Fish Keep Dying! HELP PLZ! :<

[dillinger916]

Lol. I kinda assumed it was some pet store. Yeah, I learned not to listen to them after noticing a pattern of contradicting information. :\

 

[dkpate]

I liken my water changes to filling up a glass or bathtub with water, letting it sit a week, and then drinking it or taking a bath every day for 7 days in the same water. DISGUSTING. So my tanks get changed 50% once a week (the 5G tank gets changed twice a week). When fish live in the wild, their habitats are changing all the time with the water flow amd rain, so they don't need someone coming in and changing their water once a week. I want my fish to have the best life possible, so they get clean water.

 

[Lynae]

True that.. true that!
I think of it the same way.... like leaving a glass of water out and then drinking it.... cause thats gross!! whatever change that water goes through...
I do 40% every 3 days or so, a couple smaller ones in between if I feel like treating them!
No harm done in clean water.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

But if you took it to the extreme and did, say 90% every day. Then you would start to cause problems for the filter as the bacteria wouldn't have enough ammonia and nitrite to munch on.

 

[dkpate]

Exactly! And I believe you will have less problems if you keep their water clean. Like with bettas....if their water is dirty, their tails will look terrible and clean water will make them look 100% better! So no one can say that never changing your water is good for fish. (And I am sure someone will say "Bettas come from rice paddies and stagnant water" which WAS true 50 years ago. Wild bettas are not the same bettas as you buy in the store now. They have short fins and are accustomed to living in that enviroment, which the bettas nowadays aren't. It would be like us living in caves, not very comfy!)
Also, another point I forgot about is pH. Your pH lowers as the water sits in the tank, and if you don't clean it for a while, when you put the new water in with the higher pH, you run the risk of shocking your fish. No thanks to that too!

 

[dkpate]

Most bacteria doesn't live in the water, it lives in the filter, decor and substrate. So removing 90% of the water would not do anything to your bacterial colony, and your fish in there pooping makes enough lol. When I was cycling my tank with fish, I changed 50-70% of the water every single day, and my tank was cycled in 4 weeks.

 

[dillinger916]

I was always scared to change my water, years ago when I very first got some fish (and some horrible information on how to take care of them), I'd take them out, clean the tank and either they'd die when I took them out of the tank or died when I put them back in... I always tried to make sure the temperature was about the same... but I have a vacuum now so it should be easier xD

 

[dkpate]

Yes, never take them out, unless you absolutely have to. Less shock for them to just stay in then be transferred back and forth.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

I was always scared to change my water, years ago when I very first got some fish (and some horrible information on how to take care of them), I'd take them out, clean the tank and either they'd die when I took them out of the tank or died when I put them back in...

It's not surprising. My Mum has told me when she was little she had a goldfish and she would often empty all of the water out, clean the tank and replace it all.

Indeed my LFS tried to tell me that you shouldn't change the water at all while the tank is cycling as they 'have to get used to it'...

 

[dillinger916]

Another question, I have a vacuum thingamajig to clean my tank, do I need to be really gentle when I change the water? Are fish sensitive and/or scared easily? Just curious, don't want to scare them when I change the water ^__^

 

[dkpate]

I think it depends on the fish. My H. Rasboras and guppies are scared of the vacuum and my dwarf gourami and bettas attack it.

 

[dillinger916]

Haha. Yeah I just have one guppy in there right now and four ghost shrimp... I guess I'll try to be as careful as I can. =)

 

[dkpate]

Yeah lol, don't suck the shrimp up! The guppy will be okay.

 

[dillinger916]

Haha, yeah, I was worried about sucking them up, but they seem to all have gotten bigger so they're easier to see.

 

[dkpate]

That's a plus! Are you able to "herd" them to one side of the tank? If you are, you could probably just vacuum one side a day.

 

[dillinger916]

Mmm... not sure, never tried, how would I do that? Just kinda nudge them?

 

[dkpate]

I guess. Maybe before you start vacuuming, you could use the end of it to kind of push them to one side?

 

[dillinger916]

I'll try, I'm about to clean it right now xD

 

[dkpate]

Let me know how it goes!

 

[dillinger916]

Quick Question again: I'm going to put the new water in a cup and then into the aquarium, do I put the conditioner in the cup of water before I put it in the aquarium, or in the aquarium after I put the water in?