Losing Gouramis In New Tank

[Andrew61987]

Awhile ago (maybe a month or two) I got a 10 gallon tank and filled it with water and started the filter. I treated the water, and started pouring bits of water into it from my friend's established tank to try and get a little something started before I added any fish. Jan 5th I added my first two fish, an orange dwarf gourami and a blue one. From the get-go the blue one seemed a bit "slow" compared to the orange one, who was zipping all over the tank (although they both seemed healthy). The blue one REALLY started slowing down after 3 or 4 days, at which point he was just floating around letting the water take him wherever the water was going to take him. Blue died on the 11th. After that the orange one started slowing down. On the 13th I added a blue/orange striped Gourami and 5 neons. The new Gourami was REALLY all over the place, and seemed to be picking on the orange one. Orange one was not eating. At this point I took my water in to be tested. Everything checked out okay, the guy said I have very healthy water. Orange one died today. I have been doing 30-40% water changes every 2 or 3 days since I added the first 2 fish.

So both Gouramis I originally bought have died in appearantly healthy water. The new Gourami (which happened to be much bigger than the first two) and the 5 neons are still very healthy. Thoughts on this? This is my first fish tank so I am afraid I am doing something stupid.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I had two goldfish in the tank with the first two fish. The goldfish were only in the tank for about 5 minutes. Stupid, I know...I'm pretty sure this is what killed them. Sound likely?

 

[sylvia]

Dwarf gouramies are not hardy fish and I could have told you a month ago when you put them in the uncycled tank that they would die. The tank is also too small for two male dwarfs (and I know they were male because females are not brightly colored). Yes, BTW, putting goldfish in a ttropical tank is deffinately a pretty bad idea. 10 gallons is also FAR too small for two oldfish - the two need at least a 30 gallon to themselves.

Buy yourself a water test kit. Asking your LFS isn't good enough. Do you actualy know what 'healthy water' means? Your ammonia and nitrIte should be 0ppm and nitrAte should be under 40ppm (prefferably under 20ppm). People at LFSs usualy don't know anything about what constitutes good water and will simply say it's 'good' when the levels are relatively low. This is not the case - even tiny amounts of ammonia can kill fish and cycling with fish (which is what you did with these gouramies) takes over a month usualy to be completed.

Just a note - water changes should be done with dechlorinated water and adding old water to a tank doesn't help cycle it (wich is what I suppose you meant by 'getting a little something started'). What you should have done is to have added a piece of mature filter media to your own filter with dechlorinated water and perhaps some gravel from an established tank. You also should have immediately added some hardy fish (such as a trio of cherry barbs). This is because your aim in 'cycling' a tank is to get bacteria to grow in the gravel and filter media which will convert the toxic ammonia to nitrIte and then to the less dangerous nitrAte. The nitrAte you remove by doing regular water changes.

I would suggest that you read the links in my signature and, once you're done, first find your goldfish an adequately large tank (if they are not in one already) and then research honey gouramies (a trio would work) as a replacement for the two dwarfs (though only after the tank's been fishless cycled).

 

[Rhiannon]

We all make mistakes Andrew, and you are only a begginer, so you were not to know.

Its trial and error, I have been there, done that and learnt what to do and what not to do.

Hopefully you can have better luck next time with any new fish you add.

Rhiannon.