Green Tiger Barb

[rtongel]

Hi yall,
 
Im a college kid living in a dorm and I decided to get an aquarium and some fish just to keep me busy. Well I went to petland and bought a 10 gallon tank, the filter, heater, water cleaner, and all that stuff. When I went to buy fish the lady recommended starting out with a Green Tiger Barb fish. I listened to her and started with 4 of them. The first day they were all totally fine, seemed normal, and stuck together. They all were eating regularly and seemed happy. The next morning/day they were acting pretty weird. They were all hanging in different parts of the tank and had no interest in eating. I immediately knew something was up. Shortly one of them started going belly up and swimming totally irrationally around the tank. I came back from class and that one had died. The other three were still acting weird. But that day all three of the others died also. I called petland and they were of no help. I have no clue if there is something wrong that I did, or if I shouldnt have had those fish in a new tank without all the necessary bacteria.  

 

[BerryAttack]

you didn't cycle the tank.. take them back, and do a fishless cycle.. its better for the fish. look on the site for more information about a fishless cycle.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Agreed with Berry, and take a look at some different kind of fish, for instance here: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/418749-nano-fish/
 
Barbs need a 30g tank, unfortunately. The green ones are so lovely though
 
Here is the fishless cycling article: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

 

[rtongel]

Really appreciate it guys. Im gonna take the 2 other fish back tomorrow and cycle it. Any recommendations on what kind of fish i should get after the cycle for my 10 gallon?

 

[Ninjouzata]

So glad to hear!
Didja read the nano list I gave you?
It also depends on what you like, something you can do, such as when you return them tomorrow, is look through the lfs and write down the fish you like, then come back here and ask about them.

 

[rtongel]

I just saw that! Thanks so much for the help. Ill definitely look through what they have tomorrow in stock. Also one last question, the heater I have is a deep blue heat stick, 30W for 5-10 gallon tank. The lady that helped with the original fish recommended it, but it seems like it doesnt work. It has a preset temperature to 78-80 yet my water is definitely not at that temperature. Any good heaters you know of?

 

[Ninjouzata]

You're welcome, some places will order fish in for you if they don't currently have them. 
A lot of heaters are a little off, so you may just need to adjust it a little? I'm not quite sure about what you're describing, havn't heard of anything like it. I use marineland & aqueon heaters.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Oh, just want to add, you can find Ammonia to cycle your tank at Ace Hardware.