my fish keep dying and I don't have a clue why. Any help out there?

Question

We have a 10 gallon tank. We had 2 red fin sharks that died. They would not eat. We replaced them with 4 Silver dollar, and then one of those died. We had 3 black fin sharks and one of them died. The temp stays between 76-78 degrees. We have put salt in the water, but the water seems to stay cloudy. Help!

everything I have read says that they need salt in their water. I have had the best luck with the black fin sharks.........have had 2 from the start.......lost the 3rd one.

Answer 1

Manda gave you the worst advice possible. Never clean a tank like that.

The white cloudiness sounds like a bacterial bloom which is good. It should clear up in a few days. Leave the tank alone don't touch it for 3 days. No food- nothing. Then do a 25% water change- stir up the gravel to remove some of the large debris from the rocks. Then you can start feeding the fish again.

It sounds like your tank is fairly new and is cycling. Adding fish right now is like signing a death sentence. Do 25% water changes once a week. Add a dechlorinator/ slime coat to reduce the stress on your fish.

Tap water does NOT kill fish. People doing bad water changes kill fish. Tap water is better then purified crap. The minerals in the tap water keep your water chemistry from doing back flips. Fish like stuff in their water. You should be concerned about water temp though.

The best thing to do is to leave it alone. Don't add unnecessary meds/ chemicals to fix something that can be fixed with a weekly 25% water change.

Answer 2

First- You are massively overstocked.

Second- the water is cloudy because you are overstocked and the cloudyness is nitrifying bacteria establishing itself.

Third- Black fin sharks aka colombian sharks ARE BRACKISH fish. They need more salt in the water then what the others can handle. They also grow to be 12 inches long.

Silver dollars DO NOT tolerate salt. They are fish from soft acidic waters from south america and they get 8 inches. They are also vegetarians while the other fish are carnivores.

Red fin sharks DO NOT TOLERATE THEIR OWN KIND. One becomes dominant and kills the others. THey also are very territorial unless the tank is massive, wich a 10 gallon is far from massive infact its horrendously small.


Your main problem is your experienceing an ammonia spike and you need to do an IMMEDIATE 30-40 percent waterchange to alleviate the stress on the remaining fish. Thoroughly vacume the gravel but make sure not to let the water level get below 50 percent. Make sure that the new water is dechlorinated and is the same temp as the water that is in the tank.

Then you need to either get seperate tanks or find the fish new homes and get fish that are better suited to that tiny tank.

Answer 3

Okay you have the right temp, so that is good. However, do not add salt. They are not salt water fish. The only things you should be adding are chemicals to remove the chlorine from water and ammonia remover as well. It sounds like you are having problems cycling your tank and getting the right balance of beneficial bacteria. You need to purchase some aqua cycle at your local pet store, someone there should be able to recommend a brand they carry. Once you do that routine, give it a couple of weeks and everything should clear up and calm down in the tank.

Answer 4

There could be so many reasons for your fish problems. It could be nitrites or nitrates present in your water, you could have an alkalinity problem, you could have high ammonia, or didnt use a de-chlorinator in your water before adding your fish.

I know it can sound complicated, but there is generally a fix that isnt too hard. Take a small water sample to your nearest Petco & they will test it for free. Based on the results, they should be able to help you fix the issues.

If you have a tester kit, you can email me the results & I can help you correct your water problems.

Good luck!

ps--if you are adding salt, make sure its freshwater salt! Marine salt will kill your freshwater fish & table salt contains iodine which will kill every single fish. You are right these these fish are brackish fish & do well with a little salt, but it should be about a tablespoon for every 5 gallons.

Answer 5

Do you let the water sit out in an open container for over 24 hours? Do you use distilled water? (don't) If these are your problems then stop what you are doing and take time. Don't use any chemicals to clear the water and then put your fish into them it is sudden death. What type fish are you trying to keep?

Answer 6

Are you using a dechlorinator when you put water in the tank? Tap water is lethal to fish. Other than that... there's not nearly enough info in your question to make decent guesses. Have you tested your water for pH, nitrates/nitrites, etc? What is your temp? Size of tank, type & size of fish, etc.

Answer 7

Fresh Water, Salt Water? Are you using tap water for the tank or distilled water? Is it too cold, hot?

Anyway, you should probably go into further detail, but do not use tap water in any case because of the chemicals in it. The flouride and chlorine in tap water are enough to kill your fish.

Answer 8

You may have a disease in the tank. Try cleaning the tank really good. and change the water. Put fish in something with the same water. then dump out the tank and fill it up when the same temperature water.

Answer 9

You didn't indicate much about type of fish, type of tank, filtered or unfiltered, type of water. Go to your local pet store and see if they can answer your questions and ask a few of their own. It could be something as simple as water temperature or type of water, or a filter.

Answer 10

Take some water out of your tank and take to pet store and have them test it. Might be something in there killing your fish.