Aquarium Rescue

[Sarah Warren]

This is long, thank you in advance for reading. Last night I purchased a 36g (I think) aquarium complete with decor, chemicals, test kits, etc., and fish from someone getting out of fish altogether. When we got there they had already taken everything out of the tank, including the fish which were all placed in a 1 gallon tank. I had originally planned on transporting them in a 5 gallon bucket but left them in what they were in so it would be easier to keep them stabilized in the car on the 1.5hr ride home. By the time we made it home and got the aquarium inside to start getting set up, 3 had died. I filled the tank with the remaining original water I had, which was only about 1/4-1/3 of the total volume, overdosed on prime, added aquarium salt, and seachem stability. By morning they were all swimming and very active but that only lasted until the afternoon and now they're slowing down and at least one is slightly tilted to the side. I took water to be tested at Petco and the guy said "you may just want to start over" but other than doing 5 gallon water changes every other day he had no advice. I would obviously like to save as many as I can so would love any and all advice. I'll try to post videos later but the ones I have are too large.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

What species of fish? And what are the exact parameters of your water?

Tag: @Colin_T

@Colin_T is very knowledgeable in everything fish related. He can most definitely help you.

 

[Colin_T]

@Colin_T is very knowledgeable in everything fish related. He can most definitely help you.

There's other knowledgeable people here too

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For the OP.

If the pictures are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit on this website. Check the pictures on your pc and find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Make sure you turn the camera's resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube. If you are using a mobile phone to take the video, have the phone horizontal so the video takes up the entire screen. If you have the phone vertical, you get video in the middle and black on either side.

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Your fish probably suffered transport stress from being in a small container of water for the drive home. And if the new tank water had a different water chemistry to the place they came from, that would have added to the stress.

If you ever have to move fish over long distances again, use larger containers of water to transport them in, don't feed them for 24 hours before moving them, and do some water changes and gravel clean the tank a few times during the week before you move them.

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At this stage I would just reduce feeding to a small amount once a day or once every couple of days.

Monitor the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH. If you get any ammonia or nitrite, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels.

Add some Activated Carbon or Highly Activated Carbon to the filter for a couple of weeks.

If you don't have a picture on the back of the tank, put one on to help the fish feel more secure.

Monitor the fish and try to give them some time to recover.

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Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

 

[FishGuest5123]

So am I understanding correctly that they are now in an uncycled tank with Prime. If so, get a bottle of Safe Start +. Don’t use Prime for 48 hours after dosing with Safe Start as Prime will destroy the Safe Start. Use another de-chlorinator temporarily. This will give you a jump start on your cycle. Test water daily with an API Freshwater test kit. This is a must for cycling your tank. Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? If not, please read on it and how to do a “fish in” cycle. We are all here to help and answer questions. Good luck!

 

[Sarah Warren]

What species of fish? And what are the exact parameters of your water?

Tag: @Colin_T

@Colin_T is very knowledgeable in everything fish related. He can most definitely help you.

I

What species of fish? And what are the exact parameters of your water?

Tag: @Colin_T

@Colin_T is very knowledgeable in everything fish related. He can most definitely help you.

I was going to include a video to cover types but it was too large and I forgot to go back and add in the species info. The ones that died were glofish danios and a guppy. The remaining are almost all glofish tetras, a few guppies, and a sucker fish. Nitrates are off the charts high, PH is between 6.5-7, KH is a 4, and GH is off the charts high.

 

[Sarah Warren]

So am I understanding correctly that they are now in an uncycled tank with Prime. If so, get a bottle of Safe Start +. Don’t use Prime for 48 hours after dosing with Safe Start as Prime will destroy the Safe Start. Use another de-chlorinator temporarily. This will give you a jump start on your cycle. Test water daily with an API Freshwater test kit. This is a must for cycling your tank. Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? If not, please read on it and how to do a “fish in” cycle. We are all here to help and answer questions. Good luck!

Not entirely. They are in their same tank with the same gravel. The previous owners changed the filters before we picked up so the filter is new but gravel and 1/3 of the water was existing so should still have some beneficial bacteria. I'm not familiar with the nitrogen cycle, I'll be sure to look at that. Thank you!!

 

[Sarah Warren]

There's other knowledgeable people here too

-----------------------------
For the OP.

If the pictures are too big for the website, set the camera's resolution to its lowest setting and take some more. The lower resolution will make the images smaller and they should fit on this website. Check the pictures on your pc and find a couple that are clear and show the problem, and post them here. Make sure you turn the camera's resolution back up after you have taken the pics otherwise all your pictures will be small.

If the video is too big for this website, post it on YouTube and copy & paste the link here. We can view it at YouTube. If you are using a mobile phone to take the video, have the phone horizontal so the video takes up the entire screen. If you have the phone vertical, you get video in the middle and black on either side.

-----------------------------
Your fish probably suffered transport stress from being in a small container of water for the drive home. And if the new tank water had a different water chemistry to the place they came from, that would have added to the stress.

If you ever have to move fish over long distances again, use larger containers of water to transport them in, don't feed them for 24 hours before moving them, and do some water changes and gravel clean the tank a few times during the week before you move them.

-----------------------------
At this stage I would just reduce feeding to a small amount once a day or once every couple of days.

Monitor the water quality for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & pH. If you get any ammonia or nitrite, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Increase aeration/ surface turbulence to maximise oxygen levels.

Add some Activated Carbon or Highly Activated Carbon to the filter for a couple of weeks.

If you don't have a picture on the back of the tank, put one on to help the fish feel more secure.

Monitor the fish and try to give them some time to recover.

-----------------------------
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Wow. That is a lot of information . Thank you. I'll look over it all more and reply more specifically tomorrow. Thank you so much for all the tips!

 

[FishGuest5123]

Not entirely. They are in their same tank with the same gravel. The previous owners changed the filters before we picked up so the filter is new but gravel and 1/3 of the water was existing so should still have some beneficial bacteria. I'm not familiar with the nitrogen cycle, I'll be sure to look at that. Thank you!!

The water is of no value as there is no beneficial bacteria in it. However, if the gravel remained wet it should still have beneficial bacteria in it. In that case, disregard the Safe Start suggestion and continue using the Prime to protect the fish from the toxic ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates while the tank cycles. If the beneficial bacteria in the gravel survived, it will begin doubling pretty quickly. Since you have high nitrates, I believe the bacteria survived. Do daily large water changes and use the Prime to protect the fish until the tank cycles. When you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and only nitrates then your tank is cycled. Do one last water change at that point to get your nitrates below 20 ppm. Most of us try to keep our nitrates at 10ppm or lower. Note: Doing a 50% water change will cut nitrates in half. So if you have 40ppm nitrates and do a 50% water change then you will lower nitrates to 20ppm. If they are off the chart you may need to do even larger water changes back to back. I am confident that this is why your fish are dying. That and shock from moving. You may try some Seachem Stress Guard yo help also. Hope this makes sense. Ask us for help if you need it. Good luck!