Fish keep dying

stop using the ammonia remover. it will take away the ammonia, which is 'food' that the beneficial bacteria need so they can colonize and cycle your tank.

try testing your tap water, that has not been dechlorinated yet, for ammonia. that way you know if you have ammonia in your tap or not. it is always good to know what sort of 'base' you are working with. the 'base' in this instance is our tapwater.

using Prime for dechlorinator when doing water changes is good, because it will convert ammonia into ammonium, and ammonium is safe for fish but the beneficial bacteria will still use it as 'food'. if you are using the API Freshwater Master kit you will still see ammonia on your test result, but as long as you have dosed with Prime it will keep that ammonia detoxified for about 24 hours.

daily water changes of at least 50% to keep those ammonia levels at zero or as close to (anything over zero can be dangerous for your fish). test for ammonia twice a day for the next few days and if the test result is over zero then you need to do a water change right away. after a few days, start testing for nitrites too, and the same thing, if you see any reading over zero then you need to do a large water change to get it back down to zero or as close as possible.
 
I too made this mistake when I started my first tank, so be comforted you can get through it. At this point though you have the bio-load at the max a 10 gallon tank can support once fully cycled. Your cycle has hardly started and the nitrites are still to come.

If I were you and if possible I'd remove the platties until the cycle has finished and then introduce them back 2 at a time over 2 or 3 weeks. I stressed out for 5 long weeks with my first 10 gallon tank waiting for it to cycle and I had about the same bio-load you have.

If removing the platties is not an option then I'd recommend daily or every other day water changes to the tune of about 30% each change. You will also need to put that gravel vac to use to remove any fecal matter and left over food. This is a lot of work, but it's the only way you'll be able to keep those fish alive during your cycle.

Also I'd make sure to not over feed your fish because any excess food in the tank adds to the problem. You may want to cut feedings to 2 very small feedings per day. I always asked what a small amount was and I got several replies that said if the fish can't eat it in two minutes then it was too much, which is true. However I go by 2 or 3 small flakes of food per fish per feeding as my general guideline.

You may also want to see if your local fish store will give you a used filter from one of their tanks or maybe a cup of their gravel. This will at least give you a jump on starting a colony of de-nitrifying bacteria.

Good luck and know that I as well as MANY others have felt your pain!
 
using media (filter sponge or gravel) from a store's tank isn't the best idea, since that could introduce disease into your tank.
 
Thanks for the advice so far. I'm going to go pick up some Seachem Prime right now to use with today's water change. I'm doing about a 25% water changes daily via a gravel vacuum and so far the fish are very active and seem to be doing well.
 
you should be doing larger changes than 25% each day. when cycling a tank with fish in it you want to ensure the ammonia and/or nitrite levels stay as close to zero as possible.

doing a 25% change only takes away 25% of the ammonia. you are still left with 75% of the ammonia to harm or even cause death to your fish. this is why large volume water changes are best, since they remove most of the ammonia present in the tank. aim for a bare minimum 50%, but more is better.
 
What would be the maximum amount of water that I can remove during a water change and not take away the beneficial bacteria that I'm trying cycle?
 
Just did a 50% water change with the gravel vacuum. After which I added about half a cap full of Prime. I'm very cautious about using enough of the Prime so I added a little extra so that the fishies will be safe. I also tested my new tap water before adding anything and it did show a little ammonia, about 0.25 ppm or a hint of green. Will the Prime alleviate the ammonia present in the new tap water? Will the bio filter take care of the ammonia in tap water?
 
BettaFishMommy said:
using media (filter sponge or gravel) from a store's tank isn't the best idea, since that could introduce disease into your tank.
Click to expand...

I guess I am a bit spoiled by my LFS. I have a great relationship with them and I am confident that I have never brought anything home from them that have had disease in it. I actually did this same thing when I made the exact same mistake the OP has made. However you are probably more correct in the fact that most LFS do not know what’s in their tanks nor do they care what you leave with. We have a few in our area, but one of them is absolutely incredible to work and deal with.
 
BFM has got you on the right track. 50% changes daily, if the ammonia is still rising faster than you are changing it out you can do 2 changes a day.

The bacteria live on the filter media and on the walls, gravel, plants etc. not in the water per se. You are not removing many if any bacteria by doing water changes.

Prime will make the ammonia in the tank and the ammonia from the tap safe so not to worry there. If the ammonia gets really high you can double dose the prime without worry. That will make it safe until you can get it changed but nothing beats removing the ammonia and nitrite through water changes.
 
prober said:
BFM has got you on the right track. 50% changes daily, if the ammonia is still rising faster than you are changing it out you can do 2 changes a day.

The bacteria live on the filter media and on the walls, gravel, plants etc. not in the water per se. You are not removing many if any bacteria by doing water changes.

Prime will make the ammonia in the tank and the ammonia from the tap safe so not to worry there. If the ammonia gets really high you can double dose the prime without worry. That will make it safe until you can get it changed but nothing beats removing the ammonia and nitrite through water changes.
Click to expand...

Good deal and thanks a lot! Thanks BFM and everyone for all your help thus far and getting this newbie on the right path!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom