Help! Dying Fish

[Hawkins]

I got a tropical fish tank (35L) for my birthday on Saturday, and got the fish on Sunday. I got 4 Harlequin Rasbora's and 2 Cherry barbs.
On Tuesday it seemed as though a Harlequin had a swollen lip, and it later died. I looked on the internet and thought it was Mouth rot.
Then later another died, which I think was finrot. then another harlequin died, i dont know why
then on wednesday a cherry barb died, followed by another harlequin. Now im left with only one cherry barb!

i bought a plant which has started to go brown
the shop where i got the fish tested my water before i bought them, and on wednesday morning but say the water is fine.

the person at the shop now says i should wait a week after the last death before introducing new fish, but if the last one dies i should add new fish between 2-3 days after so they can enjoy the good bacteria in the tank.

ok well my questions:
what should the water temp be? (im asking because the plant has gone brown and i think the tank might be too warm)
any other suggestions?

im pleased the shop replaces them for free.

 

[ALEXF]

I got a tropical fish tank (35L) for my birthday on Saturday, and got the fish on Sunday. I got 4 Harlequin Rasbora's and 2 Cherry barbs.
On Tuesday it seemed as though a Harlequin had a swollen lip, and it later died. I looked on the internet and thought it was Mouth rot.
Then later another died, which I think was finrot. then another harlequin died, i dont know why
then on wednesday a cherry barb died, followed by another harlequin. Now im left with only one cherry barb!

i bought a plant which has started to go brown
the shop where i got the fish tested my water before i bought them, and on wednesday morning but say the water is fine.

the person at the shop now says i should wait a week after the last death before introducing new fish, but if the last one dies i should add new fish between 2-3 days after so they can enjoy the good bacteria in the tank.

ok well my questions:
what should the water temp be? (im asking because the plant has gone brown and i think the tank might be too warm)
any other suggestions?

im pleased the shop replaces them for free.

If you read at the top of this board there are some helpful tips for beginners, First thing you did wrong was add fish without cycling your tank (read the article at the top of the board on fishless cycling) Second thing you did wrong was add to many fish for such a small tank. Most places I have read recommend 1 inch of fish per gallon of water.. your tank is little over 9 gallons. Now i know that they maybe smaller than that originally but fish do grow and you have to plan for adult size. Third thing you did wrong would to be to have trusted the fish store. There is no way your tank is ready to add that many fish without serious problems hince the deaths. I would definalte read up on those pinned messages. I disagree witrh somethings but i too am a beginner and have learned from my mistakes. Of course mine was waaaay worse. (3 black skirt tetras in 1 gallon of water with no filter and no heater) I would also go to a different fish shop when aasking about your water because they obviously dont know what they are doing. Now as far as your actual question.... Most tropical fish like water to be between 70 - 78 degrees F. I dont know what that would be in C. but im sure there is a convertor somewhere. Good Luck

Thank You,
Alex

 

[waterdrop]

Hello Hawkins and welcome to TFF!

You've had the worst sort of introduction to the hobby but the one good thing is that now you've stumbled on the best place to learn about how to do it right (imo.) I agree that the pinned articles, ("Beginner Resource Center" is a good place to start) are what you need.

I suggest you try hard to convince your nice LFS to take back your last Barb. You can tell them you promise to buy more fish once you've had a chance to clean your aquarium and start again. (that's just what to tell them..)

If you pull that off, you can read RDD's fishless cycling article and couple of times and learn how to prepare a bio-filter without hurting fish! You also may need to do some searches about the physical filters themselves and be sure you feel you have the filter you need and understand what you want to accomplish with it.

If you can't find a new home for the Barb and want to continue on with it, then you are in what is called a "fish-in" cycle. You can read up on that too, but the first thing in any case is to start with a 50% water change. A water change is performed by siphoning out tank water, trying to suck out bottom debris as you do this. When you refill, you need to use a dechlorination/dechloramination product and follow its instructions. You'll also need to roughly match water temperature by using your hand to judge. You can repeat this as soon as an hour if you feel the Barb still looks unhealthy.

Judging how the Barb looks is your only guide until you can get out and get a liquid-based test kit. Hagen and API make good ones. Many here use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. You need these tests to find out when your water changes have succeeded in getting the ammonia and nitrites down to zero. You need to use water changes to do this, not chemicals. You'll need a couple of glass eye droppers and maybe a cheap battery kitchen timer (hang around neck ones are nice for this.)

Once you read the articles, all this will make more sense and you can ask more directed questions. There are a number explanations about your plant but that is not the most important thing now. I'm sure fellow TFF members will be along with other help as you go forward.

Best, ~~waterdrop~~

 

[vinylman]

Seeing as your LFS has given you such lousy advice, if they won't take the fish back you could ask them for some mature filter media, that should make things better for the remaining fish. They certainly owe you something. I dread to think of the number of people who are put off the hobby after having a bad start with such 'advice' from a LFS.

 

[LauraFrog]

If the last fish does die, don't take the advice of the LFS and put fish in within days to benefit from the good bacteria. The reason why your fish died is that there ARE no good bacteria. Everybody else has given good advice so far. The tank is too small for cherry barbs, if you just had the harlequins you'd probably be okay. If it's at all possible it would be best to empty the tank and clean it before you cycle it. The fish, stressed by the high levels of ammonia, provided a breeding ground for bad bacteria which are probably still at high levels in the water. Change as much of it as you can.

I did something even worse, 8 platies and a bristlenose cat in a 5 gallon tank when I started out. I'm lucky that I didn't lose my fish, and I'm glad I learned better.

RandomWiktor once said (quote as best as I can remember it) the LFS gives you advice while trying to sell you fish. We give our time to do this for free because we care about fish. Please listen to US, not them.

I think Random has a point - take the free replacements, but take their further advice with a grain of salt. I guess they were more interested in making a quick sale than giving you good advice.

 

[Hawkins]

thanks for the help!

the last Barb has survived since the last death which was wednesday. Now I think im going to get some on Saturday, and hopefully get a water testing kit.
The shop has it written down that they owe me 4 harlequins and a barb. I think i will take 2-3 at a time, just to let the filter adjust to the needs.
thanks for the advice, and for sharing your first time experiences.

I think I'm quite a good judge of the fishes health, as on Monday night i predicted the first 2 deaths.

Ok i just realised tomorrow is saturday so i will get a testing kit and test the water myself.

 

[waterdrop]

good luck there - once you bring home that test kit and begin daily (or even morning and evening) ammonia and nitrite tests, be prepared to do plenty of water changes (15L or so) to get and keep those levels down at zero. It may take 4 weeks or so of this before the filter is cycled (you'll know its cycled when the filter gets it down to zero -for you- for two days running) -- of course you may be lucky and it will cycle in a few days!

 

[backtotropical]

Hi Hawkins,

Please beware of adding more fish at this point. It will increase the amount of waste being produced in the tank (which is what killed your fish already).

It is essential that you carry out at least a 50% water change now, and another of the same amount tomorrow. I would advise you to do this every day until you can get test kits. Get test kits for ammonia and nitrite as soon as possible (before you add any more fish). Test kits for nitrate and pH are also handy but not so important just now.

Once you are armed with test kits, i'd advise to just get the barb the shop owes you and leave it at that until the tank is cycled. Adding more fish whilst cycling is asking for trouble and lowering the chance of survival for the existing fish. It also makes it harder work for you as you will need bigger, more frequent water changes.

When you get your test kits, post results on here and we'll be able to help you further.

Cheers

BTT