Off to a bad start

[dbmoore1]

So last Sunday my girls (I have 2) won 3 fish (2 goldfish and I think guppy) at a fair (This was not my doing, a friend had them at the time and gave them the money to try to win the fish). The moment they won them I realized we had to go home and try and put the fish somewhere safe. When we got home a neighbor let us borrow a ten gallon tank he wasn't using. We have a natural creek in our yard so the girls filled the tank with about 6 gallons of creek water. By this time 1 of the goldfish had already died. We let the other two bags the fish were in equalize temperature wise with the creek water tank and then I added the fish to the tank. We also borrowed goldfish food. So now the fish were in a tank and seemed better. After a few days they were still alive! Since we totally didn't know what we were doing this was something of a miracle. So on Wednesday night (4 days after winning the fish, for those keeping score) we decided to do things right and get a 20 gallon fish tank with a filter, gravel, decor, thermometer, water testing kit, fish food, and a de-chlorinator. I setup the tank late that night and did a water test:
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0.25 PPM
Nitrate2: 0
Nitrate3: 0
The temp was about 75 degrees F.
So I thought they are in a messy temp tank and this one looks pretty good test wise (I know Ammonia should be 0 but it seemed like 0.25 would be better than 4 day old untreated creek water) so I moved them to the new tank.
They seemed really happy and for the next 24 hours they were. Now jump forward to Friday morning (in the new tank about 32 hours) and as the girls are getting ready for school today we find both fish dead
So before I buy any new fish and put their lives in jeopardy what did I do wrong and did I even stand a chance when starting out with fish from a fair?
Thanks,
Doug

 

[jlk]

Hi and welcome to AA!!! I am sorry your fair fish did not survive your first foray into the fish world. Jumping in head's first is a bit daunting! Ok, before you even consider purchasing another fish, please read this: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

This guide covers all of the basics of starting a fw tank, set-up, supplies and the basics of the nitrogen cycle/cycling a tank. Please ask if you have any questions about anything and we will help place you on the right track for happy, healthy tank!

 

[absolutangel04]

The guide jlk linked is a very good starter. Just so you know, it's likely your fish were in poor health to begin with, so don't beta yourself up about too much. Next time, you will be better prepared and be able to get healthy fish that you and your kids will enjoy.
For the future, I suggest staying away from goldfish, They get BIG and are pretty messy. For a 20g tank, there are a ton of options though. If you just want a few simple fish, you can always get guppies or platies. They are very colorful. If you would like a more complex community with schooling fish, there are a ton of those that would work too. Just let us know what direction you are thinking about and we will help in nay way we can. Welcome to the forum!

 

[dbmoore1]

Thanks and more questions

Thanks for your comments, I did feel in panic mode when we had fish before tanks or any knowledge of what we were doing.
So I am reading the getting started guide and the fishless cycling guide and FAQ and I've already got questions.

1. We did buy a starter kit (oops) so the comment about the filter in those typically being to small worries me. It came with a Tetra EX20 power filter. Should I be replacing that with something else?
2. This power filter uses a carbon filter and I get the impression I shouldn't use that anyway or each time I change it I'll dump most of the helpful bacteria and instead I should use "filter media" what the heck is this and again should I get a different filter that uses this instead of carbon?
3. When you do a PWC do you de-chlorinate the water before it goes in the tank? I am worried for that first 90% water change out (Step N) that if the water isn't treated first it will kill everything before I can add the de-chlorinator after I add all the water.

Thanks again,

Doug

P.S. I am so getting advice from you all once I get this fishless cycling done as to what to stock the tank with!

 

[jlk]

Hi Doug! Yes, filter manufacturers tend to over rate themselves. Tetra filters are not exactly great filters as it is. You can either either upgrade your filter entirely or add another filter to boost your filter capacity. Aquaclear, Marineland & Aqueon all make decent filters. You want to look at a filters 'gph' (gallons per hour) and not what they 'say' they are rated for (ie- a 10-20g tank). I would look for something thats atleast 150-200 gph range.

'Filter media' is basically anything you add to your filter that offers real estate for your good bacteria to grow. It can be filter cartridges, biowheels, filter foam/sponges, bioballs, ceramic rings, filter floss (otherwise known as polyfill that you stuff in pillows) etc. Carbon is not necessary for a healthy tank & loses its effectiveness after a only a few wks so it winds up being an additional expense to continually replace it. You basically can put any combination of media in your filter although specific filters may have more specialized media or different compartments for different types of media. See what filters you may be interested in & we can offer suggestions as well. Aquaclears are one of the more popular brands.

Water changes- it will depend on how you are doing them. If you are using a bucket, you can add conditioner/dechlorinator to each bucket you fill or you can add a dose for your size tank prior to refilling. Always add the dechl/condit prior to refilling the tank & you wont have any problems!