Fish Are Dying Weekly

[fiskkeeperpro]

In my 15 gal tank, i have 14 fish now, but, i had 18 and in 2 weeks ive lost 4 when ive done 2 2 water changes.
The water i put in with my 25% water change has always been left to stand for 24 hours and ive put in conditioner and some old aquarium water to keep some bacteria in it.

I am taking precautions but my fish still seem to be dying, i have lost 2 platys, 1 cherry barb and 1 cardinal. Please help me

 

[Chubbywubs]

have you checked the water propertys? Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite and PH ? Are you feeding them enough?

 

[-germ-]

Also do you match the water temperature of your replacement water with your tank water?
Where do you leave it to stand overnight?
What dechlorinator do you use and do you add anything aside from this to the water?
Oh yeah to continue where chubbywubs was leading, have you ever cycled your tank, have you heard of tank cycling before?

 

[orange shark]

What are your water stats???

 

[rdd1952]

I will agree with the thought that you need to check your water stats. You have a lot of fish in your tank. Depending on what kind they are, you could have ammonia issues if you aren't heavily filtered and doing frequent water changes.

His water temp shouldn't be an issue if he leaves the water to stand for 24 hours. It would be room temp and shouldn't change the water temp more than a couple degrees at most.

 

[-germ-]

Agreed, that is why i'm enquiring where it has been left to stand, on the off chance it is in a cool cellar or similar?
Theres been simpler mistakes made....

 

[Chubbywubs]

i think its his water propertys his tanks smaller than mine, and i certaintly wouldnt put 18 fish in mine, even if they were 1 inch in length.


Do you have a filter set up? if so which one?, do you have an air filter or plants or some form or air tablets to release oxygen into the tank?

 

[vinylman]

Just dechlorinate the fresh water in a bucket - you don't need to add any old tank water to it, bacteria lives in the filter, not the water.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

18 fish in a 14 gallon tank sama:

 

[Scotch_Egg]

Thats what i was thinking! That is way to many in a 15gal tank. They will be stressed and that may be the reason they are dying! What fish are in there?

 

[Chubbywubs]

Its probably more todo with the waste and quality of the water than it is with the over stocking which would seriously effect the water if not properly filtered.

 

[lighter]

Did you quarantine the new fish before you introduce them to the tank? it might be due to this reason.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

Its probably more todo with the waste and quality of the water than it is with the over stocking which would seriously effect the water if not properly filtered.

You do know what your saying right? they go hand in hand. Overstocking makes bad water quality...

 

[rsands]

he said in the last few words: if not filtered properly

you can overstock slightly if your filter can cope with the fish load! Under filtered means lack of water quality when overstocked...understocked but a fine filter = ok

overstocked slightly with a good filter then its fine if your fish are spread over different levels! like low level, mid level and high level

 

[Miss Wiggle]

18 fish in a 14 gallon tank sama:

lol, what if those 18 fish are all one of the minature species like endlers, staying at around three quarters of an inch??

it makes me laugh when people say x number of fish is too many or too few. without knowing the species and the tank dimensions, filtration capacity, maintenance routine etc then we can't possibly say if it is overstocked.

i've got 15 fish in a 10gal tank...... does that mean my tank is overstocked of poorly run? no it doesn't