My Fish Keep Dying

jayrt said:

This may be a really silly question but if i was to move the beta would he need to have a heater and a filter etc or cold i move him into a cold water tank would he survive as he is in a really bad way bless him.

The only other fish showing signs of being nipped are the remaining male sword tail and one of the jewel chichlids.

Tried to upload a pic of my puffer to see if anyone know what he is but it keeps telling me the image is too large what is the best way to post images on here.

Again thank you for all your help and advice as im very concerned and anything helps at this point.

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Put image on tinypic or somewhere, then use that square icon near the smiley and link button, just before the envelope. It's for pictures. Paste link there and it will post the pic.
Also, I think betta will need the heater and at least change water daily if no filter.

The Betta definitely needs a heater set between 75-80 degrees.
You could get away with no filter, but you will have to daily water changes.
Sorry you've inherited someone else's tank with ill advised stocking, the people here will help, so keep asking questions

puffer

Yeah thats what i thought just trying to come up with a plan.

Hope the link works and maybe someone can tell me what they think...

Cazgar said:

The Betta definitely needs a heater set between 75-80 degrees.
You could get away with no filter, but you will have to daily water changes.
Sorry you've inherited someone else's tank with ill advised stocking, the people here will help, so keep asking questions

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Pretty much same problem happened to me when I was given my first tank and the bettas went crazy on everything in there. No wonder the former owner complained that she couldn't keep her fish alive. The stocking was a mess.

jayrt said:

puffer

Yeah thats what i thought just trying to come up with a plan.

Hope the link works and maybe someone can tell me what they think...

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You can also use that square thing I've mentioned to post each pic on the forum separately. (not the link one, that green and white square).

I think a lot of us have learned the hard way Fishblast, but thanks to this forum we know better now

Jayrt,, you can just paste the IMG code from photobucket into your reply & the pic will show up

Cazgar said:

I think a lot of us have learned the hard way Fishblast, but thanks to this forum we know better now

Jayrt,, you can just paste the IMG code from photobucket into your reply & the pic will show up

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Yeah, the stuff I had to learn during those years:
Never put 4 bettas and 1 giant betta in a tank with all kinds of fish you don't know anything about.
Keeping about 6 angelfish babies is like asking for trouble. And they don't even make it to adulthood either.
Neon Tetras are extremely fragile, just like their beautiful looks suggest.
Swordtails might be males dressed in female clothing... Or just really old females who grow a long tail to get away from males. The red male swordtails can be very aggressive, the black ones seem calmer for some odd reason but also weaker.
Hoplos can jump and then roam your entire house in search for cover. Found mine hiding under dad's bed several times and they somehow survived 4 hours or more there. Only one died due to falling near the balcony door and freezing... -.- He was half-dead when we found him. His name was Rex. One of the best catfish I ever had...
Also learned from mom never to suck on the gravel vacuum. X_X But I cannot operate it through gravity to this day.

And when I got on this forum, came the rest of the DON'T DOs.

looks like an amazon puffer. will get upto 5 inches

yes i seem to be learning some leasons here...

Do you happen to know if that puffer is agressive, i showed several pet shops and they all assured me he would be fine to be kept with others... but im thinking more and more it might be him, which is a shame as he is a nice little guy usually.

Im going to look at a 3ft tank tomorrow do you think that will be a better home for my survivers or would you still split them up?

If so can anyone recommend some good starter fish that would be ok in a tank that size will post exact measurements if i buy it.

Thank you aain.

If I didn't have any fish right now, I'd probably go for Platys, as they have all kinds of colors, similar to swordtails. But I just love swordtails for their unusual tail and character, same as the Hoplo.
So maybe you should look into platys. Colourful fish. Or maybe guppies but they breed like mice.

Also i get the other tank i plan on keeping the biorb to keep the puffer in,

If i did this would the biorb be suitable and is ther anything else i can put in the tank with him with out risking them being eaten, or is it just other pufferfish you put them with and if so what types would be best and would they be suitable for a biorb?

Im sorry to ask so many questions i just dont want to make any mistakes

I started with platies & guppies.
The first drop was fun, but they breed like rabbits & are hard to rehome.
If I was you Jayrt, get the biggest tank you can afford & have space for, fish less cycle it... Details of how to do that are on the beginners section, then do some research.
Go to local fish shops, make notes of what fish you like the look of, then come back here for compatibility & stocking numbers advice.
Please remember, everyone here wants you to be successful & have happy healthy fish & are only to willing to help you

well i have just had a little trial.....

My friend has some female betas so i asked him he could bring one round, we placed her in my tank...

And almost instantly the puffer was attacking her and this happened several times in a very short space of time... so we obviously removed her instantly so she wasnt injured..

Do you think he is the culprit or is just because she was simply a new fish?

puffers are extremely aggressive. i would have the puffer in the biorb and move everything else into the 3foot if you get it.

Could be a bit of both.
You also had a male & some female Bettas in the tank, that is never a good idea as they fight, so they could have killed each other.
I wouldn't do any more experiments, separate the Betta you have left, & the puffer if you can & get that new tank

Cazgar said:

I started with platies & guppies.
The first drop was fun, but they breed like rabbits & are hard to rehome.
If I was you Jayrt, get the biggest tank you can afford & have space for, fish less cycle it... Details of how to do that are on the beginners section, then do some research.
Go to local fish shops, make notes of what fish you like the look of, then come back here for compatibility & stocking numbers advice.
Please remember, everyone here wants you to be successful & have happy healthy fish & are only to willing to help you

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In my case the drops were small and I was lucky if I could keep 10 guppies alive back then. The swordtails: even harder to keep. The only platy I had died that summer when I left dad in charge. She was a dark red with a black tail and her name was Cola (yeah, from the fizzy drink...)
The sword babies - i could only manage to grow about 4 of them and my favorite one was completely transparent with a black tail... But I lost him during a water change. Poor little guy, was the first fish I cried after he died. Second was Rex.
But now that I'll have a better tank and better conditions, I wonder if I'll be overrun with swordtails.