HELP!! - 6 fish bought, 2 died and one is burying itself.

[Bradleyj539]

Hi all,

Recently got into owning fish. Bought a tank a few weeks ago and followed advice from my local fish store to cycle and treat it, which has been done. For a whole week, I tested the water with 6-in-1 tests and all came back in the clear! Awesome, time to get some fish!

Yesterday I bought 6 Guppies, which I introduced to the tank. However 3 of them have turned a bad way, two had buried themselves into the gravel I have and another is currently doing the same. I was concerned this was potentially a temperature problem, but surely all the fish in the tank would be affected the same!

It is bizarre as they never did it all at the same time and the other 3 are still swimming around perfectly fine.

I have tested the water this morning and the tests came back the same way as before. I understand guppies are no extravagant fish and I understand that they are generally hardy, this has just confused me and I can't find any other assistance online.

Worrying due to it being 24 hours since I've got them and half of them have died or seem to be doing so.

I have not treated the water since getting the fish, although I added some plants upon the introduction of the fish.

I have a 70L (15 gallons) tank, with a filter that came along with the tank itself. My temps are steady between 75-76F.

Any assistance or pointers would be great!

TIA!

 

[Aiken Drum]

How did you cycle the tank? Cycling a tank typically takes 6 to 8 weeks. Its not just a case of adding some product and letting it run for a week.

What are your actual water parameters?

Most 5 in 1 and 6 in 1 test strips don't test for ammonia. Does your testing include ammonia?

Having said all that its unlikely an uncycled tank will kill fish in the short amount of time you are describing.

Chlorine would normally be the thing that kills that quickly, but it would effect all your fish the same.

How did you acclimate the fish before putting them in your tank? A rapid change in water parameters could be the cause.

Its also simply possible the fish werent in the best of health, in which case simply the stress of the move could be responsible.

First port of call should always be a water change.

And dont take advice from fish store employees as gospel. They are there to sell you fish, equipment and supplements. If fish get sick they get to sell you medication. If they die they get to sell you more fish. Im not saying they are dishonest, but generally know no more than you do. They will also be telling you what corporate tell them to say. Would be interesting to know what they told you about how to cycle a tank. It would be a first if they gave you good advice on this

 

[Bradleyj539]

Hi Aiken,

Thanks for the reply!

My local fish store gave me a used filter and told me to allow my tank to run for a week using this as a catalyst. So I ran this for about 8 days and did a 6-in-1 test after and found the levels were what was required on the back of the packet. I used the Tetra 6-IN1, measuring pH, Carbonate Hardness, General Hardness, Nitrate, Nitrite, and Chlorine.

I acclimatized my fish, by the recommendation of the local fish store. In the bag floating in the tank for 15 mins, added a cup of tank water and let sit for another 15 mins and then added in the tank, with the lights off and then turned the lights on after about an hour or so.

I think the first fish wasn't well, as he only appeared to swim one-sided using one fin only, which meant he struggling with controlling where he was going.

Thinking about it, it was very naive of me to believe a word of the employee but I had done my own research and believe the information they were telling me was correct.

I will definitely be doing a water change shortly.

 

[Aiken Drum]

As said i dont think an uncycled tank is the cause of your problems. But, you don't know your ammonia so that could be sky high and could be the cause.

Could you post the results of what water parameters you have though, and i would get hold of a test for ammonia. API freshwater master test kit is a good one to go for. Liquid tests are easier to read, considered to be more accurate than strips and give you much better value for money.

Although its not the subject of your thread, you probably arent cycled. This will cause you more issues in a couple of weeks.

The nitrogen cycle is where ammonia (fish waste) is converted to nitrite by beneficial bacteria, and then a different type of beneficial bacteria converts that to less harmful nitrate, which is typically removed by your water changes. Cycling the tank is the process where you grow enough beneficial bacteria to process out all the ammonia and resultant nitrite your system produces into nitrate. The used filter may have helped though. You need ammonia as a food source so the bacteria can grow into a sufficiently big enough colony to support your fish.

In a fish in cycle, this ammonia is provided by your fish. The ammonia and resultant nitrite is controlled through regular water changes until your cycle establishes and can keep them down on its own. You then just need to do water changes to control nitrate. This is where you are as you already have fish.

In a fishless cycle you dose ammonia and establish the cycle before adding fish.

As said generally a cycle takes 6 to 8 weeks to establish.

Until you are able to test for ammonia I would change 25% of your water daily to be on the safe side. Feed lightly to minimise waste. As much as is eaten in 1 minute daily or 2 minutes every other day. When you are able to test for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate let us know where you are at and i can advise further on a fish in cycle. When you have your test kit you should do sufficient water changes to keep ammonia + nitrite combined below 0.5ppm.

This explains why i dont think being uncycled is your current issue. In 24 hours its unlikely that ammonia and nitrite have had time to build up to toxic levels. Your tests show everything is fine because you are testing tap water with no waste in it.