Help! My Fish Keep Dieing!

[Kod88]

Please help me, I new to fish keeping. I have a 100 litre tank with a fluval U3 (in working order) filter, a thermometer (again fully working).
I have an API test kit (small test tubes with water and u put drops in), outcome PH- 7, Ammonia- 0, Nitrite- 0 and Nitrate- 0.
In my tank I have 10 neon tetras, 10 glow light tetras, 3 cherry barbs, 3 chequered barbs, 3 rosie barbs, 1 silver shark, 1 three spot gourami and 1 bristlenose plec, 1 ram. I have Hikari wafer for the plec/bottom feeders, tetra pro colour for my brights and standard flake for the rest (only tiny pinchs of this are going in) and I also feed frozen foods like bloodworm and daphina, the tank is stocked with all live plants also. 20% water change done every week, with all filter pads, impeller cleaned in the dirty fish water (not tap water) and replaced on a regular basis (every 4-6 weeks), also use tap safe when changing water. As far as I can seen there is NO visible signs of disease, ie white spots, flicking off stones, swimming differently etc. No fish have been added for 2 months now (this is how long it been going on for) and the tank and filters have been set up for 6 months.

Please help me, I have no idea what to do.


I know that alot of these fish can grow in size which is why I'm upgrading my tank to 200 litres, but I don't want to upgrade just yet as they keep dieing, the fish are all small at this moment in time (all smaller than my index finger), but I have had several deaths recently.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Your filter pad suppliers will tell you to change your pads every 3 to 4 weeks because we live in a consumer society, IE; they make a fortune whilst your fish suffer. You should NEVER change your filter pads (or any other type of media) until they are literally falling apart in your hands.
I am intrigued as to how you 'cycled' (if any) your tank in the 4 months between 'setting up your tank' and adding your fish. Hopefully you will have done a fishless cycle of some sort, but those initial water readings you gave show no NitrAte, a sure sign that you bacteria are not doing their job (or are not even there ), either way, keep a continuous eye on your water results and be prepared to carry out daily 50% + water changes...

Best of luck.,

Terry.

 

[Kod88]

I usually change my pads every 6 weeks, didnt realise you could go so long without changing them, not sure what you mean by cycling my tank, but 7 months ago I bought the tank set it up, and ran it with filter and heater on, used some nutrafin cycle and let it run for a week without putting any fish in as recommended by a pet store, all fish were added in staggered stages and most lasted till now, no deaths until recently, maybe odd tetra inbetween but only one at a time and not often

 

[RedTail123]

Please help me, I new to fish keeping. I have a 100 litre tank with a fluval U3 (in working order) filter, a thermometer (again fully working).
I have an API test kit (small test tubes with water and u put drops in), outcome PH- 7, Ammonia- 0, Nitrite- 0 and Nitrate- 0.
In my tank I have 10 neon tetras, 10 glow light tetras, 3 cherry barbs, 3 chequered barbs, 3 rosie barbs, 1 silver shark, 1 three spot gourami and 1 bristlenose plec, 1 ram. I have Hikari wafer for the plec/bottom feeders, tetra pro colour for my brights and standard flake for the rest (only tiny pinchs of this are going in) and I also feed frozen foods like bloodworm and daphina, the tank is stocked with all live plants also. 20% water change done every week, with all filter pads, impeller cleaned in the dirty fish water (not tap water) and replaced on a regular basis (every 4-6 weeks), also use tap safe when changing water. As far as I can seen there is NO visible signs of disease, ie white spots, flicking off stones, swimming differently etc. No fish have been added for 2 months now (this is how long it been going on for) and the tank and filters have been set up for 6 months.

Please help me, I have no idea what to do.


I know that alot of these fish can grow in size which is why I'm upgrading my tank to 200 litres, but I don't want to upgrade just yet as they keep dieing, the fish are all small at this moment in time (all smaller than my index finger), but I have had several deaths recently.

By thermometer do you mean heater?

