i have a 65 gallon fish tank, i cleanded it real good with water and all the stuff that went in it,and i let?

Question

it sit over night, i bought 24 fish 1 month ago i let them float for 20 mins. now i have 1 fish . they are all gold fish, what could be wrong? thanks!

fresh water tank, i have well water dont need chemicals, the one fish is doing fine.

Answer 1

To start with letting them sit for 20 mins. was fine but you need to add your fish tank water to the bag of fish little by little so that the fish will adapt to your water compared to the pet stores water. Then when you put them into your tank it will not be a shock to them and kill them. Some fish will take it better than others.
Then again you might have a bully in the tank and little by little he/she is picking at them till they die. Hope this helps. Good Luck !!!!!

Answer 2

It sounds like everyone is right about the tank not being cycled. When you take it apart and clean it thoroughly, you wash away all the beneficial bacteria that live on fish poop and uneaten food. These bacteria eat the fish poo and uneaten food and keep your aquarium healthy. An aquarium that has a robust population of bacteria is considered a 'cycled' tank.

There is a product out there---I think its called 'Stress-zyme'. It's a liquid that contains millions and millions of bacteria. I use that stuff pretty liberally when I set up a new aquarium. And until you get your tank cycled--add fish slowly.

Once you get your aquarium cycled and settled in it should handle new arrivals quite well. You'll be able to tell the general health of your aquarium by the way it smells. When its a new aquarium that hasn't been cycled yet the water smells just like water---tap water.

Gradually, the water will lose the 'tap' smell and get a softer odor to it. It's a vaguely fishy odor---but not unpleasant. The actual texture of the water is softer as well. It's hard to describe, but once you see and feel it you'll know what I'm talking about.

And anytime the water smells either bad or like a minnow tank at a bait shop you've got problems.

I do a half water change every couple of weeks or so. If the filters are fairly clean and the tank smells good I'll put if off for a week. I smell the water every day when I feed my fish--I try to keep on top of it. It's much easier to prevent problems in an aquarium than fix problems!

Best of luck to you!

Answer 3

There could be alot of things wrong. You might have a big fish in the tank that ate all the goldfish. Just be happy that you used probably the most inexpensive fish you can find. What exactly did you use to clean the tank? What was the tank used for before you used it for the fish? Did you dechlorinate the water you put in it? Did the goldfish have any diseases? If I were you, I would take out the 1 remaining goldfish, put him in a temporary bowl, empty the 65 gallon tank completely (gravel and all), and start over again. Find out what the tank was previously used for. If the previous owner kept iguanas in it and used Windex to clean the inside, that would definitely kill your fish. After making sure that the tank is suitable, re-clean it with water only. Rinse the gravel thoroughly, and then refill with tap water. Depending on where you live determines the quality of your tapwater. You can let the water sit for 24 hours and that should dechlorinate it but I recommend get the dechlorination drops at any petstore. Then add the fish. Flowing goldfish for 20 minutes should be fine but if you want to make sure that that wasn't the probablem, then try floating them for 45 minutes, adding about 1/2 cup of tank water to their bag every 5 minutes to get them acclimated. Good Luck

Answer 4

Because you didn't cycle your tank, though goldfish are often used for that. Did you do any water changes during that time? I'm guessing while your tank was cycling, the ammonia & nitrites got way too high even for a goldfish to handle. And, 24 goldfish is way too many for even a 65 gallon tank. Think it's recommended at least 20 gallons for 1 goldfish. Here's a couple links, do a search for cycling a fish tank, and caring for a fish tank. Recommended to do weekly water changes of about 20-25%. Also, that's good to float the bag for at least a 1/2 hour, but you also need to add some of your tank water slowly over that time into the bag so the fish can adjust to the ph as well as the temperature.

http://search.about.com/fullsearch.htm?terms=caring%20for%20a%20fish%20tank

http://www.aquariacentral.com/

http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/home.php

Answer 5

What did you use to clean the tank? If you used any cleaners and left their residue on the tank of the things that went into it that could have killed the fish. Your goldfish may have been more hearty or just lucky.

How is your pump and your aerator working? If don't have one then even your goldfish isn't going to live for long. If you have one then you need to make sure that you cleaned it as well, including the entire system.

Here are a few sites that might help with your fish tank:
http://www.masla.com/
http://www.hallman.org/plant.html
http://naturalaquariums.com/
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/Aquarium/Aquarium.html
http://www.aquariumfish.net/

I hope this helps.

I just read your additional details; if you are using well water then it could be full of minerals and salts harmful to your fish. Do you filter it in any way? I know it sounds expensive, but maybe you should buy some of those 1 gallon jugs of bottled water and make sure to warm it up to the proper temperature before you add it. You also need to check the Ph level to see that it is in the proper range.

Answer 6

You did not cycle your tank. Go to www.aquariumfish.com and find their link to fishless cylcling. Your fish all died due to ammonia and/or nitrite poisening because there was not enough beneficial bacteria for that many fish. Also, 24 is way too many goldfish for a 65 gallon tank. Please do some research before starting over.

Answer 7

LAst time I went to the petstore, they asked me a bunch of questions about my tank before selling me the fish. They said that it's best to leave 25% of the water in the aquarium when you're cleaning. It has something to do with good bacteria and the balance. If you do have to empty the whole thing (I had to empty all of mine to move it), then they said to fill it up, run the filter and wait a week to put fish in. And even then she recommended only starting with one or two fish at a time, until I know if they live.

Answer 8

you added to many fish, first of all goldfish are supposed to have 10 gal per fish and also you should only add 3-4 fish at a time to keep your ph levels normal

Answer 9

let the fish sit in your bag 4 longer, open it after an hour or so and let a bit of water in and contine dueing so over a period of time so the fish does not get shocked due 2 the changes of water

Answer 10

Remember goldfish are cold water fish the water should be room temperature for them. Could be that either the water was too warm or too cold I am betting on the too warm. Also when you get fish look at their fins don't get one that has anything less than perfect fins. Most times messed up fins are a sign of an illness.watch the eyes too. Don't settle for anything less than a perfect fish.