Hey guys, my name is David and I am new to this forum, and this happens to be my first post. I NEED HELP! This story is over the span of around 3 weeks. It explains my attempt to maintain the 3 new Glofish I purchased at Petsmart.
3 weeks ago I purchased my first "Top Fin" 10 gallon tank. It came with a 10 gallon filter. I knew nothing about the hobby ... !
I filled the tank, added the water softener to rid the water of Chlorine and waited 24 hours. I then returned to Petsmart and bought 3 "Glofish".
I also purchased a heater and a couple of props for the tank.
When I got home I warmed the water to around 78 degrees, sat the bag of fish into the water for about 30 minutes before releasing them into the tank.
I knew nothing about the "cycling" of an aquarium, nor was it ever mentioned to me after a lengthy conversation with the people at Petsmart.
For the first 10 days or so, the fish seemed to thrive. They were super active and eating twice a day. Little did I know, I was throwing too much food into the water, which may have contributed to their demise.
After around 12 days, I noticed the fish were hovering at the top of the tank. I also noticed they had white spots on their bodies.
I went back to Petsmart and purchased Ich medicine, aquarium salt, and an air stone. As soon as I got home, I setup the air stone, did a 25% water change, included aquarium salt, threw in the Ich medicine, and turned up the heat to around 82-85 degrees.
From then on I did a 20-25% water change daily(with the water dechlorinater). I also included the Ich medicine daily, and put in about half a tablespoon of aquarium salt with each water change.
The ich seemed to get better, but the fish never ceased to struggle. They would stop hovering at the top of the tank, but they basically kinda floated around and swam only if needed. However, it did seem like their appetite slightly improved.
I continued to feed(overfeed) them for the next 3 days(twice a day). The ich actually seemed to improve as I kept my daily maintenance up, but the fish never seemed to recover. Additionally they would hover at the top of the tank sometimes(but not all the time).
I missed 2 days of the 25% water change, but still added the Ich medicine.
After the 2 days I continued my water changes.
After around 17 days I finally read about the process of "cycling" a new fish tank to build up the new bacteria's the fish need to survive.
I immediately purchased an API master test kit. The results of the test.
PH: 7.6
Ammonia: Between 1.0 - 2.0 ppm
Nitrite: Hard to tell, but between 0ppm-.25 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm.
The day after the test, the first fish died.
I purchased my three fish October 4th, and the final two fish died today on the 22nd.
Whats weird, is the last couple of days, the Ich seemed to get worse even though I was doing those water changes, and including the Ich medicine. The water was always at around 82 degrees.
I am now at a loss. What do I do next. I have an empty 10 gallon tank. I would like to get new fish, but feel super bad I let the others die. I don't even really know why they died.
My questions.
Are the numbers from the test mentioned above lethal?
Was I just too late in my attempts to save their lives?
I used a dechlorinator, but kind of guessed at how much to put into the 25% water change. That isn't toxic is it? Also, I know chlorine will kill the fish and cause them to exhibit some of the symptoms I observed. I let the water softner/dechlorinator sit for 15 mins before adding. I am worried I may have been adding chlorinated water to the tank. Should I test the water for chlorine whenever doing a water change?
I also guessed at the aquarium salt amount for the 25% water change based on the amount of salt needed per 5 gallons. Could excess salt kill them?
My tank is empty and I want to make sure any Ich remaining in the water is gone. I maxed out my water heater and re-inserted the carbon filter. The air stone and filter will continue to run. I plan to test the water every other day for the next week. When do you think it would be safe to re-introduce fish to the tank?
Lastly, with the water filter and air stone, it seems there is a significant current in the tank. Is that a problem?
I was thinking about purchasing 3 guppies this time, because the are tougher in new aquariums. What would you guys suggest?
Also, would snails help the fish survive?
Again, thank you for the information ahead of time.
3 weeks ago I purchased my first "Top Fin" 10 gallon tank. It came with a 10 gallon filter. I knew nothing about the hobby ... !
I filled the tank, added the water softener to rid the water of Chlorine and waited 24 hours. I then returned to Petsmart and bought 3 "Glofish".
I also purchased a heater and a couple of props for the tank.
When I got home I warmed the water to around 78 degrees, sat the bag of fish into the water for about 30 minutes before releasing them into the tank.
I knew nothing about the "cycling" of an aquarium, nor was it ever mentioned to me after a lengthy conversation with the people at Petsmart.
For the first 10 days or so, the fish seemed to thrive. They were super active and eating twice a day. Little did I know, I was throwing too much food into the water, which may have contributed to their demise.
After around 12 days, I noticed the fish were hovering at the top of the tank. I also noticed they had white spots on their bodies.
I went back to Petsmart and purchased Ich medicine, aquarium salt, and an air stone. As soon as I got home, I setup the air stone, did a 25% water change, included aquarium salt, threw in the Ich medicine, and turned up the heat to around 82-85 degrees.
From then on I did a 20-25% water change daily(with the water dechlorinater). I also included the Ich medicine daily, and put in about half a tablespoon of aquarium salt with each water change.
The ich seemed to get better, but the fish never ceased to struggle. They would stop hovering at the top of the tank, but they basically kinda floated around and swam only if needed. However, it did seem like their appetite slightly improved.
I continued to feed(overfeed) them for the next 3 days(twice a day). The ich actually seemed to improve as I kept my daily maintenance up, but the fish never seemed to recover. Additionally they would hover at the top of the tank sometimes(but not all the time).
I missed 2 days of the 25% water change, but still added the Ich medicine.
After the 2 days I continued my water changes.
After around 17 days I finally read about the process of "cycling" a new fish tank to build up the new bacteria's the fish need to survive.
I immediately purchased an API master test kit. The results of the test.
PH: 7.6
Ammonia: Between 1.0 - 2.0 ppm
Nitrite: Hard to tell, but between 0ppm-.25 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm.
The day after the test, the first fish died.
I purchased my three fish October 4th, and the final two fish died today on the 22nd.
Whats weird, is the last couple of days, the Ich seemed to get worse even though I was doing those water changes, and including the Ich medicine. The water was always at around 82 degrees.
I am now at a loss. What do I do next. I have an empty 10 gallon tank. I would like to get new fish, but feel super bad I let the others die. I don't even really know why they died.
My questions.
Are the numbers from the test mentioned above lethal?
Was I just too late in my attempts to save their lives?
I used a dechlorinator, but kind of guessed at how much to put into the 25% water change. That isn't toxic is it? Also, I know chlorine will kill the fish and cause them to exhibit some of the symptoms I observed. I let the water softner/dechlorinator sit for 15 mins before adding. I am worried I may have been adding chlorinated water to the tank. Should I test the water for chlorine whenever doing a water change?
I also guessed at the aquarium salt amount for the 25% water change based on the amount of salt needed per 5 gallons. Could excess salt kill them?
My tank is empty and I want to make sure any Ich remaining in the water is gone. I maxed out my water heater and re-inserted the carbon filter. The air stone and filter will continue to run. I plan to test the water every other day for the next week. When do you think it would be safe to re-introduce fish to the tank?
Lastly, with the water filter and air stone, it seems there is a significant current in the tank. Is that a problem?
I was thinking about purchasing 3 guppies this time, because the are tougher in new aquariums. What would you guys suggest?
Also, would snails help the fish survive?
Again, thank you for the information ahead of time.
