I am completely new to acquiriums and need insight. I've been treating my water for two weeks and running the filter. I tested my water and everything came back decent, ph was a teeny bit high but no nitrates nitrites or ammonia. I went and I got 2 translucent catfish and 4 tetras, did the whole thing with getting them adjusted to the water and then put them in. This morning I came back to all the tetras dead. Anyone see any misteps I don't want to get more fish if I'm doing something wrong.
New tank help
- Thread starter Krog123
- Start date
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What are the water parameters now?
What water conditioner did you use?
How did you acclimate the fish before adding them into the tank?
What do you understand about the nitrogen cycle?
Did you cycle the tank before you got the fish? If so, how did you cycle the tank? Or where you planning on cycling the tank with fish? Or is this the first you are hearing about cycling a tank?
What water conditioner did you use?
How did you acclimate the fish before adding them into the tank?
What do you understand about the nitrogen cycle?
Did you cycle the tank before you got the fish? If so, how did you cycle the tank? Or where you planning on cycling the tank with fish? Or is this the first you are hearing about cycling a tank?
Thanks for the quick reply!
Temp 78*
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
pH 7.7 (a little high)
Water conditioner was seachem prime
For acclimating I put a little of my water into a small bucket they were in, waited 10 min, added more and then added it all to the tank after about 45 min
I believe I have a decent baseline understanding of the cycle and am prepared to retest and clean every 2 weeks
This is maybe where I missed, I just looked it up and the media I have in my filter is unestabished. What can I do at this point to try and spare my other 2 fish?
Temp 78*
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
pH 7.7 (a little high)
Water conditioner was seachem prime
For acclimating I put a little of my water into a small bucket they were in, waited 10 min, added more and then added it all to the tank after about 45 min
I believe I have a decent baseline understanding of the cycle and am prepared to retest and clean every 2 weeks
This is maybe where I missed, I just looked it up and the media I have in my filter is unestabished. What can I do at this point to try and spare my other 2 fish?
I have been using seachem stability as recommended during some reading. I have been putting in a capful for about 2 weeks
The most likely causes for fish dying in a matter of hours.
Chlorine.
Not acclimating properly (or at all).
O2 levels.
Sick fish.
There is no smoking gun in what you have reported, so if i was to speculate i would go with you bought already sick fish and the stress of the move just killed them all off. Them all being the same species that died would support that.
You arent cycled. Nothing you did would cycle a tank and your water parameters confirm this (you should see nitrate in a cycled tank). Your water is safe, the fish werent in there long enough for waste to build up to toxic levels.
To cycle a tank before getting fish you need an ammonia source for the bacteria you are trying to grow to feed on. Just running a tank for a couple of weeks and adding bottled bacteria wont do anything without an ammonia source. Bottled bacteria products are very hit and miss, mostly miss, and stability is probably one of the worst products available.
Ill post a thorough method for cycling a tank with fish.
Chlorine.
Not acclimating properly (or at all).
O2 levels.
Sick fish.
There is no smoking gun in what you have reported, so if i was to speculate i would go with you bought already sick fish and the stress of the move just killed them all off. Them all being the same species that died would support that.
You arent cycled. Nothing you did would cycle a tank and your water parameters confirm this (you should see nitrate in a cycled tank). Your water is safe, the fish werent in there long enough for waste to build up to toxic levels.
To cycle a tank before getting fish you need an ammonia source for the bacteria you are trying to grow to feed on. Just running a tank for a couple of weeks and adding bottled bacteria wont do anything without an ammonia source. Bottled bacteria products are very hit and miss, mostly miss, and stability is probably one of the worst products available.
Ill post a thorough method for cycling a tank with fish.
To cycle a tank you need to grow denitrifying bacteria to consume ammonia and nitrite that your tank produces. The bacteria needs an ammonia source to grow colonies sufficient in size to consume all the ammonia and resultant nitrite and turn it into nitrate which typically you remove through your regular water changes.
A fish in cycle uses fish waste as an ammonia source and regular water changes are undertaken to ensure that water parameters are maintained at relatively non toxic levels.
