I Think I've Killed Them

[Flossika]

Hi, I have a 3ft tank & yesterday i did a full water change, I also added new bright pink pebbles which look fab. Also i added some Aquasafe to clear the water, & filter aid which was advised by the pet shop because my tank was very cloudy before I did a full water change..

Now my fish are dieing... One has died another is lieing on it's side at the bottom of the tank, And the rest are upright but lieing at the bottom..... All of them have their finss done.. What have i done???

 

[Mrwoody]

Hi, I have a 3ft tank & yesterday i did a full water change, I also added new bright pink pebbles which look fab. Also i added some Aquasafe to clear the water, & filter aid which was advised by the pet shop because my tank was very cloudy before I did a full water change..

Now my fish are dieing... One has died another is lieing on it's side at the bottom of the tank, And the rest are upright but lieing at the bottom..... All of them have their finss done.. What have i done???

Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish?

 

[Flossika]

Did you cycle the tank before adding the fish?
[/quote]

What do you mean by cycle the tank?... Sorry for being so dim!

 

[black angel]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=88643

 

[Mrwoody]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=88643

Beat me to it!!

Reading this should help you out a bit!, basically the tropical fish need "good bacteria" in the water to survive, without this they will more often than not drop dead within a very short space of time!

 

[Flossika]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=88643

Beat me to it!!

Reading this should help you out a bit!, basically the tropical fish need "good bacteria" in the water to survive, without this they will more often than not drop dead within a very short space of time!

How do i get this good bacteria in the tank... Without letting them all die... Coz i can't take the fish out because they wil be going into the same water wouldnt they.. & dieing anyway

 

[black angel]

The best thing to test the water each day.
Do you ahve tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and ph?
If you dont then maybe theres still time to at least buy an ammonia test.

 

[Underwurlde]

Hello.

Sorry to hear of your problems.

How long have you had your tank, what size is it and what kind / how many fish are in there?
How did you introduce any new fish into your tank?
What is the temperature of the water?

Many Local Fish Shops (LFS) will happily test your water for you. Take a sample of tank water to your LFS and ask them. Note the readings they tell you & let us know the results if you can.

Large (50%) daily water changes is recommended. Replace the water with dechlorinated water that matches the temperature of your exisiting tank water.

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Your filter uses a blue media or sponge. When you cycle a tank the idea is that you build up a colony of nitrifying bacteria. Fish pee (through their gills); they pee ‘Ammonia’ and this is HIGHLY toxic to fish. The nitrifying bacterial colony munch this ‘Ammonia’ into the slightly less toxic Nitrite. Another (slower growing) bunch of bacteria then munch this up into the far less toxic Nitrate. The levels of Nitrate (and of course ‘Ammonia’ and Nitrite) is kept low by regular weekly water changes.

These Nitrifying bacteria are sessile (i.e. they are permanently attached to something and are not free to move about); they don't 'live in the water' per se, but rather live stuck to things like your filter media (which for this reason has a large surface area), rocks, walls of the tank, plants and so forth.

Hope this helps & GL,

Andy