Please help!!! Dying fish?

Question

My husband was given a fish tank, when he told a colleague, we are going to get fish for the children. We take good care of them, keep them clean, etc. We have now lost 9 fish in 14 months, one of them is sick again, she is a fighter, i have revived her twice now, with anti bacterial solution, but she has been sick for 2 days, on her back, gasping, but still here. Our other litle fella, was alive and boisterous this morning, i have just found him dead. This really upsets me, and the children,. I think it is the second hand tank, something harboured in there, could i be right? Our fish are very well looked after, but just keep dying on us. Symptons....upside down, gasping, rapid movements, float to the bottom of the tank, repeats, then dies, please help me here, what is wrong with them?

Answer 1

may be they are constipated we had the same problem we were advised to try bood worms they seemed to work you need to use a satchet once a week try it i hope this helps you merry exmas

Answer 2

First I ask you this question.How many children have you and how young are they.Young children have a tendency to mimic
adult behavior good or bad.At first if you have ruled out most
other comprehensible possibilities.I might look there ,even if
it is denieable .Is it possible your well intended imaginative
children could be deciding the fish are hungry?Cold ? whatever
and may reply when questioned."I didn;t touch it" (it's possible)
Then ask yourself are my guilty children unintentionally involved?
Is the fish exposed to certain chemicals or dust in the room?
Can the fish have a parasitic infestation? Could the fish have been overly interbred by greedy opportunists?.(this can cause those symptoms."cloned fish"A sever parasitic infestation can also.There is no such thing in a tank of five or ten fish to have
"one sick fish".Unless it's weak and downed from oppression.
That actually occurs also with species of fish (cannabolism).
I do know there is no such thing as "one sick fish" If that fish
has been in the aquarium along with the others most the
time .They have most likely contracted whatever it is also
and are not responding the same.Do you live in an area where
water quality is bad?That's pretty far fetched but possible.
Some people have "well water" fish may not do well.
Certain fish species (tropical) can be very,very expensive.and require very strict care and are difficult to care for, for the most dedicated "fish"enthusiasts. You never mentioned what kind of fish they are..Well I can't write a book here! ..lol So I will
keep it short as possible and indepth.Your children will learn a true and rewarding life experience by your family exposing them to the care of fish.Fish are very majestic and a joy to watch.
As long as your "children" are exposed to caring and interest in
trying to make the fish better .They will be fine! Don't worry.
So that's why I imagine the former as a possibility...

Answer 3

Sorry to hear about your fish :( It probably isn't the fish tank - although it could be.

What size tank is it, and what fish do you have? One of the major causes of fish deaths is poor water quality. The 1 inch per gallon rule is bogus. Fish need a certain amount of swimming room to be comfortable, and a certain amount of water to cope with the amount of waste they produce. Research each of your fish to see what their requirements are, or post here, or contact me and I'll be happy to help.

Your tank also needs adequate filtration (a hang off the back filter is best - the kind with the waterfall) to convert the toxic ammonia into less toxic nitrites.

It sounds to me like ammonia poising based on the symptoms you described. To find out for sure, invest in a 30$ master testing kit. You will be able to find out if your ammonia or nitrite levels are too high (anything above 0 is too high).

If this is the case, you will have to increase your cleaning schedule. Replace 20% of the water every other day until the ammonia goes down. Once its at 0, 30% weekly water changes are sufficient. You can also look into increases your filtration. And lastly, make sure that your tank is not overstocked. For example, a goldfish needs 20 gallons of water to itself, to not cause ammonia poisoning. Also, make sure you aren't overfeeding. Feed only what your fish can eat in 1 minute, once or twice a day.

If that's not the case, consider your water source. Are you using tap water? Contact your local water supply; they may be able to give you some insight. Be sure that you are using a proper water conditioner to eliminate chlorine and chlromines and heavy metals.

Answer 4

when you setup the tank make sure to just use hot water no dish soap or anything like that, when you clean the tank after the fish are in there make sure you only get rid of half the water the rest is left to keep the ph levels in check. Make sure that all your fish are compatible with eachother some fish have bacteria on them that is harmful to other fish. keep the temp at like 76 degrees and you should be good. try to use some water treatment and then get the sea salt to help with the bacteria.

Answer 5

four gallon of water per inch of fish is the rule for setting up a tank this allows space for them to find there own territory and room to grow also en ought oxygen as they ex hail carbon witch stays in the water for along time also have an under gravel filter this makes friendly bacteria to digest waste you should start with a twenty gallon tank if you want to keep fish don't be fobbed off with cheep novelty tanks you should have a heater this keeps the water constant tropicals like 80 to 83 degrees & gold fish dont mind

Answer 6

How old are your children? Do they put their hands into the water? Do they add tap water to the tank? Are your filters all working well? Do you treat the water that you use to refill the tank? What do you use to clean the tank? How many fish do you have in the tank at a time and how big is your tank? Do you have aeration (the thing that bubbles in the water to put oxygen into it)?

Answer 7

What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate readings? What is your water change schedule? These are very important in diagnosing what is wrong. Also need to know what kinds and how many fish. Size of tank and what filter? Also, how was the tank cycled?

It sounds to me like poor water quality, but I can't be sure until you answer these questions.

Answer 8

what are the water stats? How high are the ammonia and nitrate levels? How big is the tank and how many fish are in it? What level of filtration and aeration do you have and what is the temperature? How often do you do partial water changes and when was the filter last cleaned out? What filter do you have and is it the correct size for the size of tank?

Without this info, nobody will be able to give you and answer.

Answer 9

have you got a filter in the tank, my fish always keep healthy with a filter, this cleans the tank and also puts air bubbles into the tank, has soon has my filter needs cleaning it doesnt work has well and i have noticed my fish gasp for air at the surface, i clean my filter and hey presto my fish happily swim around. you will need the correct size filter to the size of your tank. fluval is a good make.

Answer 10

sounds like poor water quality or too small a tank for the ammount of fish.

i can help more if you tell me what fish you have in the tank, the tank size and what kind of filter and heater you are using.

also how often and how much water do you change?

Answer 11

possibly may be stress. if their is a lack of plants to hide in etc the fish may be stressed, make sure there are lots of plans and it may be an idea to get the water tested, most aquatics will do this for free or at least a small price-50p. hope that helped.