What now?!?!?!?

Question

Ok, so 1 and a half weeks ago I started a 5 gallon aquarium with 8 fish (stupid wal-mart giving me bad advice) Only one fish died, but I took the 5 gallon back and got a 10 gallon 1.5 days later. I gave one fish to a friend and had 6 fish left in my new 10 gallon (kept the same filter cartridge and gravel and water, and added about 5 more gallons.) The fish did great for a week, no problems at all. I then added two new fish two serpae tetras which Wal-mart told me would be compatable with my current fish. well...these fish have murder my zebra danio and have removed the majority of the tails off of my neons. They have even injured each other. The only fish unscathed is a glowlight tetra. Wal-mart will take back the dead one, the 4 injured neons, and the two evil fish. However, I don't know if I should make them take theglowlight as well (he is a schooling fish and will be all alone) also, I don't know if I should add more fish or how long I should wait...it's been10 days total

I have not been able to check the water (ammonia, ph, etc) but I have done a 25% water change at 7 days and I keep the temp at 75-80 degrees. the colors are vibrant and no gasping or any unhealthy behavior. Is 10 days long enough to add fish If I do take them back, should I just exchange them for others or whatnot? Also how many to add at a time and how long between adding new fish?

Well, considering I am a beginner with fish, I want to buy fish from the walmart for two reasons. One, if the fish die, I have 90 days to get the hang of it (90 day return policy) and another reason is because they are the only people in town to sell red zebra danios which are amazing fish. The guy supposedly had a lot of experience with fish and acted like he knew about them, unlike the first lady I talked to.

Answer 1

YIKES

Well it sounds as if you know how to care for them,, tank , water etc.. does nto sound like too many fish in tank either just a bad mix.. and once a fish is hurt then even docile ones may attack it

As far as you one healthy fish.. welll

Your right he is a schooling fish
For them temp should be 72-77 and no smaller than a 10 gallon tank
PH 5.5 -7. KH 4-8

Those conditions are not always favorable for all other tropicals..

Here is a good chart to see what is really compatible...
I suggest printing it ,,,easier to see

http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/fwcompatibility_chart.cfm

Also Walmart... not the teh best informed pet people! Cheap yes but get your info from a more reliable source.
Good Luck

Wismom

Answer 2

You need to be sure you're adding dechlorinater to the water. If you don't, your fish will die. Your other option is to use distilled water instead of tap, but with a tank the size of yours, it is cheaper just to by the dechlorinater.

You can add fish at any time, as long as you do it safely: that is, taking the bag they come in, opening the top, and letting the bag float in the water for awhile. That way, the fish you already have will get used to the new ones quicker, and the water in the bag will slowly turn into the temperature of the tank. (It is best to do this for about 30 minutes.) Then put a little bit of tank water into the bag with the fish. Wait about another 15 minutes. Then, you can add the fish to the water.

Also, don't get your fish from WalMart. They don't know what they're talking about. Go to a pet or fish store. Fish stores are best, of course, but they are few and far between.

Answer 3

Adding fish can be tricky. And I wouldn't trust someone that works at WalMart to tell me which fish get along with others. I would go to the library and read up on the different ones and find pictures of the ones you think are cool looking. Then see if they get along well with other fish. Your schooling fish will be okay alone for a bit. I would check the WalMart tank late in the evening and see how many dead fish are in the tanks and see if they do a good job of taking care of them before I would replace with fish from them.

Answer 4

STOP going to Walmart. They hire nincompoops that have no Idea what area of the store they will be working in and no clue what to tell people. Go to a reputable pet store that sell fish. Even if they have new people who work there some one with knowledge will most likely be there too.
OK and I don't mean to knock people who work at Walmart as all stupid. But 99% of them are clueless as to the department they work in.
Jeez, I wrote this before I read the other answers. See!! don't go to Walmart. A couple of the smaller stores I go to get my fish are able to special order different fishes at no extra cost. They just order a bunch of them and they sell what I don't buy.

Answer 5

I'd take your time, find a good forum, ask experienced people and do a lot of reading up.

For one, when you first set up an aquarium, it takes 4-6 weeks for your biofilter bacteria to get up to speed to be able to keep the water from getting toxic. It's a good idea to stock lightly with hardy fish if you cycle with fish.

Here's a good article on what happens the first month or so in a new tank and how to keep your water from getting toxic.
http://thegab.org/Articles/WaterQualityCycling.html

Answer 6

Sorry about your fish.My best advice is to get the aquarium established and then add the fish and only from a quality pet retailer. When we had fish they lived for years--but were a pain to keep up.Good Luck

Answer 7

i used to work at wal mart and just because someone works in a department doesnt mean they know anything about it you dont have too you are just supposed to know were the stuff is on the shelf so you should go to a local pet store or petsmart to ask about getting fish and how to take care of them b4 you buy them

Answer 8

i think you should get more fish that are exactly like the one you got. so u know that they will get along. (hopefully)