[theblond]

I have a 55 gal fresh water aquarium. I set it up about a month ago and starting adding fish 4-5 at a time for the past week. They die. The pet store continues to replace the fish because he water tests are fine. This is very frustrating. In total I have purchased 19 fish and 11 have died! I keep the water at 76. I have a aquaclear 70 filter. The fish that have died are tetras and hatchetfish. The groumies look terrible. I see nothing that indicates a disease. Is it possible that my tap water is bad? I realized that it is connected to a water softening system within the house. If this is the problem, how do I make the water right for the fish to survive? Please help! Thanks

[StaticFX]

Water softeners uses salt. Could be that the level is a bit too high... Dump the water, rinse it. Try getting water elsewhere? Do you outside hoses run through the softener?

Or, may sound strange... but it could be a soap issue. Even the SMALLEST amount of soap can destroy your environment. It makes the water not hold oxygen. So, if you maybe had washed your hands then stuck them in the tank... done.

Empty the tank completely... use vinegar to wipe and wash everything. Rinse thoroughly! Buy NEW stones for the bottom. Rinse them well. Then add the water back in. see what happens. If it still happens... your tank may be contaminated still.


You could also try going to salt water fish... its more work but the fish are MUCH cooler!

[NeedKarma]

I have often heard that this can be caused by filtration issues i.e. incorrect water cleaning that leaves too much nitrites in the tank. Get a aquarium tropical fish textbook and read up on prepping the tank for fish, especially concerning the different type of filtration Aquarium Filter and Fish Tank Filtration

[SaraKammeraad]

Try using some distilled water. If the PH balance is OK and the heating levels are OK, I would look into buying a different type of fish at least for now. Plus make sure that the fish get along. Some fish if you put them in with fish that the types don't get along they may kill each other. It does take some searching to find out and make sure. You could call Petsmart or some other big animal retailer they hould have that info on hand.

[StaticFX]

You could also try one of these sites... all they do is fish :)

Aquarium Fish and Coral Reef Forum
FishForums.com - Powered by vBulletin
Fish Lore's Aquarium Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Forums

[StaticFX]

Few more things I found out...

PH must be 7.0 - 7.5 - anything less than 7.0 is too stressful
When adding the fish - are you acclimating them? (Floating th bags?)

If the fish are living for 2 or more days after adding them, then its not shock or ph. More likely ammonia level.

When feeding.. trun the heads off, and feed them only a few flakes at a time. You can't just pinch and drop and walk away. You will get an ammonia spike. A few flakes at a time and wait for the fish to stop eating.

[vwdieseljunkie]

How long do they live after being introduced to the tank? A few hours or a few days?
If they are dying quickly, or within a few hours, it may simply be shock. Drastic temperature changes can kill fish. This is the main reason for "floating" them while they are still tied up in the transport bags, floated on top of the water in the aquarium they will be put into. This allows the water in the bag to gradually become the same temperature as the water in the tank.

Stress is also a big factor. How long is the drive from the pet store to home? They go from being nice and warm in the store, to cold outside the store, to probably hot in the car (heater) back to cold to get in the house. Motion is also a factor. Believe it or not, fish are notorious for "sea-sickness"!

If they are surviving more than twelve hours, then they survived the transfer from store to home tank. That would lead me to believe that it is specifically related to your tank. Just as StaticFX has mentioned about Salt, PH, and contaminate levels are important to keep within acceptable ranges for each fish breed. Some fish like salt, some don't. Some like acidic, some alkali. Some fish are robust, and others (like tetras) are quick to react to things.

What "water test" was the pet store folks providing you with?

[theblond]

I appreciate all your feedback regarding my problem. The fish last around 2 days at most. The test that the petstore does is a 3 stage strip test for ph, amonia, etc... always coming back well within range. I believe that it must be the fact that I used tap water which ran threw the water softener system. At the moment I am left with 4 surviving fish... 2 gold grommies and 2 albinio catfish (bottomfeeders suggested by the store). I have not added any further fish. The recommendation at the store was to add a product called Cycle by Nutrafin. I have not done so yet, waiting to go to Petsmart for a second opinion. The reviews on the product online are excellent, but I still believe that I must change the water first eliminating the softened water. I did not tell the petstore this fact as they would not have replaced or credited the dead fish. (I know, I'm a terrible person). Anyway, again, I thank you for all your help and will follow-up in a week or so with the results of this Cycle product and Petsmart's answer to whether I need to replace the water. Thanks

[AKaeTrue]

In a lot of cases water softener systems have little effect on fish health.
If the pet store tested your water and recommended Cycle by Nutrafin, this tells me that the results to the water test indicated that the aquarium was not fully cycled, which unfortunately kills fish fast.
This is an excellent product and I recommend it all the time to help stabilize aquariums.
My advice would be to buy the Cycle, and a water test kit - the 5 in 1 dip stick water test and the ammonia dip stick test to track your cycling process.
Use the product Cycle as directed.
Don't add anymore fish and check your water weekly. When you get test results that read:
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate .5 ppm and up, then you know your tank is cycled and you'll be able to slowly add more fish (aprox 3 at a time). Continue to use the cycle until you have the amount of fish you'd like to keep.
Rule of thumb for keeping the biological system healthy is the less cleaning you do, the healthier your tank will be.
Water changes are necessary, but be very carefully not to over clean bio filters and gravel and never clean bio wheels or bio sponges.

