All my fish died overnight!

[Sizanne]

I set up a 14 gallon freshwater aquarium in my office August 24, 2011. I had some mollys and an algae eater. Six all together. I added the chemicals that came with the aquarium kit to the water laid some "gravel" on the bottom and let the filter run for a couple of days and then took a water sample in to the pet store to have it checked. They said it was "perfect". I bought the fish and a some plants and a big rock for decoration and for the fish to play/hide in. The fish seemed to be doing ok although I did notice the water was getting cloudy. I called the pet store and they said that was normal - it just needed to cyle and would clear up in a couple of weeks. Last Friday I found the little algae eater dead and scooped him out. I took a 1 gallon bucket and scooped out a gallon of water and added a gallon of distilled water. Came in Saturday morning (yesterday) and all 5 of the remaining fish were caught in one of the plants that was right next to the heater - all dead. I took them back to the pet store along with a water sample and was told that the ph level was off the chart. I don't know what happened.

[zooking12]

Maybe the disstilled water had an affect?

[George9]

Originally Posted by Sizanne

I set up a 14 gallon freshwater aquarium in my office August 24, 2011. I had some mollys and an algae eater. Six all together. I added the chemicals that came with the aquarium kit to the water laid some "gravel" on the bottom and let the filter run for a couple of days and then took a water sample in to the pet store to have it checked. They said it was "perfect". I bought the fish and a some plants and a big rock for decoration and for the fish to play/hide in. The fish seemed to be doing ok although I did notice the water was getting cloudy. I called the pet store and they said that was normal - it just needed to cyle and would clear up in a couple of weeks. Last Friday I found the little algae eater dead and scooped him out. I took a 1 gallon bucket and scooped out a gallon of water and added a gallon of distilled water. Came in Saturday morning (yesterday) and all 5 of the remaining fish were caught in one of the plants that was right next to the heater - all dead. I took them back to the pet store along with a water sample and was told that the ph level was off the chart. I don't know what happened.

The fish died because you need to cycle the aquarium. The reason why the water was perfect was because there was no source of ammonia. Once you add fish, that's a lot of ammonia that needs to be broken down, but the bacteria (created during cycling) isn't there to eat the ammonia yet. I will post a link to how to complete a fishless cycle.

[George9]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums...ml#post1298738

[redsea]

Welcome, and sorry to hear about your fish!

[Aces11]

Your tank wasn't cycled yet. Don't worry though- I made the same mistake when I began the hobby. Read the link that George posted above and you'll be good to go. There are many helpful people on this forum so don't be afraid to ask questions.

[absolutangel04]

Welcome. Glad ou found us. I agree that your tank was not properly cycled. Sorry the petstore didn't tell you the right things. Plenty of people have made similar mistakes though.
Read the cycling article and let us know if you have questions. It may help to make a cycling log in the freshwater "getting started" section. Then, you can ask about stocking the tank (most algae eaters are not suitable in 14 gallon tank).