My fish look ill and are dying on me :(

[aquaguy]

Hi all.

Two weeks ago my dad said I could have a fish tank for my birthday. so I went out and choose a jewel 400 with a stand, and some gravel and wood.

I got it home and filled it with water. Then the next day I went to the gerden centre and bought some fish...

3 Oscars
1 Discus
2 catfish (think there called plecos)
5 of these really bright fish called miliwa or somthing
10 guppies

I also bought some plastic plants and some nice wood. We had loads of spare gravel in the garden so I just used some of that for the bottom.

Ok, now in the last week, the guppies have been dying dailly,the Discus about 5 days ago (looked like he had recieved a real kickin from something), 3 days ago an oscar dyed on me and this evening one of the catfish went mental and then died .
All the fish left look really unwell with red bits on there gills and most of the guppies have bits missing of there tails etc. Whats goin on

I dont understand what I have done wrong, I cleaned the filter stuff in some saopy water as it was starting to look really dirty/gungy and I have been feeding loads of flake (they seem to go through a small tub a week)

Anyone help?

 

[K-Holed]

Okay lets start at the begining.

1) The fish you have bought are not suitable with each other. the oscar will eat our guppies, your discus requires perfect water etc. etc.

2)you only want a couple of hardy fish to start with so that your filter matures and cycles your tank (info can be found in the stickies at the top)

3)NEVER wash your filter out with soapy water!!! only with tank water.

4) gravel form the bottom of your garden may have had pesticides sprayedon it best to buy that from your LFS

and the list goes on. I'm sure soeone will post a more detailed account of what to do from now as I 'm in a little of a rush. in the mean time read the stickies at the top of the page.

James

 

[Sharoane]

Ok...

As the previous poster pointed out, there are loads of problems...

1. Only use aquarium-safe gravel or sand (substrate) in your tank. Actually, all items that go in the tank need to be aquarium-safe. And never use soaps on the tank or anything that goes in the tank.

2. Any water that goes in the tank needs to be treated with a dechlorinator. I use something called Aquasafe in mine.

3. Filling a tank with water and then adding fish isn't good. The tank needs to cycle--read the pinned topics above about avoiding new tank syndrome. Don't feel bad--a lot of us, including me, learned this the hard way.

4. Research the fish before buying. Are they aggressive? How big will they get? What temperature water do they prefer? You don't want your fish eating one another.

I would see about returning any surviving fish and starting over--replace the gravel and water and follow the directions for cycling your tank.

Best of luck!

 

[keeper-of-fish]

start over and cycle

 

[skipper]

Hi

I think you really need to read up on this hobby before starting over again - there's loads of info on Cycling your tank and starting up on this forum under the beginners section. Look at the pinned articles at the top. I also find it useful to read up the fish I'm interested in on the web, before buying them.

I think you'll probably lose your fish as (from what I know) fish like Oscars and Discus are delicate/ difficult fish for the expert fishkeeper. Your guppies are probably just acting as fish food for the Oscars as well. I would suggest lots of water changes (i.e. siphoning out 20% of the water and replacing with DE-chlorinated water each day) to keep the levels of Ammonia/ Nitrite in the tank as low as possible. You also need to invest in a test kit to measure your tanks' Ammonia/ Nitrite/ Nitrate/ PH levels as the very least.

Once your tank has cycled, which may take say 4 - 6 wks, start adding your fish slowly - maybe a couple at a time... I'd take my time with this cos stocking your tank with fish is the best bit and worth the wait.

Good luck

S

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Firstly, and most importantly, to the hobby. You've come to the right place for advice.

I agree with everything that's been said so far, but don't let your fish deaths put you off this hobby. We all have to learn the hard way, and, never forget, even the most experienced members will still have fish deaths.

Good luck, newbie.