My 12.5 Gallon Tank, First ever!

[AdzLadz]

Hi Guys,

First time post....

I have never looked after fish before and bought this tank around a month ago with my partner. Its a 12.5 Gallon / 55 Litre AquaOne tank.

We assembled it and filled it and allowed it to cycle for about 2 weeks (no fish)

Sadly we've had nothing but bad luck!

Then we introduced three Neon Tetra's and two Yamato Shrimp. Both shrimp escaped within three days and died. Clearly having the water too high! The tank did have its lid on.

Last week we introduced four cherry shrimp, three female Guppies and Two male Guppies, a green shrimp and a blue shrimp.

The Guppies were incredibly active, scared the hell out of the Tetra's, attacked the shrimp (killing two!) and managed to jump out of the tiniest of gaps at the top of the tank!

So all 5 Guppies were bagged up and sent back to the Store!

So we have a few shrimp still grazing on the moss balls and the three Tetras. The Tetras seem much happier now the Guppies are gone but they are dulling in colour and becoming much less active so I can see them sadly dieing soon!!!

I guess some people aren't cut out for caring for these little critters! I can't bring myself to keep buying fish, It's not a money issue but more of a fact that I feel so bad when they die in my care, i'd rather they went to someone who could keep them for a long healthy period.

 

[philipraposo198]

ok lets start at the beginning and maybe I can help you understand what is going on here.

When you say you let the tank fishless cycle for 2 weeks what exactly did you do? were you adding ammonia to the water? did you test the water daily to confirm that the tank is actually cycled? do you know what a cycled tank actually is? How do you test your water? test strips or liquid kit?

What are your current water parameters? Do you try the water with dechlorinator?

Sounds to me like your tank is not actually cycled as a fishless cycle would take alot longer than 2 weeks to complete. Which means your tank water is most likely toxic to the fish and shrimp, this would explain why your tetras are losing color and acting now right.

 

[cheesy318]

I agree! If you aren't feeding the tank something, it won't cycle.was the tank new or used? I am only a year into the hobby. I do not know everything but I know some. If the tank was used, it could have had bacteria in it. I always clean each tank with vinegar before filling it. Vinegar also makes the glass shine!

I had a 29 gallon. And downsized to a 20 gallon to make room for the 75 saltwater. I had nothing but problems with the 20 gallon. No matter what I did, my fish kept dying off. All the fish I had in my 29 gallon died in the 20 gallon. I treated the tank with prim affix and melafix. Again I had a fish loss. 4 sets of fish lost. My point is it can get frustrating but don't give up. I completely took down the 20 gallon... Ran vinegar water through my filter for 3 hours. I decided the 20 gallon was too small so I went back to the 29 gallon. Everything was thoroughly cleaned with vinegar.

To test your tank, the easiest way is strips but, I have found the API freshwater master test kit to be more accurate. I think we paid $25.00 for it.
http://www.amazon.com/API-Freshwate...r=8-1&keywords=api+freshwater+master+test+kit

Also, what kind of filter do you have? We're you sure to change the carbon? Do you have some sort of bio rings,balls, or wheel for the good bacteria?

Did you do a water change before you added the fish?
Don't give up. Give it another shot. We have a 75 gallon saltwater a 45 gallon freshwater, and a 29 gallon newly planted tank. We watch them more than TV. They are wonderful.