Give the Cycle by Nutrafin a try, I believe you'll be happy with the results.
You could also check out the sticky note about the aquarium cycle here.

Good luck!

[theblond]

Thanks for responding. The guy at Petsmart didn't think much of the Cycle product, but sold me 6 fish after testing the water. All fish remain alive after 3 days. I guess the natural cycle of things is finally going as expected. You mentioned NOT to change the sponges etc. According to the manufacturer of the aquaclear 70 water filter that I have, I must change the sponge, carbon and amonia crystals periodically. They give an exact schedule. It would be nice not to change them, as they are expensive. Since they are not all done at the same time, I'm guessing it doesn't screw up the natural organizms in the tank. I've also read just to rinse out the sponge, not to replace. Any additional thoughts? Thanks

I will eventually add the cycle by Nutrafin product. I just didn't want to waste the product if I needed to replace all the water. So far the fish are staying alive, so I'm just in the waiting stage. It's so exciting to see fish actually not dying on a daily basis. With the economy the way it is, I was worried I made a huge mistake taking on this hobby since the startup is costly. I never realized an almost free 55 gal tank from a garage sale would add up so quickly!

Thanks again.

[AKaeTrue]

Thanks for responding. The guy at Petsmart didn't think much of the Cycle product, but sold me 6 fish after testing the water. All fish remain alive after 3 days. I guess the natural cycle of things is finally going as expected. You mentioned NOT to change the sponges etc. According to the manufacturer of the aquaclear 70 water filter that I have, I must change the sponge, carbon and amonia crystals periodically. They give an exact schedule. It would be nice not to change them, as they are expensive. Since they are not all done at the same time, I'm guessing it doesn't screw up the natural organizms in the tank. I've also read just to rinse out the sponge, not to replace. Any additional thoughts? Thanks

I will eventually add the cycle by Nutrafin product. I just didn't want to waste the product if I needed to replace all the water. So far the fish are staying alive, so I'm just in the waiting stage. It's so exciting to see fish actually not dying on a daily basis. With the economy the way it is, I was worried I made a huge mistake taking on this hobby since the startup is costly. I never realized an almost free 55 gal tank from a garage sale would add up so quickly!!

Thanks again.

Hi! Sorry for the confusion. I was referring to the basic filter with bio sponges(different than the debris sponge you have) and bio wheels that shouldn't be cleaned.

Sounds like you've read up on how to maintain your filter and aquarium to keep it healthy and the cycle going!

I have a canister filter where the maintenance sounds similar to the maintenance of yours - where you're supposed to change out one of the many different filter medias every month...

If you are using carbon and/or ammonia absorbers they need to be changed regularly.
When they get old, they break down and release everything they absorbed back into the water, so they are important to change.

However, I have a different opinion about the debris sponges in 3 stage filters (which is what yours sounds like).
If the sponges can be washed/rinsed/reused, that's the way I do it... because yes, they are expensive!
I do replace with new when they wear out, but if they are still in good condition after cleaned/rinsed, I reuse them.

The start up is the hardest, most frustrating part.
Once you get past this, it will be much more enjoyable.

If you haven't rinsed or cleaned your filter or filter media since you started a month ago, the cycling process is more than likely picking up.
It usually takes about 4 to 6 weeks to complete the entire cycle naturally.

You will have little need for the product Cycle by Nutrafin once your tank/filter is cycled.
The product is mainly used for starting up an aquarium without going through the lengthy cycling process, losing fish, etc.
It basically cycles an aquarium at a much faster pace and reduces fish loss by keeping ammonia and nitrite at a minimum.
I keep some on hand just in case something happens to my filters and/or the cycle so that I don't lose any fish due to ammonia and nitrite spikes, etc.

Good luck to you!

[NeedKarma]

I happy to have found this thread. We bought our daughter an aquarium recently and are presently setting it up. This info will be invaluable.

[Janjammin]

We have a salt water aquarium - it is over 5 months active. We have had five fish that have lived for around 4 months now... whenever we add fish 6 or 7 -- they die after about two weeks. They usually eat fine until the last two days or so... they swim normally until the last two days or so and then become less active. Our water tests perfect and we just cannot figure out why we just cannot add fish 6 and 7. Our aquarium is a 45 gallon and we have a Blue Tang, a clown fish, a black domino damsel and two other blue damsels. We have tried Yellow Tangs, Bannerfish, Angel fish of many varieties, but it takes about two weeks before they die? We use distilled water -- have an expensive and great filtrating system and change our 1/3rd of our water every week. Do you have any ideas?? The fish have no visible signs of disease other than a couple of them had some film over one eye which we treated with Myacin 2...

Jan