Fish Dying 12 Hours After Setup

[TomSS]

Help! Several new fish in a new tank are dying. Here's the situation:

Tank 20g tall
25 lb gravel
original fish: 2 zebra daino, 2 creamsicle mollies, 2 guppies (not sure of variety but can provide this evening if it matters)

3/15 8:00 pm: Rinsed gravel, added gravel to tank, filled tank, started heater and filtration

3/16 5:00 pm: Added water conditioner per mfg instructions, verified water temp 78F

3/16 6:30 pm: Placed water filled bag containing the fish in the aquarium and left the bag floating in tank for 20 min. and then poured bag, including store aquarium water, into tank. Added 4 tb marine salt to tank.

3/17 7:00 am: All fish alive

3/17 8:00 am: 1 zebra danio floating on surface dead

3/17 11:30 am: remaining danio looks ok, mollies probably look ok (1 is hanging out on bottom, other is swimming around). Concerning is 1 guppy staying at top of tank; it is treading water with front fins but does not move its tail much when it swims. Other guppy looks ok.


Do you think my dead danio and dying guppy are the result of too much salt? If so, should I change out the water over a few days and go with a salt free tank and hope for the best with the mollies? Is it realistic to mix mollies and freshwater fish?

 

[matt_storey]

Have you cycled your tank?

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

if you didnt cycle your tank its obvious that they died.

 

[TomSS]

if you didnt cycle your tank its obvious that they died.

Please explain this better. I thought that cycling consisted of putting in a small number of ammonia tolerant fish into the tank and that zebra danios are especially good for this purpose.

 

[mwood2]

No such thing as ammonia tolerant fish, all fish exposed to ammonia suffer the same. What your thinking of is considered a Fish in cycle where the ammonia produced by the fish allows the bacteria to grow to cope with there load. issue is that it takes a month for a tank to become established. To do a proper fish in cycle you must obtain a ammonia and nitrite test kit. If you test the tank and you see traces of either in tank you need to do water changes. You do water changes EVERY time until you don't see ammonia or nitrite anymore.

Simply put most pets stores lie to you, we have all been there including me. A little help from the people here and you will be on your way.

 

[rifty]

knowledge is power
if you dont know what cycling means you shouldnt be buying fish yet
never heard of any fish being ammonia tolerant let me know how that goes

 

[ATK!!!]

Ouchies, why did you put marine salt in ?

 

[TomSS]

No such thing as ammonia tolerant fish, all fish exposed to ammonia suffer the same. What your thinking of is considered a Fish in cycle where the ammonia produced by the fish allows the bacteria to grow to cope with there load. issue is that it takes a month for a tank to become established. To do a proper fish in cycle you must obtain a ammonia and nitrite test kit. If you test the tank and you see traces of either in tank you need to do water changes. You do water changes EVERY time until you don't see ammonia or nitrite anymore.

Simply put most pets stores lie to you, we have all been there including me. A little help from the people here and you will be on your way.

Thanks. I wish I had discovered this site sooner! I found the FAQ on Fish in Cycling and will follow it.

Aside from the cycling issue, is it reasonable to keep guppies, danios and mollies together with 1 tb marine salt per 5 gallons? Would I be better off at about 1/2 that amount?

 

[BigbruiserAl]

A fish in cycle is not whats is recomened any more due to the fish's not surving or if they do they can have perminant damage. Take a look at the link it will explain how to do a safe fish friendly cycle http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861

 

[mwood2]

knowledge is power
if you dont know what cycling means you shouldnt be buying fish yet
never heard of any fish being ammonia tolerant let me know how that goes

He just started, most people find everything out the hard way. Where here to set them on track and give them a good introduction to help them, not criticize them.


Aquarium salt or marine salt isn't ideal for most tropical fish. While Mollies CAN benefit from a little bit of aquarium salt you need to take into account your other fish's needs as well. The best thing you can do is obtain a test kit from your local pet store and test your tank water. Do a massive water change first of course 50% or so. You can get test strips for pretty cheap but they are less correct then liquid based ones.

 

[Curiosity101]

Aside from the cycling issue, is it reasonable to keep guppies, danios and mollies together with 1 tb marine salt per 5 gallons? Would I be better off at about 1/2 that amount?

The fish are compatible however danios should be in a group of at least 5+ as they're a shoaling species. They also do better in longer rather than taller tanks.

Also drop the salt. Your fish are freshwater, not brackish or marine

Good luck with the fish in cycle. Have you found the link yet? I suggest the links in my signature as a VERY good read for you
Have fun with all the water changes, and in the mean time (till you get a test kit), I'd suggest at least one 50% change a day.

 

[TomSS]

knowledge is power
if you dont know what cycling means you shouldnt be buying fish yet
never heard of any fish being ammonia tolerant let me know how that goes

Thanks for your encouragement. Do you think that I don't already feel bad about the situation?

 

[TomSS]

Aside from the cycling issue, is it reasonable to keep guppies, danios and mollies together with 1 tb marine salt per 5 gallons? Would I be better off at about 1/2 that amount?

The fish are compatible however danios should be in a group of at least 5+ as they're a shoaling species. They also do better in longer rather than taller tanks.

Also drop the salt. Your fish are freshwater, not brackish or marine

Good luck with the fish in cycle. Have you found the link yet? I suggest the links in my signature as a VERY good read for you
Have fun with all the water changes, and in the mean time (till you get a test kit), I'd suggest at least one 50% change a day.

Thanks. Regarding the salt, I followed the directions given by the pet store. They sold me the collection of fish (they sold them to me at the same visit) and assured me that the salt would not harm the freshwater fish while the mollies needed it. I will know better than to listen to them in the future.

 

[Curiosity101]

Don't let people like that bother you. There's always a few which like to put people down instead of encourage people who have realised something is up and are after help.

I will know better than to listen to them in the future.

A lesson learnt I'm sure. Jus a shame you had to learn it the hard way.

As for mollies, they're extremely adaptable fish and some species have been known to even manage to live in salt water (these aren't the same species we have).

The species we tend to have in the trade are predominantly found in freshwater, with odd pockets of them that have adapted to live in areas that are slightly brackish. They certainly don't NEED salt, I promise you that. However the do need a decent pH and you may find they don't thrive in your tank if you have soft water.

 

[Wend]

Hi there. Two weeks ago I made the same mistake. I did a fair bit of reasearch and followed the Pet Shop's advice. My tropical crabs died 24 hrs after I brought them home. I am now doing a proper fishless cycle. Sorry you got hassle before, we all make mistakes and I felt awful too.

This is meant to be the 'friendliest fish forum' after all!