 

[HayzH]

with 0 for NitrAtes ..it's highly likely your filter isnt cycled properly.
Have a good read in the beginner's section...lots of great information in there. I frequently refer back to there.
Good Luck x

 

[the_lock_man]

Cycling is the process of establishing the nitrogen cycle within the tank. Your fish excrete ammonia from their gills, and via their, er, "waste products", if ya know what I mean.

Ammonia is highly poisonous to the fish, it burns their gills and damages their internal organs. To combat this, your filter grows a colony of bacteria (known coloquially as the A-bacs), which eat ammonia and produce nitrite.

Unfortunately, nitrite is also high poisonous to the fish, it attachs itself to the fish's haemoglobin, and inhibits the ability of the haemoglobin to transport oxygen around the body - in other words, the fish feel suffocated. To combat this, your filter grows a second colony of bacteria (known coloquially as the N-bacs), which eat nitrite and produce nitrate.

Nitrate, in small-ish quantities is fine. It is used by plants, who feed off it, and then in turn produce oxygen. The fish breathe in oxygen, and breathe out ammonia - thus completing the cycle.

When Taff asked you if you'd cycled your tank, he was asking how you'd gone about establishing those bacterial colonies.

If you are changing all your filter spongers every 6 weeks, you are constantly removing those vital bateria colonies. The fact that you are showing 0 nitrates backs this up, it is usual to find a certain level of nitrates, unless your tank is very heavily planted.

So, advice on what to do now. Well, you've already been advised not to chuck away the filter sponges, that's definitely step one.

The next step is to establish a daily water testing routine. You particularly need to monitor ammonia and nitrite. Whenever you see those levels approaching or exceeding 0.25ppm, you need to change water, to get those levels as close to 0 as possible. That may mean changing 90% of the water in your tank. It may even mean doing 2 changes in quick succession. Certainly, in the next couple of weeks, the chances are you will be needing to change water every day.

As time goes on, you'll find that you get the holy grail of tank-cycling, the Double Zero (ie 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite). When you get that, don't bother changing water. But the next day, you'll probably need to.

Fast forward another week or so, and you'll find yourself going 3 days without having to change water, then 4 day, and so on.

Once you get to a stage where you are showing Double Zero for a week unbroken, then your filter is "cycled", ie the filter has established sufficient bacteria to cope with the ammonia produced by your fish, the cycle is complete.

When you're doing these water changes, remember to use dechlorinator every time, and to make sure that the water you put back in is about the same temperature as that which you took out.

Yes, it's a lot of work, but your fish will thank you for it in the long term, by not dieing.

I know this is quite long-winded, but hopefully it's understandable - if you've got any questions, feel free to ask - the only silly question is one that isn't asked. We've all been beginners, we've all made mistakes, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

 

[colleen0309]

Cycling is the process of establishing the nitrogen cycle within the tank. Your fish excrete ammonia from their gills, and via their, er, "waste products", if ya know what I mean.

Ammonia is highly poisonous to the fish, it burns their gills and damages their internal organs. To combat this, your filter grows a colony of bacteria (known coloquially as the A-bacs), which eat ammonia and produce nitrite.

Unfortunately, nitrite is also high poisonous to the fish, it attachs itself to the fish's haemoglobin, and inhibits the ability of the haemoglobin to transport oxygen around the body - in other words, the fish feel suffocated. To combat this, your filter grows a second colony of bacteria (known coloquially as the N-bacs), which eat nitrite and produce nitrate.

Nitrate, in small-ish quantities is fine. It is used by plants, who feed off it, and then in turn produce oxygen. The fish breathe in oxygen, and breathe out ammonia - thus completing the cycle.

When Taff asked you if you'd cycled your tank, he was asking how you'd gone about establishing those bacterial colonies.

If you are changing all your filter spongers every 6 weeks, you are constantly removing those vital bateria colonies. The fact that you are showing 0 nitrates backs this up, it is usual to find a certain level of nitrates, unless your tank is very heavily planted.

