New Tank (Keeping My Fish Alive) :(

[fluttermoth]

yeah, I'm sorry, I think you should return them all if you can.

Brackish water is slightly salty, sort of halfway between fresh and marine.

 

[Miles_hot]

Bad luck Pufferk - its really a shock when you find out that the fish shop experts have let you do something bad / told you a crock of rubbish just to make a sale. The good folks on here are very helpful and you've come to a good place.

Do you know what sort of pH your tap water is? Where about in the country are you? If you're anywhere near Oxford / Swindon area I can whole heartedly recommend Coxwell Aquatics as they're the only shop which has ever recommended Fishless Cycling (though the did inevitably tell me that they had some stuff in a bottle - I forgive them that as they've got a mortgage to pay )

You've got to get shot of the fish that you've got based on what Fluttermoth is saying - if you've got the patience this gives you a chance to go down the easy route and do a fishless cycle (though raising two colonies of bacteria is not the glamourous side of the hobby!) or if you're more "fish now" then you're into a few months of changing a lot of water at least once, maybe twice, a day. To do this it is easiest to use a siphon to extract the water (whilst hovering up all the rubbish at the bottom of the tank) and then a jug to refill the water (or another siphon if you have a shelf to put the bucket on).

Good luck

Miles

 

[Mowbz]

It certainly seems you have some beautiful fish, they just wont be happy together for long im afraid. What kind of lunatic LFS sells a newbie a puffer, even if it does turn out to be a dwarf? I saw the "my favourite one" opened it an my first thought was, "Oooh, Fugu".......

My second thought was "oh s hit, whats it doing in there.......?

 

[Louiseness]

if i cant return them i dont want to kill them.

I'm not trying to be horrible or morbid or whatever but if you don't return them (or give them to someone else or whatever you choose) it;s very likely that they'll kill EACHOTHER

 

[Mowbz]

if i cant return them i dont want to kill them.

I'm not trying to be horrible or morbid or whatever but if you don't return them (or give them to someone else or whatever you choose) it;s very likely that they'll kill EACHOTHER

Very true. Your not going to have to kill them puffer. If you leave them in there long enough, it'll be a game of "last man standing", they'll do it by themselves. My bet is on the puffer or one of the Cichlids being the last one swimming when this goes sour!

Take the above advice and start looking for homes before they start looking at eachother as new tasty snacks. I know it sounds harsh, but how are you going to feel when you get up one morning, and there is only one left swimming around with a nice fully belly, and the rest are floaters?

Research, research, research, and if your still in doubt, ask here

 

[Aqua Tom]

There is no reason why the lfs wont take them back. After all they can always sell them again.

Go to the shop, dont phone, & ask if they will take them back. If they are being a bit difficult then ask why you, as a bigginer seeking advice, was sold unsuitable fish by the staff there.
If they are still being funny then make a big loud fuss in front of other customers.

You have rights as a consumer.


Tom

 

[pufferk]

Thank you so much everybody really! im really starting to understand what i should have known from the getgo. I have decided to just leave the fish in there and let nature take its course since i cannot return any of the fish. All the fish are seeming to get along fine except for some reason the puffer is not eating at all!!!! what should i do?? i have been doing water changes everyday. The water is starting to clear up slowly. What test product do i need to purchase? any particular one i should look out for?

 

[Mowbz]

If you dont have them already, Ammonia, Nitrite and pH would be a start...

 

[Overload]

I use the API Freshwater Master kit, it has PH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate which covers most of what you would need to check

 

[CrazyCichlaMomma]

i've heard that puffers like snails and clams. and fresh water clams are filter feeders, they go down into the gravel and feed on the nasty stuff that your fish leave behind, i really like the idea of natural tank janitors. they sell clams in the frozen fish food section of most LFS also. mystery snails are cheap, and easy to come by and they won't infest a tank like some kinds of snails, and again, they are great tank janitors too.

i also know for a fact that most puffers will kill and eat any and all of their tankmates. not to mention that the blood parrot is a South American tropical hybrid fish and the blue and yellow ones are africans and need extremely different conditions to thrive. i can't tell what kinda catfish that is, but it probably won't make a lot of difference anyway, the puffer will make short work of him when he gets adjusted to the tank. i know that some puffers actually need brackish water, some can be kept in freshwater till they reach a certain size then they need brackish water.

why can't you take them back to the LFS before they die? or get killed by the puffer? especially if an employee at the LFS told you that they would be ok together and now you know that they won't. i'm sure a manager will be more than happy to give you your money back after you explain to him that you bought those fish to live together in a 10 gallon tank on the advise of one of their employees. when NONE of those fish are compatible and should live in VASTLY different water conditions.

