why do my fish keep dying?

Question

-fresh water fish
-29 gallon tank
-topfin 30 filter
-tetris,catfish,sucker fish...........more
-clear water

Answer 1

Take a sample of your water to two different pet stores and ask them to test it for you. Most will do it free of charge and the one you bought the fish from damn sure better do it for free. Water quality is usually the culprit in cases like this. Make sure you have good aeration in the tank but not too much. Watch your feeding and do not over feed. Only put in what they will eat in 2 minutes or less once a day unless you have big fish and give them 3 minutes. Excess food just dirties the tank quicker and ruins water quality faster. When they test the water they will check for chlorine which most city water has if you use it. I try and start a new tank with R/O water that is reverse osmosis water which you can usually buy from the fish store also. There are water treatments that remove chlorine from water but some work better then others. If you keep buying your fish from the same store and they keep going belly up on you then the stores tanks are contaminated or the fish they are buying are sick. A good fish store will not sell you a fish that has not been quarantined for at least 2 weeks when they receive it and will guarantee there fish for some time period after sale. They want you to come back and buy more stuff from them. Try those things and see what happens. i have been raising fish for 30 plus years both saltwater freshwater and Koi in 4 large tanks outside. Fish are a lot of fun and a lot of work when you are first getting started. New tanks are the hardest but once it gets established they are wonderful!!
Good Luck

Answer 2

Since you have petsmart product I am thinking that you probably have a kit that included the correct chemicals to treat the water. First when did you get your fish. If you added the fish the first day that you set up the tank then the fish are going into shock.
You need to wait at least 48 hours but the longer the better before adding fish.
After this time limit you should add fish slowly no more than 2 fish a week, this allows the fish to get you to the tank and allows the tank the break down the ammonia that all fish let out once they are introduced into a new environment.


Lastly make sure you are feeding the catfish and algae eater so type of algae based food or sinking brine shrimp. Contrary to popular belief these fish do not eat survive only on the waste of other fish. They may eat a little of it but they really need a steady stable diet to grow and thrive.

Answer 3

Well, you may not be feeding them enough or too much. You may be cleaning the bowl too much or too little. You need to make sure the water is at the right temperature, that they have oxygen and that there home is untampered with but clean. After you clean the bowl dont put them into shock by dumpin them right back into clean water, make sure the temp is the same as the water you had them in first. Make sure the bowl isnt by a stereo or something that is going to make alot of vibrations and racket and kill it that way. Also buy fish from somewhere that knows about the pets such as a bona fide pet store and not like a large chain "we got everything" store because there fish always seem to be sick.

Answer 4

My fish kept dying too. The water looked clear, not chunky.I took the water to Petco to test it and it turns out chemicals were unbalanced and the water was basically toxic. You should get a water test. Or look at your fish carefully, do they have any diseases, Ick , protozoan Velvet, etc. And if one fish dies it may affect the other ones tooo because if the body stays intheir a while it may dirty the water a bit.

Answer 5

have u check the temperature of the water, how many food u supposed to feed, enviroment, water. mate and the most important one is do u use pipe water or rain water. If u using rain water, iti is ok but if u use pipe water, u must put the pipe water inside a place, leave it untill a week had past ,then you sofely pour the water into the tank u must suck the water at the BOTTOM out because it content chemical substance

Answer 6

over cleaning or undercleaning
over feeding or inderfeeding
over lighting or under lighting

any extreme cause death just like in a person or other living thing including plants...
overcrowding
no such thing as undercrowding...
one fish is good but too many is a killer of all
plus filtering makes a tank livable not filtering correctly builds up gases and sediment which turns into a gooky mucky mess...

Answer 7

you need more details.
What kind of water ? salt or fresh water fish ?
What kind of fish keep dying ?

HI AGAIN,
SOUNDS OK. IT MAY BE YOUR WATER FROM THE TAP.
THERE IS SOMETHING YOU CAN BUY FROM YOUR FISH STORE FOR THAT CALLED "CHLOR OUT".
FOR CHLORINE IN THE TAP.
ALSO GET TEST STRIPS TO TEST THE WATER.
YOU CAN ALSO BUY A FILTERATION TO FILTER THE WATER. KINDA SPENDY, BUT WORTH IT.

ALSO, FIND OUT IF TESTRIS AND CATFISH GET ALONG.
I HAVE 3 TESTRIS , SUCKER & A FROG IN A 10 GAL.

GOOD LUCK

Answer 8

The chlorine level in the water might be too high. But you must also see what kind of fish you are rearing. Gold fish from Singapore are quite tough. You can use rain water, it is good, i try b4.

Answer 9

Check chemical levels of the tank and make sure fish are not stressed by living with others that are not compatible....Check with your local pet store fish expert for what to check for and community loving fish...tiger barbs can be aggressive and stress out fish in the tank ....

Answer 10

If your water has a high ammonia content,they will die. Take a sample of your tap water and test it if that's what you use in your
tank. I found out mine had a high enough ammonia content that is
safe for humans to drink but will kill the fish.