Not sure why my fish keep dying :(

So I’ve been at this for a couple months now but cant seem to get it , i cycled my tank before adding the fish , but they wont last more than a couple days . I have a 10 gallon tank , I purchased 4 male guppies and 1 betta per the aquarium’s instructions on how many fish would be acceptable. Temperature is at 78 and water has been tested at home and by multiple aquarium stores as well as petco and they tell me the water is at perfect conditions : i even tried just the betta abd same outcome. It is breaking my heart because my 1 year old really loves watching them but i don't want to risk losing another one . Any advice on what to do because everything i read or everyone i speak to tell me I'm doing everything right but they don't know why I'm having this outcome . Please help betta had passed but the 4 guppies are still alive but there tails are scrunched together so i can tell they are not happy or well , what can i do to to save them ?

Sorry to hear you're struggling...simple and stupid question incoming....

Has the water youre putting into your tank been treated with dechlorinater?

Ja292246 said:

water has been tested at home and by multiple aquarium stores as well as petco and they tell me the water is at perfect conditions

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Did they tell you the numbers for ammonia and nitrite? Many store workers say the levels are fine when they're not, so if they don't tell you the numbers, ask next time. The only perfect number for ammonia and nitrite is zero. And nitrate less than 20 ppm.

Test kits are fine, but you need to change out 25 to 30% of the water as a minimum every 7-10 days. Every. You can get by without tests kits, but not without water changes.

If the fish are dying or falling ill within 2 weeks of arrival, it could be as simple as changing to a different store. Oftentimes, fish bring illness with them, and stores tend not to admit it if they have issues.

Ja292246 said:

So I’ve been at this for a couple months now but cant seem to get it , i cycled my tank before adding the fish , but they wont last more than a couple days . I have a 10 gallon tank , I purchased 4 male guppies and 1 betta per the aquarium’s instructions on how many fish would be acceptable. Temperature is at 78 and water has been tested at home and by multiple aquarium stores as well as petco and they tell me the water is at perfect conditions : i even tried just the betta abd same outcome. It is breaking my heart because my 1 year old really loves watching them but i don't want to risk losing another one . Any advice on what to do because everything i read or everyone i speak to tell me I'm doing everything right but they don't know why I'm having this outcome . Please help betta had passed but the 4 guppies are still alive but there tails are scrunched together so i can tell they are not happy or well , what can i do to to save them ?

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Hello Ja. A small tank is a challenge for even an experienced water keeper. There's not enough water to help cover you when mistakes are made in the management of the tank. I would wait until you have the money for at least a 30 gallon tank. Larger is always better. I think you'll find that you're able to keep most aquarium fish by simply getting a larger tank.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

If the tails are scrunched together, that could be a sign of high pH. Do you know the ammonia and nitrite?

It shouldn't be high pH causing problems with guppies as they are hard water & high pH fish.

But it does sound as though there is something in the water they don't like.

What is the pH?

GaryE said:

Test kits are fine, but you need to change out 25 to 30% of the water as a minimum every 7-10 days. Every. You can get by without tests kits, but not without water changes.

If the fish are dying or falling ill within 2 weeks of arrival, it could be as simple as changing to a different store. Oftentimes, fish bring illness with them, and stores tend not to admit it if they have issues.

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Yes, this is a good point. I recently had many guppies die on me from my local Petco. I visited the store a couple weeks after and they had NFS written on the two guppy tanks. Looks like they had an outbreak of some sort.

Pictures of the fish so we can check them for disease?
A picture of the entire tank might offer some info too.

How did you cycle the tank/ filter?

How often do you do water changes and how much do you change?
Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you dechlorinate the new water before adding it to the tank?

What sort of filter is on the tank?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

How often do you feed the fish and what do you feed them?

Don't keep Bettas and guppies together. They require different water chemistry (pH and GH/ general hardness), and male Bettas regularly kill male guppies.

Update guppies didnt make it . Only fish left is the common pleco (who seems to be the only fish that has survived this 3 month ordeal ) I can see if they will still let me swap out for a bigger tank tomorrow . But i have tried purchasing from multiple (aquarium ) stores also have tried only a betta alone and still same result they pass within a couple days . Here a picture of my current tank and test levels.
Nitrate -25 ( seems to ve my problem)
Nitrite- 0
Chlorine- 0
Hardness-0
Ta-80
Kh-120
Ph-7.6

I just did the test now so not sure if the dead fish could have effected these numbers . I was doing weekly water changes 30/40% . I would get the water set out a night before to try and get close to the room temperature and condition the water 24 hrs before doing the change and i vacuum the gravel . Once again i can try to get a bigger tank , but i wouldnt want to get a bigger tank and still have the same issue . It breaks my heart everytime my kid asks where “betta” went . Btw i really appreciate the help guys.

10 Tanks said:

Hello Ja. A small tank is a challenge for even an experienced water keeper. There's not enough water to help cover you when mistakes are made in the management of the tank. I would wait until you have the money for at least a 30 gallon tank. Larger is always better. I think you'll find that you're able to keep most aquarium fish by simply getting a larger tank.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

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I have the space to go up to a 20 gallon tank would that be better or will it give me the same issues ?

Ok so i decided to start over , went and bought a 25 gallon tank . Should i buy new decorations ? Im worried to take any infections over (if thats even a thing ) i want to make sure i do it right.

You could bleach the decorations maybe??? Bleach is highly toxic to fish so you would have to rinse it really good… I don’t think you should use bleach though if you’re already having problems… I would get new substrate, I like Carib Sea super natural sand, because it’s very fine and will not cut the fish’s fins, however, sand is harder to clean. You can get a Fluval aqua clear filter, they work really well in my experience, along with a Fluval heater. You could also try live plants?

Chuck the decorations and use rocks, wood and most importantly live plants instead not only will it look more natural but it will make the fish feel happy and safe. Make sure any wood or rock is fish safe.

Use your existing gravel and just cap it with black sand, I use Limpopo but there are others to choose from.

We can help you cycle properly from the beginning, you just need to decide if you're going to do it with live plants or not

Your test results didn't show a reading for ammonia? I only saw chlorine which isn't the same...a liquid test kit will have everything you need to test for so well worth the investment if you don't already have one