New Tank Disaster ITT. Fish perishing. Owner distraught/confused

K

KiwiBoy

AC Members
Nov 29, 2009
16
0
0
Hi all

Please help me, I have had the most awful experince with my new tank and Im lost for answers and dont know whether to go on trusting the advice I am getting from my local fish store.... in Auckland New Zealand


:huh:

Im a total newb aquarium owner. 9 weeks ago I bought my 7 year old son (and I) a JUWEL Vision 1800. Info on this tank can be found here

http://www.juwel-aquarium.de/en/vision.htm?cat=10

Or info snipped from that site ^^ below

*snip*


A Vision Aquarium from JUWEL Aquarium is equipped with:
  • High-Lite light unit including tubes
    - Bio filter including pump and filtermedia
    - heater
*snip*

I was then instructed by my store to treat the water with API Stress Coat an APE Stress Zyme, and leave for a few weeks for the filter to ready itself, which I did. After that 2 week period was over I picked up the follwing fish over the next few weeks

1 Silver Arowana
3 Texas Chiclids
2 Silvr Dollars
1 Oscar Albino
2 Plecos

Everything was fine for 3 weeks or so... then the tank developed bad algea which was building up on the tank glass requiring daily scrubbing and very cloudy water. The shop gave me a Particulate clearifier by NUTRAFIN and "Algefix" by API. The Algea fix worked well but the tank remained cloudy so I took some water into the shop for testing. They took the test and told me my PH levels were wack so gave me API "Ammolock" and some "EasyBalance" (Nitrate Reduction Granules) by Tetra............and told me to make daily 30-40% water changes. I did all of this following their instructions and that on the side of the bottles closely.

The shop told me to use the gravel cleaner as I changed the water as thst was where all the bad stuff was.. . In the meantime I contunied to take water samples in to the shop and they were telling me the PH balance etc was looking much better. One day I decided to take out 60% or so of the stones at the botttom. To help me clean it better/easier. This seemed to help the cloudyness heaps and it was almost looking back to normal.

The next day I got home to see my beautiful Arowana facing horizontal in the tank and gasping, its was 9pm so not much I could do but wait till the morning. In the morning he was dead :cry: I checked the other fish...and the Oscar and Texads Chiclids all semmed unhappy/off their food and closer inspection showed their fins were darker in colour/looking pretty manky

Back to the shop.. Got water tested again they say all is fine. They now say my tank has Finrot and sold me yet another solution. Some stuff called "WUNDER TONIC". Which is like blue ink and active ingrediant is methylene blue and malachite green

If this stuff is any good it was too late for my 3 Texas Chiclids.....who died horrible deaths yesterday thrashing round in the bottom of the tank.swimming sideways and turning black. Poor wee fullas :cry: :cry: :cry:

last night my tanks filter started making a "burrrrrrrrr" ing noise. Like the motor was jammed or something. Water was not being pumped like normal. I turned it off and inspected it and it seemed ok and went fine again when I plugged it back in

I have no idea what to do now :(

Does anyone have any insights to the problem? The shop is writing it off as "new tank syndrome" but Im wondering if the filter system isnt faulty. And anyway I have done absolutely everything and bought everything from them they have told me to. Anyone think changing the stones could have acused this? The stones were quite deep and maybe they were acting as a nutrient holding system? aaarrrrrgh so lost and upset
 
Welcome to the AC sorry to hear you are having so much bad luck.


First thing is stop listening to your LFS. They are giving bad advice just to sell you more stuff. Get your self a good liquid test kit of your own. Stop using so many chemicals on your tank. All you need is a good dechlorinator, like Prime.
I don't think removing the stones caused the problems. The problem is you added too many fish, with high bioloads to an uncycled tank.
I think this is why your fish died. Also most of the fish you listed get way too large for the tank you have, just so you know.

The people here are very helpful and will help you set up a successful tank :)
 
Hi and welcome to AC.
Sorry to hear about your troubles.
In my opinion you did not cycle the tank correctly. It sounds like too much fish and food too fast. I would stop using ALL chemicals (except if your tap water has chlorine or chlormines in it, then use a neutralizer available from a different store). The local fish store should have never sold you so many fish this fast. Did you notice that every time you had a problem they SOLD you something. They were making money while making you unhappy...find a different store. Most problems can be fixed by water changes. I would advise 25% every day until the ammonia level is zero.
If the tank is cloudy it is NORMAL (in a new tank) as it cycles. What ever fish you have in there are going to cycle the tank. Do not add more and feed very little EVERY OTHER DAY. It will get there, it just takes time. When a tank is new...less is more.
 
