all my fish are starting to curl up.

[meatball]

ok so far its been 2 puffers and a peacock eel that have curled up on me. they lay at the bottom, and then when i try to get them to swim, they swim away with only one side of the body. fins will not move on one side. i awoke this morning, and the eel had died overnight. not too worried, still garaunteed for that one. but whats goin on??

 

[QHowes]

Sounds like you didnt cycle...did you cycle the tank?

 

[meatball]

yea i let the tank sit for 5 days with no fish in it, and my emperor was runnin the whole time

 

[bgraber]

All you basically did was check for leaks and let you water settle.. "Cycling" the tank involves introducing ammonia(fish, fish poo, food breaking down, etc).. And then the process of the water getting rid of the ammonia starts taking place.. This is usually complet in 4 to 6 weeks. Almost impossible in 5 days with nothing but water.. So what is happening right now is the fish are dying from ammonia poisoning.. THe water is not able to break down the ammonia with the bacteria iit dosen't have. You can jumpstart this process by adding some Marinelabs bioSpira. But the way you are describing the fish, they probably won't last in the tank the way it is.. Start doind 25% water changes daily(de-chlorinating of course) and look for some Bio Spira at your local fish store.. Biospira is the beneficial bacteria you need to get the ammonia ate up.. Get it? I'd also spend a few days and nights researching and reading.. I'm sure this forum will help you tremendously if you are new. As I'm sure you are finding out, ther is alot more to fish keeping than having a tank and adding fish.. Good Luck!

 

[meatball]

yea i took the eel back today, and he said the water was fine, ammonia was a little bit high. so i did buy some stuff to clear it up. he replaced the eel, cuz like he said, the water wasnt that bad, and it must have been the eel.

 

[panboy]

i would ask the store if they could hold your fish and then u cycle the tank. even if its just the eel, the puffers are still not in good condition.

it may seem a long time to cycle, but its all worth it, rather than seeing a nice little puffer suffer.

 

[bgraber]

ok but realize if you add some stuff to "clear it up" that it probably isn't a long term fix. Meaning the "Cycle" is still needing to be completed.. Otherwise the ammonia will just keep building up.. Any detectable amount isn't good.. Get as few fish in there as possible for a week or two and it'll get going.. I'd also be leary of the ammonia trapping stuff if you are trying to cycle the tank.. It's taking the food from the bacteria that need to grow.. But you don't want to kill anymore fish either.. Take em back and buy them again in a couple weeks..

 

[bgraber]

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?sh...showtopic=21117

read that thread.. Ammo-lock = bad in a case like yours..

 

[meatball]

i would ask the store if they could hold your fish and then u cycle the tank. even if its just the eel, the puffers are still not in good condition.

it may seem a long time to cycle, but its all worth it, rather than seeing a nice little puffer suffer.

so are you saying take all the fish out of the tank and have them held somewhere, or just the new one's i've bought?

 

[shelaghfishface]

All you basically did was check for leaks and let you water settle.. "Cycling" the tank involves introducing ammonia(fish, fish poo, food breaking down, etc).. And then the process of the water getting rid of the ammonia starts taking place.. This is usually complet in 4 to 6 weeks. Almost impossible in 5 days with nothing but water.. So what is happening right now is the fish are dying from ammonia poisoning.. THe water is not able to break down the ammonia with the bacteria iit dosen't have. You can jumpstart this process by adding some Marinelabs bioSpira. But the way you are describing the fish, they probably won't last in the tank the way it is.. Start doind 25% water changes daily(de-chlorinating of course) and look for some Bio Spira at your local fish store.. Biospira is the beneficial bacteria you need to get the ammonia ate up.. Get it? I'd also spend a few days and nights researching and reading.. I'm sure this forum will help you tremendously if you are new. As I'm sure you are finding out, ther is alot more to fish keeping than having a tank and adding fish.. Good Luck!

YOUR SIG IS VERY IMPRESSIVE LOL

 

[Elrohirthehasty]

All you basically did was check for leaks and let you water settle.. "Cycling" the tank involves introducing ammonia(fish, fish poo, food breaking down, etc).. And then the process of the water getting rid of the ammonia starts taking place.. This is usually complet in 4 to 6 weeks. Almost impossible in 5 days with nothing but water.. So what is happening right now is the fish are dying from ammonia poisoning.. THe water is not able to break down the ammonia with the bacteria iit dosen't have. You can jumpstart this process by adding some Marinelabs bioSpira. But the way you are describing the fish, they probably won't last in the tank the way it is.. Start doind 25% water changes daily(de-chlorinating of course) and look for some Bio Spira at your local fish store.. Biospira is the beneficial bacteria you need to get the ammonia ate up.. Get it? I'd also spend a few days and nights researching and reading.. I'm sure this forum will help you tremendously if you are new. As I'm sure you are finding out, ther is alot more to fish keeping than having a tank and adding fish.. Good Luck!

YOUR SIG IS VERY IMPRESSIVE LOL

yeah
nice siggy
i wish i had space for that many tanks

 

[Truck]

ammo-lock doesnt starve the filter bacteria of ammonia, because it is converted to less toxic ammonium, which the filter bacteria can still process.

take all of your fish back and buy some ammonia, or be prepared to be doing 50% water changes twice or three times a day