HELP MY FISH ARE DYING (NEWBIE)

[VALETUDO]

HI GUYS I HAVE A 31IN , 14.5 GAL TANK WHICH I'VE HAD SET UP FOR JUST OVER A WEEK NOW, I PURCHASED SOME FISH FOR THE TANK ON FRIDAY AND SINCE THEN ONE OF THEM HAS DIED EVERYDAY INCLUDING ANOTHER ONE TODAY MAKING IT A TOTAL OF 3 OUT OF THE 18 GUPPIES THAT I PURCHASED. IN ADDITION TO THE GUPPIES I ALSO PURCHASED 2 DWARF FROGS AND 2 CLOWN LOACHES WHICH SEEM TO BE FINE. I HAVE A 8" AIR BLOCK WITH AN AIRVOLUTION 200 PUMP WHICH IS OXYGINATING THE TANK AND AN EHIM ECCO FILTER WHICH I HAD RUNNING IN THE TANK WITH PLANTS ONE WEEK BEFORE I BOUGHT MY FISH. I TESTED THE WATER YESTERDAY AND AMMONIA LEVELS WERE AT 0.25 (2ND FROM THE LOWEST) AND THE NO2 LEVELS WERE HIGH WITH THE NO3 LEVELS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CHART. I SPOKE TO THE PEOPLE WHERE I BOUGHT MY FISH AND TANK AND THEY ADVISED ME TO CARRY OUT A WATER CHANGE TO HELP REDUCE THE LEVELS OF NO2 AND AMMONIA I DID A 10% WATER CHANGE YESTERDAY AND YET TODAY ANOTHER FISH DIED. I'M NOW UNSURE WHAT TO DO SHALL I CHANGE MORE OF THE WATER TODAY OR IS THERE SOMETHING ELSE I CAN DO ?

 

[VALETUDO]

ALSO I HAVE BEEN FEEDING THE FISH BLOODWORMS FOR THE LAST 2 DAYS AS I WAS ADVISED THAT THIS IS WHAT THE LOACHES AND FROGS NEED.

 

[Cat]

Hello and welcome

I don't think your familiar with a computer your caps lock is on,people may think your shouting (lol its a comp thing).Just press your caps lock to go to lower case
You may have added to many fish at once,its wiser just to add a few at a time,do another water change and remember put stuff if for the tap water.

Others will answer you to good luck.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Keep up with the water changes....a few times each day if you can manage it....

3 clown loaches is a lot for a tank that size...do you realise that they grow to 12 inches each?

 

[sinistral]

I have to second what Cat and Chooklet wrote. I hope you won't take offense, but I will also say explicitly that putting 18 guppies, 2 clown loaches and 2 dwarf frogs into a 14 gallon tank at once is a recipe for disaster. The main problem is overcrowding. First, I'd advise you to read this post about new tank syndrome.

That quantity of fish will produce an proportionate quantity of nitrogenous waste. In a tank without an established biofilter, this can become fatal quite rapidly. Second, there are simply too many fish for the space you have in your tank-- it's stressful for most fish to be living in too small of a space with too many neighbors. This itself can contribute to death. Clown loaches should not be kept in a 15 gallon tank as Chooklet suggested, unless it's a temporary measure and they are small enough. Finally, what kind of frogs did you get? If you got african dwarf frogs, that's fine, but if you got african clawed frogs, they may be killing your other fish.

My best advice is to keep up with water changes, but more importantly to return most of the guppies, both clown loaches, and both frogs until you have completed cycling the tank. I'd start out with 3 guppies at most for your first tank, and add more fish slowly. It's hard advice, but I hope it's helpful. Best of luck~

 

[VALETUDO]

first of all sorry about the caps lock guys i didn't realise, i didn't realise they grow so big i asked the guy in store he said they grow to about 5". I'm gonna go in and complain becuase i did ask them if it was ok to be adding so many new fish they had a special on with 10% off all fish. I'll keep changing the water i'm going to do a 20% water change now. i've got lots of the water conditioner so i'll keep adding that. I really appreciate all your help guys, i've never done this before so i'm a complete newbie i'm really upset that i'd already lost so many fish. As the loaches get bigger I will be investing in a larger tank, also I was going to ask is it common for the loaches to hide out i have this castle which they seem to spend alot of time under that an the frogs. I'll take some more readings of the levels and post up exact measurements later on today. I invested in another heater so i'm adding warm water into the tank. Is it a good idea if i don't feed the fish today ? I read somewhere that if ammonia is high to skip feeding to ever otherday untill the levels come down?

 

[VALETUDO]

Sorry guys i made a mistake i just checked the box of my tank its a 96 litre 21 galon tank. In addition the clown loaches are very small about 3". I'm pretty sure there african dwarf frogs but I will double check and get back to you. I'm going to try and make arrangments to give some of the fish back till i can sort this all out. I appreciate everyone's help.

 

[lizard]

Welcome!

Not feeding the fish for a day or few will be fine Many fishkeepers fast their fish one or two days a week.

Until your ammonia and nitrIte levels are zero and your nitrAte level is fairly low (I don't remember what measurement), you should do daily water changes to help keep the chemical levels down. Ammonia and nitrIte are toxic to fish, especially in higher concentrations. Doing daily (or more than once daily) water changes will help keep the levels down.

Good luck

Pamela
aka Married Lizard

 

[VALETUDO]

Thanks pamela thanks to everyone again for the advise i've done 2 water changes today with a total of 40% of the water changed which has bought nitrite down to 0.5 and ammonia down to 0 in addition I have not fed the fish today and will wait 2 days before I do to keep the levels down. I'm also going to keep a close eye on the levels and do the water changes accordingly. They all seem a lot happier so i'm hoping for a positive outcome. I really appreciate everyone's help as I was very worried I don't understand why people that sell fish don't give better advise.