Set up your tank. Make sure everything is running smoothly. Make sure you have used a water conditioner product with any tap water you have put in your tank. Seachem Prime is a water conditioner that will also detoxify some ammonia for a day or two, so is a good choice for a water conditioner while cycling a tank with fish.
You should have a test kit. Preferably a liquid test kit. It should test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
In ideal circumstances you should be starting a fishless cycle with a low bioload (number of fish). 1 small fish per 10 gallons/40 litres is a good number of fish, but this can be tweaked a little for fish that are social and don’t do well on their own. Ideally a hardy type of fish. You may have fully stocked (or overstocked) your tank before you knew about cycling. In these circumstances, if its not possible to return fish, you will have to make the best of it.
If you haven’t already done so, add your fish. Acclimate them to the water in your tank before doing so.
Feed lightly to start with. Daily as much as is eaten in 2 minutes, or as much as is eaten in 3 minutes every 2 days. You can increase to full feedings if you are confident your parameters aren’t getting too elevated too quickly and water changes don’t become a daily thing.
Start to regularly test the water for ammonia and nitrite. At least daily. Depending on your bioload you could start to see ammonia quite quickly. Nitrite will likely take a little longer to appear.
Your target should be to keep ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm by changing water whenever your water parameters exceed this target. 0.5ppm combined is a level of waste that is sufficient for your cycle to establish but relatively safe for your fish.
If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.0ppm nitrite (0.5ppm combined) then leave things be. If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.25ppm nitrite (0.75ppm combined) then change 1/3 of the water. If you see 0.25ppm ammonia and 0.75ppm nitrite (1.0ppm combined) then change 1/2 the water. If water parameters get worse than these levels it may require multiple daily 50% water changes to maintain safe water conditions. This is more likely to happen with a fully stocked tank.
Remember to add water conditioner whenever you put tap water in the tank.
Over time the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change to maintain your ammonia + nitrite combined target will reduce. You can also start testing for nitrate and should see this rising. If you are finding the ammonia and nitrite in your tests are consistently low, and you aren’t already fully stocked, you can add a few more fish. It may take a few weeks to get to this point.
Once you add a few more fish, continue to regularly test the water and continue to change water if you exceed the 0.5ppm combined ammonia + nitrite target. With added bioload the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change may increase again until your cycle has caught up. Again once you are consistently seeing low ammonia and nitrite you can add some more fish. Rinse and repeat with testing, water changes, and adding fish when safe to do so until you are fully stocked.
You can then cut back on water changes to control nitrate only. Typically you want to keep nitrate no higher than 40ppm, but I would recommend changing some water every 2 weeks even if your water test says you don’t need to.
A fish in cycle from an empty tank to fully stocked can take several months.
A good way to speed up this process would be to put a small amount of filter media from an established filter into your filter, or get a sponge from an established filter and squeeze it into your tank water. Perhaps you have a friend who keeps fish who could let you have some? This will seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow and speed up the process.
Another option is bottled bacteria like Dr Tims One + Only or Tetra Safestart. These products wont instantly cycle a tank as they claim but in a similar manner to adding established filter media they can seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow to establish your cycle. These products are hit and miss as to whether they work at all, but are an option if established filter media isnt obtainable and may speed up the process from several months to several weeks.
A fish in cycle uses fish waste as an ammonia source and regular water changes are undertaken to ensure that water parameters are maintained at relatively non toxic levels.
Set up your tank. Make sure everything is running smoothly. Make sure you have used a water conditioner product with any tap water you have put in your tank. Seachem Prime is a water conditioner that will also detoxify some ammonia for a day or two, so is a good choice for a water conditioner while cycling a tank with fish.
You should have a test kit. Preferably a liquid test kit. It should test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
In ideal circumstances you should be starting a fishless cycle with a low bioload (number of fish). 1 small fish per 10 gallons/40 litres is a good number of fish, but this can be tweaked a little for fish that are social and don’t do well on their own. Ideally a hardy type of fish. You may have fully stocked (or overstocked) your tank before you knew about cycling. In these circumstances, if its not possible to return fish, you will have to make the best of it.
If you haven’t already done so, add your fish. Acclimate them to the water in your tank before doing so.
