I feel like I am failing miserably...

[ca.hokie]

Hello all- I need help. I feel like I am ready to quit.

I hate that this is my first post.

My setup seems pretty simple, 40 gal tank, hang over the sdie filter, two airstones and has been up since September. I cycled the tank before adding fish and since the addition of the fish, I have had fish die pretty much every couple of weeks. Everytime I think I have this locked and stable, another fish dies. I have also had some happy moments like having guppy fish fry born (they are now in a separate tank growing up fine). I continue to watch countless videos from the aquarium co-op, Girl Talks Fish, KGTropicals, Acquapros and more. I am doing 30% water changes every 2.5 weeks, monitoring my parameters every 2 days with my API kit, keeping the food portions in check, changed my hang filter cartridge monthly, and added fish fiber to catch more waste. In the tank I have:

5 guppies
3 corydoras
2 glass catfish
5 caridnaal tetras
1 white cloud (his partner died)
3 rummy nose
6 cherry shrimp
several live plants
2+ snails (well, is there ever just two?)

Here are today's parameters. Water temp at 74.7 degrees F. The pH is running high today and I have added some pH reducer this evening. Nitrates are creeping up so 20-30% water change coming again this weekend. Amonia and Nitrites look good. Tank had some ich last year (November), but kicked up the heat and added salt and the ich went away in about 10-12 days.

It just feels like I am doing something wrong fundamentally. There are a few fish that have been with me since September, but it seems like any new fish has a shelf life of 4 weeks before it shows signs of strange behavior and then dies. I am so frustrated because I am really trying to educate myself and do things the right way.

I am open to anything, I am desparate...please help.

 

[otterblue]

I think the most important issue is your nitrates are too high. 80ppm or above can kill fish.

Secondly, I would do more frequent water changes - at least once a week (probably 2 a week until your nitrates go down). Adding lots of live plants will help the fish, too.

Someone more knowledgable than me will come along and address your concerns better. Also, you could Google about nitrates.

 

[ca.hokie]

Thanks Otter. Yes agreed nitrates high. I seem to be able to get the nitrates down to the 10-20 but never lower after a 30% change. When I do the water changes I am vacuuming the gravel as well (using python) Could that be kicking up too much junk and I should just swap the water and less vacuuming?

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

The pH is pretty high (around 8.0 to 8.2).
Is the tap water the same pH as the tank water?

Check the tap water for nitrates.

Generally we try not to change the pH of the water in the tank because the sudden fluctuations in pH can stress and kill the fish. If you need to reduce the pH, lower the pH a couple of points in a bucket of water and use that water to do a water change. This way you slowly reduce the pH in the tank water over a period of time and the fish aren't subjected to sudden pH drops.

It's possible the new fish are coming from water with a lower pH and they are dying from alkalosis (pH shock from being put in water with a high pH). Rummynose tetras are sensitive to sudden changes in water chemistry and high nitrates so that could be why they die (assuming they have).

-------------------
If you can post pictures of the fish, we can check them for diseases.

Do the dead fish act unusual or look different before they die?
Do you find the dead fish before or after you do a water change?

-------------------
The nitrates can be reduces by doing bigger or more frequent water changes, as mentioned by @otterblue, and floating plants like Water Sprite would help provide shade for the fish and use up nutrients.

You need a picture on the back of the tank to make the fish feel more secure.

 

[Artur]

It's pretty big job to do this but it would help and be good for corydoras - change the gravel to fine sand.
Firstly - corydoras have to have sand in my, and many others opinion.
Secondly, more importandly - waste cannot be traped within it. In gravel which you have - it can.
Fish waste, uneaten food - all of this collects in it / under it and starts to rot. That's why your nitrates etc. may be high and even frequent water changes will help for short period of time. It's like pushing the brake pedal while also pushing the gas pedal. Best case scenario you'll end up with sick burnout. Worst case scenario your brake pads start raging in flames and you'll end up going faster and faster - more and more waste will collect.
Black sand/gravel - I don't like to use it neither. It may be toxic in some cases (not all of them, some are safe) but I'd rather stick to 100% pure, natural substrates.
The same goes to fake plastic/ceramic decor - you don't know what they were painted with. How they were produced.
Rocks and wood pieces are far more safer, and more natural looking.

Cover the back of your fish tank with black or "foggy" sticker - fish will be calmer, they'll feel safer.
If possible I like to cover the sides too.

The less chemicals you use (ph "reducer") - the better.

Water changes should be done every week. I like to change 20% every week in every single tank I have (96 litres, 112 litres, 240l and 468l - if I can do it on my weekends, surely can you!).
2,5 weeks is way to long without a water change.
While on this topic - when doing water changes - do you simply toss the fresh water in?
Do you use water from your own, personal well like I do? Because only then you can be 100% sure there is no chlorine etc.
Also - even if you use water from your well - I put it in when it's 100% the same, exact temp as the water in the fishtank.
If you change water temp while changing water you can get your fish to start being sick - fish pox as a good example.
Do you clean your filters? If so - do you use your aquarium water?
Rookie mistake, so I'll ask this - do you clean your glass from the outside? If yes - do you use some chemicals? Because even a scent of it may cause huge problems.

