why do my fish always die within a week? ):

[Anonymous Fox]

so i got around 19 guppies, and they all ended up dying within a week, yesterday i found five dead when i went to feed them, then four more died so i moved the rest to a hospital tank with nothing in it, and the rest ended up dying in there. i feel really bad, i only had them for around four days. i think it was my falt too, i put some reptile moss i bought for my hamster in there without thinking, i think that may have been it. they were in a temperary storage bin tank, because i got the as a "gift" i guess, nothing special was going on that day, so i did not have the stuff they need, i had some stuff from my past betta fish, but nothing for guppies really. but this is not the only time this has happend, i get at least 8 guppies, and every one ecsept one dyes in a few days, it is, as you would most likely guess, very sad.


the next school of fish i get, i will have a 20+ gallon setup with a good filter and many real plants and good food, but i really want to know why they keep dying (most likely incorrect care)

 

[HoldenOn]

so i got around 19 guppies, and they all ended up dying within a week, yesterday i found five dead when i went to feed them, then four more died so i moved the rest to a hospital tank with nothing in it, and the rest ended up dying in there. i feel really bad, i only had them for around four days. i think it was my falt too, i put some reptile moss i bought for my hamster in there without thinking, i think that may have been it. they were in a temperary storage bin tank, because i got the as a "gift" i guess, nothing special was going on that day, so i did not have the stuff they need, i had some stuff from my past betta fish, but nothing for guppies really. but this is not the only time this has happend, i get at least 8 guppies, and every one ecsept one dyes in a few days, it is, as you would most likely guess, very sad.


the next school of fish i get, i will have a 20+ gallon setup with a good filter and many real plants and good food, but i really want to know why they keep dying (most likely incorrect care)

Do you know what a nitrogen cycle is? That is key to maintaining a fish tank and the best place to start learning about how to care for fish.

 

[Anonymous Fox]

Do you know what a nitrogen cycle is? That is key to maintaining a fish tank and the best place to start learning about how to care for fish.

not really, i got my first fish when i was, like, 6 or 7, so as you could guess, it had a pretty bad life, and it was a BETTA FISH (100% not for beginers) so intill i was 10ish, i thought i was fine because it was "just a fish" now i hate it when people say that, because it is a living breathing animal, like if a human died and was given a tereble life most people would not say it was "just a human" right? anyway, no, i don't really know what a nitrogen cycle is.

 

[back2thelotus]

not really, i got my first fish when i was, like, 6 or 7, so as you could guess, it had a pretty bad life, and it was a BETTA FISH (100% not for beginers) so intill i was 10ish, i thought i was fine because it was "just a fish" now i hate it when people say that, because it is a living breathing animal, like if a human died and was given a tereble life most people would not say it was "just a human" right? anyway, no, i don't really know what a nitrogen cycle is.

In short, the nitrogen cycle is the process of bacteria converting ammonia and nitrite into nitrate, which is then absorbed by plants for growth. A newly-setup tank will have high levels of ammonia and nitrite in the water as there is no bacteria to convert it into nitrate, and fish are likely to die as these levels are toxic to them. There are plenty of guides online (and I'm sure on this forum) that explain this process much better than I have, so go have a read up on them! This beginner's guide from Aquarium Co-op should give you some useful information: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/nitrogen-cycle

 

[Anonymous Fox]

In short, the nitrogen cycle is the process of bacteria converting ammonia and nitrite into nitrate, which is then absorbed by plants for growth. A newly-setup tank will have high levels of ammonia and nitrite in the water as there is no bacteria to convert it into nitrate, and fish are likely to die as these levels are toxic to fish. There are plenty of guides online (and I'm sure on this forum) that explain this process much better than I have, so go have a read up on them! This beginner's guide from Aquarium Co-op should give you some useful information: https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/nitrogen-cycle

thank you

 

[Slaphppy7]

Do a fishless cycle, then get your fish: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

 

[Sgooosh]

it might also be because of water quaity, ph gh... might want to test your water...
same thing happened to me the first time i tried, didnt know what cycle was

 

[FishFinatic77]

As the others have said, you need to do a fishless cycle before you get any more fish. Also, what are your water parameters (kh, gh, ph)? You need to know these so that you can get fish that are suitable for your water.

 

[Colin_T]

What sort of filter do you have?
How often and how do you clean the filter?

Do you have pictures of the fish?
What symptoms do the fish have when they die?