All died

[V p1839]

I have a 12g tank I reset up after having it empty for 3 months. When reconstructing it I used fluorite gravel and added some Java fern, Kyoto, Anubias plants. I had let it cycle for an other month before I went out and added fish.

When I got fish I ended the week with 3 dwarf frogs 3 black mollies 2 golden Mickey Mouse platy 2 high fin pineapple Mickey Mouse platy and a gaurmie.

They were all doing great for about two weeks when I noticed some white spots on the mollies. The next day they were huge! When it the store and got some API ich remover. Started treating that like it says every other day with 25% water change before adding more. That was about a week ago.

The frogs were the first to go on wednesday and this weekend I noticed my heater broke. Went and got a new heater and now the rest of them died after 2 days of the new heater.

The water was at 73 and the old heater read 78. The new one I put at 80 and reads 79. I slowly heated the water every hour 2 degrees.


Why did my fish die? When can I get new ones. Should I empty the water and start new again?

Some advice please?

 

[Lt.]

Water params?

 

[blert]

Over stocked. Likely died from high toxin levels. How did you "cycle" the tank?

 

[V p1839]

Water peram was all normal. I know it was a little over stocked but they were all small still and a did a 25% water change every 4-5 days because of the overstock.

I cycled it by using the getting started stuff and 5g of a friends water. Watched the ammonia spikes and changed water and waited till there was no spikes anymore.

 

[Candiceg]

Did you test water with liquid or test strips? Very little bacteria lives in the water but when you start over get some used filter pads from your friend. And stock very very slowly. Less fish is more in the long run when you see how happy and healthy they are.

 

[V p1839]

I did grab his pad too. Liquid tests

 

[Candiceg]

That's good. Probably a combo of stocking fast stressed fish and allowed them to develop some kind of illness or one of the fish came with something.

 

[blert]

If it sat for a month without an ammonia source then no nitrifying bacteria colonies could grow.

Check the stickies section in the "Getting Started" forum for a mass of info on how to "cycle" a tank with or without fish.