Need help!!!

[Taybellla]

To start, I have no idea what I'm doing and I feel the employees at the pet store failed me. I Bought 5 tetra glo fish and one tiny pleco, 20 gallon tank and some decorations. Did step by step what I was told to do and buy. Fish seemed fine that day but The next mornimg, all fish were dead but one glo and the pleco. The two alive seemed weak. I've been researching like crazy and realized pet store left out 90% of info. I brought dead fish back and they told me I should have cycled the tank 24 hrs first...thanks for telling me now! so I emptied the tank cleaned everything with hot water and put it an air pump and stone, heater and conditioner and ph balance stuff. Waited 24 hrs and my test strips were all normal. I picked up and put the new fish in after acclamating them the way they said (15 mins in bag then 5 mins with some tank water and 5 more with more tank water)They Seemed fine first day. Now I'm on day 3 with the second batch and all of them are constantly opening and closing their mouths , twitching and always hiding. The pleco shoots to the top for a gulp of air every 10 minutes. They will eat. Now pissed off, I brought a sample of my water to the store, they tested it and said it was fine on all parameters, just a little high on alkalinity. Gave me some ph up. I Put it in and now a day later they seem even worse and the air pump bubbles are not popping right away so the top is full of tiny bubbles.. I called the pet store back and they said it's probally too much chemicals and to do a 50% water change. I did that, and put some conditioner in the new water. They seemed alot better for the next few hours. Then Started back with the weird behavior, after Google research I turned the heater off to see if that would help. It was at 79. It's now 77 and it did seem to help i thought my problems were solved but now they are back to hiding and opening their mouths twice a second and are twitching. I don't know what else to do I feel like bringing them back because I'm too stressed out thinking about them suffer. It's now too late at night to get more test strips. I came here since the pet store wasn't any help and I'm trying to learn and save these poor fish

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Did you use a clean bucket to fill up the tank and wash the gravel in?

Did you have any creams, oil, disinfectant, hand sanitiser or anything else on your hands when setting up the tank?

Have you been feeding the fish?
If yes, how often and how much?

-------------------
77-79F is fine for the temperature.

Generally the best thing to do if fish are looking unwell is a water change. Remove 50-75% of the tank water and replace it with dechlorinated water.

Use a clean bucket that hasn't been used for anything else. Get a permanent marker and write "FISH ONLY" on it. Keep the bucket for the fish and don't let anyone use it for anything except the fish tank.

Fill the bucket with tap water and add some dechlorinator (chlorine neutraliser). Mix the water and dechlorinator up for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes and then use it to fill the tank. Try to use an airstone from an air pump to make bubbles in this water. It mixes it more effectively.

-------------------
Reduce feeding to once every couple of days. The fish won't starve but less food means less ammonia and that means less stress on the fish. In about 6 weeks the filter should have cycled and you can feed the fish more often.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean 4-8 hours after feeding. This helps remove any ammonia that is produced by the fish food.
Make sure the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

-------------------
If you have a light unit on the tank, add some live aquatic plants. These help use up ammonia and help keep the water cleaner for longer. Floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) will do a great job and cleaning up the water.

You can get other plants that grow in the gravel and some good plants to try include Ambulia, Elodia, Hydrilla, Amazon sword plants, and narrow Vallis.

-------------------
Maybe go back to the pet shop and have a chat to the store manager and inform them of what is going on. You can also put it in writing and this is good because it gives you a permanent record of the conversation (if you do it by email). They should not have let you take fish on the same day you took the tank because you need time to set the tank up and let it run before adding fish.

Because the shop sold you fish and a tank at the same time, and they didn't tell you about setting the tank up at least a few days prior to adding fish, they are responsible for the fish dying and should give you a store credit to get some replacement fish. However, do not add any more fish until the tank has cycled in about 6 weeks.

Most people on this forum like to cycle a tank before adding fish. This means adding a form of ammonia and letting filter bacteria develop before adding fish. It takes about 4-8 weeks to cycle a tank. It means having a tank without fish in but the fish do better when you get them.

Because you have fish already, you will be doing a fish in cycle. This means the fish are in the tank while the filter develops good bacteria that keeps the water clean. It's not a big issue, just keep the feeding down to once every couple of days and do a water change after feeding, like I mentioned above.

-------------------
You should contact your water supply company and find out if they add chlorine or chloramine to the tap water. Most water conditioners (dechlorinator) have one dose for chlorine and a double dose for chloramine.

You can also find out what the pH, GH and KH of the water is. Contact the water company by phone or visit their website for this information.

 

[NannaLou]

You can’t usually cycle a tank in 24hrs. I’m not sure where to find the stickies on cycling but someone will come and share that soon.