AND.. not a single one of those fish will be able to stay in a 10 gallon tank for any length of time. that blood parrot, if it survives can get quite large, i've seen them for sale on other forums at 6" and not done growing. each of them individually is going to need a 75 gallon or larger to live comfortably when they are grown (except i can't tell what kind of catfish that is)

 

[the_lock_man]

I have decided to just leave the fish in there and let nature take its course since i cannot return any of the fish.

You aren't serious? You are happy to let whichever is the strongest fish kill the others? Why can you not return them?

In the UK, we have something called the Sale of Goods Act. This Act of Law syas that if a consumer buys an item, and it isn't suitable for the purpose it was bought for, you are entitled to a full refund. I don't know whereabouts in the world you live, but most countries have similar legislation. You were sold fish that weren't suitable for the purpose of living in a 10G tank.

 

[pufferk]

Well the LFS told me all sales are final. Bunch of bs if u ask me. Im going to go over there and just bring the fish with me and force him to either return them or exchange for other fish once my tank is fully cycled. i did another water change last night and the fish still seem to be up and moving around but the puffer is just really slow and doesnt eat so im not sure he actually might be hanging on to his last limb.

I have decided to just leave the fish in there and let nature take its course since i cannot return any of the fish.

You aren't serious? You are happy to let whichever is the strongest fish kill the others? Why can you not return them?

In the UK, we have something called the Sale of Goods Act. This Act of Law syas that if a consumer buys an item, and it isn't suitable for the purpose it was bought for, you are entitled to a full refund. I don't know whereabouts in the world you live, but most countries have similar legislation. You were sold fish that weren't suitable for the purpose of living in a 10G tank.

 

[Mowbz]

I have decided to just leave the fish in there and let nature take its course since i cannot return any of the fish.

You aren't serious? You are happy to let whichever is the strongest fish kill the others? Why can you not return them?

In the UK, we have something called the Sale of Goods Act. This Act of Law syas that if a consumer buys an item, and it isn't suitable for the purpose it was bought for, you are entitled to a full refund. I don't know whereabouts in the world you live, but most countries have similar legislation. You were sold fish that weren't suitable for the purpose of living in a 10G tank.

I dont think that would apply in this instance im afraid. I think the "fit for purpose" arguement applies only to the item being sold, and the fish were probably perfectly fine, healthy fish. Its the tank and environment that isnt fit for purpose.

I may be wrong....

You would at least hope though, that any fish store shares the same love of the fish that we do, and would rather take them back and resell them to a better home, than committhem to death in a tank full of illsuited friends.

 

[the_lock_man]

I have decided to just leave the fish in there and let nature take its course since i cannot return any of the fish.

You aren't serious? You are happy to let whichever is the strongest fish kill the others? Why can you not return them?

In the UK, we have something called the Sale of Goods Act. This Act of Law syas that if a consumer buys an item, and it isn't suitable for the purpose it was bought for, you are entitled to a full refund. I don't know whereabouts in the world you live, but most countries have similar legislation. You were sold fish that weren't suitable for the purpose of living in a 10G tank.

I dont think that would apply in this instance im afraid. I think the "fit for purpose" arguement applies only to the item being sold, and the fish were probably perfectly fine, healthy fish. Its the tank and environment that isnt fit for purpose.

I may be wrong....

You would at least hope though, that any fish store shares the same love of the fish that we do, and would rather take them back and resell them to a better home, than committhem to death in a tank full of illsuited friends.

Being a retailer, it's something I'm fairly familiar with, although obviously not in the aquatic industry. My opinion, fwiw, is that if Pufferk has given the retailer complete information on tank dimensions, etc, and the retailer has recommended 3 incompatible fish, then the retailer is also liable. Don't forget that the retailer sold the Puffer with at least one of the other fish, and it's not compatible with anything. Assuming that Pufferk's little sister said that they were both going into one tank, then the retailer has made a duff recommendation, and is therefore, imho, liable. Morally, if not legally, and if Pufferk goes into the shop, asks nicely, and then makes a fuss in front of the other customers, the retailer is likely to back down.

I certainly think it's worth a shout, because of the retailer is dense enough to recommend, or even sell without question, a puffer for a community tank, I would think they aren't completely conversant with the relevant legislation in whatever country it is. A client goes in and sounds more knowledgeable than him, again chances are that the retailer will back down.

Pufferk, perhaps you could do a bit of digging into your country's retail legislation, so you're quoting the right legal terms.

Edit: I'm not advocating that you go in with the intention of having an argument with the LFS. Be calm but assertive.