new tank

[sparklingcolorsafw]

I had decided to get some gold fish and rosy reds because I herd they are hardy fish. I also put in a pleco an albino frog a snail, and some ghost shrimp. The guy at the pet store said they would be fine together. The first day they fish where in there my pleco and all but one of my rosy reds died. My snail frog and shrimp were just fine and still are after a couple weeks of having them. I got one more rosy red and a pleco to keep the little fish company. But why did all my fish die. I had checked the water and the test said every thing was fine. Any ideas?

 

[maestro]

hmm just typed out a reply and now its gone

Need to ask a few questions really before i can help

How big is the the tank
What water tests did you do and what were the readings?
Whats the temperature of the tank?
What filter are you using?
When you say gold fish, do you mean a gold coloured tropical fish or actually goldfish as these are coldwater fish

 

[sparklingcolorsafw]

The tank is a ten gallon. And I bought one of those test strips that test nitrate, nitrite, total hardness, total alkainity, and ph level. The nitrate was in the safe, the nitrite was safe, total hardness looked between soft and hard I was not 100% sure which one it was, total alkalinity was ideal, and ph was 7 point something. I have two fliters one is a undergravel and the other one was a power filter for 10 to 20 gallon tank. I ment goldfish. Everyone says they are hardy fish and I wanted something simple. The temp of the tank is between 72 to 75 degrees F. I have a heater but it is turned off. I put it in there for when I go on vacation the fish will not freeze. )

 

[maestro]

Shame you didnt have ammonia test kit aswell

so what exactly have u got in there now?and how many of each etc.

You definately need to cut down on the feeding and id do more water changes atleast twice a week using treated tapwater

 

[Slyspy]

Did you just set up the tank and bung the fish in? If so its because the tank has not cycled (ie its little mini-ecosphere cannot cope with the fish and the die in their own waste ammonia). This is also why you would get no/low nitrite and nitrate readings. Read up on cycling with fish or fishless cycling (there are plenty of threads and links here). If you have already done this I apologise for stating the obvious.

Get yourself an ammonia testing kit. If you test the water it may show the presence of that deadly stuff, which would explain the dead fish.

The water was dechlorinated? Not doing this will kill them as well.

I don't think putting goldfish in a tropical tank is recommended because they are cold water fish. Also they produce a lot of waste which means lots of water changes and lots of general cleaning. Two filters might help. Don't know since I'm only a newbie myself.

Even if the tank was ready to go it sounds like some kind of poisoning to me. Maybe a resident expert can help.

Oh and how do you maintain a temperature of 75 with the heater off? Or have I misunderstood?

 

[sparklingcolorsafw]

I still have my albino frog though now i read a little on the frogs i worried about having him in there. I have five ghost shrimp, a snail, a new pleco and two rosy reds. I have had my tank for almost a week and already did a 25% water change. Though not with treated tap. How would i do that? I was just following the back of the fish food directions about how much and how often to feed the fish. )

 

[sparklingcolorsafw]

I was wonder the same thing about the tem. Maybe the thermanater is wrong. But thanks for the advise about the test I will make sure to buy them asap. But why do the fish seem to be doing good now. Even the snail seems quite active. I will cut down on the feeding.

 

[maestro]

Dont buy anymore fish though, u should introduce one a month not loads in a week, Give the bacteria in the filter and gravel bed time to produce larger colonise's to deal with the xs waste that will be produced from the new fish, there is only ever enough bacteria to cope with the current amount of waste never any xs so when you add new fish the amount od poisons in teh water will go up, add several fish at once and they will probably die, fish cant live in their own waste.

You need to decide whether you would like a tropica tank or a cold water tank because they dont mix too well, at the moment you half and half.

Please do only feed once a day, i know you might think it sounds cruel but it isnt,you would actually make them healthier and happier.

You need to buy a bottle of dechlorinator from ur fish shop, there not expensive and what you do when doing a water change is add a capfull to the tapwater before you put it in the tank, it removes amongst other things chlorine which is harmfull to fish

 

[clutterydrawer]

your tank is also overstocked I'm afraid, the pleco if he is a common pleco could get to 18" long, goldfish themselves get to 6", live for 20+ years and need at least a 30gallon tank (although am I right in thinking you no longer have the goldfish...?) also that albino frog will eat any small fish you put with him...

 

[Slyspy]

You've got to wonder about some pet stores though! Mine asked me polite questions to establish that my tank was ready for 10 fish at once and that I knew what I was doing, but others don't seem concerned. I guess dead fish mean more sales for them but I find it hard to understand.

The heater should be on all and in the water all the time. However it will only give out heat when it senses that the temp has dropped so that might explain why the heater seems to be off. Otherwise it would not maintain a healthy temp.

Sounds like the tank was not cycled. Follow maestro's advice and eventually it will be ready for more fish. At first your tests will show more ammonia and you should do a daily water change to keep it under 1ppm. Eventually the bacteria will grow and eat the ammonia, creating poisonous nitrites. Carry on doing daily water changes to keep the nitrites low until the nitrites disappear and you are left with just nitrates. Then it is ready for more fish (slowly). Just do water changes to keep the nitrates to a safe level and watch for ammonia when you have added new stock.

Water must be dechlorinated as maestro said. I use "Stress Coat" which works nicely and is good for the fish. Otherwise the chlorine will kill both the fish and the bacteria which are going to help turn your tank into a healthy aquarium.

 

[sparklingcolorsafw]

I have been using "Stress Coat" for my fishes. I may have just got bad fish. Two or three of them died before I even got home with them, when I first got them. I wasn't sure exactly what the stress coat did for the fish, but it seemed like a good idea to put it in there, before I added my fish. I got the idea from my friend who kept a goldfish for 20 years, even after he stuck it in the freezer to see if it would servive. Luckly I didn't know him then. The temp of the tank could also be because I keep my house at almost 80 degrees.

 

[sparklingcolorsafw]

your tank is also overstocked I'm afraid, the pleco if he is a common pleco could get to 18" long,

My pleco right now is only the size of my pinky. I looked for the smallest one I could find. The people at the pet store say it will grow to fit the size of my tank, but I looking at geting a 75 gallon asap. Which will probably be four or five months at earllest. So hopefully he wount grow too much.

 

[Slyspy]

Damn me but thats one warm house!

The Stress Coat eliminates chlorine poisoning then. I would guess that ammonia killed the finish due to the tank not being cycled.

If the fish died on the way back from the shop they may well have weak already and a change in temperature, water conditions or stress levels might have finished them off. Unless the journey was an especially long one they should at least survive to be put in the tank. Hope you were able to get your money back on those fish.