I think that's all for now.
Sand is your biggest ally. Water changes every week are a must. Cleaning your filters also.

 

[ca.hokie]

Thank you all for your comments. I had a long night to think this over and decided I am not giving up on these fish. I am going to make it work, but I need a plan.

You all gave me good stuff to think about and I am making some noob mistakes here. To answer some of your questions:

• Great suggestion on better understanding my tap water. I used my API kit on it because I was curious - it was all I had. We have hard water here in California (San Jose) and we have a water softener system in the house. When I tested it, I had a much lower pH, zero alkaline and nitrite, but the nitrates was not zero which I thought was interesting. Now it wasn't 80ppm, but more like 5-10ppm. Still, not what I thought it might be for city water, but will look further here
  • I try and match or be very close on the water temp of the new water. I keep a themometer in the new water
  • I don't treat the water before I put it in with conditioner (only after), but I think that makes more sense - thanks
• I hate my gravel (it's too big) and entire setup and want to change to sand. The guy I bought the tank from had this gravel and I figured I would use it. I will put in the work to do it. I will have to look into the best way to do that. It seems like I might have to restart and cycle the tank which I am not sure what to do with the fish
• I don't mind changing the water every week. It's not that hard for me and I kind of find the vacuuming satisfying.
• I clean my filters, but yes, I am using my sink - good point
• I actuallly do look at every fish that dies in a micoscope (sorry, it's the engineer in me). Aside from the ich problem which was obvious, I haven't seen much that caught my eye. Admittedly, I am not sure what I am looking "for", but I find it interesting. I am typically looking at fins, scales, anything funky in the gills, eyes or mouth.
• Well, at least I don't clean the glass with any chemicals, so I did one thing right!

I will for sure add some paper on the back and will look to take out the couple of fake stuff and supplment with more rocks and plants for some of the shy guys (my glass cats).

I am not going to quit. I am not going to quit. I am going to save these fish, but looks like full reboot this weekend.

Any quick recommendations on sand?

Thanks all. Thanks for your help.

 

[GaryE]

I do a 30% water change every week.
Survival rates here shot up once I started doing that, and the average lifespan of a cardinal in my tanks went for 3-4 years to 5-9. It's a little thing, but it makes an enormous difference.
I think a lot of the advice coming out of the US midwest is tainted by the fact that a lot of the water there is polluted by agricultural run-off, and they have nitrates from the tap. In that situation, you would use a test kit to decide when a water change is needed, because the water itself is trouble. I have clean water, and stay with a weekly routine. When things are crazy, I may slip to every 10 days, but never more. Feel free to disagree with the online voices (or with me!). Remember, youtube has no editors. Not all experts think about how situations can be different from region to region. I hope you have clean water.

You're ambitious.

5 guppies
3 corydoras
2 glass catfish
5 caridnaal tetras
1 white cloud (his partner died)
3 rummy nose

Glass catfish are quite difficult to keep. They like to be about 10 degrees F warmer than Corys, and a lot of experienced people can't keep them alive. Cardinals and rummy nose can also be a challenge for beginning aquarists. It's something to consider. You picked some tough to keep fish there.

 

[Naughts]

I'm glad you are sticking with it.
If the water is hard it suits the guppies, shrimp and snails and probably the white cloud, but the other fish are soft water fish and will struggle.
Using a water softener is not good for freshwater fish because the calcium/magnesium is replaced with sodium. Sodium (longer term) damages the health of freshwater fish. So I would suggest bypassing the water softener and sticking to hard water fish. We would need the hardness in numbers to be sure what fish to recommend.
Nitrates at 5-10 in tap water is doable. I have 23ppm nitrates but in my planted tank with slow sponge filters it runs at around 2ppm. Anything under 20ppm is ok, obviously the lower the better though.

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

Hello, frequent water changes of 40% weekly would definetly Help. Your glass catfish are very sensitive to changes in water parameters, FYI.

 

[StevenF]

Great suggestion on better understanding my tap water. I used my API kit on it because I was curious - it was all I had. We have hard water here in California (San Jose) and we have a water softener system in the house. When I tested it, I had a much lower pH, zero alkaline and nitrite, but the nitrates was not zero which I thought was interesting. Now it wasn't 80ppm, but more like 5-10ppm. Still, not what I thought it might be for city water, but will look further here

hardware has elevated calcium and magnesium levels. Your water softener uses salt to remove the calcium and magnesium. As a consequence the calcium and magneisum is replaced with sodium bicarbonate. That can increase your KH and PH. It also puts a a lot of sodium in theater.

Fresh water fish normally live in water with low levels of sodium and potassium. All animals need sodium and potassium in ballance to live. But if you have too much of one or the other can cause kidney damage and death. This is in addition to the nitrate problems you have.

It would be best to use water that has not been processed by the softener. but some of your fish might not do well in the harder water. A mix of hard water and RO water would lower the harness if you have RO water available. Otherwise a mix of tap with softened water might help. Somehow you need to gradually through water changes transition your tank off of 100% softened water. You should also start tracking and posting your tanks hardness and KH. Some of the other are more knowledgable then me on your fish and they may be able to suggest a GH to target.

