what to do now??

[barbrat3]

Hello,

Monday i set up 55 gal tank, 200 watt heater set at 75, whisper filter, tuesday, added aqua plus, cycle, waste control, that tuesday night hubby put in 1 sword platy, pair guppies, 2 neon tetras (arghhh!!!!!). Wednesday morning 1 guppy dead, put in 4 plants, Thursday sword dead. the last 3 dont look well hanging around heater or 1 inch from bottom.

Is there anything i can do to save them or at least is there anything i can do to prevent anymore sadness (besides keeping hubby away?)

[cbk.o4]

well i would start catching up on the stickies on the boards.

did u cycle the tank at all? (using bio-spira for a close to instant cycle or anything like that?)

that heater should be around 300w that is what im going to be using on my 55g.

do u have a freshwater master test kit to test for the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite levels of the tank?

i would assume almost, if not all, those fish will die within the next few days, unless they adapt to the levels of the tank very quickly...

if it was me, i would take them back to the lfs and then start cycling the tank (if u didnt in the first place)

EDIT: forgot sry...WELCOME TO AA!

[TomK2]

I think you need to have a quality liquid reagent FW test kit, and check the pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. Available online for about $15. I find it hard to believe that such a low bioload would give you high ammonia levels so fast, but I would check it. It is possible that the fish were acclimated poorly, and that was the cause of thier distress. Check out the articles section on AA, specifically with respect to the "cycle," since you have not yet established a biologic filter (bacteria colony for converting ammonia into nitrite then nitrate), you will now need to prevent high ammonia and nitrite from harming your remaining fish. Also, 75 degrees might be a little cool, but I am not certain that is the cause of the problem. It wouldn't hurt to increase the temp to 78 to 80 degrees.

If you are inclined to return the fish, or sadly end up with no survivors, you can consider a fishless cycle (see the articles section). If you are going to establish a biofilter using fish, you can read my rather wordy essay on the topic at:

http://home.comcast.net/~tomstank/to...s/page0017.htm

Oh, and welcom to AA! Glad you joined in, its a great hobby.

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA! First I would do an immediate pwc to rid the water of any possible ammonia. Cycle IMO doesn't do anything in helping to cycle the tank. All that is needed with new water is dechlorinator. Also Tom is right, the temp would be better at 78 or so. If you want your fish to survive the cycle, lots of water changes is the only way that can happen. Ammonia burns the fish's gills causing distress and eventually death. In some instances daily water changes may be required. The test kit that Tom refers to is one of the most important things you will purchase.

How did you acclimate them to the tank?

[malkore]

like Zags says, Cycle really isn't a magic potion. Even Bio-spira can fail to instantly cycle a tank.

at this stage, I'd return the fish and do a fishless cycle.

a good liquid test kit is the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals master test kit. Usually $20 in an LFS, but can be found for almost half that from an online vendor.

[DeFeKt]

male or female guppies, Is there any damage to the deceased?
I think we've all overlooked the possibilty that maybe a male guppy or something is knocking off the other fish?

How did you acclimate them to the tank?

Is a good question and another possibilty..

cycling imo is needed, however somewhat over-rated.
I have never lost a fish during a cycle.