I am dissgusted with what they did to you.Cant believe such nonsense.

For 40 G, they sold you wrong types of fish to begin with and one too many to start with.

What is still alive?

Texan are pretty tough cookies. Stop adding all those additve except dechlorinator (stresscoat) aoolied to new water added during partial water changes. No more stresszyme or others.

Do you have your own test kits (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate). Look into Aquarium Parmaceutical test f/w master kit. pH should test water from 6.0 - 7.6 as they also have high range one (Not for your set up).'
Possibility master kit might have both type??? Ask before purchase!!

Test the water with your own kits and post here. Iam sure someone here would come up with good info.

Pic of your filtration would be nice which i am suspecting built in filter in the back of tank.

Hope it is not as bad as what I am imagining. I am suspecting eith high ammonia and/or nitrite thus small partial water changes would be nice but most importantly test ASAP.
 
Hi all

Thanks so much for your prompt replies. I will go purchase a test kit 1st thing tomorrow morning (its Monday 15.37 here now so I cant go today)

The plecos, dollars and Oscar are still alive. However th Oscar is off his food and his fins are bleaggh and scales coming off ...he is clearly unhappy. The dollars fins are also unheathy looking, they are at least eating. All of them do this occasional swim sideays/scrape themselves against the stones violently, not nice to watch I cant imagine the pain they are in :( Cant tell any difference with the plecos, maybe they are ok idk

I am shocked to find out my fish are too large a type for my tank. The shop did say I "shouldnt get anymore than 9" ...but they never said the tank was too small. I never EVER would have put fish into an environment that was unsuitable

# My filter is on the side/inside yes. It has multiple sponges in it with a Fine sponges, Nitrate removal sponge, carbon Sponge, Coarse sponge and a Filter Pad
 
Man - some fish stores really just suck. :(

So sorry to hear about all the fish loss. For now the best you can do until you can get to the store is massive water changes to help keep the ammonia and such under control.

Once you can get to the store, taking the fish back if at all possible would be your next best move.

Then finish out the cycle without fish, read up on what fish can realistically fit in the tank (unfortunately the store sold you a lot of fish that really do not belong in a tank that size). And add fish back in once the cycle is complete.

Read up on the nitrogen cycle. There is a great sticky at the top of the Freshwater Newbie page that talks about the cycle.

But for tonight - at least 50% water change, perhaps more, and hopefully the fish will make it until they can be returned to the store.

Good luck and so sorry to hear that this fish store lead you so wrong. :(
 
I am going to leave the subject of a bad LFS behind. Right now what you and your son need is a good liquid reagent type test kit Kiwiboy. In the US that would be the API master freshwater test kit but I have no idea what you can find locally. What you are going to do is change enough water in your tank that the ammonia and nitrite concentrations in the tank never go above 0.25 ppm, mg/l, in your test results. This can easily mean doing a 50% or greater daily water change. As time goes by and the bacteria in your filter gradually increase in number, the amount of your water change will gradually decrease. In the US, the Seachem product called Prime is relatively cheap to use to dechlorinate new water properly. I am not sure what you will find locally but read the dosing rate, not just the price when choosing your dechlorinator. You will be doing lots of large water changes over the next few weeks and want an economical dechlorinator for those water changes.
Big water changes are not a problem for your fish or your cycle, so when you need to do a water change to control chemicals, err on the large size with the percentage of water to be changed.
 
Welcome...

The Tetra Laborett kit would be my second choice if you can't find the API kit.

Get the tank fishless cycled, then start off with a few small hardy and inexpensive fish, like danios. If those do well for a month, gradually move on to more fish. I find that a dozen or so compatible smaller fish is more interesting than a few big fish with no room to swim....and a lot less bioload too.

FYI...
New Zealand fish forum:
http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/index.php

Auckland Local fish club:
http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=42278
(yes, this is for the previous meeting, but it's the most current post)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom