Newbie: KH and GH and Tetras

[MotoFinn]

You state you are losing fish, another you expect to die today, and there must be a reason. The most likely is the tank is not cycled. Ammonia is present, so that supports this conclusion. The daily water change of 60-70% of the tank volume is to prevent ammonia poisoning of the fish. Nitrite will be the next thing to show up, it is just as deadly. Daily water changes, using Prime if possible, until ammonia and nitrite are back to zero.

Oblio posted as I have been typing...same advice, and I agree to include good substrate cleaning at the water changes.

To help, here is a link to the Cycle section; the first couple of posts are "pinned" because they are explanations.

Cycle your Tank

Cycling a tank is vital to keeping your fish alive. This section is where you can read about cycling (the nitrogen cycle) and ask questions about how to do it properly.

www.fishforums.net

Something wasn't settling with me right about the theory. I am colorblind and I use my son and my wife for the color chart readings. Only recently did I realize the Ammonia test strip had a yellow and white side to it. I thought the yellow side was the bottom and not the one to read so I was a little slow on the uptake on that. Anyways, my wife checked the Ammonia levels twice in a row just now and its 0. Not 0.5 but 0. Also, my Pink Glo looked wrong almost immediately AFTER me changing 3.5 gallons of tank water with distilled. However, the tank not cycling would make sense for the 2 Corys I had that lasted less than 12 hours. The Glos I added did fine. The Pink Glo was in the first batch of fish introduced to the tank and is the ONLY fish now that is experiencing issues.

UPDATE on Pink Glo: Its still alive, still looks a little weak but alive.

How do I save the Pink one or is it a gonner? Do I still need to change the water as suggested to even have hope for the rest of the fish?

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[MotoFinn]

If Ammonia is not 0, then the levels are not good. Do a 50% - 75% daily until ammonia (and nitrate) are 0%. Clean your gravel during these changes to remove any organic debris (uneaten food, fish waste). Doing this will not hurt your fish.

Hi! I replied below to another post. I am very interested in seeing what to do next.

Thanks,
Aaron

 

[itiwhetu]

My solution to your problem is to reduce your water changes, you need to try to make your tank acid. Only do 25% water changers weekly. Make sure you have plenty of plants. Your tank needs to settle down to make your fish happy. Your pH is too high for these fish.

 

[GaryE]

I'll come at this from another angle. The water change with distilled was a large problem. Well, almost. When fish die a day or two, or a week of two, after arrival, why do we blame the cycle? More often than not, it's a result of their transit from faraway fishfarms in less than ideal shipping conditions. Slowdowns with COVID have made this worse. Fish arrive with ammonia damage from the bag.
So we often begin with fragile fish, and the chain stores are not going to lose profits to QTing or insisting on better care at the farms - quite the opposite.

You want stable hardness levels, as this affects the entire physiology of the fish. Your tap is your water. You're stuck. You may have to explore hardwater fish, and there are lots of them to choose from. Even a GMO glo-tetra still has its basic biology. It isn't going to adapt because we want it to.

My last testing kit expired 25 years ago, and I have zero interest in discussing fishless cycles, etc. That can get me dismissed as a dinosaur, but I am very aware of the ammonia cycle. The test kit approach is the common one now, and if you like chemistry, is a useful one. so can be researching hardy plants, which usually cost a bit more than the easy to kill ones. Get plants in there, stock lightly and only consider adding very few fish in about 6 weeks. Do 2 or 3 25-30% water changes a week if you can, and taper off to once a week by about late February.

You'll see different advice from different people, so don't trust us. We're better than the fish store clerk who just needed a job. Most experienced clerks leave when their skills aren't paid for - low wages mean low expertise in most shops. The person helping you may be sincere but may have never had a fishtank, and may have been stocking shelves the day before. Read the suggestions, and decide what you want to do. Look at independent sites, and work it out. Aquarists are a passionate lot, and there are many approaches to the same problem. That is not what newcomers want to hear.... complexity.

 

[Byron]

On the tap water...if the numbers given back in post #6 were/are correct, there is nothing wrong with the tap water with respect to GH, KH or pH. So there isno need to be mixing distilled water in. A GH of 60 which presumably is 60 ppm is very soft water, and not at all a problem for tetras (or cories).

Diagnosing fish illness/issues is very difficult. Symptoms of several problems can be the same, and it takes experience and advice from more experienced to begin to sort through it.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Get the API Freshwater Master Test kit, the paper strips can be unreliable, and inaccurate...what kind of water conditioner are you using?

Agree with the above assessments, the tank isn't cycled, and until it is, you will continue to lose fish