My Fish Need Help!

[becca11]

Hi, I'm new to all this and have never kept fish before, so if anyone could give me some advice then it would be much appreciated...

Me and my partner decided to buy 2 fantail fish yesterday, we got the tank advised, pump, chemicals etc.. we left the tank for only an hour off filling it up and puttin the chemicals in whilst we went to buy the faintails... When we placed them into the tank, maybe an hour or so later, they was fine, they seemed quite happy..

Last night one of the fish kept hiding next to the filter, behind the fake plants, we was worried incase the filter pressure was pulling the fish in so we switched it off for a while to see if the fish would move away but it didnt, when we distrubed the water breifly the fish did move away from the filter, but 5 minutes later it took back to the filter corner and did not come back out.

This morning the fish was sadly dead and we removed it, the other fish, which is still alive, who was perfectly fine and seemed also very happy has now taken to the same corner. And i am growing increasingly worried i have done something wrong!

I did wonder if the pump was too strong.. the fish struggled to move easily around the tank even though it is a fairly large sized tank... everytime they managed to get to a certain part of the tank the re filttering water pushed them back down.. Could this be causing a problem to the fish?

Please help me out!

Thanks

Becca

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Unfortunatley you've been the victim of poor advice from the fish shop, it's sad but true they're more concerned with the bottom dollar than with the animals welfare and as such haven't given you very good advice on how to start up a tank. Now you're not the first for this to happen to, and you certainly won't be the last, and your in the right place now to get some help so don't get into a panic.

Before adding fish you need to go through a process called 'cycling' the tank, you haven't done this which is why your fish has died, there's a link in my sig called 'whats cycling' this explains the whole process and what you need to do so have a good read of that and then come back with any questions.

Can you give us some mroe details about the tank, what size is it, whats the make/model of the filter, what other equipment do you have running, what chemicals did you add..... really give us as much info as possible, it'll help us work out what's the best way forward for you.

 

[becca11]

Unfortunatley you've been the victim of poor advice from the fish shop, it's sad but true they're more concerned with the bottom dollar than with the animals welfare and as such haven't given you very good advice on how to start up a tank. Now you're not the first for this to happen to, and you certainly won't be the last, and your in the right place now to get some help so don't get into a panic.

Before adding fish you need to go through a process called 'cycling' the tank, you haven't done this which is why your fish has died, there's a link in my sig called 'whats cycling' this explains the whole process and what you need to do so have a good read of that and then come back with any questions.

Can you give us some mroe details about the tank, what size is it, whats the make/model of the filter, what other equipment do you have running, what chemicals did you add..... really give us as much info as possible, it'll help us work out what's the best way forward for you.

Does this now mean my other fish will shortly also die?

I have had a read through the links you adviced, Thanks!

But how long should i do ths cycle for before i put more fish in? A week or so?

We was never advised on a test kit or any of that, the tank is 16ltr? If thats any use to you, I'm at work so cant think of the chemicals names to tell you! i know one of them is the blue stuff that puryfies the water, and another was on a white bottle, which i belive may have been something to do with the pump..

If my fish is too die, which i hope not! but if so should i remove it, carry on putting the bits in, and then put some new fish in? or should i clean the tank start over and then wait for how long?

Thanks!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

if you can control the levels of ammonia and nitrite with regular water changes you may be able to save the fish that you have. First port of call is to get a test kit and let us know what the water is like, then we can advise further on what you need to do.

the process of cycling with fish in (what you are doing now) is arduous and can take up to 2 months to complete, you shouldn't add any more fish until you are sure that the cycle is finished and the levels are safe. You should also do some research into suitable fish for that size tank, it's really quite small and goldfish generally need a fairly large tank, long term you may find you need to get a bigger tank just to house the 1 goldie you have.... let alone add any other fish.

if the goldfish does pass away the best thing you can do is a fishless cycle, there's another link in my sig which explains how to do this, doing this would mean when you add more fish you can be sure the tank is safe for them and reduce the chances of them dying.

Depends how attached you are to the goldfish really, the kindest thing you could do for him is return him to the fish shop then do a fishless cycle, however plenty of people do not want to do this as they get attached to their new pets quickly.

 

[rdd1952]

Hello and welcoome to the forum.

Goldfish are extremely hardy and while you got bad advice as MW stated, I strongly suspect that the goldie died from something unrelated to the new tank. They are quite often used while doing a fish in cycle and can usually handle very high levels of ammonia and nitrite. I think it was most likely hurt while they netted it at the LFS as so many of the store employees don't have a clue how to net a fish properly. They just pin them against the glass and rake them out.

If you keep a check on the ammonia and nitrite and do water changes as MW mentioned, the other goldie should make it through. The next problem is your tank size. For goldfish, which are high waste producers and grow to over a foot long, the minimum size tank for a single fish is 20 gallons and ten an additional 10 gallons for each additional fish. That seems like not much fish for the water but because of the size they grow to and the amount of waste they produce, it the general stocking guideline.

For the size tank you have, you are extremely limited in what you can have. It is really only suited for a single betta. THegodfihs will probably live in it or a few years with regular maintenance but it will neer live a full life which can be over 25 years. The tank s sumply too small.

 

[becca11]

Im really annoyed about that! Thats the last time i listen to petshop advice! - They did actually tell me that i could fit atleast 4 FISH in that tank! and the price... well thats another story!
But there you go.. I suppose..

I looked at the bit i was given in the shop and the stuff ive been putting into the tank is CYCLE! - thats not good is it?
The other fish IS still alive, but doesnt seem at all lively, it just sits on the bottom off the tank most of the time, which im quite worried about..

Should i carry on using CYCLE? or should i get something else.. and is it okay to put that in the tank while the fish is in it! ...

So you dont think my fish has died due to not doing the fishless cycle? and could possibly be the transfer from the shop tank...?

thanks!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

sadly you learnt the hard way

Lesson No 1 of fishkeeping - the LFS are out to make a quick buck, will sell you loads of rubbish and give dodgy advice so you keep going back to the shop to fix problems that they've caused.

I agree it was rather a quick death so possibly not the cycle however the water won't have helped him and there is real potential for a cycling tank to be fatal for the fish.

The product cycle is rubbish, it's supposed to supply bacteria to start your filter which would mean you don't need to fishless cycle...... great idea, shame it doesn work. Bacteria need food and appropriate conditions to stay alive, they won't just live indefinatley in a bottle, and a lot of the bacteria in a bottle products contain the wrong species of bacteria in the first place.

That being said there are a couple of products which may help you IF you can get hold of them, in the UK we have Bactinettes in the USA they have Bio Spira. Both are kept refirgerated and have a shelf life which gives the bacteria the best possible chance of survival sat on the shelf waiting to be bought. If you can get either of these they will help get the water quality sorted, but don't be tempted to buy any other bacteria in a bottle products whatever the man in the fish shop says!

If you can't get either of these then it's daily 20% (or more) water changes until both ammonia and nitrite are steady at 0

But even getting the water sorted will not make it OK to keep all these fish in this tank, so you've a choice really, buy a bigger suitable tank and keep these fish, or return the fish to the store and purchase something more suitable for the tank (after fishless cycling it!).

 

[becca11]

Bactinettes - where would i get hold of this then? In a fish / pet shop or the internet or something?
and thats okay to put in the tank while there is a fish in there?

i will have to look into buying a bigger tank, yes agreed. for the mean time ill see how my fish gets on, but youve been a great help!

Thanks