Why Did My Fish Die?

[xtenrou]

My friend Red Tailed Black Shark suddenly died this evening and we have no idea why.
My friend has had his tank cycling for 2 weeks, with filter and heater running. He went to buy his fish today, and took in a sample of his water in too. The lady at the desk said that the water was fine for a fish. However it is now dead. Theres been no gill movement for about 20minutes. There is something strange about this particular fish though, it has a..sort of dark orangey lump on its stomach.

Any ideas as to why it died?

EDIT: No other fish in the tank, and he says the size is 60x30x30 cm.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Ammonia.

 

[Man of fish]

Well it wasn't properly cycled but that's another story.

 

[ZoddyZod]

I'm afraid that running the tank with only the water in it for two weeks will not cycle the tank. I highly recommend you have a read through the beginners section and the cycling links there that will explain in detail the whole process and what is needed.

once you have had a good read, then come back to this thread and ask any questions you have.

Also, it would be good to know the size of your friends tank and if there are any other fish in it.

 

[Keeper Of Cichlids]

+1 To all of the above.

 

[HayzH]

+2 to all of the above

 

[Rummynose]

hmm....I agree the tank does not seem to be cycled, but he just put the fish in the tank today. I doubt the ammonia rose to the extend that it killed the fish in a matter of hours, in what seems to be a 20 gallon tank!?

 

[joselaz5780]

That's weird, but the only thing we can actually conclude is ammonia, but as said by Rummynose, how could ammonia rise so quickly?

maybe the fish wasn't very healthy?

 

[Keeper Of Cichlids]

The ammonia could of spiked, the nitrite could of spiked.
Endless possibilities in an uncyled tank.

 

[afremont]

hmm....I agree the tank does not seem to be cycled, but he just put the fish in the tank today. I doubt the ammonia rose to the extend that it killed the fish in a matter of hours, in what seems to be a 20 gallon tank!?

Exactly, finally someone actually read the post before jumping to the same old tired conclusion of what killed a fish. The fish couldn't die from ammonia poisoning in a few hours. It could certainly die from chlorine poisoning in that amount of time though. The poster also said it had an orange lump on its stomach. That's probably significant.

There is no set amount of time to "cycle" a tank. I like to do mine the easy way so I just dump in a bottle of Tetra Safe Start and put my fish in. I've done it at least 6 times and it worked every time, no ammonia spike, no nitrite spike, just right on to nitrAte production. I test my water using the API kit religiously. Too bad everyone thinks that bacteria in a bottle is a myth because so many fish and so many fish owners could be so much happier with their hobby by using it, correctly.