Helppppp!

[cuppycakes]

Hiya im Laura and new.
I moved into my own house recently and thought it was a good idea to get a 4 foot fish tank, i did so and brought some fish, 4 guppys, 11 neon tetras, 2 dalmation fish 1 fighter fish thing and 4 other fish that i have no idea what they are. Anyway, my fish keep dying! i have only 6 left now!!!! i cleaned the filter twice in a month is this correct? also how on earth do i do water change and how much? i don't want my fish to keep dying! it's sad!!! plus it looks ridiculously empty with hardly any fish in now! can anyone help? i have had the tank for about 5 weeks now!
Thanks,
Laura.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Did you cycle your tank?
and have you got test kit?

 

[blackguppy]

Hi Laura.
Cycling a tank refers to giving a tank a long enough time for the beneficial bacteria to buid up. These baccteria break down wastes. It can take 4-6 weeks for this cycling to occur, and it sounds as though your tank is experiencing ammonia spikes. It's a common mistake to add too many fish too soon.
Also, if by cleaned the filter you mean that you replaced filter cartridges twice in one month, then what you actually did was throw out any good bacteria that had formed on them away.
You change water by siphoning out usually 10% of the water each week, and replacing it with water that has been treated for chlorine and heavy metals, and is of the same temp. as the water in the tank.
Here are a quick few pointers. Stop buying fish until your conditions have stabilized. Get and use a comprehensive water testing kit. They test PH, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, and other parameters. Do research on any other fish you want before you buy them. The four fish that you have no idea of, may well be bullying the others to death. Don't treat for diseases unless you're absolutely certain what you're doing.
Let us know how you're making out, and don't be discouraged.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Hi Laura.
Cycling a tank refers to giving a tank a long enough time for the beneficial bacteria to buid up. These baccteria break down wastes. It can take 4-6 weeks for this cycling to occur, and it sounds as though your tank is experiencing ammonia spikes. It's a common mistake to add too many fish too soon.
Also, if by cleaned the filter you mean that you replaced filter cartridges twice in one month, then what you actually did was throw out any good bacteria that had formed on them away.
You change water by siphoning out usually 10% of the water each week, and replacing it with water that has been treated for chlorine and heavy metals, and is of the same temp. as the water in the tank.
Here are a quick few pointers. Stop buying fish until your conditions have stabilized. Get and use a comprehensive water testing kit. They test PH, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, and other parameters. Do research on any other fish you want before you buy them. The four fish that you have no idea of, may well be bullying the others to death. Don't treat for diseases unless you're absolutely certain what you're doing.
Let us know how you're making out, and don't be discouraged.

yeah sorry for not being specefic...

 

[OldMan47]

To add to what blackguppy suggested, 10% is maybe a maintenance water change but if you are in the middle of setting up a cycle using fish, you will probably need at least 25% several times per week depending on your water readings. There is information here http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/ on how to start a cycle wihtout fish but you already have some. The rest of the information should help you understand what is happening in your tank.

 

[blackguppy]

Indeed, if water tests show some parameters of the water as being way off, by all means change more than 10% of the water right away. Up to 50% if need be.

 

[cuppycakes]

I left the tank a week before adding fish but they were fine until recently!!! about a week or so ago! i used stones and plants from an established tank to set up and they were fine, it is only recently they all started dying my neons are all pale aswell i don't know if it is because i havnt done a water change in 5 weeks? i did one the other night but didnt know how to do it so took a bucket of water out and then put a bucked of water in, it was really cold water aswell maybe that killed them, fish tanks are soooooo complicated!!!

 

[Ace Of Spades]

I left the tank a week before adding fish but they were fine until recently!!! about a week or so ago! i used stones and plants from an established tank to set up and they were fine, it is only recently they all started dying my neons are all pale aswell i don't know if it is because i havnt done a water change in 5 weeks? i did one the other night but didnt know how to do it so took a bucket of water out and then put a bucked of water in, it was really cold water aswell maybe that killed them, fish tanks are soooooo complicated!!!

Its not just about Leaving it for week, you have to add amonia, do water changes. Amonia feed the bactieria colonies which break it down to nitrites which are still harmful to fish and then to nitrates which fish can live happily in up to 40ppm i think, You have to do this for your tank so it can deal with the bioload of all those fish and keep the water stats down..........the best thing I think you can do is water changes...

I think that is mostly Correct, but if anyone with more knowledge on this subject would like to correct me

 

[shelaghfishface]

i lfs told me to leave my 4ft with 8 neons in overnight and if they were ok i could add what i liked, soon found out that wasnt true (to the fishes expense)
dont worry about the tank looking empty ,but dont add anymore till you have fully cycled it its soooo important,you will get tonnes of great advice ( that money couldnt buy) on here ,lord knows,i have..
i had very pale and dying fish and it turned out to be nitrite stress,it was really sad that they had to go thru that just beacause i had no idea,so chin up and get on with doing a fab job,u will find it so much less stress full when you know what you are doing..........good luck and a massive welcome from me

shelaghxxxxxx

 

[Snooks1!]

The best thing you can do at this time is to read this thread to get an idea of what is going on with your tank. Then, do some research on this forum about basic fish keeping. Fishkeeping is not very hard at all if you do your research and study up a bit. You can't expect to hit a home run the first time you play baseball.

As for how you go about doing water changes, get a piece of tubing ( long enough to go from mid-ways inside your tank to the floor ) you use this to siphon water out of, and into your tank. Before you do water changes, get a bucket full of water ( temperature does not matter right now ) add your dechlorinate to the water, then let it sit out by your tank for an hour or two, so it reaches room temp. Then, with your piece of tubing, siphon out however much water you want into another bucket. Here is where it gets a bit tricky...There are hundreds of different ways people get water back into their aquarium. Personally, I siphon water from the bucket back into the tank as to not disturb it too much. This may not be an option for you if you do not have a place of higher elevation near your tank to place your bucket. In this case, you can slowly pour the water into the tank straight from the bucket.

 

[cuppycakes]

I have read the fishless cycle thing but i am still totally confused, no one told me about this before and now i can't start it because i have fish in my tank, so what should i do ?

 

[seangee]

I have read the fishless cycle thing but i am still totally confused, no one told me about this before and now i can't start it because i have fish in my tank, so what should i do ?

You have probably realised from what you have read that the problem is poison in the water. You can't do anything to make the bacteria (that remove the poison) grow faster because that will kill your fish. So you have to remove the poison yourself by changing the water. It is really important that you use a dechlorinater ( sold as Tap Safe, Seachem Prime etc you can get these at any lfs "local fish shop"). The chlorine in tap water will kill whatever bacteria has started so you need to get rid of the chlorine first. While you are at the lfs get a test kit - preferably one that uses liquids. The only thng you should worry about now are ammonia and nitrite.

If you can you should probably be changing 40% or more for the next few days. The tests will tell you how bad the water is. Don't touch the filter and feed very very sparingly. In fact stop feeding for a couple of days. The temperature of the water going in is not critical. Put your hand in the tank before yau start. Fill your bucket using hot and cold taps so that it feels about right.

 

[seangee]

Oops - forgot to say and good luck. It really is worth sticking with it and it does get easier