I Killed My Fish!

[Dieses Madchen]

So I recently got rid of 15 babies, and I added 3 more adults. I thought the bioload would be about even. Well Last night one of my solar flare sword dies, and this morning my female betta was belly up. The ammonia was 0.5! And the nitrite was 2.0!!! I didn't check the levels after adding the new guys....

I am heartbroken. Gonna gut the tank. I was planning on switching to sand today, and adding this great piece of wood I bought. The wood is finally ready. I feel horrible. At least a full water change will get rid of the nitrites. Unfortunately my tap water has ammonia in it, so I am going to have to use prime to neutralize that. But I can't believe I forgot to check the water. I am always on top of that. The one time I didn't, it resulted in losses.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Sorry for your loss. Yes, fry produce much less waste than adults.


Unfortunately, whenever you add fish, you need to test your water for the first few days, just to make sure. This is where they say that larger tanks are easier than small ones. I've never had a problem with my filter when I added 3 adult fish to my tank, but then again I have 56 gallons of water and a larger bioload initially, so 3 fish are a much smaller percentage increase.

Use this experience to learn and at least they will not have died in vain. If it never happens again, then its all good. I sucked one of my fish up with the syphon hose once and put it into my garden. That's never happened again, but I felt about the same as you right now.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Thats whats crazy. I always test my water when I add new fish. I have just been so busy with work and stuff. It's a 40g tank that has been established for a year! I have never had problems with it. Hell, I don't have problems with any of my 4 tanks. I just feel so bad right now. I even quarantined the new fish for a week before adding them. This is how cautious I am with my tanks. Just one little slipup....

 

[Xraymark]

At what stage would you check the water levels after introducing new fish?

6h,12h 0r 24h as example.

 

[crunch7]

oh my dieses, its done . bid the fish a good farewell, and move on .

 

[Dieses Madchen]

At what stage would you check the water levels after introducing new fish?

6h,12h 0r 24h as example.

every 8-12 for the first few days, doing water changes if needed.

oh my dieses, its done . bid the fish a good farewell, and move on .

In honor of the lost fish, i am gutting the tank to clean out the snails and gravel. replacing the gravel with sand, and when I have money, replacing the plastic plants with real ones.

 

[crunch7]

oh ur so far dieses would`ve love to send u the plants for free, i can get some from the local pond anytime. do take care. m sure doing that will make u feel better

 

[eaglesaquarium]

At what stage would you check the water levels after introducing new fish?

6h,12h 0r 24h as example.

First day every 12 H. If no traces, then I drop it to every 24 H for a few more days and if no trace shows up, I test it only during the regular water changes after that.


If I see any trace at 12 H. Then I continue to test every 12 H, until I get consecutive zeros in back to back 12s. Then I do a small water change (10-20%, just because) and drop the testing frequency to 24 H.