Any help is much appreciated!

 

[Fishguy1111]

Sounds like the water isn't Aerated, get an airstone. What original fish are in there? What's the filter?

 

[Schlteacher]

Aerated

It is aerated, I have an air pump with two airstones. It is a Penguin 100 filter.

Original fish: 2 tetras, 2 guppies, 1 platy, 1 harlequin rasbora

 

[Luananeko]

Do you have a nitrite test kit? It sounds like you're still in the middle of your cycle if you're seeing any ammonia. I would guess that the nitrites are still spiking. Your initial fish are ok because they've gradually had the levels spike, but any brand new additions are getting completely shocked. Once everything's stabilized with 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites you can try adding new fish again.

Your stocking has a few problem spots in it (namely that tetras and rasboras need a school, but a 10g doesn't have room for schools of both), but that's a topic for another thread...

 

[captaincritical]

In addition to what the others have mentioned, I would up the water changes to 25-30% once a week. It would also be a good idea to invest in an API master test kit so that you can monitor things yourself daily.

 

[azmodan]

Hoping I can get some advice or suggestions. I have a 10 gal. tank that is 3 months old. My six original fish appear healthy and seem to be doing well. However, I can't get any new fish to last more than a few weeks.



Long version: After about a month and a half with this aquarium, I added a snail and an African dwarf frog. The dwarf frog died after a day and a half, and the snail died a couple of weeks later. I tried another dwarf frog right away after the folks at PetSmart told me to acclimate it differently, but that one also died within a couple of days. (Swimming frantically, then floating on top.) Later, I added three mollies. They were all fine for about a week. Then they started dying off. I lost one the next week, the second the week after that, and the third one appears to be on the way out. Yesterday, I added a golden algae eater. It was fine for a day, but is now frantically swimming up and down the side of the tank, kind of like the dwarf frogs did before they died.



I've had my water tested a couple of times and was told it was fine. My pH is high (8.5 last test) but I was told not to mess with that, just to take my time acclimating the new fish. I have an ammonia test kit and ammonia levels are always 0-0.25. Every other week I do a 25-30% water change. Lately I've been doing 10% changes on the off weeks. Temperature is a steady 78 degrees.



What am I doing wrong??? Any help is much appreciated!

Hi! I'd recommend first reading this guide, particularly the parts about water testing, cycling, and maintenance: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium/

Let us know if you have other specific questions!

 

[Sk3lly]

Platies and mollies are very bad choices for your 10g small aquarium. They produce a massive amount of waste for their size and i bet your tank simply cant handle it. You shouldnt be looking to add any more fish. I think your overstocked as it is.

You need your own API master test kit and test your water yourself regularly. That way you know for sure what your water is like

Now in my opinion i would return all of your fish. I would turn this into mainly a shrimp tank with possibly a small school of nano fish. Maybe 6 spice rasboras. Or 6 ember tetras. Or 6 celestrial pearl danios. I think you'd stand a much better chance of keeping your water clean and free of ammonia/nitrite

 

[Schlteacher]

Thank you

Thanks for the advice. I have read the guide. I do still have one specific question about the water changes. I had heard/read that doing too many water changes (or too much at once) can put stress on the fish, which is why I wasn't changing the water more often. But in the guide on this site, water changes are recommended every couple of days. Why the difference? Does it not really put stress on the fish, or is there some way to reduce the stress if it does?

Also, can anyone recommend a good resource/website on types of fish? I was just going by a book that listed good types of fish for a tropical community aquarium, but nothing was mentioned about which fish need schools.

My molly and algae eater are doing much better, by the way. I will probably purchase a nitrite/nitrate testing kit. I hadn't invested in one yet because every time I had my water tested at the store, the nitrites were 0 and nitrates were close to 0.

 

[captaincritical]

Water changes are actually quite beneficial for fish, provided you always dechlorinate the new water and do your best to keep the temperature the same. The only time I wouldn't recommend doing frequent water changes would be if your tap water has a very different pH than your tank. My fish actually play in the new water as I pour it in! They're not afraid if the gravel hose anymore, either.

I use liveaquaria.com to browse different types of fish. They list basic requirements and post photos with good descriptions. You can order directly from them too, if you're so inclined.

Glad to hear the fish are doing better!

 

[Sk3lly]

I think the recommended water change schedule is 50% once weekly. Every tank is different though.
A water change helps to remove the fish waste and nitrate accumulated in the water. This is more stressful for the fish to live in. A water change wont stress a fish if done correctly. Make sure your water is roughly the same temperature as the tank.

A good way to read up on fish is simple google searches