Dying Fish

[KellyB1966]

Hello, I am new and I really just have a question here. We bought an aquarium, 10 gallon, and all the fish are dying, we brought a sample of water and they said it was bacteria, so they gave us ich medicine. They were doing allright and then my husband went and got 3 new ones. They all died. I am devastated! Does anyone have any idea what is going on here? Please Help!

 

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Did you cycle your tank before you added the fish?

Did you notice anything on the fish- like a visible form of disease? If you dont see little white dots on the fish then it might not have been ich.

What are the water paratmeters of your tank?

 

[carpguy]

This FAQ has a lot of good info.

You're "Cycling".

Fish produce ammonia as a normal waste product. Its toxic to them. Beneficial bacteria will colonize your tank and breakdown the toxins but it'll take a few weeks for them to get established.

Stock lightly to start and feed lightly. Water changes will help. Don't add more fish until things have stabilized — more fish=more ammonia. If the worst happens you can cycle the tank without fish by using household ammonia (really… it works! Try a search for the details… it doesn't work unless you do it right).

If you get an Ammonia test kit and kits for Nitrite and Nitrate you can monitor the cycle. It'll help you guage water changes and let you know when your cycle is established.

Biospira can help, but the rest of the bacteria-in-a-bottle remedies are highly suspect.

I'd also find another fish store. If you're anywhere down near NYC I can point you towards some of my favorites and there is a legendary shop up near Buffalo. Can't really help with the rest of the state.

There are a lot of knowledgeable folks out here who are more than happy to help. If you can get past the discouraging start its a nice thing to be involved with. It get better.

Hang in there…