New Fish Keep Dying!

[colleen0309]

5 year olds can so some strange things. when I opened a small fish shop in my garage about 10 years ago, my 4 year old locked herself in and netted all of my elephant nose and blackghost knife fish into an empty bucket(no water... they all died before we could get the door opened) so she could take them for a walk. I could just see her slipping them a piece of candy for a snack! Good luck. hope the new tank works out for you.

 

[CrazyAirborne]

5 year olds can so some strange things. when I opened a small fish shop in my garage about 10 years ago, my 4 year old locked herself in and netted all of my elephant nose and blackghost knife fish into an empty bucket(no water... they all died before we could get the door opened) so she could take them for a walk. I could just see her slipping them a piece of candy for a snack! Good luck. hope the new tank works out for you.

oh wow! my 3 year old is doing great with her tank, and it only in her reach if she pulls a chair over, so i have a little bit of a heads up if shes going to do anything crazy. she hasnt tried anything yet. knock on wood.

 

[jnms]

Things are looking a lot better so far with this tank.

The platy is still swimming around happily as is the cory. Later today, we will introduce another platy and so how that goes.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Things are looking a lot better so far with this tank.

The platy is still swimming around happily as is the cory. Later today, we will introduce another platy and so how that goes.

Keep us posted mate, i have a spare 12 gauge shell for the other tank....jokeing aside i would bin that tank of doom or nuke it from orbit "Its the only way to be sure" lol

 

[Harlequins]

Fab news,fingers crossed for the next platy

 

[bristlenoseitplecoman]

You need to increase the temp on your thermometer because that is only the temperature right next to the heater. you also need an air pump and air stone for better circulation. Also you are supposed to let the tank settle for afew days and let it run before you add new fish.

 

[This Old Spouse]

You need to increase the temp on your thermometer because that is only the temperature right next to the heater. you also need an air pump and air stone for better circulation. Also you are supposed to let the tank settle for afew days and let it run before you add new fish.

You REALLY need to click on my link below the guppy photo where it reads: New to fishkeeping? Please click HERE!

Please! Your last sentence just scares me.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

You need to increase the temp on your thermometer because that is only the temperature right next to the heater. you also need an air pump and air stone for better circulation. Also you are supposed to let the tank settle for afew days and let it run before you add new fish.

This is incorrect. You need to CYCLE the tank. Letting the tank run doesn't do anything except allow you to make sure the equipment all works and that there are no leaks. There is no benefit other than that to allowing the tank to run. You need to build a bacteria colony in your filter before the fish can safely enter. Some folks do a fish-ion cycle - but they watch the levels very closely to ensure that ammonia and nitrite remain as close to zero as possible. This involves a LOT of water changes and continually monitoring things. Others complete a fishless cycle. This involves adding ammonia to the tank and waiting for the ammonia and then the nitrite levels to drop to zero.


Seriously, read through the Nitrogen cycle link in the beginner's resource center thread.

 

[Harlequins]

Hows your platy and cory doing? all good i hope!

You need to increase the temp on your thermometer because that is only the temperature right next to the heater. you also need an air pump and air stone for better circulation. Also you are supposed to let the tank settle for afew days and let it run before you add new fish.

This is incorrect. You need to CYCLE the tank. Letting the tank run doesn't do anything except allow you to make sure the equipment all works and that there are no leaks. There is no benefit other than that to allowing the tank to run. You need to build a bacteria colony in your filter before the fish can safely enter. Some folks do a fish-ion cycle - but they watch the levels very closely to ensure that ammonia and nitrite remain as close to zero as possible. This involves a LOT of water changes and continually monitoring things. Others complete a fishless cycle. This involves adding ammonia to the tank and waiting for the ammonia and then the nitrite levels to drop to zero.


Seriously, read through the Nitrogen cycle link in the beginner's resource center thread.

+1 unless you're like the op and have mature media from your established tank to dive straight in

 

[marieukxx]

My daughter is only 5 years old, which is why we went for a small tank in the first place. I felt (and still feel) that a "massive" 60litre tank is too large for a 5 year old. Yet at the same time I want to teach her responsibility of taking care of things and she really loves having fish.

So anyway - I exchanged for a 60litre tank. Pets at Home had a "Fish Box" on offer, £99 for the 64litre tank + stand (with heater, lighting and filter) - which wasn't too bad.

Will have to see how it goes.

My sister is getting that offer at pets at home for her little daughter. I'm so sorry about your little girls tank, everything you did was right so it must have been something wrong with the tank. Hopefully your new one will be ok. My little niiece Lexy is 2 and loves my fish that's why my sister is getting the fish box offer in pets at home for her. It'll be in the front room as she's too young to care for them but she's obsessed with fish. Hopefully your little girl will have happy healthy fish soon

 

[jnms]

Nice to hear about your niece Mariuel - I'm sure she will love the tank!

Well we ended up putting two new platys in the tank yesterday instead of one. And so far they are both doing really well - it's been over 24hrs now. So not sure what the hell was up with that other tank, but it was certainly #41#### weird.

 

[This Old Spouse]

That really was bizarre. We're all wishing you the best of luck with your new tank. Please keep us updated!