2 Fish appear sick.. Don't know what to do!

[Squishiebabe]

Yes...the filter is prolly to big...i even put some plastic around it so it wouldnt intake so much...I've found a 15 gal tank i'm intent on buying, and tomorrow i will go. i think the mollies were too small....the water current was looking pretty strong...I'll try my best to see what happens
Would it be so bad to turn off the filter for awhile,,,a few hours??
I'm thinking not, but thats just me...

 

[OrkyBetta]

your situation makes me have a feeling that the tank has something wrong with it. Like, toxins or even traces of soap. How well did you clean it when you set it up?

If you want to restart the tank and want some sort of community, may I suggest some fish that could thrive well with or without a filter? This might take some stress off of you until you can get a better situation, and some water test kits together. These combinations are also ok in stable room temp. water.

A single male betta with an ADF and/or a snail

2 female bettas

a few white cloud mountain minnows (this is debateable, as they like to be in shoals, but I have heard many success stories of them being kept OK in smaller groups. go here http/www.fishpondinfo.com/wcmm.htm for info)

 

[Squishiebabe]

I washed it out with a tiny bit of dish detergent, rinsed it then filled it up and let it sit for a few hours, this was also when i checked for leaks...i then dumped it...filled up again, and waited to see for sure there was no leaks (got given to me)
i rinsed it again, and then wiped it out with a paper towel...
Can you explain "toxins"?

 

[Squishiebabe]

Can i turn the filter off for awhile or not?
Will it help any

 

[LuBear]

for most fishes, you can leave the water not running for about 2 hours. But that's not good because the fishes start finding it harder to breath. So, while you have the filter off, use somesort of areation system or do water changes to keep the water running and maybe splash the water abit... <--- I don't know if you should do that because it might scare off the fishes and cause stress.

EDIT:
Toxins, as in dish detergent not washed off 100%. Never use strong soap that stays and is hard to wash off. Because the traces of it acts as TOXINS and can kill fish. Check your water stats too. Even though I'm not that good about judging water stats, I'm sure some people on the forum would know how.

 

[FishEnthusiast]

Turning the filter off will only kill any beneficial bacteria you have in there, can you turn it down? Dish detergent is really bad for fish. I think you need to get them out of the tank asap. I am not sure what you can do to ensure that the detergent is gone. Perhaps washing with a bit of bleach, then rinse it good, then rinse it again. Put dechlorinated water in there. Add a little extra decholorinator to get rid of the bleach. Rinse out the tank again. Rinse it again. Then fill it with dechorinated water again and then add fish. I am probably taking you to an extreme, but I think it is worth it if it helps the fish. I have never used detergent on a fish tank before, maybe someone who knows better will be along to help.

 

[LuBear]

o and... windex is pretty toxic and hard to wash off.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi! How are you doing? I am sorry you're having such a rough ride at the beginning of your fishkeeping.
Did you get the 15 gallon tank in the end? And is your guppy still ok?
The thing you need to do now is first to read up (pinned topics) about cycling a tank. I think your main problem, apart from possible detergent poisoning (and you'll know never to do that again), is likely to be ammonia. The filter may have been a problem, but usually when fish are sucked against the filter it is because they are already struggling.
Your parents have really got to be made to understand that water testing is an essential part of fishkeeping. Put it to them that buying a decent fish testing set is going to cost less in the end than replacing your fish every few weeks. It is very hard to get non-fishkeepers to understand that buying new fish should not be your main expense.
While your tank is still cycling you need to test regularly for ammonia and nitrites. These are natural biproducts of fishkeeping (from faeces and breathing of fish), but they are also highly toxic. Eventually your tank will establish a balance where friendly bacteria will converting them into less harmful nitrates, but while that is happening you need to keep your fish comfortable with regular water changes (using dechlorinated water) every time they exceed 0.5 ppm. So you see the need for a test kit. During this period you also need to be careful not to overfeed as decaying food also makes the ammonia shoot up. Once your cycling is done (=once ammonia and nitrites disappear) a 20 % water change once a week should be enough.
I do hope things go better soon.

 

[Squishiebabe]

No, i am still trying for the 15 gallon....i have to save my money and find a drive because suposedly my parents arent going to change anything.
I changed some water last night, and added a teeny bit more decholinator than it said, to help visible stress i could see...just checked and the platy is moving around...guppy no diffrtent...i think the platy will make it!! I;m just being ever so careful about food, and the temperature to not stress her any more. I'm determined for that 15 gal.
I'm also concerned...Petmarts says i have to bring my dead fish back to get a new one, but i dont want another yet because i'm sure that will not be a good idea...maybe i'll get a fish raincheck?
Thanks so much for all your help guys. I'll keep tryin to hang in...

Ps what should i do with the dead guy? My moms getting irritated its sitting in a cup of water on my counter lol

 

[Squishiebabe]

The Platy seemes much much better, the Guppy, still unphased by any of this, maybe the water quality is getting better...sure seems so...i'll keep you updated.

 

[Squishiebabe]

The Platy died last night...My little buddy guppy is still hangin in, no signs of anything bad...yet...

 

[Squishiebabe]

Just a question....the top of the water is starting to look a bit foamy, almost like the bubble nests my betta used to make...is this bad?
I still have not been able to get my water tested, but i took a few pictures of the Guppy, well tried to. He wont stay still long enough lol, i'm sure the camera scares him (no flash used thank god) so i stopped after a few not to stress him...Is the slighty foamy water (or seeming to get foamy) is this a sign of anything?

 

[mlee0332]

Porlly a sign of ammonia build up. Do a water change asap! Be sure to add dechlorinator


the pump pulling to strongly will not hurt a healthy fish. There was something wrong with it. It is probably b/c you started with two many fish in an uncycled aquarium. There is alot of forums that discuss cycling a tank, but I'll give you alittle info. on it:

What you do is get your tank and put EVERYTHING you want in it EXCEPT FISH...

buy an ammonia, nitRITe and nitRATe test. (there wont be many test kits that testy all three, you'll prolly have to get atleast 2 diff)

Buy some ammonia that says CLEAR ammonia, no other kind of ammonia will work.

Pour some in the aquarium and do an ammonia test, until ammonia reading is 5.0 or just slightly less.

then test once a week until ammonia starts to go down, then start tests you Nitrites and nitrates.

when ammonia reaches 0.0ppm, you'll need to start pouring a little bit of ammonia in the aquarium to keep your bacteria alive..

When both ammonia and nitrites are at 0.0, test your nitrates. They should be WELL into the 100's-200's

do a 75-80% water change and make sure that nitrates are below 20ppm.

then you can have fish [this process usually takes 30 days]

or you could get a fish that is hardy and monitor water stats being sure that you keep ammonia below 1.5 and nitrites below 0.5ppm.

Hope this helps