my fish keep on dying....why?

Question

we used to have a lot of fish and they live for a long time and then a few died. when we got new ones, they died too. this kept on going everytime i got new fish and i dont know why. i do have a filter and the tank is cleaned every 2-4weeks. does anyone know why they keep on dying?

i do change the carbon. oh and by the way, there are two fish that keep on surviving. thats why i find the dying thing so weird.

i do let the new fish get used to the water by letting it float on the surface for some while b4 i actually put them in.

30 gallon tank with two fish. the others died....

Answer 1

Your problem is one of the most common ones. There isn't an easy solution I'm afraid.

Think of fish as kids. If you have a child in a room that is "their room" and you later move another child into that room and tell them they have to share..... you can imagine what would happen if you didn't keep an eye on the peace. This is what is happening in your tank. The old fish don't want to share. Tanks that have a stable fish population for a long time and suddenly start loosing fish are vicums of fish out growing their "room". Any tanks that have mated pairs of fish are in real danger of this problem as the mated pair looks to make room for a family.

Just remember new fish are like the new kid at school that nobody wants to be freinds with.

rules:

Divide the tank up when adding new fish. this can really help the new guys get used to the tank without having to defend from the resident fish. Anytime new fish meet they have to stablish who is boss. If your the weaker fish and don't know where to hide your in for a long day and too many long days can be fatal.

You can remove all fish and add them back to a rearanged tank all at once. This can make the tank new for all the fish.

Be sure to feed your fish the right way. The following is from another of my answers just doing a copy paste here to make my world easier:

Begin proper feeding of your fish. This may sound funny but there is a right way and a wrong way. This is by far the most common question I get "How do I feed my fish?". The answer is simple, feed fish A LITTLE AT A TIME (they should easily eat all the food you give them) untill ALL fish are done eating. If you do it right most fish will feed for about 5 minutes before they refuse food. You will notice a few fish feed like crazy, not even letting others feed. Those are your dominate fish. If you have ratty tails on any of your fish it was most likely done by one of these dominate fish. The dominate fish always feed first, then they will stop feeding and the others will get their chance. That is why it takes around 5 minutes. A little at a time means a small pinch by the way. Give a pinch, wait for the fish to eat it all or most of it (the idea is to have no waste) then give another pinch and so forth. If anyone ever has high fish loses this is the most likely cause, feeding too much, too fast or not enough. Flake food is great for learning to feed, once you have the hang of it you might switch to a pellet food they have more nutrition per bite. Frozen foods loose most of their nutrition when ice crystals form in the cells and rupture them.

Proper feeding is like giving candy to the kids that where there first. It can go a long way to soothing the rough spots.

Also add new fish in batches to help even out the stress. If old fish have to choose which fish to pick on they are more likely not to bother any single fish too much. although it is common to still loose at least one of the new fish. If you make it past the 2 week mark and all is looking good you can assume that all will stay well. That seems to be the magic number of days you are a newbie in the fish world.

Answer 2

I had the same problem. Since I do love fish, I purchased a reverse osmosis water system and also filter the water. The fact is, I am now very successful with fish. This is an expensive fix, but I am a stubborn man who intends to keep my fish. You know, I believe having two 52 gallon tanks that are connected with a lighted flow tube causes my wellbeing to be much nicer. My nerves are calm and I rarely get upset.

Answer 3

Well, the people you buy them from should be able to help you. I had that problem once and was advised to add a few drops of chlorine to the water. I recommend you purchase it from the actual shop you bought the fish, and talk to a fish expert first. Also, it is good to allow some of the dirty water to remain in the tank. So when you clean the tank, allow some of the dirty water to stay in the tank..some of the bacteria is needed so that the fish can adjust to the water.

Answer 4

Do you put an anti-chlorine agent into the water and let it sit for 24 hours before you put fish into the water? Have you totally changed the water before you put the new, live fish into it? Do you acclimate your fish to their new water by floating them in their bag and letting the temperature in the bag slowly move to the temperature in the tank? Have you checked your water for alkalinity?
If you have a pet store that sells fish in your area, you might ask them if they also have test kits to check the water.
If you don't totally change the water between dead and live fish, you may also have some kind of fish disease in the water. There are several kinds of water "medications" that will purify the water before you reintroduce fish into the tank.
Finally, have you checked the temperature? Fish are pretty particular about temperatures. Too cold and too warm will both kill them.

Good luck

Answer 5

Can you say what size tank, and how many fish are in it? If you are overcrouding your fishtank, they will die, or fight eachother and die. Take your water to a petstore, and have it tested. If your ammonia, nitrate, or other levles are too high it will kill your fish. Cycle your tank, used aged or conditiond water only. Float your fish in the tank for 15minutes, then add some of your tankwater to their water and float for another 15 minutes, then add them. That will help them get used to the water. Also, check for signs of disease, like glazed eyes, fungus, or fin rot. Your pet store could have some good advice. Here is a website that could help. http://faq.thekrib.com/fish-popular.html

Answer 6

Check the Ph of the water, as well as other chemical tests. Be sure not to remove ALL of the water from the tank when cleaning it out, this will put the fish into shock and they can die from it. Partial, gradual water replacement is recommended.

After checking water Ph, etc.. check to make sure one of your fish doesn't have a disease that can spread to other fish. Sometimes fish will get a slimy coat on them that can spread and kill them too.

Also, if you cant afford jugs of filtered water (.89c/gallon at the grocery store), make sure you add chlorine removal drops to the water.

Answer 7

It relies upon, are your fish chuffed? in the event that they are, it rather is an paintings, a pastime, and a puppy. That replaced right into a exceedingly deep question... P.S.: There are some fish that do like being petted, it rather relies upon on the fish's character (no shaggy dog tale). I even have heard of a team of Dojo Loaches that would desire to enable their proprietor puppy them or perhaps swim to her hand to be petted. Nosoop4u

Answer 8

There are alot of reasons that they could be dying. First off, are you using a water conditioner when you change the water like Tank Buddies? The Chemicals in the water could be killing them off. Secondly, your fish could be diseased...look at them closley to make sure that they don't look like they are sick in any way. Water temperature could be killing them off, too. Make sure that it is the proper temp for the type of fish that you have. Good Luck! Make sure that you are checking your PH balances, too!!!

Answer 9

my fish kept dying because we didn't take good care of the tank, only the tetra lived. I guess they liked that type of water. Did you "cycle" your tank, meaning let the good bacteria grow in the tank for few weeks before putting fish in?

Answer 10

probably because the fish gets stressed at the chemical composition of the tank try not to add new fish for a while and let the tank recycle itself. here is a good site.
-angel