HELP!!! NEW FISH ALL DIED

[jackieh3]

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i am starting a new aquarium and could use some help... i had a 10 gal tank sitting on my desk that was in need of some serious help. the filter was broken and it was full of algae. a pleco and tetra were still living inside. the other day i decided to clean it and get some more fish... i treated the tap water with StartRight and AmmoLock. I purchased 3 danios and a glass catfish. i put the pleco and danio back into the tank and set the bag of other fish on top of the water for 15 min like i was told to. within 3 hours, the red tetra that i already had was dead and stuck to the filter. i noticed the danios acting funny. they were swimming into the current of the water the filter was dropping into the tank or just sitting at the top of the tank. over the next 2 days they all died, including the pleco i already had. he was the last to go. i also noticed the glass cat swimming sideways and upside down... he died soon after. i have no idea why my fish suddenly died off! can anyone help me? i am scared to get more... also when my other fish died i took my water to the fish store to have it tested and they said it had no chlorine and ammonia levels and everything was fine... so i got a full refund for my fish.. is there a chance that i didnt rinse all of the soap out when i cleaned it and that is killing them? or are they sick? i also bought a new filter at the time i re-did the tank. i didnt rinse it or anything so maybe i put something toxic into the water?? help me please i want more fish!!!

 

[blazeyreef]

Well first, welcome to AA. The people here are awesome. They do not criticise and they help...A LOT .
Now, first thing, a pleco will get to large for a 10gall so please don't get another one .
Next, did you take all the old water out and dump it? Sounds like it since you said you rinsed it in soap. Soap is toxic to fishes so that is probably what killed your fish, as well as shock to the new water. The reason the that the store's testing came out all OK is because the tank hadn't had time to "re cycle".
So I think you need to re-empty the tank and clean it with vinegar and hot water. then rinse and let dry. Then you can set it up again, and re cycle is and get some appropriate fishes.
Hope this helps. Also hope it doesnt sound like im being critical, im just trying to help

 

[jackieh3]

Thank you i will most definitely take your advice. Can you recommend a set up of fish that will work good for my tank size? Also, if the soap killed off the fish, do i need to change out the bio wheel and filter cartridge so i dont contaminate the new water again?

 

[blazeyreef]

I can give you some ideas.
I would rinse the bio wheel and cartridge and I would also rinse your decorations/gravel as well, just to be on the safe side.

About fish...here is a part of an article I wrote a while back...

In a 10 gallon aquarium. You are limited to a small number of fish. That's why you hear that bigger is better in the aquarium world. It is true because it is easier for your water parameters (ammonia, nitrate, nitrite) to stay stable and if it dose fluctuate, in a bigger aquarium it is easier to fix faster and wont cause as much damage. But at the same time it is also more time and money consuming. for a 10 gallon aquarium here are some recommendations.Dward Cichlids. --These are actually some of my favorite freshwater fish. Small, social and beautiful fish they are great for any peaceful aquarium. Two of the best species are
Bolivian Rams
German Blue Rams
Next
Corydoras--their are tons of species of these guy's. They are small catfish that are bottom-dwellers. They eat small scraps of food that fish miss. They don't however, eat fish waste, so don't expect them to. They also like to be kept in schools of 5 or more. So a smaller species like albino, pygmy, panda's or my personal favorite (other than pandas) the otto's. The ottos will eat algae unlike the other corydoras, and they are small as well.
Tetras.-- Just about any tetra would do well, except for rummynose tetras, congo tetras and a few other larger species. Some that do very well are the neon tetras and glowlight tetras. Tetras, like corydoras need to be in a school of 5 or more to be happy. If they don't they will become stressed out and possibly die.
Rasboras, --The most common is the harlequin rasbora. These are a personal favorite of mine. They to like to be in a school of 5 or more.
Guppies, Platies and Mollies.---- These three groups of fish, are a very large group of fish called the livebearers. Or also known as aquatic rabbits, as they breed like crazy. If you wish to keep any of them, get males. I personally like guppies as they have endless color possibilities.
Dwarf Gourmies,--- these are closely related to the betta, so only one male can be kept in a tank as they may fight. They come in Honey, Powder blue and flame red.
Dwarf Puffers, ---these are extremely cute fish and small fish, but they are aggressive and need to be kept in a species only tank.
Now obviously you cant have all of these, so you have to choose, but here is what I would personally do.
1x German Blue Ram
5x Harlequin Rasbora
5x Pygmy corry's or 5x otto's
Some fish NOT to get
any kind of plecostomus (pleco, sucker fish)
no bala sharks
no tin foil barbs
no oscar fish
no loaches
no rainbowfish
no killie fish
no danios or minnows
no barbs (barbs, danios and minows need at least a 20 gallon long because they are very active fish)
no african cichlids
no angel fish
no eight spot puffer
no cichlids other than dwarf

 

[Zagz]

Blazeyreef has offered excellent advice. Another thing that is important is to cycle your tank before adding fish. Our articles section has good articles on how to cycle your tank without fish and how to speed up the cycle. A FW test kit such as aquarium pharmaceuticals master kit is ideal. Don't use ammo lock, it can give false readings and doesn't actually get rid of ammonia. Ammonia is converted to nitrite and then nitrate. Both ammonia and nitrite are toxic to fish. So in addition to the soap you may have had ammonia in the tank.

Also acclimating fish to a tank should be done by floating the bag for 15-20 minutes then adding a bit of tank water, floating again, adding water and so on for about an hour. Or you can drip acclimate fish by putting fish into a clean unused bucket and running an airline hose into it with a clothespin or airline valve to allow the water to drip into the bucket. Either way you should net the fish out, never pour the water from the bag directly into your tank.

Welcome to AA, glad to have you here.

 

[WaterPond]

no rainbowfish
no killie fish
no danios or minnows

What about dwarf rainbowfish?

Killie fish can be kept in tanks as small as 2.5 gallons, just stay away from gold wonder killiefish.

Zebra danios and white cloud mountain minnows are great for small tanks.


I also recommend cleaning out the tank thouroughly with vinegar, then rinse it ver well after the use of the veinegar.

I strongly recommend using the fishless cycle to cycle your tank. There is a thread about it on this site somewhere, i will try to find it.

Good luck!

 

[blazeyreef]

Well I said no killie because if you want some tetras you cant have killie because they will make them lunch ... I had two golden wonders and they made snacks out of mine
I say no on the danios and minnows because IMO they need more room to swim.
I mentioned fish-less cycling somewhere, but yes I agree you need to re-cycle the tank. If you need help finding an article Im sure just about everyone here would be on their toes getting you one