All my fish died. Trying to figure out why

[audetterrr]

I have a 5 gallon tank and had 6 fish. I started my tank with one beta and two neon tetras. They seemed to get along for a month or so and therefore figured it was safe to add more more fish. Before i added the new fish i had my water checked and all seemed well. I added two Dalmatian Molly's and a sucker fish. I look at my fish everyday and about 2 weeks after I added the new fish I noticed the tetras had very little fins left. The Molly's seemed very aggressive but knowing about betas past aggressiveness I assumed it was the beta who attacked the tetras. So right away I put the beta in a separate bowl. The next day both tetras died. The following day the beta died. I did a small water change in my 5 gallon and my sucker and 2 Molly's seemed healthy. I went away on a long weekend and came back to all my fish dead. Where did I go wrong? I'm going to start over again and don't want a repeat.

 

[Holytotemic]

Was the aquarium cycled? Sounds like new tank/too many fish at once syndrome.

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[audetterrr]

Yes it was cycled.

 

[Holytotemic]

Nitrite poisoning sounds like a valid cause in my opinion. This can also cause breakdown of fins as well.

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[audetterrr]

The combination of "too many fish at once syndrome" and nitrite poisoning sounds about right. Thank you

 

[joels3400]

That's way too many fish. A 5 gallon is big enough for the Betta alone. Mollies need a 20 gallon tank

 

[joels3400]

Water quality is most likely the reason they died. How many water changes per week were you doing?

 

[audetterrr]

The lady at the aquarium shop I bought them from said it would be fine. She clearly was wrong. A mistake I won't make again.

 

[audetterrr]

I did a small water change once a week

 

[dcutl002]

API has a Master test kit that may help.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

5 gallon is large enough for the betta alone. Look up nitrogen cycle in aquarium and you should know all you need to get started. Do you have a filter?

 

[KevinKY]

When a lfs employee says something instantly run back home and double check it before making a purchase. Some of them out there are good, but a lot of them can be inexperienced or just trying to sell more product.

Until you have a working relationship with one of the good ones then trust nothing they say without researching it from another source.

Sorry for your loss.

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[KevinKY]

And yes, that tank was way overstocked.

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[treemanone2003]

When a lfs employee says something instantly run back home and double check it before making a purchase. Some of them out there are good, but a lot of them can be inexperienced or just trying to sell more product.

Until you have a working relationship with one of the good ones then trust nothing they say without researching it from another source.

Sorry for your loss.

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+1 Yup !!!!