Starting my tank over -I know nothing

[Elzamine]

I have bowls with betta's in them everywhere, and I never have a problem with them.

However, I got a fish tank last year, and have been trying to keep guppies. I have been having horrible luck, and cannot keep them alive. I was hoping someone here would take some time and try to help me out. I admit I know very little about fish and what I should be doing to my tank to keep them alive however. Anyone with the patience to help me, I'd really appreciate it!

For starters.. I have a plastic tank, I was wondering if that would be a problem? I think there's a glass one around here somewhere, but it's larger than I would like.
Anyhow, I also live in the country, so the water is good, we've had it tested. My mother has had fish tanks and betta's for years and has never treated the water. Moreso, we wouldn't know how to do so even if we needed.

For the last year I've been trying to keep fancy guppies. I started out with 6, eventually had 11, and within a couple months, most of them died off. I've restocked the tank a couple times, which I'm sure was a horrible idea.
I bought 3 of the fish the other day however, put the bag into the tank when I got home came back 5 minutes later and they were all dead. A couple days later and my only survivor has finally died. So I figured there must have been something horribly toxic in my water.

So I've gone through and rinsed out my tank, the gravel, cleaned the heater and filter, and refilled it today. At the moment there are no fish in the tank.
I'm thinking of trying platies this time around.. can anyone give me the best advice for what I should do before investing in the fish?

Please help if you're able

 

[Skylar]

You need to cycle the tank. Read the pinned topics about cycling and etc. They will really help you. About how big is your tank? Do you use dechlorinator? It gets rid of the chlorine and other bad metals in the water which are fatal to your fish.

You should really try fish-less cycling. It is where you put in a bit of ammonia each day and test the water until the ammonia is 0, the nitrAtes are 0 and the nitrItes are 0. The pinned topic can explain it alot better than I can (read "Avoiding and Treating New Tank Syndrome").
Don't buy any fish until you cycle.

-skylar

 

[rdd1952]

First off, you have come to the right place. This is a very international forum with a lot of knowledgable people. I just started keeping fish in December and would have been lost without this forum. Scroll through the posts, even the old ones and be sure to read ths pinned posts at the top of each section.

Skyler is right, be sure to cycle first. Here are the links for fishless cycling and dealing with new tank syndrome just so you don't have to search. You can cycle with fish but it is much better to do it without them.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=73365
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099

Also, you said you put the bag in the tank, came back in 5 minutes and they were dead. Did you float the bag to allow the water temp to even out or did you just put the fish in the tank? Unless your water temp is considerably hotter or colder than the water in the bag, I can't imagine them dying that quick while floating.

You should definitely always float the bag before adding them to the tank. I generally float them for 15 minutes. Then I pour a cup full of my tank water into the bag and let float for another 15 minutes and then repeat that once more. After that, I let mine swim out into the tank, emptying all the water into the tank. Some people don't want the LFS water in the tank so they pour the water throught their net, catch the fish and then put him in the tank.

 

[smb7676]

I agree with the others cycle your tank. Try your library there are some great books out there with step by step directions and pics. Also you may want to look into how you are keeping your betta's with out filters they probally aren't very happy. Good luck keep us posted.