My new tank-is it going wrong!!!!

[cucoigcrice]

As i have said before i have a new aquarium on the go, about 3 weeks now. i have fish in it for about two weeks and 2 have recently died. I got the water tested again on friday past and the results were- no ammonia, prob due to the immature filter, pH 7.6 and nitrates were nil. Whats happening??
The fist fish that died was a black platty, i noticed that its head was turning white so and he was becoming very quiet so i basically removed him from the tank, just incase. Does any one know what that may have been???
The other fish i really didnt expect to die it was a guppie just found him this evening..

If any once can give me advice on stocking please give me a shout.
I currently have 2 guppies, 3 platties, 6 neon tetra's, 5 penguin fish, 1 rosy barb and supposedly another rosy barb and a golden apple snail.. i was hoping to go for dwarf gouarmi's is that possible??

 

[Aquarium1]

If you only had it a week it probably didn't cycle. When you tested it did you use strips or a liquid test kit, and who tested it? And an immature filter would mean the ammonia would be pretty high. Also, how many gallons is it? That's a lot of fish for just a 3-week old tank.

 

[cucoigcrice]

It was a liquid test as far as i am aware and you compare the colours to a strip!!! the pet shop done it. I was only following the shops advice when it comes to adding fish. i have a 84litre tank

 

[Aquarium1]

Ok so thats about 22g so your at least fully stocked. Pet stores aren't the greatest place for advice cause many are just trying to make a sale. Before adding any fish you should cycle a tank. There are a few ways of doing this from adding some fish food each day to adding some ammonia. That sounds like a liquid test so I'm glad your pet store does that, however its hard to believe that you would have 0 ammonia.

 

[mfdrookie516]

how often are you doing water changes? with that many fish in a tank that's not cycled, you *should* be having to do at least daily 50% pwc's. Having no ammonia would mean the tank is cycled, but if you didnt cycle it, the chances of it being cycled are slim to none

 

[joy13]

You said the head of the fish was turning white. Was it a fuzzy white or did it look like a color change of the head itself?

Guppie are a hardy a they once were because of line breeding and inbreeding. So that doesn't send up a red flag since there was no outward sign of disease.

Fish that live through cycling are usually not very healthy after the tank is cycled. Do you have any friends that might beable to give you a little gravel or filter pad? So you can do a silent cycle which will help jump start the cycle and you might not get a huge ammonia spike everyone is expecting you to get.

After an unexplained fish death I usually do a couple of huge water changes a couple of days in a roll.

 

[Aquarium1]

Guppie are a hardy a they once were because of line breeding and inbreeding.

did you mean guppies aren't as hardy as they once were?

 

[supradupafast]

First things first... Welcome to AA!
Now, since your tank is only a few weeks, and already your tank is fully stocked you have a 2 options from this point to avoid losing anymore fish.
Before I get into that, it is important that you understand the Nitrogen Cycle. If you look at "mfdrookie516" post, he has the links in his signature.
Now, after reading about the Cycling part,
1) You can go Fishless (using a source of Ammonia such as Pure Ammonia, or some use Raw shrimp...) You would have to find someone that can take your fish for about a month, or return them to the store.

2) Cycling with fish. You can start the nitrogen cycle with fish in your tank, but be ready to perform daily water changes, and daily readings.. (This will require you to get a test kit, in which I recommend the API Freshwater Master Kit).. Stay away from Test Strips!
You have alot of fish in there already, and for the cycling period, I'd recommend reducing your fish qty to 3 or 4 in a 20gal.

Either way, you can cycle your tank in about 1 month +-, but cycling with fish will require ALOT of time and effort to avoid fish death.
Good Luck
We're here to guide you and help you.

 

[mfdrookie516]

links that are in my signature are very informative... if anything, read through the "understanding the nitrogen cycle" link. Its a good read for any aquarist

 

[Jgeezer1986]

also what might be happening is you are having spikes. When there are that many fish in a smaller tank , the ammonia can spike up real fast then drop read fast.. back and forth back and forth... Feedings seem to take a big role in the spikes.. minimal feedings will help control the discretion from the fish.. Not only is the ammonia lethal to the fish , but the constant change will be super hard on them.. seems to me that the amount of fish you have would have to be in something 55gal or larger... Maybe try feeding less... and also a stress enzyme like stress coat to help them. Now that you have that many in there , its kinda hard to take them out for a while...

I do an aggressive cycling. Rule of thumb is 1" to one gallon of water stock after the tank is cycled... Cycling is said to to be 20 to 25% of that for about four weeks. I add about 2" of fish after two weeks and let it go for four weeks after. It seems kinda cruel because the fish become stressed when the normal cycling process is interupted like that... but i have had a 55 gal with well more than what the rule of thumb calls for and survived for many years with little or no deaths.

Not saying my way is right , but it works for me... Right now im in the process of cycling a 20gal that way. PLUS i ventured into territory that i have not yet and added live plants and a frog. Lost one sword tail that did not seem to be healthy to begin with.

The only chemical i have ever added is stresscoat. I have never once tested the water, but i can tell by watching how my fish behave and know if its time for a water change, or if someone is sick.

Im probably not the most knowledgeable person here, but for me , what i have done works for me.... Just something to chew on when you are working on it!!!

Good luck and may your tank bring you as much fun as mine has

 

[joy13]

did you mean guppies aren't as hardy as they once were?

Yes that is what I meant.

 

[cucoigcrice]

Thanks everyone for your advice, i think i will do a water change tomorrow night as i havent done once since it was up and running. I will also go and buy a water test kit and take it from there.
Another fish died the supposidly rosy barb!!! I dont really think the shops will take the fish back and i will hold off for the minute and see how a few water changes will do.
The black platty's head seemed to just change colour to white and the last fish that died seemed to dull down in colour!!! Maybe another thing to is that the place where i got the fish might not have been a great supplier!!! I think i will go to a proper aquarium store in future.
I see that another poster wrote that i have a lot of fish in my tank- is that just at the minute or do u mean that is the maximum fish i could keep in that size of tank!!!

 

[Jgeezer1986]

It depends on the size of your tank. If you had a 20gal , then you would be about maxed out for the tanks total size. Now if you have something like a 55gal, you tank is a little too stocked for a good cycling at an early age, but no reason you should be losing that many fish.

Sometimes when you bring the fish home from the pet store and they dont keep up after their tanks properly, the fish can bring a disease home with it. Generally when i add fish i dont use any of the water that was in the bag with them.

First ill put the whole bag in the tank for about 30 mins to let the water come to equal temps slowly as to not shock the fish.

Second, I dump 75% of the water out of the bag into a clean bucket. The bucket is to insure if somehow a fish gets out of the bag they are not going to go down the sink. I also use a net to strain the water to be even safer.

I usually don't feed the fish within the first couple of hours. I let them settle in for a while and get used to my other fish and their environment.

The pet store you get the fish from has a lot to do with it, but the best petstore in the world is not going to do you any good if there is something wrong with your tank.. AKA not cycling it right , disease, soured ect.