PLEASE HELP!!!

[mstamos]

Hello all.....I have had a freshwater tropical 10 gallon tank for about a year. Right now I have 2 african dwarf frogs.....2 Tetras....and one firebelly salamander...I have had the Tetras in about a year and the others close to 4 months......My problem is that whenever I add new fish other then the ones that have been in the tank for a while they rarely last longer then 24 hours....some not even that long....I have no idea why.....my PH is perfect....no ammonia....no Nitrate.....water Temp is between 72 and 76.... I do 30 percent water changes every week.....I have plenty of air going into the tank as well as an out of the tank aqua clear filter. I cannot figure out what is wrong. I have one of those orange and white color rocks, mixed sand and gravel on the bottom, driftwood that I bought and was labelled "fish tank safe" and a few red rock slabs and plastic plants.

I recently added a pleco and kissing gourami.....after about a day I noticed them laying on their sides gasping or air and looking like they are about to die...I quickly took them out filled a tupper ware bowl full of tap water, used ammo lock and a de chlorinizer , and threw them in there. They came back to looking fine in about an hour. Something is in my water and I have brought it into MANY fish places and they cannot find anything wrong with it.....they keep giving me free fish replacements thinking it is ther fault and they keep dying....this is multiple plaes I am not talking about just one store......I feel like I am a murderer because I keep telling myself "maybe its just a strange coincidence" nut they keep on dying....any ideas of what might be wrong would be GREATLY appreciated

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

Well, I'm not sure what is wrong with your fish, but i dont think you should get any more for your tank. In my opinion, you should only keep the amphibions by themselves with no other fish. What type of tetras are they? And how big is your fire belly newt? because many petstores have paddle tail newts listed as fire belly newts, and the paddle tails are pretty aggressive, they would probably try and eat your fish.

 

[mstamos]

Thanks for the reply, I believe the Tetras are a berry tetra and a black tip Tetra......they are pretty hardy and I have also seen them labeled as "startup fish" in many stores....that is probably why they are able to last....I would say that the salamander or Newt is about 2 inches long and I have watched him alot...he definetly does not go after the fish...I have a hard enough time getting him active enough to go over to food and eat

 

[tttnjfttt]

my PH is perfect....no ammonia....no Nitrate.....water Temp is between 72 and 76.... I do 30 percent water changes every week

Did you test for nitrAte or nitrIte....two very different things.

Other than the fact you do weekly water changes, this sounds like old tank syndrome. I am wondering if your nitrAtes are off the chart (i'm assuming you ment nitrites in your first post), and your current fish have just gradually adapted to it, but is too shocking for new commers? Also, do you often add water between changes due to evaporation? If so, you can get high mineral levels, because the minerals don't evaporate out.

Maybe try putting the new fish in more tap water than tank water, which would lower the nitrates.

 

[mstamos]

It is Nitrite sorry....hmm they do sell Nitrate test kits right? You think I should get one of those and see if they are really high? What can be done to lower those levels? I also have a water softener pack in the filter cause I am getting desperate so I don't think it is minerals because that should take them out and I am always adding water conditioner that removes heavy metals from water

 

[Kiarra]

The Fire Belly shouldn't be with fish. They release toxic chemicals from their skin, and it's not safe to other critters that share the same water. They also need to come out of the water from time to time, so they need land areas in there so they can choose whether they want to be in the water or on the land.

In fact, I think this may be what is wrong with your fish. The ones in there and the frogs may have adapted to the toxins because they've been exposed to it for a while, and exposed to higher levels over time. But the new ones would go in there completely unprepared for the toxins, and it would wreak havoc on their systems.

 

[mstamos]

Yes I have heard about the toxic secretions and have questioned it but have been told that what they release is not concentrated enough in a 10 gallon tank to affect any fish.....I have had him for a while and he has never looked to come out of the water.....paddle tail newts that I used to have did but this guy doesn't ever want to....I removed the suction turtle landing pad I had purchased since he never used it...I don't know which is true now about the toxins though

 

[tttnjfttt]

Ok, my vote changes to the Fire Belly. I didn't realize it was poisonous. Try that before any of my suggestions.

Just FYI about what I was talking about - the high mineral levels really only happens when alot of water evaporates out of your tank over a long period of time. Basically, when the water evaporates, only H20 evaporates, leaving everything else behind. But then more minerals are added when you add more water back in, so the minerals have now increased from where they naturally are. The same thing can happen with nitrate.

Also FYI, you can buy a nitrate test kit. I personally don't have one, but its on my list of things to buy soon. Most LPS/LFS will test you water for you for free, and you do have the most important two.

 

[tttnjfttt]

To remove the toxins, first remove the source. Then start doing small water changes, because the fish in the tank are used to the toxins, so suddenly removing them COULD potientilaly cause problems.

 

[Kiarra]

They won't use things that are just floating in the water very often. I gave mine some floating fake lily pads, and they hardly ever used them. However, now they have some river rocks they can beach on, and they are on them more than they are in the water.

Edit: I almost forgot.

Your frogs and your Fire Belly would also be much better off in tanks that aren't heated, as they aren't tropical. Give them room temperature, in the lower 70s, and they'll do better.