just keep dying

[fishyfriend5]

i dont know whats wrong. my fish just keep dying.i check the ph and all that constantly and all of it is good.i had 5glofish....died within a week.5guppies....all dead within 2wks.and this morning i found the first fish i put in tank. which was about a month ago.could it be the easybalance...??? no fish died last week and i forgot to put the easybalance in...i put some in last night...less than recommended amount..but,is it killing my fish!? or am i just a dolt and have a black thumb instead of a green one...so to speak..

 

[Saltair]

Is the tank cycled? What are the tank parameters, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate? How often do you do PWC's?

 

[fishyfriend5]

tank is cycled,ive had it for a mth.on the paper around bottle for test its always in safe zone and if it climbs atall i do water change.which is every 2weeks.it doesnt even leave safe zone,the tabs are just starting to turn color for a higher level so i do water change.not sure what PWC is..??

 

[fishyfriend5]

never mind about pwc...partial water change..duh.lol

 

[El_diablo]

Test strips arnt very accurate, u say u'v had ur tank 1 month and ur fish died after being in it for 1 week then 2 weeks. Well that's because ur tank wasn't and probably still hasn't cycled

 

[fishyfriend5]

oh no! lady at petstore said 1wk for it to cycle and to start adding fish.. so i just added them to soon?? how long does it take for it to cycle properly?im definatly gonna be doing my own research for now on.the lady is my friends cousin and she assured me her cuz knew excactly what she was doing so i went along...its all my fault! poor fish!imma dolt for not doing my own research and relying on someone else.

 

[fred]

How do you test for your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels? If your fish keep dying it must be your water quality, I've never used a tablet or anything other than the API liquid test kit (it's the most accurate)

 

[fred]

oh no! lady at petstore said 1wk for it to cycle and to start adding fish.. so i just added them to soon?? how long does it take for it to cycle properly?im definatly gonna be doing my own research for now on.the lady is my friends cousin and she assured me her cuz knew excactly what she was doing so i went along...its all my fault! poor fish!imma dolt for not doing my own research and relying on someone else.

There are lots of good links on here about cycling (sorry I'd attach if knew how . Look for cycling for dummies (no offense to you). If you still have fish in the tank you will have to do pwc daily until the tank is fully cycled (ammonia and nitrite at 0). Don't beat yourself up, we all make mistakes

 

[fishyfriend5]

i have a test strip for ph and all that, then i fill little vial with the water and a test strip for ammonia.

 

[fishyfriend5]

There are lots of good links on here about cycling (sorry I'd attach if knew how . Look for cycling for dummies (no offense to you). If you still have fish in the tank you will have to do pwc daily until the tank is fully cycled (ammonia and nitrite at 0). Don't beat yourself up, we all make mistakes

im definatly gonna get onto it! i want my tank to thrive! thanks for yalls help!

 

[fred]

i have a test strip for ph and all that, then i fill little vial with the water and a test strip for ammonia.

Like someone said before the test strips aren't very accurate. Better to invest in the liquid API test kit. It lasts for a longtime and will give accurate readings. Do you test for nitrite? It's part of the cycling process and at levels more than 0 is very toxic to fish.

 

[fishyfriend5]

nitrite is part of it.. but im gonna switch to the liquid API test kit! in the next 2hrs actually when i can get to petstore...which i hope they have it. :/

 

[fred]

So you know as well PH is really not that important right now. As long as it stays stable and consistent that's all that matters. Most fish can adapt to different PH levels (higher or lower) as long as it stays the same. I've never worried about PH levels. IMO it only matters if you want to breed your fish as they require certain levels to breed (from what I've read)

 

[Aeo]

I realize this is a very old thread but it's worth mentioning that this sounds like a chloramine problem. The only effective way to cycle a chloramine tank is through promotion of healthy bacterial growth and proper filtration. You can try chem treatment but it can turn your tank into a bit of a soup and it's a lot to keep up with.

 

[fort384]

There is nothing out of the ordinary going on here... you just have what we call "new tank syndrome". Cycling a tank requires some source of ammonia. Simply setting up the tank and allowing it to run does not cycle it. There are 2 ways to go about it: Fishless cycling which is the best way to go--it will not unnecessarily stress any fish, and is the least maintenance intensive way to go. The other way to do it is the method you are currently using, which is cycling with fish. This will involve a lot of maintenance, and certainly water changes much more frequently than every other week. For awhile, you may need to change your water daily to keep it safe for fish. Check out these two links... they will help you gain an understanding of the most important thing happening in an aquarium--the nitrogen cycle.

CYCLING WITH FISH
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ady-have-fish-what-now-116287.html#post983258

FISHLESS CYCLING
Tips and tricks for your fastest fishless cycle!

Good luck!