Cant Keep Fish Alive! Help!

[kirztie14]

Hi everyone,
i have a fish tank about 200 litres and has been setup for about 3 months - this is my first tropical tank so i am still learning. When i first set it up i left it for about 2 weeks with the filter running and waited until good bacteria had built up and all the levels were fine before adding fish.

The first fish i started off with were 2 clown loaches. i had them for about a month until they contacted white spot. i tried everything possible to keep them alive; i talked to the people at the fish shop we go to and he helped alot, however they both died. The next fish i bought to go in the tank were 5 silver sharks and 12 neon tetras. i wanted to start off small this time and gradually build up. One of the silver sharks lasted 2 days and from that point on they just started to die. After a week or so we had one silver shark left and 9 tetras. They have the right food, PH DH KH temperature are all fine, they were eating, no signs of white spot or any other diseases, they all looked healthy.
Every time we add new fish one of them will die within a week or they will be fine for a few weeks and come home to see one floating on the top.

Am i doing something wrong?? have i missed the most cruital part of looking after a tropical tank?? i feel so bad about not being about to keep these fish alive and it is so frustrating. I check the PH DH KH and temperature weekly and usually top up the tank with fresh water every 2 weeks (of course adding the correct chemicals). Every time i check these, they are where they should be. I have researched about the types of fish we have and how they like their environment and altered the water to suit, even talked to the guys at the fish shop, however i just can’t seem to keep them alive!!!!

Please help me!!


EDIT:
here are my readings

PH = 7.1
DH= 9
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = about 5ish

 

[stang1]

Hi Kirztie and welcome to the forum.
Try not to be hard on yourself for losing fish, it happens to us all.
Sadly, Clown Loaches are not suited to newly set up tank as they are prone to white spot.
Neon Tetras are also suited to mature tanks that have been running about six months.
Do you know what your readings are for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH?

 

[wuvmybetta]

Hi Kirztie and welcome to the forum.
Try not to be hard on yourself for losing fish, it happens to us all.
Sadly, Clown Loaches are not suited to newly set up tank as they are prone to white spot.
Neon Tetras are also suited to mature tanks that have been running about six months.
Do you know what your readings are for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH?

Indeed. These are the most important things to know. Also, be sure to avoid spraying any chemicals on or around the tank. This includes household cleaners and air fresheners.

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Kirtzie. What I seem to be seeing in your description is a lack of understanding of the nitrogen cycle.

What happens is simple once you understand it. The fish produce ammonia as waste and you also get ammonia from decaying plant matter or from any extra food in the tank decaying. There are bacteria that will live in your filter that can take that ammonia and convert it to nitrites. There are other bacteria that will also live in the filter that convert nitrites to nitrates. The ammonia and nitrites are poisons to your fish in very small amounts but it takes quite a bit of nitrates to cause any problems for the fish. With a new tank, our goal is to establish those bacteria in the filter. When you have fish in the tank the bacteria will gradually become established on their own, all you need to do is keep the fish healthy until that happens. We keep the fish healthy by testing the water for ammonia and nitrites and by changing a lot of the water whenever we find either chemical as high as 0.25 ppm concentration. At first it could mean changing 30% or more of the water every day. After the bacteria become established, the water changes become a lot less frequent and are only used to keep the nitrates from increasing more than about 20 ppm above the tap water measurement.

From your description, it sounds like you knew you needed to do something to get the tank ready for fish but were not given very good information on how to do it.

The only test method that most of us trust is a test that uses a liquid reagent and some color charts to determine the various concentrations. Very few people trust the paper strip readings although they are a bit easier to use.

There is a link in my signature area to another thread that explains how to help your fish survive the cycling process while there are fish in the tank. It is called Fish-in Cycle.

 

[kirztie14]

not sure about the ammonia, nitrite & nitrate am going to check them tonight but i checked the PH yesturday and it was at 7.1. Will get back to you with the other readings.

and thankyou to oldman47 that helps alot. same as that fish-in-cycle thread