Fish dying

[Tjlance1]

Hi all..new to the forum and am excited to get everyone's opinions..

My partner has had fish off an on for years and generally is really good with them. Recently he purchased a tall 15 gallon tank complete set up. It came with an aqueon10 filtration system. It has great plants, good lighting.

It inspired me and we set up our 29 gallon tank a few days later.

The water is perfect in terms of PH..no we did not cycle it. The first couple barbs he put in died..I started reading up and learned about cycling the tank, but impatience takes over, so we put Safe start bacteria into the tank. The new barbs are dying as well. He has been doing about 30% water changes but still no luck..

Here's the kicker...the 29 gallon tank I cycled for only two days which I know is to short but I added Safestart bacteria and natural hardwood with tannins releasing. I put in 3 Buenos Aires Tetras and 3 Danios again with a small dose of Safestart and almost 2 days later they are thriving. I will wait another two weeks and check the ammonia kevels and change water as necessary..

What is causing the fish in the 15 gallon tank to die??

 

[Byron]

Welcome to TFF.

We need a lot more data here. The 15g, were any fish included, and if yes, which species and how many? Did you do any cleaning?

What species of barbs in the 15g that have been dying?

What is the GH (general or total hardness) of your source water? What is the pH (source and tank)? ["perfect pH tells us nothing, we must have the number.]

The 29g seems OK, and the Safe Start is working by all accounts. But the fish selection has some issues. All barbs, tetras, rasbora and danios are shoaling species which means they must have a group of at least six (usually) but more if space permits. The fish will have serious stress without.

The Buenos Aires tetra is not a small fish, and it needs at least eight in the group or it may fin nip. I would suggest returning these three as this species is going to cause issues in this small a tank. It needs a 3-foot minimum length tank for the group.

I don't know what danio species, but these are very active fish. May be OK here, depending upon species.

 

[Tjlance1]

Welcome to TFF.

We need a lot more data here. The 15g, were any fish included, and if yes, which species and how many? Did you do any cleaning?

What species of barbs in the 15g that have been dying?

What is the GH (general or total hardness) of your source water? What is the pH (source and tank)? ["perfect pH tells us nothing, we must have the number.]

The 29g seems OK, and the Safe Start is working by all accounts. But the fish selection has some issues. All barbs, tetras, rasbora and danios are shoaling species which means they must have a group of at least six (usually) but more if space permits. The fish will have serious stress without.

The Buenos Aires tetra is not a small fish, and it needs at least eight in the group or it may fin nip. I would suggest returning these three as this species is going to cause issues in this small a tank. It needs a 3-foot minimum length tank for the group.

I don't know what danio species, but these are very active fish. May be OK here, depending upon species.

The 15 gallon only has barbs..tiger barbs..the only fish that have been in it..the pH of our water is 7.2... it is filtered well water..not hard, no calcium build up in any faucets or shower heads..I'm thinking the aqueon10 is not able to filter a tall 15 gallon tank properly..he has changed the water at least 4 times in 5 days.

As for the 29 gallon tank, I chose three of each, the Danios and the Tetras as I read that I should not overload the tank and to allow the natural process to proceed and that they would get along, which they are. I plan on getting two more of each next weekend and if all goes well some other species, maybe silver dollars but that is down the road. I think the 29 gallon is becoming biologically more stable and don't want to upset it.

 

[Byron]

Taking the problem 15g first. The filter is not the issue from the perspective of being adequate. There is something toxic in the tank/water that is killing the fish. You didn't explain how this tank was moved/cleaned, so that is about all one can say at this point. Except that it is not sufficient size for Tiger Barbs. This fish needs a group of at least 10, and a 30g tank; this species would be suited to your 29g but with no other upper level fish. But most certainly not in the 15g.

On the 29g, it is much too early to say if the fish are or not getting along. They will be in serious stress without the numbers I previously gave, that is just ichthyological fact. The Buenos Aires Tetra alone will fill this tank. Silver Dollars are not suited to this tank, they need at least a 4-foot tank and a group.

If you want reliable data on fish species requirements, we on TFF recommend Seriously Fish.
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/

 

[Colin_T]

Test the aquarium water and the well water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Post the results (in numbers) here.

Post a picture of the fish.

Put some Activated carbon or highly activated carbon in the tank to adsorb chemicals that might be killing the fish. Replace the carbon every week for a month and see if it helps.

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In a new tank that has not cycled, you only feed the fish 2-3 times per week and do a 75% water change 4-8 hours after feeding. You should also do a 755 water change any day you have an ammonia or nitrite reading, or a nitrate reading above 20ppm. However, you need to check the water supply first. A number of people on this forum use well water and many of the wells are contaminated with something and have ammonia in. If you do water changes using water that contains ammonia, you will kill the fish. So test the water supply before doing anything else.

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The following link has information about what to do if your fish gets sick. It's long and boring but worth knowing. I recommend printing it out and reading it in bed to help fall asleep.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/what-to-do-if-your-fish-gets-sick.450268/#post-3804819

 

[Tjlance1]

Thanks everyone for your the input..here's the latest update..

The 15 gallon tank has been disassembled, thoroughly cleaned. Filter has been replaced with a Fluval filter and is cycling with no fish.

The 29 gallon tank tests good across the board..no ammonia, nitrites at 0, nitrates within safe levels, KG and HG all in the good zone. Our well water is filtered and was tested and nothing toxic in it. I now have 5 Danios and 5 Buenos Aires Tetras and they are getting along fine...they swim together and do not nip at each other as much..if any of them want to be left alone they have plenty of places to get away.

The biggest change is the addition of the 50 gallon tank so now we have 3 tanks in the living room. We are using the Fluval cannister filtration. Bacteria has been added and been running for 5 days now.

 

[Colin_T]

If you have an established aquarium with a healthy biological filter, you can take some of that filter material and put it in the new filter on the new tank and you have an instant cycled aquarium. It means you don't have to spend the next 4-6 weeks cycling another aquarium.

 

[Tjlance1]

I have been doing strip tests and ammonia tests..all were good..added two Angels and 3 gouramis today. The 15 gallon tank got 5 serpae tetras..all seems well!