My New Fish Tank [&&] Fish Problems.

[moey23q]

Hey everyone, as one of my first posts i'm going to introduce you all to my fish problems. About 3 weeks ago, i added tap water into my tank, i think its about 40litres and 1.75 x 2.00m approx. I have gravel at the bottom, six plastic plants, and a couple of objects such as a No Fishing sign, rocks and a little bridge that my algae eater sleeps under. So far i have made one 25% water change in these 3 weeks, and am going to change another 25% soon. I have my heater set at 27degrees. And my filter is running fine, cleaning up uneaten food etc. Now to my problem, when i first started, i left my tank to cycle for a week, i tested pH levels and nitrate levels and they were fine, i purchased 5x Neon Tetras, 2x Tiger Barbs, 2x Silver Sharks and 1x Algae eater. Two days later, all five neon tetras were dead, i don't know why, that is my first question, i was feeding them those mini flakes as appose to the bigger flakes i was feeding the rest, mind you all fish were not fully grown, but they were healthy and rich in color. The neon tetras started to cause me a headache, there is one i cannot find, but i am confident it is in the filter or something, because my other fish are too small to eat the tetras. A week later, the smaller tiger barb is dead. All the other fish seem to be getting along fine, the silver sharks had grown, and the surviving tiger barb had gotten VERY fat. I purchased another tiger barb so that they can school together, i made my water change then and tested pH levels etc. All is good now, but my big fat tiger barb floats on its side near the heater, is there a reason for this? Should i get more neon tetras, and why did the 5 neon tetras die? There is one more issue, i feed my fish pellets, everyone eats except the silver sharks, i think they eat off the floor because if they didn't they would not be alive now. I don't think my silver sharks are happy with the food, does anyone have any suggestions? I am going to get some more fish soon on my 4th week, i am thinking gourami's and a few more tiger barbs. Maybe one more algae eater, even though my one is doing its job cleaning everything. Thanks for all the support.

moey.

 

[martyn21uk]

Okay, firstly welcome to the forum. You've found the right place to solve all of your problems and help you enjoy keeping fish!! In your thread there are so many questions and things to comment on but I think it might be best if I ask you to spend some time reading first of all. Here is a link to a topic in the pinned section at the top of this forum about fishless cycling.

http/www.fishforums.net/Fishless-Cycling-t113861.html

Read this first, then the other pinned topics at the top of this forum. I know its a lot of reading but trust me it will be worth it!! Once you have read, come back to us with more questions and we can help you get through your set up problems.