Fish keep dying need help

[302maverick]

Hello all, 'm having a problem with my 10 Gallon tank. the problem is my fish keep dying I have lost several gold fish and a plecostomus and then just quit using the tank and have tried to set it back up and have put 4 tetras in it and they seemed to be doing good so after about 3 days of no problems i went and got 4 guppies (2 male, 2 female) and then added a molly i raised from birth. the next day I found 1 tetra dead and then today i found 1 female guppy dead and a dying tetra but all others are acting fine. does anybody know what could be causing the issues with this tank?
I have cleaned it out and boiled the rocks and decor and nothing seems to help. I have set it up used aquasafe and used PH stuff and everything the same as my 50 gal. tank but keep having issues with it but my 50 gal. does just fine.

 

[43Gallons]

Have you cycled the ten gallon tank prior to adding these fish?

 

[302maverick]

Yes It cycled for about a 4 days. I set my 50 gallon up and cycled it for the same amount of time and the 50 gallon is doing great. the last time i set this 10 gallon up i let it cycle for a week

 

[43Gallons]

Erm, what do you mean by cycle? I'm referring to the nitrogen cycle, which typically takes 2-6 weeks. Unless you had a great deal of seeding material, it may be that your fish are dying to ammonia poisoning from not being placed in a cycled tank.

 

[302maverick]

all I've ever done it set it up let it run after treating water and let sit for a day or so and have never had issues with ammonia problems here. had the water tested at the pet store and they said all was fine and they just said must have gotten sick fish. This has been the only tank I have had so many problems.

 

[JackSpadesSI]

The pet store is wrong.

 

[jcolon]

Erm, what do you mean by cycle? I'm referring to the nitrogen cycle, which typically takes 2-6 weeks. Unless you had a great deal of seeding material, it may be that your fish are dying to ammonia poisoning from not being placed in a cycled tank.

+1 on what 43 Gallons just said.

Sounds like your fish are dying of ammonia poisoning. If you are not familiar with the nitrogen cycle, quickly read up on it ... it is best you consider fish-less cycling. That would mean returning the fish in the 10 gallon back to the LFS, but it's in their best interest.

The first step is to get yourself an reliable water testing kit ... API Test master is the best on the market ... highly recommended by AA. Test the ammonia, nitrite and nitrates and then let us know your results so we can continue to help. We want your fish to do well and for you to enjoy their company. That mean completely cycling your tank to build up the bacteria that will help to keep your fish alive ... which means doing reqular PWC's of between 25% - 50% depending on your water parameters.

You said you had goldfish in 10 gallon. Well any experienced member will tell you, you need a MINIMUM of 20 gallons for just one goldfish ... and then 10 gallons for each additional. This is because goldfish have a big bio-load so they are VERY messy fish. All the waste they produce slowly is making their water more toxic.

Your 50 Gallon is probably doing better because it's a bigger tank with more water volume to dilute ammonia buildup ... for now ... that tank however requires PWC's as much as the 10 gallon.

 

[jcolon]

P.S. Sorry forgot to mention ... whatever your LFS says ... do the opposite ...literally.

 

[jcolon]

The pet store is wrong.

Guess someone beat me to the punch

 

[43Gallons]

all I've ever done it set it up let it run after treating water and let sit for a day or so and have never had issues with ammonia problems here.

I believe this would be where the ammonia problems are starting. It may be that your 50 gallon fish got by by having a large enough tank to dilute the ammonia while the necessary bacteria developed. It is not a good idea to place fish in a tank which is not cycled, as evidenced by your dead fish.

 

[302maverick]

well thanks for all you guys who helped i'm going to put these fish in the 50 bc a have 2 filters in it instead of one and I'll get a good test kit and check the water and see what it reads in this 10 gallon.