911!!!!!!!!!! please help!!!!!!! big disaster

[mikemou]

thank you guys for all the advice, i'll be extremely careful from now on. i've learned my lesson in a hard way. i've put the two surviving shrimps in a vase, everyone else were gone....

i'll tear down the tank and give it a good rinse....

a side note on bio-spira, i've read it on several other threads that you should add almost all your bio-load along with enough amount of bio-spira when starting a new tank, if bio-load is too low the extra bacterias are wasted in the process. am i right?

is there a way to test if the water contains chemicals?

 

[An t-iasg]

a side note on bio-spira, i've read it on several other threads that you should add almost all your bio-load along with enough amount of bio-spira when starting a new tank, if bio-load is too low the extra bacterias are wasted in the process. am i right?

Yes, this is correct (sorry to disagree, Sati ). I would acclimate the fish (float bag while adding some tank water every 5 minutes or so) and then add them to the tank (net them out of the bag -- don't add the bag water). Then I would immediately add the Bio-Spira.

Don't add Bio-Spira without fish. The bacteria in the Bio-Spira needs the ammonia that the fish produce as their food source. The bacteria will die if you put it in the tank without fish. It will just be wasted, and it's too expensive for that! Also, adding Bio-Spira with your full load of fish allows all the fish to get used to each other at the same time (provided the fish are all compatible with each other, of course!) This way you don't have to worry about a new fish getting picked on by your previous fish, who may have already established a territory. This doesn't mean that you can never add new fish later, but I think it's the easiest way to start out. Good luck!

 

[Sati]

I disagree, but this is just my personal opinion. Too much ammonia can inhibit bacteria growth which means you're not going to see the reproduction you need to maintain the bio-load. I prefer to proceed cautiously if possible and increase the bio-load at a slower pace. You don't know if the bio-spira has been kept at the proper temps to keep the bacteria alive. I wouldn't want to risk the lives of animals or the loss of money by assuming the spira is good. But admittedly, I'm not expert on the subject. I used bio-spira successfully adding 13 angelfish to a new tank, but I did have pure ammonia in the tank to feed the bio-spira before I added live fish. Good luck!

 

[mikemou]

Just wanted to give you an update on this incident.
i rinsed thoroughly the tank, the filter, the gravel, the heater.... everything that might have gotten the Dimethyl Benzyl Amonium Chloride from Chlorox disinfecting wipes.
But then the other day i spoke with a LFS guy and he said our tap water was too poisionous to keep fish - chlorine, chloramine, ammonia(my test result showed none, tho), lead,..... so maybe it wasn't the chlorox wipes residuals that killed my fish but the other stuff in my tap water which I didn't condition the first time around. he suggested Prime so I bought a bottle and added to my empty tank. i'm going to run the water for maybe a week and keeping my fingers crossed before adding any life form in there....
and to think I drink that tap water....
Any other Arlington VA AAists would like to chime in?

 

[grimlock3000]

Almost everyone's tap water is filled with nasty stuff. Likely not lead though 8O Anyway, water conditioner is a must to make water safe for fish.

A lot of people have setup tanks w/o water coniditioner and it usually takes a while for the fish to die. Going from the speed at which your fish died, I would say it was the wipes and not the tap water.

 

[smilla4]

You can check for your water quality report here:
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm

The report will tell you what things they test for, if anything has exceeded EPA limits, how they dechlorinate the water, water source, etc. There should also be a contact number for your local water dept so you can call them with any questions.

 

[deli_conker]

i spoke with a LFS guy and he said our tap water was too poisionous to keep fish - chlorine, chloramine, ammonia(my test result showed none, tho), lead

My water has all that stuff in it too. Just get a good dechlorinator. It not only gets rid of chlorine but chloramine as well. Also takes care of heavy metals in the water as well. Personally, I try to avoid ones that help the fish's slime coat as this is generally unneccessary. The slime coat usually shows up when something irritates them.

Don't add Bio-Spira without fish.

I agree. If the bacteria don't have food, they starve. Fairly quickly. I have only used it once, but added 3 ounces to my 55 when I first started it.

Good luck...

 

[mikemou]

great news to report!
I added four african cichild (2 lemon 2 white?) last night to my start-over 55 gal. and this morning, they're all still live and kicking!!! I'm off to a good start this time!

only problem is one of the 2 lemons is smaller than the other three and i think he's been picked on a lot. he either stayed in one spot close to the bottom, or been chased around (even bitten i think) by the other 2 whites. are things going to get worse before getting better? if so what do i do? i have only one tank....

may i ask what's gonna happen if i put several groups of neon/cardinal tetras in there???

 

[grimlock3000]

"may i ask what's gonna happen if i put several groups of neon/cardinal tetras in there???"

The Cichlids with harass them to death and then eat them. And if they do not kill them right away, the Cichlids will do it when they get a bit bigger. African Cichlids are not good community fish, they are very aggressive and have unique demands, they do best in a species only tank, so your fish selection is limited to more Cichlids and maybe a Pleco to clean up.

With only 4 Cichlids in a 55g, the dominat fish usually dominate the smaller fish and can even kill them. To control aggression in an African tank, people will commonly put in more Cichlids. Once you get 10 or so in a 55g, they usually mellow out and stop picking fights all the time.

 

[BD8]

Catfish are usually fine with cichlids too, I recommend a Synodontis Multipunctatus, great personalities.

 

[Menagerie]

Many Synodontis are great and originate in Lakes Malawi and Tangayika. Mike, I wrote in your other thread that you need to give them hiding spots. I also said to research before getting the fish. If you want to avoid another disaster, please listen to us. We're here to help!

 

[mikemou]

i lost all four cichlids last night. now i think my tap water was the cause for both inccidents. see detail post in Cichlid Tank thread.

 

[Menagerie]

oh dear

 

[noteworthy]

That really stinks. I've had some ammonia problems with my 29g but every other day I try to do a water change.

 

[heavenly]

Always dechlorinate water, don't just throw the fish in. don't mix goldfish with tropical fish ( i learned that the hard way) other then that, you didn't use soap to clean anything in your tank did you?