 

[itiwhetu]

I think @Colin_T has this thread under control. And really I don't know where to start. Maybe with a

 

[NannaLou]

I think @Colin_T has this thread under control. And really I don't know where to start. Maybe with a

@Colin_T has given loads of very useful advice in his reply (as he always does). Sometimes though, as a newbie, the sticky that says “on day one….” can be easier to follow.
If I’ve missed the rule that says we can’t join a thread if specific members have posted, please let me know.

 

[itiwhetu]

@Colin_T has given loads of very useful advice in his reply (as he always does). Sometimes though, as a newbie, the sticky that says “on day one….” can be easier to follow.
If I’ve missed the rule that says we can’t join a thread if specific members have posted, please let me know.

You can comment as much as you like on any thread, in this case I don't want to confuse things

 

[Colin_T]

If I’ve missed the rule that says we can’t join a thread if specific members have posted, please let me know.

there's no rule about that

 

[Essjay]

@Taybellla
You are not the first to fall victim to a fish store's bad advice. What NannaLou is referring to is that a tank needs to be cycled - this means growing two colonies of bacteria which remove harmful fish waste and this process takes several weeks. But stores do not tell you this.

There are three ways to cycle a tank, you are doing what we call a fish-in cycle. This involves keeping the fish alive while these bacteria grow by doing lots of water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite (the poisonous fish waste) as low as possible. Colin has described feeding less so the fish make less waste, and when to do the water changes. He also mentioned getting live plants - these help because plants take up ammonia as fertiliser and remove it from the water. In the immediate term, even a few bunches of anacharis left to float will help a lot, then you can think about permanent plants.

The alternative he suggests is to take the fish which are left back to the store and doing what we call a fishless cycle. This involves adding ammonia from a bottle to simulate fish waste and get the bacteria to grow before fish are put in a tank. There is a step by step method on how to do this in the forum, the sticky that NannaLou talked about. If you decide to do this, we can give you a link to the sticky and talk you through it.

 

[Taybellla]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Did you use a clean bucket to fill up the tank and wash the gravel in?

Did you have any creams, oil, disinfectant, hand sanitiser or anything else on your hands when setting up the tank?

Have you been feeding the fish?
If yes, how often and how much?

-------------------
77-79F is fine for the temperature.

Generally the best thing to do if fish are looking unwell is a water change. Remove 50-75% of the tank water and replace it with dechlorinated water.

Use a clean bucket that hasn't been used for anything else. Get a permanent marker and write "FISH ONLY" on it. Keep the bucket for the fish and don't let anyone use it for anything except the fish tank.

Fill the bucket with tap water and add some dechlorinator (chlorine neutraliser). Mix the water and dechlorinator up for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes and then use it to fill the tank. Try to use an airstone from an air pump to make bubbles in this water. It mixes it more effectively.

-------------------
Reduce feeding to once every couple of days. The fish won't starve but less food means less ammonia and that means less stress on the fish. In about 6 weeks the filter should have cycled and you can feed the fish more often.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean 4-8 hours after feeding. This helps remove any ammonia that is produced by the fish food.
Make sure the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

-------------------
If you have a light unit on the tank, add some live aquatic plants. These help use up ammonia and help keep the water cleaner for longer. Floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) will do a great job and cleaning up the water.

You can get other plants that grow in the gravel and some good plants to try include Ambulia, Elodia, Hydrilla, Amazon sword plants, and narrow Vallis.

-------------------
Maybe go back to the pet shop and have a chat to the store manager and inform them of what is going on. You can also put it in writing and this is good because it gives you a permanent record of the conversation (if you do it by email). They should not have let you take fish on the same day you took the tank because you need time to set the tank up and let it run before adding fish.

Because the shop sold you fish and a tank at the same time, and they didn't tell you about setting the tank up at least a few days prior to adding fish, they are responsible for the fish dying and should give you a store credit to get some replacement fish. However, do not add any more fish until the tank has cycled in about 6 weeks.

Most people on this forum like to cycle a tank before adding fish. This means adding a form of ammonia and letting filter bacteria develop before adding fish. It takes about 4-8 weeks to cycle a tank. It means having a tank without fish in but the fish do better when you get them.

Because you have fish already, you will be doing a fish in cycle. This means the fish are in the tank while the filter develops good bacteria that keeps the water clean. It's not a big issue, just keep the feeding down to once every couple of days and do a water change after feeding, like I mentioned above.

-------------------
You should contact your water supply company and find out if they add chlorine or chloramine to the tap water. Most water conditioners (dechlorinator) have one dose for chlorine and a double dose for chloramine.

You can also find out what the pH, GH and KH of the water is. Contact the water company by phone or visit their website for this information.

