Help - Fish Not Happy

[lady11]

We have anew tank and all has been going well and fish have been happy for a week, today I topped up the Nutrifin Cycle according to instructions it should have been 3 but I only put two capfuls and this was at lunch time, now tonight we have suddenly lost one of our Danios and another is well on the way.

What could have gone wrong?

I have done a water test and the only thing that is slightly out is NO2 which instead of being white is pale pink all the other readings look ok.

Please Help

 

[alessasavoca]

need more info:

how long had the tank been set up?

How big is the tank?

What test kit do you use?

How many fish are in the tank?

 

[lady11]

need more info:

how long had the tank been set up? 2 weeks
How big is the tank? 125 L

What test kit do you use? Tetra Test 5

How many fish are in the tank? Had 12 soon going to be 10

 

[alessasavoca]

Ok, the tank's not cycled-that's quite likely the problem with the fish dying- the beneficial bacteria that break down the ammonia and nitrites haven't caught up with the bio load of the fish. Do a large water change now....with well dechlorinated water....
Is the test kit a strip kit? they are notoriously unreliable and the nitrite showing up on the test is a bad thing aswell, as both ammonia and nitrites are poisonous. Are they all danios?

 

[lady11]

2 Weeks

125L

Tetra Test 5

Had 12 soon going to be 10

Please can anyone help

 

[lady11]

Ok, the tank's not cycled-that's quite likely the problem with the fish dying- the beneficial bacteria that break down the ammonia and nitrites haven't caught up with the bio load of the fish. Do a large water change now....with well dechlorinated water....
Is the test kit a strip kit? they are notoriously unreliable and the nitrite showing up on the test is a bad thing aswell, as both ammonia and nitrites are poisonous. Are they all danios?

No only 5 danios left, I am not sure what the other are called they look like platys 4 Orange/Yellow and 2 black/white spotty alos look like platys but larger the latter were all in a tank together when we bought them

The kit is a strip one, do you think ~I should add another capful of cycle? On looking at instructions it maybe should have been 3 caps I only put 2

How do you add dechlorinated water?

What water test kit do you recommend?

Thanks for all your help

 

[alessasavoca]

no problem sorry it took so long this time i was in the bath!

I reccomend the API liquid test kit , are you in the UK or USA?

Cycle doesn't really do anything (don't worry- we all learnt this at some point) as it doesn't contain the right bacteria and even if it did, it would have to be kept refrigerated for it to work.

Do you have dechlorinator? It's the stuff you put in the water before you put it in the tank to remove chlorine, and most will also remove chloramides and other nasties commonly found in tap water. It doesn't hurt to overdose a bit with this as it also helps with the fishes slime coat (something that can be damaged when they are stressed).

Just siphon out a large amount , maybe 50-75 % of the water and top up with water (dechlorinated) that has been brought to the correct temp with a bit of boiled water from the kettle.

Check up on cycling and the nitrogen cycle in the newbie bit...i'll get you some links hang on

 

[lady11]

We are in the UK will all shops do the API?

We have Aqua Plus which we will add to the water before topping up tank.

Do you think I will lose all my fish?

The Danios were the first ones in.

Had a fish tank about 10 yrs ago and never had these probelsm then but the tank was established so I suppose the bacteria was already good.

Thanks for all your help will you be online tomorrow?

 

[alessasavoca]

yeah I'm online during the day at work, and in the evening at home lol. If you keep up with a lot of water changes to keep the levels down you hopefully won't lose all the fish. Is there someone who could look after them in an established tank until your tank cycles or could you take them back to the LFS?

I'm in the UK yes the shops do have API...

good luck and i will see you online tomorrow