Start Up Tank - 6 Fish Dead Within 4 Days

[andyboot]

Hey, just checked the tap water and the same results. It's ok, must just be my eyes lol

 

[fluttermoth]

That could just mean your tap water has a trace of ammonia in it. I'd recommend you get some Seachem Prime for your water conditioner, as that will detoxify any ammonia until your filter is able to process it. It is quite pricey, but is very concentrated, so will last you a long time.

What kind of light are you reading the tests under? Daylight is best; some artificial lights can affect the colour, especially energy saving bulbs.

 

[andyboot]

Its okay, Just had my girlfriend double check and its yellow.

Thanks!

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Andy.
I am afraid that the picture you gave us shows an ammonia reading of close to 0.5 ppm. We always judge the color against the color chart, not based on a description of the color. It looks quite yellow to me too, but the chart says 0.5 ppm for that particular hue. So where that leaves us is that your water is causing damage to your fish until you do a massive water change to reduce the ammonia. It is not something to feel bad about but is something that requires your attention. If you stay on top of the required water changes, you will get a fully cycled filter eventually and your fish will also be in fine health. If you insist on not interpreting your test results correctly, you will have trouble during the cycling process and may lose fish along the way. It is really up to you how well this process goes.
I always read my test results with a bright light over my shoulder and IO hold the test tube against the white area on the card. That way my test results are consistent and I can have confidence in reading the numbers off the test. I prefer to test using daylight through a window but a bright incandescent light works well too. A fluorescent lamp does not have a broad enough spectrum to do a good job of defining the fine color variations that we need to judge.

 

[andyboot]

Hi OldMan47, thank you for the warm welcome.

I think perhaps there has been some confusion made on my part. The photo displaying the ammonia readings was in fact showing a reading of close to 0.5 and not the stated 0 in my original post. I changed 50% of the water, twice within the space of 3 - 5 hours to ensure the ammonia had gone. Unfortunately, I misread the results the first time and it wasn't until I did a test 2nd time round and from a sample from the tap that I realised it was in fact yellow (0 ppm) the first time round (made flushing the 50% 2nd time round a waste of time really!).

I have just checked my ammonia levels for today and there appears to be another spike of 0.5 with comparing it with general tap water and the colour chart. I will do another water change soon (25% you reckon?).

Here's a photo showing tap water on the left and tank water on the right. From a first person perspective, the tap water is more yellow than green.

 

[FishBlast]

Hi OldMan47, thank you for the warm welcome.

I think perhaps there has been some confusion made on my part. The photo displaying the ammonia readings was in fact showing a reading of close to 0.5 and not the stated 0 in my original post. I changed 50% of the water, twice within the space of 3 - 5 hours to ensure the ammonia had gone. Unfortunately, I misread the results the first time and it wasn't until I did a test 2nd time round and from a sample from the tap that I realised it was in fact yellow (0 ppm) the first time round (made flushing the 50% 2nd time round a waste of time really!).

I have just checked my ammonia levels for today and there appears to be another spike of 0.5 with comparing it with general tap water and the colour chart. I will do another water change soon (25% you reckon?).

Here's a photo showing tap water on the left and tank water on the right. From a first person perspective, the tap water is more yellow than green.

Still looks a bit like 0.25 than a 0. I have Tetra ammonia test kit so I'm not sure how the API should look like, but mine looks golden and a bit more lighter. That one still seems to have a bit of green to it (on the left)

 

[This Old Spouse]

Bottom line is that there's ammonia in your tank water, and that's what's harming your fish. When I did a fish-in cycle I did a 50% water change every day, then when the levels were looking good I still changed the water every other day for several weeks. I hate losing fish, so I'm a little obsessed with clean water, but my fish seemed to survive.

Good luck to you. Once you hang out on this forum for a while and learn lots you'll find what a rewarding hobby fishkeeping is!

 

[andyboot]

hmm... I think my phone camera & some computer screens don't represent the true colour of what it actually is. You'll just have to take my word

Changed 25% of the water today to find this evening that both the ammonia and nitrite spiked, so I changed 50% to bring it back down.

I think I'll just change 50% every day for the time being.

On a more positive note, more than 3 days after bringing the new ones home and they're still alive and happy!