fish help again:(?

Question

my fish is laying on bottom on its side i htink it is dead, i just got tank yesterday so hard time adjusting i dont know but my water looks kinda dusty i put in gravel 20 minutes before i put fish in there, i also have this liquid i ca nput in there called bio coat is says it reliefs stress, can i put it in while fish are in there? if u know a lot about fish please contact me on yim

Answer 1

It may be dead. This happens in new tanks if you do not properly cycle.

In the wild, and in established tanks, colonies of nitrifying bacteria that break down the toxic ammonia produced by fish into less toxic nitrates. In a new tank, these bacterial colonies do not exist. Even if you let the tank just run for a few days, these bacterial colonies do not develop. And without them, your fish will suffer from ammonia burn and ammonia poisoning. It kills fish.
You need to introduce the bacteria into your tank. Do you have access to an established fishtank? Because the bacteria reside in the gravel and in the filter sponge, so you could take some from an estalished tank to seed your tank.
Otherwise, try buying some Bio-Spira. It's the live bacteria, it goes right in your tank.

If you cannot do either of those, you will have to cycle the long way. You need to 'feed' the tank a continuous source of ammonia, such as putting some fish food in the tank a couple times a week. It takes 2-6 weeks, but eventually the bacteria will develop enough to support the ammonia produced by fish.

The worst method is using a fish to cycle. Your fish produces ammonia and eventually (2-6 weeks), bacteria will develop enough to break it down into nitrates. But until then, your fish is suffering from ammonia burn. Fish die from it, and frankly, it borders on animal cruelty.

Since your tank is only 12 gals, you should return the other angelfish to the fish store, and try to get some bio-spira. If you MUST cycle with a fish, use something more hardy like a couple danios; angelfish are delicate.

Good luck with your fishies!

Feel free to use bio coat - it helps the fish develop their mucusy protective coat. However, it will not protect against ammonia. It's like a bandaid - it'll help if you have a small scrape, but it won't help you if you're about to dunked in battery acid.

Answer 2

i know alot about fish and i can say your fish will die because you have to let the tank cycle for atleast 72 hrs. make sure you wash any gravel . that could be why tank is cloudy. by letting thetank cycle alows the ph and nitrates come down safely. always with new tank cycle ist. best of luck! ..julie

Answer 3

Check the heater, if you don't have one please buy one. The fish gets to slow and totally halt and die if water got coold, so a heater is the first step to know that you are having the basic good environment.