Fish died before I got them out of bag

[BBfishes]

I brought home three ember tetras to put in a ten gallon tank. I left the bag in the water for 30min and when I went to release them all three were floating in the bag. I never dropped the bag or anything. And I am pretty sure the heater is working in the aquarium but not entirely sure. I did race up the hill on the drive way while carrying them which was three strides. Would the shaking have killed them by putting them in shock? Or what possibly could have killed them?

 

[foxgirl158]

I brought home three ember tetras to put in a ten gallon tank. I left the bag in the water for 30min and when I went to release them all three were floating in the bag. I never dropped the bag or anything. And I am pretty sure the heater is working in the aquarium but not entirely sure. I did race up the hill on the drive way while carrying them which was three strides. Would the shaking have killed them by putting them in shock? Or what possibly could have killed them?

Most likely it’s not your fault. The stress of being caught out of the pet store tank would have easily done it, if they were chased for 2 minutes or more. And we don’t know what kind of conditions they were kept in before you bought them, both at the store and where they were born. I’m sorry for your loss, will the store accept returns/refunds?

 

[itiwhetu]

What is the temperature of your tank? You say you don't know if your heater is working, temperature is one thing you need to monitor daily.

 

[Colin_T]

Return the fish to the shop and get a store credit on replacement fish.

Find out when the fish came in and when the shop last did a water change. If the fish had only come in during the last few days, they would have been under a lot of stress from shipping to the shop.

If the shop did a water change on the day you got them, or within a few days of the fish coming in, that would stress them.

If the staff member spent more than 20 seconds catching them, they would have been under a lot of stress and that could have killed them.