fish death?

[cwb_reeftank]

ok I have had a reef tank for 7 years now and I worked at my lfs for a year so I thought I would try a paludarium. and put some freshwater fish in the water part. I divided the tank in half with great stuff foam and covered it with 100% silicon. after I got all of the done I put in black sand, some drift wood, I have a a cascade 170 filter on one side and I cut a hole in the great stuff and put another pump there with a filter sponge in the hole as well. well I tried ghost feeding my tank for a week and I tested my water and nothing well I got 3 zebra danios they lasted about one day. so I left them in there for a week took out what was left of them and put 3 more in they lasted about 4 or 5 days left them in there for a day or two then did a little water change. I than got a small cichlid and I lived about 6 days. well I found out that my mom wasn't feeding the fish while I was at college. so I came back home last weekend and got 3 long fin danios and my mom has been feeding them everyday now and two of them have died. I have some algae growing and im afraid to get an algae eater because I don't want it to die. also the water volume is 10-15 gallons. I also have some plants in there as well.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

so any ideas as to why they died would be helpful

 

[Mebbid]

so any ideas as to why they died would be helpful

What are the water parameters?
How did you acclimate them?

 

[cwb_reeftank]

as of right now I cant tell you but I'm going home tomorrow so ill be testing them tomorrow and how I do it I let the bag float for 15 mins than I take a little bathroom Dixie cup and put two scoops of water in wait 5 mins than do it again wait 5 mins do that one more time then I dumped the fish in I actually dump all the water in because I know the water with the fish is good

 

[sinibotia]

as of right now I cant tell you but I'm going home tomorrow so ill be testing them tomorrow and how I do it I let the bag float for 15 mins than I take a little bathroom Dixie cup and put two scoops of water in wait 5 mins than do it again wait 5 mins do that one more time then I dumped the fish in I actually dump all the water in because I know the water with the fish is good

No, all the water with the fish is bad. The water can carry diseases and such. You want to put the fish in and get rid of the water.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

even if I worked at the store and know how the fish and water are?

 

[sinibotia]

even if I worked at the store and know how the fish and water are?

Yeah, it's generally just good practice not to. I wouldn't put water in my tank from someone elses tank no matter who. No actual benefit to adding it but plenty of potential problems.

 

[IllusionX]

Yes. Even if the water is good, you don't know if there are any diseases carried.

 

[Mebbid]

even if I worked at the store and know how the fish and water are?

It's best practice not to, it can be safe to do, but there's really no guarantees. With a fish store soo many fish come and go that there could easily be some infectious agent in the water that hasn't showed its head in the other fish.

In short, there's no real downside to not using the LFS water but potentially quite a few issues with using a LFS water.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

so besides how I introduce the fish what else could be wrong you think?

 

[IllusionX]

so besides how I introduce the fish what else could be wrong you think?

Cycling. Fresh water also go through the nitrogen cycle.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

I know that but I figured it should be cycled by now

 

[sinibotia]

Just to get this out of the way... did you cycle the tank?

 

[cwb_reeftank]

what I did was I got it all set up had the water in it with the filters on and I ghost feed it for a week. then I tested the water and it was zero everything so I got three fish and they died (obviously) the next day. so I left them in for a week so it would produce some stuff. I put three more in they last 4 days and then I got a little cichlid and it died in 5 days. then last firday I got 3 long fin danios and only one of them is still alive so its been about 4-5 weeks now so I figured it should be cycled by now

 

[cwb_reeftank]

I also did one water change

 

[Mebbid]

what I did was I got it all set up had the water in it with the filters on and I ghost feed it for a week. then I tested the water and it was zero everything so I got three fish and they died (obviously) the next day. so I left them in for a week so it would produce some stuff. I put three more in they last 4 days and then I got a little cichlid and it died in 5 days. then last firday I got 3 long fin danios and only one of them is still alive so its been about 4-5 weeks now so I figured it should be cycled by now

So,

First - You added fish food for a week and never saw any rise in ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate.

Second - You added 3 fish which died the next day

Third - You left the dead fish in the tank for a week.

Fourth - You kept adding fish, letting them die, and then rot in the water to cycle it.

Fifth - You assume that the tank is cycled by now

So what I'm seeing is that you never really cycled the tank. We need to know your parameters before we can offer any help at all to you.

 

[cwb_reeftank]

yes and ok ill have to test it tomorrow though when I get home

 

[Mebbid]

yes and ok ill have to test it tomorrow though when I get home

Also, I would highly suggest giving this a thorough reading.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

 

[cwb_reeftank]

but one fish is still alive and I do have some algae growing and I have some plants in there as well which I heard causes a "silent cycle"?

 

[Mebbid]

but one fish is still alive and I do have some algae growing and I have some plants in there as well which I heard causes a "silent cycle"?

A silent cycle is done with a TON of plants. Adding a few random plants will not cause a silent cycle.