A problem is some of your fish prefer softwater (the tetras) while others do better in harder water (the guppies).

 

[itiwhetu]

Hello, frequent water changes of 40% weekly would definetly Help. Your glass catfish are very sensitive to changes in water parameters, FYI.

If the glass catfish are sensitive to water changes, then why would change out 40 % of their water.

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

If the glass catfish are sensitive to water changes, then why would change out 40 % of their water.

They are sensitive to increases of water parameters. They like low nitrate. I would do frequent water changes of 40%, so the nitrates don’t get too much.

 

[Timbobby]

Hello all- I need help. I feel like I am ready to quit.

I hate that this is my first post.

My setup seems pretty simple, 40 gal tank, hang over the sdie filter, two airstones and has been up since September. I cycled the tank before adding fish and since the addition of the fish, I have had fish die pretty much every couple of weeks. Everytime I think I have this locked and stable, another fish dies. I have also had some happy moments like having guppy fish fry born (they are now in a separate tank growing up fine). I continue to watch countless videos from the aquarium co-op, Girl Talks Fish, KGTropicals, Acquapros and more. I am doing 30% water changes every 2.5 weeks, monitoring my parameters every 2 days with my API kit, keeping the food portions in check, changed my hang filter cartridge monthly, and added fish fiber to catch more waste. In the tank I have:

5 guppies
3 corydoras
2 glass catfish
5 caridnaal tetras
1 white cloud (his partner died)
3 rummy nose
6 cherry shrimp
several live plants
2+ snails (well, is there ever just two?)

Here are today's parameters. Water temp at 74.7 degrees F. The pH is running high today and I have added some pH reducer this evening. Nitrates are creeping up so 20-30% water change coming again this weekend. Amonia and Nitrites look good. Tank had some ich last year (November), but kicked up the heat and added salt and the ich went away in about 10-12 days.

It just feels like I am doing something wrong fundamentally. There are a few fish that have been with me since September, but it seems like any new fish has a shelf life of 4 weeks before it shows signs of strange behavior and then dies. I am so frustrated because I am really trying to educate myself and do things the right way.

I am open to anything, I am desparate...please help.

Like you I just started my first tank, but at the beginning of December. I got a good headstart though. I have a brother that has been keeping a small 10 gallon tank successfully for over 10 years. He keeps his lightly stocked and does a 50% water change every 6 weeks. Most people would say he's not changing his water enough, but if the fish are living for years and years that seems to be the goal. (I do mine every 1-2 weeks). He gave me a book to help me get started. I've used it as my guide getting started. I wouldn't worry about trying to get pH, hardness or anything else perfect, just stable and consistent. With that said I would stop with putting chemicals in the fish tank. If you believe the pH of your water is killing your fish then get a 15 or 30 gallon trash can and get your water right in there to use for your water changes. I do this with a 30 gal can in my laundry room, with a hose teed off from the washer hookup to fill it up. There is a tank heater in the can to keep the water at the same temp as my tank. My tank is 90 gal so this is easier than filling up 5 gal buckets. Your Nitrate levels look really high to me. I would do daily water changes until that comes down to 10 or below. Take a sample of your tank water to your local fish store and ask them what they think. On that note, have you found a good local fish store? I would wonder if the fish you are buying are unhealthy? I know if I was buying fish at a store and they kept dying in a couple of weeks, I would be looking at checking out a different fish store. If you do trust where you're buying them from, just ask them. They would know more than anybody. All their customers are using the same tap water, some probably have soft water systems. They would have some good information to help. That's about all I can think of to help. When you get things worked out, I would up the numbers of tetras and white clouds to 6 each. That would help lower their stress some.

 

[ca.hokie]

Thanks everyone for your help on this. I have taken some immediate action and have a loose plan. Here are the things some of you suggested that I have done:

• I wrapped the back and sides in black. Interestingly the fish swim closer to back glass now.
• I have changed the water a few times (30%) since and have gotten the nitrate levels down to around 15-20ppm. I am going to keep this weekly moving forward
  • I lost a cardinal in the last water change - sucks - the other guys look good - color, swimming together, no arrested gasping
• I got the numbers from my county's water authority - Nitrates at 3.8ppm, chlorine 0.38ppm, hardness 251ppm, sodium 29ppm, lead 0ppm, copper .37ppm - I will start using the line that does not go through the water softener - i might try timbobby's method with a larger can on standby
• I am swapping out my large gravel and will replace with a bottom layer of aquasoil and top layer of sand
• I have ordered a few more natural plants and grass and take out the remaining fake stuff

The gravel replacement looks like a big job and I need to move the fish to my 10 gallon tank where my guppy fry are residing - seems like a big job.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I am going to keep trying. My family loves to sit around the tank, so they have been supportive too.

 

[Colin_T]

I am swapping out my large gravel and will replace with a bottom layer of aquasoil and top layer of sand

do not add soil, it just makes a mess and does not help anything. If you want to use a fine gravel or sand, that is fine, but do not add aquarium plant soils/ substrates.