spring water???

[lyric112209]

So I started a freshwater tank over a month ago...I purchased 2 Mickey mouse platties and 6 neon tetras...after 3 days both the mickeys and one neon tetra died. So I've had 5 neon tetras until last night another neon tetra died. A few days ago I treated them for ich...then I'm pretty sure they were getting fin rot So I started medicating them for that last night. I'm down to 4 neon tetras and I'm not sure they're gonna make it. The water has been fine except the ph is high....anyone know if using bottled spring water is safe for the fish because my tap water apparently sucks!

 

[natedogg569]

Did any of them have ich, if you treated them for ich even though none had ich that is extremely unhealthy. And you also THINK it is fin rot and if you are wrong, that is also extremely unhealthy for the fish. Are you 100% sure you tank is fully cycled? What are you Parameters?

 

[lyric112209]

Did any of them have ich, if you treated them for ich even though none had ich that is extremely unhealthy. And you also THINK it is fin rot and if you are wrong, that is also extremely unhealthy for the fish. Are you 100% sure you tank is fully cycled? What are you Parameters?

I wouldnt treat them for something if they didnt have it...they had little white specks on them...i treated that and then there fins started fraying...The tank was cycled, the ammonia levels are 0 same as the nitrates...I bought a ph test kit, But it only goes up to 7.6 and everytime I test its the highest it is on the card

 

[tamtam]

I wouldnt treat them for something if they didnt have it...they had little white specks on them...i treated that and then there fins started fraying...The tank was cycled, the ammonia levels are 0 same as the nitrates...I bought a ph test kit, But it only goes up to 7.6 and everytime I test its the highest it is on the card

what are your nitrites at?? If your nitrate is at 0 I doubt your tank is cycled. How did you cycle it?

PH isn't overly important unless dealing with very sensitive fish, stability is most important.

Have you tested your tap water coming directly from the tap? What size tank is this and what is your water schedule change like?

I doubt it's your tap water that is causing these issues. Testing it will be helpful to know what is going on in it though and help be certain.

 

[lyric112209]

My question was ...does anyone know if bottled spring water is fine for fish tanks....

 

[reefdiver]

Bottled water will be fine but may be missing ceryain elementa found in none purified water.

 

[lyric112209]

To the other poster...aren't nitrates suppose to be at 0??

 

[Oceangirl]

Jetajockey rules!!

Did you cycle your tank?

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

You can, but sometimes it may cause your tank to go wonky. Do you use water conditioner? I'd suggest Prime for you because you need a little help. Do you have a test kit? Do you get it tested at a store or do it yourself?

 

[lyric112209]

I use water conditioner...I test it myself...I should mention that all of this started happening after my son managed to get the tank cover fully sumberged in the tank water...

 

[lyric112209]

I've had better luck keeping our goldfish alive that we won at a fair that lives in a bowl than this fish tank

 

[tamtam]

To the other poster...aren't nitrates suppose to be at 0??

You want nitrite and ammonia to be at 0. Nitrates should be below 20. I've never seen a tank with nitrates at 0 unless it's not cycled or is heavily planted.

 

[tamtam]

My question was ...does anyone know if bottled spring water is fine for fish tanks....

If that's all you want to know them yes, it's probably fine for your tank but we are asking these questions because the odds of your water being the actual problem is pretty darn slim. Changing your water source is just going to make more work for you but if you want to you can go ahead. Unless you have a planted tank it should be fine.

 

[lyric112209]

I didn't see any nitrite testing kits at the pet store...

 

[tamtam]

I've had better luck keeping our goldfish alive that we won at a fair that lives in a bowl than this fish tank

please do a bit of research on your fish and how to care for them. No goldfish(or any fish) is even remotely suitable for a bowl. They grow to be at least 8 inches long and need a 20 gallon tank min for a single goldy. A gold fish should live to be well over 10 years. In these conditions your will be lucky to make it to 5 and will never have a chance to reach it's full size.

 

[tamtam]

I didn't see any nitrite testing kits at the pet store...

So you are buying them all separate or using strips?

I would suggest you get a liquid master test kit, like API. It is much cheaper in the long run and will save you a lot of money as it tests for just about everything you need to know and a 30 dollar kit will last your for a long time. I've gotten about a year out of mine.

 

[lyric112209]

Yeah I've done a lot of research...but the goldfish is fine right now

 

[lyric112209]

I didnt get the test strips...they just had ammonia, ph and nitrate water test kits separate

 

[lyric112209]

I'm pretty bummed cause I see the master test kit online and the 3 tests I got were that price...

 

[tamtam]

Yeah I've done a lot of research...but the goldfish is fine right now

Gold fish grow the most in their first 2-3 years but only if given the space to grow. So keeping it in a bowl for any amount of time is not ok, waiting for it to grow doesn't work because it stops growing when it doesn't have room.

When it's body stops growing it's organs do not. What this means is they will keep growing even when they have no more room to grow and will eventually shut down on your fish. Basically you will kill your fish of organ failure without even knowing it. It will seen fine until one day it won't. It will start acting different and strange and then will suddenly die.

If you've researched then you should know the importance of a filter and a properly cycled tank. That goldies have some of the highest bioloads among fish which can not be properly maintain in a bowl

In the end you will do what you want but if you really have researched this I find it hard to believe you'd say that this fish is ok in a bowl.

 

[tamtam]

I didnt get the test strips...they just had ammonia, ph and nitrate water test kits separate

That's pretty lame. My local store only sell them all seperate but at least has the nitrite. I go to a local marine store which actually carries the API fresh water kit.

Nitrite is very important because it is just as toxic to your fish as ammonia and knowing where this level stand will allow you to know if your tank is actually cycled or not. You could be showing no ammo but have through the roof nitrite which could be what is causing your fish such harm. If you didn't go through the cycle process of having an empty tank, adding ammonia and following levels I would say that your tank is still cycling. That you have passed your ammo to nitrite conversion but the nitrite to nitrate conversion hasn't happened yet so you are not seeing ammo or nitrates but probably have a lot of nitrites that you don't know about. Eventually your nitrite will convert to nitrate and you will see a spike in nitrate and then your nitrite will drop. Thats if you fish survive that long. The only way to combat this is water changes regularly. Especially if your fish have fin rot, they will be more susceptible to infection with poor water conditions