Questions about son's fish tank

[ngraysmith]

"Santa" brought my four year old a fish tank at his request (that was the only thing he asked for). It was an Eclipse 6 gallon tank. We set up the tank according to the book, with the water conditioner, gravel and plastic plants. We also got a heater. After several days we got three neon tetras from the LFS. A week later we got two more after having our water tested by LFS and pronounced "okay." A few days after getting those fish and putting them in the tank all the fish got ick. We raised the temperature to 86, but didn't try anything else since we couldn't agree what to do I also did some water changes adding Prime. The fish then started dying. All but one have died. I started checking ammonia levels and they are now down to 0 (from 1 a week ago). Assuming that the last fish dies of ick, what should we do next to try to prevent fish loss.

Our plan had been to have 5 neons in the tank and maybe 2 guppies.

Thanks!

Nicole

 

[miniflea84]

Others here can probably advise you better, but there are two things I'd do. One, raise the temperature of the tank (or keep it at the 86 or so mark if its still there) and wait. Ich is a parasite that can survive in cyst form without any fish, but only for so long. Higher temperatures decreases this time. Second, add a little pure ammonia to keep your biological filter fed while there are no fish in the tank.

Also, if you don't know what cycling is, do a quick search. Knowing how to cycle your tank (really, just knowing what the nitrogen cycle is and that it exists) will save you a lot of headaches and a lot of dead fish. Apologies if you know already, but just wanted to make sure since you didn't mention it in your post.

Good luck!

 

[ngraysmith]

Thanks for the advice! How long should I wait before getting new fish? Any suggestions?

Also, I assumed the tank had cycled since the ammonia levels went up and then down. Is there another way to check?

 

[booginish]

check your nitrite levels, building the bacterium that recycle ammonia in to nitrite is the first phase the second would be building a strong colony of nitrite recycling bacterium that turn nitrite into nitrate(the least toxic form of ammonia which can be controlled with 10% weekly water changes). get a nitrite test kit, when u get a reading of zero nitrites and zero ammonia your tank is fully cycelled, but its hard to do with out some sort of ammonia producing genum. its good to keep the temp a lil high during this process as the cycling process will speed up a bit with warm conditions. and 86 is a little high for the fish you had, by increasing temperature to that kind of heat it makes it harder for the types of fish you had to breath so at the same time of having ich they definately were having some respiratory problems as well(which probly didnt help them). research your fish and see what temps are to high and to low before increasing to that kind of temp.

 

[jim692]

Also, I assumed the tank had cycled since the ammonia levels went up and then down. Is there another way to check?

yes, get a liquid reagent test kit like API freshwater master test kit. Most like this type better than the strip type test kits. Test for ph, ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes. This will tell you where your tank is at atm. Your tank may not be cycled. This could easily be why the fish didn't make it. Post the readings when you get them. Also test the water you use to do water changes (let it sit for a day or so first). This will give you a baseline for your water.

Thanks for the advice! How long should I wait before getting new fish? Any suggestions??

Tetras like a well established tank. The last one may die too. Sorry. Doing water changes daily may help. You should make sure the cycling of your tank is complete and the ick is gone before adding more fish. I can't tell you how long that will take. 2 weeks or so for the ick issue. the cycling of the tank depends on where you are with that. When tank is cycled ammonia and nitrItes will be 0 and nitrAtes will rise. Nitrates can be handled with normal water changes.


You may want to find a new fish store. A couple of days is not enough time usually to cycle your tank, and i would be suprised if your water was "ok" after a week. They should have known that. It certianly was not stable and established enough for tetras. The ick is another issue.

Here is a good read on cycling, etc.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/24/1/Nitrogen-Cycle-/Page1.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/25/1/PH-and-General-Water-Conditions/Page1.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/29/1/Freshwater-Ich-Yuck-/Page1.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/35/1/The-Freshwater-Quarantine-Tank/Page1.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html