Feed lightly to start with. Daily as much as is eaten in 2 minutes, or as much as is eaten in 3 minutes every 2 days. You can increase to full feedings if you are confident your parameters aren’t getting too elevated too quickly and water changes don’t become a daily thing.
Start to regularly test the water for ammonia and nitrite. At least daily. Depending on your bioload you could start to see ammonia quite quickly. Nitrite will likely take a little longer to appear.
Your target should be to keep ammonia + nitrite combined no higher than 0.5ppm by changing water whenever your water parameters exceed this target. 0.5ppm combined is a level of waste that is sufficient for your cycle to establish but relatively safe for your fish.
If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.0ppm nitrite (0.5ppm combined) then leave things be. If you see 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.25ppm nitrite (0.75ppm combined) then change 1/3 of the water. If you see 0.25ppm ammonia and 0.75ppm nitrite (1.0ppm combined) then change 1/2 the water. If water parameters get worse than these levels it may require multiple daily 50% water changes to maintain safe water conditions. This is more likely to happen with a fully stocked tank.
Remember to add water conditioner whenever you put tap water in the tank.
Over time the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change to maintain your ammonia + nitrite combined target will reduce. You can also start testing for nitrate and should see this rising. If you are finding the ammonia and nitrite in your tests are consistently low, and you aren’t already fully stocked, you can add a few more fish. It may take a few weeks to get to this point.
Once you add a few more fish, continue to regularly test the water and continue to change water if you exceed the 0.5ppm combined ammonia + nitrite target. With added bioload the frequency of water changes and amount you need to change may increase again until your cycle has caught up. Again once you are consistently seeing low ammonia and nitrite you can add some more fish. Rinse and repeat with testing, water changes, and adding fish when safe to do so until you are fully stocked.
You can then cut back on water changes to control nitrate only. Typically you want to keep nitrate no higher than 40ppm, but I would recommend changing some water every 2 weeks even if your water test says you don’t need to.
A fish in cycle from an empty tank to fully stocked can take several months.
A good way to speed up this process would be to put a small amount of filter media from an established filter into your filter, or get a sponge from an established filter and squeeze it into your tank water. Perhaps you have a friend who keeps fish who could let you have some? This will seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow and speed up the process.
Another option is bottled bacteria like Dr Tims One + Only or Tetra Safestart. These products wont instantly cycle a tank as they claim but in a similar manner to adding established filter media they can seed your filter with the bacteria you are trying to grow to establish your cycle. These products are hit and miss as to whether they work at all, but are an option if established filter media isnt obtainable and may speed up the process from several months to several weeks.
Oh. And to add.
Your acclimating process. Never tip water from the fish store into your tank. Any pathogens that were in the stores water are now in your tank. If you are acclimating the way you did, net the fish from the bucket and transfer them to your tank. Dont just dump the bucket including store water into your tank.
Most of the time you just need to float the bag of fish in your tank for 15 or 30 minutes to equalise the temperature. Rest your net on top of the bucket, open the bag and poor the water into the net. The store water will go into the bucket, the net will intercept the fish. Transfer the fish to your tank.
This method will be fine unless your water and your fish stores water are very different. Ie you have hard water and your store has soft water. In which case gradually mixing water is the right thing to do.
Gradually mixing can be an issue if your fish are in the bag for an extended period before you can get them into your tank. For instance if you get your fish mail order.
Your acclimating process. Never tip water from the fish store into your tank. Any pathogens that were in the stores water are now in your tank. If you are acclimating the way you did, net the fish from the bucket and transfer them to your tank. Dont just dump the bucket including store water into your tank.
Most of the time you just need to float the bag of fish in your tank for 15 or 30 minutes to equalise the temperature. Rest your net on top of the bucket, open the bag and poor the water into the net. The store water will go into the bucket, the net will intercept the fish. Transfer the fish to your tank.
This method will be fine unless your water and your fish stores water are very different. Ie you have hard water and your store has soft water. In which case gradually mixing water is the right thing to do.
Gradually mixing can be an issue if your fish are in the bag for an extended period before you can get them into your tank. For instance if you get your fish mail order.
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