Help please fish dying within 2 days

[ttmoreno]

Hello, I am so happy to be here and hope that someone can please help me. My fish die within 2 days of buying them. I have a newish tank that was set up almost a year ago. I get my water tested and it is always fine. I've done cycling, water changes, everything I can think to do. My fish die within 1 to 2 days of buying them. Have tried all types of freshwater fish, even tried cheap hard to kill goldfish. Nothing lives in the tank. I have the water test kit not the sticks. I have had my water professionally tested at NC State Exotics and it always comes back fine. I have a 55 gallon tank with two filters, aerator, heater, gravel and driftwood and 3 aquarium decorations. At fist I thought it might be the sand but I replaced that with gravel and they still die. I have bought fish from several different stores and they still die. No one has been able to help me so I have come here for advice. I had a previous 55 gallon tank and never had a problem with it. It's just this tank that is giving me headaches.

[Aiken Drum]

How are you acclimating new fish when you get them?

Is the testing you are doing testing for any disolved solids. Could be an issue with differences between your water and the water where you are buying from?

[ttmoreno]

I am adding the fish slowly after letting them adjust to the water for about 20 minutes floating in the bag they came in. This is how I was told to do it from the fish store. I have never heard of dissolved solids. How do I test for that? what are they. Thank you for your help it is greatly appreciated.

[Aiken Drum]

Well dissolved solids can be a little complicated, but water hardness makes up a lot of Total Dissolved Solids. Its basically how much stuff is dissolved in the water. Hardness is how much of a particular stuff is dissolved depending on what type of water hardness you are testing for.

If the fishstores you are buying from has particularly hard water (lots of dissolved stuff) and you have very soft water (not very much dissolved stuff) the sudden change in water type might not be good for your fish. There are tests for this.

It sounds like you are just temperature acclimating. You could try slowly mixing tank water with the water in the bag so the fish isnt suddenly going from hard to soft water (or vice versa).

Link to video showing an acclimating method that might help you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=-RRtNfX0WuI

Fingers crossed this helps. You might want to ask the fish store if they have hard or soft water, and find out if your own is similar.

Let us know how you get on.