HELP! Dying Fish!

[duaumun]

Hey! My fish have been dying but tht LFS's in the area aren't to good. One told me not to worry about PH! LOL! Unfortunetly, that is why my first fish died. My second fish died from high nitrates/nitrites. However, he looked like he was suffocating in his final moments and everything else was fine, the PH/salinit, etc. I was wondering, for a seven gallon, i have a Fluval 15 gallon filter, a heater, and some crushed coral and a nice rock (not live rock). I also have a stubborn heater (i can't get it to work.) But, could my second fish have died from not enough air? I don't have an air pump and i know more about fish then equipment. Do i need and air pump or did they both only die from other high levels.


Thax a mil,
Ryan.

 

[Guest]

How old is the tank that the fish are dying in? I would suspect that they are dying because of water params and not oxygen. In a 7 gal tank technically you should only have 1" of adult fish in there. If there are more, prolly an ammonia poisoning thing... This is speculation, however not too far from what I have seen.... What are the exact parameters of:

PH
NH3
NO2
NO3
Salinity

This will help get a better picture out to us

 

[Guest]

BTW I deleted the duplicate post in Getting Started Forum

 

[duaumun]

The tank is only a month or two old...i had a nitrate/nitrite spike. I 'm cheap, so i don't own many test kits. I'm bringing the water back today. All i was really wondering was if i need and air pump if my water changes are 30-60 percent (a month). I leave my fish in a bag during the water changes, right? They weren't around for my first one. It just doesn't seem right to keep them in a small bag for 20-30 minutes. I'm still cycling (cause they died) and i plan on getting a pair of Ocellaris Clowns (only). Since the two damsels died, how long should i cycle with damsels. Combined they were in there two weeks.
8)
THX.
Ryan

 

[MACATUA]

The bad thing about saltwater aquaria is that you really can't be cheap. You can be thrifty and find ways to do things inexpensively. Handling saltwater fish is not a good idea if you don't have the disposable income or don't want to use that disposable income. I would suggest getting yourself a real test kit, and if you really want to keep saltwater fish, then be willing to put out the money to do so.

Also, I don't mean to sound like a butt. It is just that in this hobby it is so tough to give your aquatic life the proper care if you don't or can't spend the money on them. I know sometimes money can be tight. And I am not saying you have to be rich to have this hobby. But it is best left to when you have the money to do it right. I know there are ways to cut cost. I use a lot of them. But things as simple as test kits end up costing more in the long run if not used correctly. Without testing the water properly, as you have seen, can cost fish lives. Which besides the fish lives, costs you money. A simple $25 test kit can save lives and trouble.

And now I am off my soapbox.

 

[Tigerlily]

There is a great article about doing a fishless cycle in your tank in the articles section of this website. Please take a look at it so that you don't loose any more fish. Also, 7 gallons is awfully small, even if you do have a filter rated for a 15 gallon tank... You're going to be overstocked from the very beginning! I'd cycle without fish first, otherwise your levels are going to be through the roof and most likely, deadly, as you've already found out.

If your fish seemed like they weren't getting enough air, that's probably the ammonia and nitrite poisoning. That isn't something that an airpump would cure. If you are going to cycle a tank with fish, frequent partial water changes (even daily) to keep poisonous levels down are a must for the health and comfort of your fish. I'm not sure why they would need to be in a bag for a water change though...

 

[duaumun]

I take the water to my LFS almost every day. They check it for free and i don't need to pay $54 for a test kit...The tests are for LR and complicated systems. I'd basically be paying $54 for an ammonia test kit. I've got a PH one for $3-7. Plus, i checked the other day and my water is fine. Today i might get a new fish. However, i am going to look into the fishless cycling. Thanks, everyone! Keep posting.

 

[specialk]

Please check out Fishless cycling IMO it would save you some money. You would not have to do all the water changes through the cycling process this way. I am not sure why you put the fish in a bag for water changes.
The test kits are to check your water parameters, not just for tanks with LR or that are complicated. You may also want to check ebay for one of these kits. I see you got a PH kit for 3-7 dollars, are you able to purchase the other test the same way?
I take it your LFS is about $54 for a kit, Have you called around to other store to price test kits?
IMO a pair of clowns in a 7 Gal. is way to much. You may want to read on this first. It may get costly to purchase the clowns just to loose them from the BioLoad.

Kaye

 

[dralarms]

I gotta stick my "2 cents" in. If you want a salt water test kit, bigalsonline.com has them for 13.99. My lfs wants 37.99 . Their in house part # for the kit is 2260. Do a search for it and you will see it's only 13.99.

 

[wseaton]

Get some live rock....even broken chunks your LFS dealer wants to get rid of. That will help stabilize the tank.

I'm leary of fishless cycling in such a small tank. 4-5lbs of LR will be much more beneficial and stabilize things quicker.

Your fish dying 'gasping for air' was due to either chlorine from a water change or ammonia poisoning.