Dying fish?

Question

I have a one gallon fish tank. I have had it for quite sometime and have had other fish live in it for up to 2 months. But for some reason now every fish I buy dies. I feed them properly and make sure to slowly introduce them to the water. What could I be doing wrong that they would die after a few days!?

Answer 1

First of all, what kind of fish are your putting in there? Are you dechlorinating the water before you put them in? 2 months of living in your tank is still a very small amount of time. Fish can live for much longer than that. Before you buy any more fish, do some research on the type of fish you are buying and also some research on the tank set up that is required. About the only thing that lives well in a tank that small without filters is Beta fish. You need to dechlorinate the water and change it at least every week. Feed them a very small amount, only what takes a few minutes to eat. Good luck

Answer 2

You are probably cleaning your tank out too well, and overfeeding your fish.
You tank needs to develop beneficial bacteria that will digest ammonia (fish waste) and turn it into nitrates, then into the more harmless nitrates. When you do a water change (no more then 30% you reduce the levels of nitrates in the tank to make sure they don't reach toxic levels. Never clean out a tank entirely - even if a fish has died in it. When you do a water change, put the fish and most of the water in a bowl or bucket that is used for nothing else, swirl the remaining water around and dump it. There will be some fish poop left, but that will keep the bacteria alive for a while. Add your fish and the water you saved back in nd top off the tank with aged (24 hrs) tap water or bottled spring water at the same temp as the tank water so you don't stress the fish or the bacteria.
You are also probably feeding the fish too much, when you first get the fish, don't feed him for 24 hours and then feed him every other day for a week, it gives the tank's bacteria time to adjust to the new occupant. Reduce the amount you feed in half from now on. It takes a lot to starve a fish, and one in that small a tank doesn't need much, but the small amount of water concentrates the build-up of pollutants from excess feeding.
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Answer 3

One gallon is very small for any fish. There could be any number of things wrong with your tank or water.

If you don't have an air pump, make sure the tank is in a safe place because there shouldn't be a top on it so air can get into the water on a regular basis.

Sorry for stating the obvious, but never clean the tank with any household products. That could set you up for failure over and over.

The tank should be set up for at least 24 hours for such a small tank so the water can go through its cycle of passing oxygen and nitrogent through. Larger tanks should be set up for at least 36 hours before fish are introduced.

Next, make sure that the fish you are getting are apropriate for the type of water you have in the tank and the temperature. Some fish are very sensitive to temperatures that they were not intended for. Tetras tend to be pretty hardy and can accept a slightly wide range, while goldfish are a good choice if the water will be cooler.

Buy a pH tester kit. Pet stores may try to sell you all kinds of weird pH changing products but it is usually to find one that works and stick with one. I strongly reccomend Bullseye 7.0 because it automatically adjusts the pH, whether it was high or low.

Another must is a standard water conditioner. AquaSafe is a good choice for this.

Lastly, make sure the water is clean and change the filter regularly.

Answer 4

Did you drain the tank and clean it out and start it up again? If you did, it may be the nitrogen cycle has to be re-established. Until this is going it is a likely cause of fish deaths. The store where you buy the fish can tell you about this and how to get it started up again.

A one-gallon tank is very small. You should have at least a ten-gallon tank with a water filtration system and an air pump to get oxygen into the water. Water will normally absorb oxyxgen from the air above it but many times the smaller tanks like yours have a surface area that is too small.

Also, you can not use chlorinated tap water, but I presume you know this.

Answer 5

A one gallon tank is too small to keep fish, you cannot keep more than two cold water fish or two tropical fish of not more than 1 cm size each. The yard stick is 75 cm square for every 2.5 cm of body length of fish.

if you still want to continue use some sort of air releasing device made of carborundum (an air stone) attached to a small pump, this increases the rate of gas exchange and consequently the carrying capacity of the tank.

Water drawn from tap should be permitted to age (1 week), some area has hard water in which soap lather cannot be made, if DH is more than 15DH, dilute with rain water. Check the pH of the water it should be between 6.5 6o 7.5 pH.

Over feeding- remember "Hungary Fish - Healthy Fish so only as much food as is consumed in 2 to 3 minutes. Use pellets or flake no raw food/egg yolk.

Answer 6

Have you moved the tank to a new location? More or less sunlight might cause temperature changes in the water that cause the fish to die.

If you haven't moved the tank, you should look to your water. Empty the tank and fill it again with boiling water. Don't clean it with soap or chemicals. Use a new scrub brush that hasn't been exposed to cleaning chemicals to clean out the tank. Throw away your gravel or clean it and all other tank decorations in boiling water.

Dump out all the water you've used to clean and let the tank dry. Fill the tank again and let the water sit for 48 hours to release all the chlorine. Introduce the fish as usual. If you have any parasites or fungus in the tank, this process should take care of them.

In the future, be sure to change your filter every month and let new water sit for 24 hours before adding it to the tank.

Answer 7

If you are buying them at the same place maybe you got some that were sick when purchased. It could be the pH. you need to test your water often. Do you have a heater on your tank.? maybe you are keeping the temp to high . Could be a number of things. Maybe you need to clean your tank more often. you might get your self an algae eater. they help to keep your tank free from algae. you can but medicines that will help if they aren't acting right. Ask someone at the pet department if they can advise you as to what might be the problem. They should be trained for that. Good luck to you. and God Bless.

Answer 8

Those one gallon tanks are really a bad idea, they need to be cleaned to much and fish get stressed is small bowls. Fish die easily from stress! YOu need a filter system, any kind will do. you also need an air pump and a heater unless they are goldfish.

Answer 9

Make sure they look healthy when u get them,like no missin scales or lumps on them. Dont clean tank but once in a while, let the filter do its work til it needs changing. the water needs to be average , not to hot or too cold. good luck on the next ones, i love fish too

Answer 10

Your tank can be dirty. I don't know what kind of fish you have. If they need to have temperature regulatin and don't, you might have to treat them for ICH. It could be a buildup of nitrates or nitrites. Do you test the water? Perhaps one fish in your tank is pulling off sneak attacks at night against the new fish. Please go talk to your pet store.