New tank question

[hill2107]

Just bought a new 55 gal tank. I purchased 10 tiger bards as a hardy fish to make my tank cycle faster. Now my fish is dying...I only have 5 left. Is this common. Ive had it up and running about 3 weeks now. Im gonna test my water tomorrow and see how everything is looking.

[melosu58]

You need to go to the articles section and read up on the FW cycling and nitrogen cycle articles. Cycling with fish is not the best way to go IMO.

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!

Yes, please read the articles, they're linked in my signature.

What's happening is the waste from the fish is causing your ammonia and possibly your nitrIte to spike. This stuff is toxic to the fish, and you'll need to test your water and perform water changes whenever ammonia or nitrIte get to 0.5ppm or higher.

The nitrogen cycle link, in my sig, will explain what's happening in your tank in very good detail.

[gheitman]

Originally Posted by hill2107

Just bought a new 55 gal tank. I purchased 10 tiger bards as a hardy fish to make my tank cycle faster. Now my fish is dying...I only have 5 left. Is this common. Ive had it up and running about 3 weeks now. Im gonna test my water tomorrow and see how everything is looking.

If you haven't started already I suggest daily partial water changes until the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are at safe levels. If you don't have something to test these I suggest you go out and either get some test strips or liquid reagent test kits. I use both although the test strips are less accurate. In an emergency you can use Prime or something similar to detoxify your water. You should be using something like this anyway to treat your water before adding it to the aquarium.

Don't hesitate to post any more questions you might have. Everyone starts out at the beginning sometime and you should find a lot of people here willing to help you.

[cmor1701d]

Partial water changes are the best medicine you can use. If you can't return your livestock to the lfs or give them to someone with an established tank you need to do dailly 20% or twice daily 10% water changes (propely treated/aged).