Thanks for all the info!

Hi and welcome to the forum

Did you use a clean bucket to fill up the tank and wash the gravel in?

Did you have any creams, oil, disinfectant, hand sanitiser or anything else on your hands when setting up the tank?

Have you been feeding the fish?
If yes, how often and how much?

-------------------
77-79F is fine for the temperature.

Generally the best thing to do if fish are looking unwell is a water change. Remove 50-75% of the tank water and replace it with dechlorinated water.

Use a clean bucket that hasn't been used for anything else. Get a permanent marker and write "FISH ONLY" on it. Keep the bucket for the fish and don't let anyone use it for anything except the fish tank.

Fill the bucket with tap water and add some dechlorinator (chlorine neutraliser). Mix the water and dechlorinator up for at least 5 (preferably 30) minutes and then use it to fill the tank. Try to use an airstone from an air pump to make bubbles in this water. It mixes it more effectively.

-------------------
Reduce feeding to once every couple of days. The fish won't starve but less food means less ammonia and that means less stress on the fish. In about 6 weeks the filter should have cycled and you can feed the fish more often.

Do a 75% water change and gravel clean 4-8 hours after feeding. This helps remove any ammonia that is produced by the fish food.
Make sure the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

-------------------
If you have a light unit on the tank, add some live aquatic plants. These help use up ammonia and help keep the water cleaner for longer. Floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) will do a great job and cleaning up the water.

You can get other plants that grow in the gravel and some good plants to try include Ambulia, Elodia, Hydrilla, Amazon sword plants, and narrow Vallis.

-------------------
Maybe go back to the pet shop and have a chat to the store manager and inform them of what is going on. You can also put it in writing and this is good because it gives you a permanent record of the conversation (if you do it by email). They should not have let you take fish on the same day you took the tank because you need time to set the tank up and let it run before adding fish.

Because the shop sold you fish and a tank at the same time, and they didn't tell you about setting the tank up at least a few days prior to adding fish, they are responsible for the fish dying and should give you a store credit to get some replacement fish. However, do not add any more fish until the tank has cycled in about 6 weeks.

Most people on this forum like to cycle a tank before adding fish. This means adding a form of ammonia and letting filter bacteria develop before adding fish. It takes about 4-8 weeks to cycle a tank. It means having a tank without fish in but the fish do better when you get them.

Because you have fish already, you will be doing a fish in cycle. This means the fish are in the tank while the filter develops good bacteria that keeps the water clean. It's not a big issue, just keep the feeding down to once every couple of days and do a water change after feeding, like I mentioned above.

-------------------
You should contact your water supply company and find out if they add chlorine or chloramine to the tap water. Most water conditioners (dechlorinator) have one dose for chlorine and a double dose for chloramine.

You can also find out what the pH, GH and KH of the water is. Contact the water company by phone or visit their website for this information.

Hi! Thanks for all the info! I cleaned the gravel really good with a pasta strainer and after cleaning the tank out, I just used my sink hose to Fill it up, no bucket. I've only been doing one small pinch of food a day and one mini algea tab every 2 days. I'll do once every couple days now! I will call our water company, that has to be the problem. Do you think they can handle another water change if I just did a 50% two days ago?

 

[Taybellla]

Thanks for all the info!

Hi! Thanks for all the info! I cleaned the gravel really good with a pasta strainer and after cleaning the tank out, I just used my sink hose to Fill it up, no bucket. I've only been doing one small pinch of food a day and one mini algea tab every 2 days. I'll do once every couple days now! I will call our water company, that has to be the problem. Do you think they can handle another water change if I just did a 50% two days ago?

Also I made sure my hands were super clean and nothing on them. I will also get some plants!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to the forum.

See the cycling stickies here: https://www.fishforums.net/forums/cycle-your-tank.291/

Get one of these ASAP, you need to be testing your water daily: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255NCI/?tag=ff0d01-20

Get a good quality water conditioner, either Seachem Prime or API Tap Water Conditioner.

Follow the directions for cycling, either fish-in (if you still have fish) or fishless cycling, and post any questions here.

 

[Essjay]

Do you think they can handle another water change if I just did a 50% two days ago?

A water change needs to be done whenever there is a reading for ammonia or nitrite above zero. If necessary, water changes can be done several times a day, and volumes of 75%. As long as you remember to add water conditioner (to remove chlorine or chloramine) to the new water and warm it to the same temperature as the tank water, doing water changes is less stressful for fish than living in water which is poisonous.
If you don't already have a test kit, you need one as soon as possible, and until then do a 75% water change every day. When you have a test kit, test for ammonia and nitrite every day and do a water change whenever either read more than zero.