Please Help! Barbs Acting Funny

[ironhead]

Hey I set up a 20 gal tank a week ago using a underground filter and a back filter. Also have a bubble wand buried in the gravel. Used Start Right to prep the water which was cloudy so I used clear up to clear the water. Stocked with 7 Tiger Barbs on day 2. Lost 1 in 2 days. Not sure why. Some of them spend a lot of time near the top of the tank or suspended diagonally behind the underground air tubes. Others seem normal. Want to add more fish but need to know what is causing some of the fish to act strange.
Please help.
Thanks
Ironhead

 

[Adie]

Did you cycle the tank before hand? What are your water stats (ammonia / nitrite / nitrate readings?)

 

[ironhead]

Did you cycle the tank before hand? What are your water stats (ammonia / nitrite / nitrate readings?)

OK this is where the noob part kicks in. Have searched forum and no reference to cycling tank. Don't have a test kit yet so don't have stats. I will get a test kit and check them but for now any ideas?

 

[Thirdfloor]

there are pinned topics in this very forum about cycling tanks, and several members (including myself) have links to the page with cycling instructions in their signatures.
Welcome to the forum.
Hope you can salvage some of your barbs.

 

[ironhead]

there are pinned topics in this very forum about cycling tanks, and several members (including myself) have links to the page with cycling instructions in their signatures.
Welcome to the forum.
Hope you can salvage some of your barbs.

Appreciate the welcome. Didn't think to look at the pinned threads although it is to late to cycle my tank now since there are fish in it. I searched ( cycle, cycling tank, cycling tanks) and all I got was there is nothing fitting my search criteria.
I will test my water tonight and post the results. Sometimes the barbs act normal and sometimes some of them hang out at the top of the tank, and no they aren't gasping. I have some experience with tanks and it seems to me that if the water was bad then all of my fish would be acting strange.
Thanks for the info.
Ironhead

 

[CrashingWaves]

Well the lack of cycling the tank is basically the reason this is happening. Just let us know when you get the water stats, since that will make things easier for us .

God Bless,
Joshua

 

[Thirdfloor]

Also, it is possible to cycle a tank with fish in it, it just takes a great deal of attention as ideally you would need to do heavy water changes once or even twice a day to keep ammonia and nitrite levels tolerable for you fish until your bacteria is able to handle the load. You would also need a good master test kit, the kind that uses liquid drops, not a paper strip. One that tests Ammonia, Nitrite and PH is most essential for starters. You will get loads more information reading the pinned topics and having a stroll through the forums here, feel free to ask any questions along the way

 

[ironhead]

Also, it is possible to cycle a tank with fish in it, it just takes a great deal of attention as ideally you would need to do heavy water changes once or even twice a day to keep ammonia and nitrite levels tolerable for you fish until your bacteria is able to handle the load. You would also need a good master test kit, the kind that uses liquid drops, not a paper strip. One that tests Ammonia, Nitrite and PH is most essential for starters. You will get loads more information reading the pinned topics and having a stroll through the forums here, feel free to ask any questions along the way

Thanks for all of the advice. Will post levels later tonight.

 

[ironhead]

Also, it is possible to cycle a tank with fish in it, it just takes a great deal of attention as ideally you would need to do heavy water changes once or even twice a day to keep ammonia and nitrite levels tolerable for you fish until your bacteria is able to handle the load. You would also need a good master test kit, the kind that uses liquid drops, not a paper strip. One that tests Ammonia, Nitrite and PH is most essential for starters. You will get loads more information reading the pinned topics and having a stroll through the forums here, feel free to ask any questions along the way

Thanks for all of the advice. Will post levels later tonight.

Sorry for the delay but I work out of state. I tested the water and the PH and ammonia levels were high so I did a 40% water change and at the recommendation of the local fish store added cycle to the tank. Will retest in 2 days and post the numbers then.
Thanks again.
Ironhead

 

[benniebru]

yea i bet they were hanging out at the top b.c the ammonia in the tank is prob really high do not add any more fish till ur cycle is done, with the barbs in there now that will get the cycle going how big is the tank? it will prob be a month or so b4 u can add any fish