So, advice on what to do now. Well, you've already been advised not to chuck away the filter sponges, that's definitely step one.

The next step is to establish a daily water testing routine. You particularly need to monitor ammonia and nitrite. Whenever you see those levels approaching or exceeding 0.25ppm, you need to change water, to get those levels as close to 0 as possible. That may mean changing 90% of the water in your tank. It may even mean doing 2 changes in quick succession. Certainly, in the next couple of weeks, the chances are you will be needing to change water every day.

As time goes on, you'll find that you get the holy grail of tank-cycling, the Double Zero (ie 0ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite). When you get that, don't bother changing water. But the next day, you'll probably need to.

Fast forward another week or so, and you'll find yourself going 3 days without having to change water, then 4 day, and so on.

Once you get to a stage where you are showing Double Zero for a week unbroken, then your filter is "cycled", ie the filter has established sufficient bacteria to cope with the ammonia produced by your fish, the cycle is complete.

When you're doing these water changes, remember to use dechlorinator every time, and to make sure that the water you put back in is about the same temperature as that which you took out.

Yes, it's a lot of work, but your fish will thank you for it in the long term, by not dieing.

I know this is quite long-winded, but hopefully it's understandable - if you've got any questions, feel free to ask - the only silly question is one that isn't asked. We've all been beginners, we've all made mistakes, it's nothing to be ashamed of.

Perfectly stated!! Wish I was so eloquent!

 

[the_lock_man]

Awwww, thanks Coleen.

 

[Kod88]

my tank is heavily planted, and why did the store tell me to set up tank like this?, never heard of cycling till now, so for now my best bet is to change 20% water each day? i'm still a bit confused as to how to sort this, sorry but need it in laymens terms, thanks for all the replies guys

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Isn't 0 nitrates possible in a fully planted tank? Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought plants fed of nitrates...

 

[the_lock_man]

Isn't 0 nitrates possible in a fully planted tank? Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought plants fed of nitrates...

Yes, I did note that in my previous reply.

my tank is heavily planted, and why did the store tell me to set up tank like this?, never heard of cycling till now, so for now my best bet is to change 20% water each day? i'm still a bit confused as to how to sort this, sorry but need it in laymens terms, thanks for all the replies guys

How heavy is heavy? How much of the substrate has got plants in it?

The plants will help because they can feed on ammonia, rather than waiting for it to be cycled into nitrate.

I stick by what I wrote earlier. If you don't have a test kit (liquid-based) then I strongly suggest you get one. Until you know how much ammonia and nitrite is in the water, you don't know how much water you need to change. If you do a test and it shows you have 1ppm of ammonia (which is quite common) then if you change 20%, you are left with a level of 0.8ppm - in other words, nowhere near that target level of 0.25ppm.

An analogy would be sitting in room for hours filled with smoke, and someone opens a window for 10 seconds - it's not really done anything to relieve the situation.

On the other hand, if you do a 90% change, you are left with 0.1ppm, in practical terms that's a "good" level (ie not perfect). In my analogy, that would be someone opening the window for a few hours. You would get some relief.

I hope that's Layman's Terms enough for you, keep asking the questions when you need!

 

[snake007]

200 litres is still to small for the silver shark.
Needs 100g+

 

[snake007]

200 litres is still to small for the silver shark.
Needs 100g+

 

[Kod88]

Thanks again, I'd say about 60% of the substrate is covered with live plants, I done a water test today (I have an API liquid test kit) and all is still coming up as zero, and ph 7, I understand about the water changes now but I don't understand why my test kit says that everything is at zero (except ph), as I'm fairly new to fish keeping I did ask in store about the fish I've got an if my tank size and other tank mates etc were suitable and the store said yes, if I had known this, I wouldn't have got silver sharks feel bad now keeping them in this tank.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Yes, I did note that in my previous reply.

sorry, i didn't see that