55gal stocked tank and i know nothing about fish

also the lights are two aqua glow 18in 15watts side by side

fyi... i told them I was going to try and get this whole tank sorted out and figured it would be obvious not to buy any more fish but they did anyways....
-i apologize for their... rashness?

just got a digi camera right now, gonna take pics
 
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uh oh...that sterling shark is laying on his back 'breathing' pretty fast
 
I'm guessing that the "sterling shark" is something like a "sterlet" which needs cold water, I've seen them labeled all sorts of things. Try googling sterlet and see if you get anything that resembles it.

If your water is milky cloudy its probably an ammonia spike from adding too many fish all at once.

Try your best to explain to them that they are harming the fish by doing this.

Good luck with identifying your fish.
 
You should probably euthanize the dying fish and do a 50% water change.

Read the labels of all your water treatment products thoroughly. Do any of your water treatment products eliminate chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals? When doing a water change, use the one that DOES and do not use the other ones.

-match the temperature of the new water to the tank's temperature. Don't just stick your hand in the water, transfer the thermometer
-add the dechlorinating product to the new water in the correct dosing BEFORE putting the new water in the tank.

As soon as possible return the living fish to the fish store. Buy the aforementioned water test kit-- the liquid test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite and pH. Do not buy the strip tests, as they are very inaccurate.

Test your water as soon as you can. Get pictures of the non-returnable fish as soon as you can. Discuss with your roommates how your fish are dying and not to buy any more fish, stress the importance of no more fish

 
ugggh. they dont have the cords to plug in the camera...

yes, its definetly a sterlet fish... he has like a white caved in hole on the side of his face near his eye... any idea if this fish is a goner?

I take it the fish stores just try and sell whatever they can and wont tell you if a fish is incompatable with all the other fish your buying...(if in fact most the fish are warmer water fish and he sold us that one cold water one) any resources where i can learn more about this fish other than wikipedia?
 
Those sterlets need like 55 degree water from what I have been told. They get huge too. Probly wont survive the 80 degree water. If he is layin' on his back he's probly a goner, if you decide not to euthanize him take him back to the store in the morning (assuming he makes it). Thats just my opinion though.

Try asking on Monster Fish Keepers if you really want to know more about him.

Most employees at fish stores really know nothing about fish, and a lot of times the ones that do get to where they wont give you any info unless you ask specifically.

Do your best to get some pics soon. And for sure a water test kit.


 
okay so is there anyway to get an amonia level test kit at this time at night?... 11pm

also assuming the amonia level is up becuase we have added so many fish...(mostly fish much much smaller than the current inhabitants) how should we go about treating the wateR? or should we just change it? do we just get tapo water and treated with the suggested amount of chemical?

turns out we had a ph testing kit the water is currently at 7.2
 
Do the water change as I outlined above. Remove 50% of the water, and replace it with new tap water at the correct temperature that has been treated with a dechlorinating product. I'm sure one of those water products you mentioned contains a dechlorinator.
 
found the names of the fish bought today
2 clown loach
1 blue acara
3 serpa tetras
2 angel fish
1 sterlet

so how about what i read about this sterlet
-likes cold water
-like brakish water
isnt this information they should have told my roommates since they were also purchasing warm freshwater fish?

should we still do a water change since all other fish seem fine, and apparently this fish is not suitable for this tank? we already did about a 10% water change.... also i read that sometimes the sterlet will just lie on his back
 
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