Why every time I clean my fish tank and when I put the fish back in the next day they die?

Answer 1

This happened to me on my very first few weeks of this hobby. Don't feel bad ! After 10 years and many, many thousands of dollars, my fishes have never thanked me for living a healthy and glorious life. Anyway, be careful of the municipal water, they are full of chlorine, especially during the weekend. Get rid of the chlorine by either aerating it for a few hours, even better, overnight, or with tap water conditioner and stress coat. You can find those products here: http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/F66HX/PgNo/1/Class/Aquarium+Tap+Water+Conditioners+Chlorine+Remover/Shopay00.aspx

Never change all of the water. The most you should ever do is 50%, if you really lazy. A 20% water change is rec. for semi-lazy. A 10% water change is for fish lovers and pros.

Read about the beneficial bacteria and ammonia and bio-filters. They're complicated and take a long time to explain all of it. By reading up on them, you will have a better idea of all the answers here. You need to if you are beginner !

You can find all the info. and ask the experts on fish keeping at: thatfishplace.com Where you can buy everything for your little friends.

Good luck

Answer 2

Ok, first of all, if you are cleaning a fish TANK, then why are you even taking the fish out....that is very bad, it adds WAY too much stress, which alone can kill your fish. Another thing, you are taking out WAY too much water...you should be using a siffon or a python (hooks onto taps directly) to clean your tank, and you should only be taking out 10-15 % of the water (once a week). Any more and you'll be stripping your tank of the good bacteria the fish need to live. TO clean a tank properly, then you need to...
take out all the ornaments
use the siffon or python and remove the crap from the bottom of the tank
DO NOT USE SOAP AT ANY TIME!!!!!!
Then you put the ornaments back in
Add DECHLORINATOR
then use the python to add that water back in (try to get the same temperature)

If you do these simple steps every week...or even every other week if your lazy, then your fish will stop dying. As for eveyone else's advice....their fish may be alive, but that doesnt mean that they are happy or comfortable. Please take my advice....DO IT FOR THE FISHIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 3

FIRST OFF, u cannot use soap or detergent to clean a fish tank, you have to clean it with salt. Second; You need to use water that has NO chlorine, so if you're using tap water, you have to let it sit for at least 24 hrs. before putting your fish in it. And third, the water should be room temp, not too cold or hot. If you are introducing new fish from a store into ur tank, make sure to float the plastic bag in the tank for a few hrs until the temperature is the same. Then slowly open the bag and let the fish & water gently float into the tank. I've raised many tropical fish without any problems following these simple rules. Hope it helps you.

Answer 4

As stated above, don't replace more than half the water at a time. You may need to treat the water if you get it from a city tap. Get a vacuum siphon designed for cleaning the sand and make use of it.

After treatment of the replaced water if necessary, be sure to oxygenate it and filter the water until it's pretty clear and be sure the temperature is correct then put the fish back.

If you have a holding or breeding tank, you can keep then in there for a couple of days.

A friend of mine who is on a well like I am was putting fis into the tank and watching them die as a regular thing because he didn't realize that the well water had no oxygen dissolved in it.

Do not use detergent or soap unless you have had disease problems.

Answer 5

If you need to remove the fish to clean the tank all the time then you aren't maintaining your tank properly.

A properly maintained tank doesn't need to have the fish removed - it involves partial water changes (typically 25-30% every couple of weeks), vacuuming of gravel if used (typically people vacuum a portion of the substrate while doing a water change) and scraping of surfaces. The filter itself, where most of the healthy bacteria is, should never be cleaned all at once - there should always be some old media in it.

And, of course, tap water should be dechlorinated. Temperature changes, unless super extreme, won't kill fish, but it can make them ill.

Answer 6

follw the 3/4 water change rule. fish require some bacteria in the water and when you clean it, they don't have enough...so leave 1/4 of the old water, be careful that the water temp is the same as the fish are currently swimming in, ie. if they are in a small bowl of water, check temp in there and get it as close as you can...you can use ice cubes or hot water, as needed to get the right temp, but if you can't get it close, float the fish in a plastic bag of old water on top of the tank so they can get acclimated to the new temp, just like you should have done when you brought them home. be sure to use de-clorinater for the water....do not overfeed, fish should eat whatever you put in within 2-3 mins, if not, the food drops and makes the tank dirty....less cleaning equals better success...good luck

Answer 7

Fish don't like changes in water temperature and they can't live in chlorinated tap water. Next time let the new water sit in a container for a day for the chlorine to evaporate and only change about a third of the water each week.

Answer 8

It might be the chemicals in the water. If you live in the US, the US oftentimes puts chlorine and other chemicals in the water to make it safe for drinking but it is harmful to fish. Aquarium shops and fish stores have chemicals that are safe for the fish to put in the water to get rid of the harmful chemicals.

Answer 9

Try using stale water after cleaning your fish tank. Because fishes like to live in stale water, maybe your fish died because there were to many chemicals in the water

Answer 10

I think you need to make sure that the temperature is maintained before putting the fish back in. Also, use mineral water, not purified, to fill up your aquarium, or use aqua safe first. This eliminates the chlorine in tap water, which can kill fish.