Need Advice 2 Fish Dead Already!

[kelvinrankin767]

As above, stripes are not a reliable source of testing.

Please purchase an API freshwater testmaster kit and please please please do not add any more fish, until your tank is cycled.

Also, you should read the 2 below links, considering that you're in a 'fish-in cycle';

What's cycling
fish-in cycle


Out of interest, what filter are you using?

Tetras aren't the hardy fish that they used to be, if your stats aren't correct, you could see yourself losing a few.

Livebearers should be in a ratio of 1 male to 3 females, the more females the better

Please have a read of 'the livebearers FAQ' for more information.

Remember, we are here to give helpful advice x

i have kept fish for years and this tank has been goin to plan very well apart from the swordtail emergency but i took out the aggresive swortail and have the other male in the tank at the moment who has recovered from the stress, so i am goin to hold back buying fish for a couple of weeks and get a good test kit, ime a little stick for cash atm that why i got the strips it was either that or nothing, My filter is an Eheim Aquaball the 4 stack one which i belive is the best does 650lph and is good for 180L, So filer wise ime good i think what i ahve to do now is test my water every 1-2 days and doo water changes when needed untill my water balences out then i can add fish

 

[OldMan47]

The filter is not going to help you keep your water quality in line. If you have any mature tanks, as it seems you must with all that experience, why not clone one of your mature filters? I clone filters all the time by simply cleaning a well established filter in a new tank and letting the new filter pick up a sample of the right bacteria from that cleaning. It makes the new tank look a bit nasty but gets the new filter off to the right start. If you can do that, or something similar, to transfer the right bacteria to the new filter, you can expect to have ammonia and nitrites under control in the first week. After that it is the simple process of gradually adding fish, as you have always had to do, to maintain a healthy environment for your fish.

Your fish emergency is another matter entirely. Swordtails are one of my passions but I recognize that a male swordtail can be a bit of a PITA. A typical pet shop male swordtail that is dominant in a tank will not leave another male alone unless there are so many females in the tank that he has no time left to chase the other males. It is one of the reasons that male swordtails that are not the dominant male in their tank often will take well over a year to allow their gender to become apparent. They go on sneaking around trying to look like females until they just can't do that any more. It is the reason that many casual livebearer keepers believe that swordtails can undergo a sex change. That is preposterous because the swordtail has an X-Y chromosome set much like people do and cannot change their gender, because it is genetically determined. Some cichlids do not have that same restriction and actually can undergo a sex change but not swordtails. The fact that some fish can truly change sex leads people to speculate that it is what is happening with their sneaker swordtails.