Fish having problems!?

Question

I have got some neons and widow teras. On Sunday I bought some mollys. I bought 6 from Pets at Home. I also bought some ornaments and plants. On the way home one of this fish died on this morning another was dead in the tank but I noticed since I put the ornaments and plants in and the fish the tank has gone cloudy. I thought it was because the stones at the bottom had moved but its not settling. I have now just took about 60% of the water out and replaced it but its exactly the same.

Now one of the neons is staying very close to the top of the water and doesnt look well at all. The ph and temp and evrything was corerect. Can anyone help?

the tank was cycled and has been set up for about 4 years as I inherited them from someone. The widows and nens were already in there. The tank is 3ft. I was advised by pets at home that the new fish were fine to straight in. It seems strange that the 2 fish that died were both from pets at home

Answer 1

First off four years is a long time for small fish. You may be looking at old age taking toll with the fish you already owned.

If one of the new fish died on the way home why did you put any of them in the tank? It is never a good sign if one of them dies on the way home.

sorry didn't mean to sound so snarky. But a little common sense can save a lot of heartache.

You did rinse your new decoration didn't you? They picked up all kinds of goo during shipping and by being handled by different people at the store. Adding a lot of new decorations, or even just one large one can upset the balance of the biological filter. It just needs a little time to reestablish itself.

Answer 2

The petstore you got them from may not be a good one. The fish were probably ill, so you should look into it more and buy medication ASAP. Some fish too, are tougher than others. They may have died from over-stress. Before you put aqua. plants in a tank you should always! always! always! rinse them off. That may be part of the water prob. Another problem may be you have too many fish. Fishtanks go through a natural cycle, called the nitrogen cycle. During this time the water might seem cloudy, and it may last days to 2weeks, but its all normal. It will happen in all aquariums, even the best.

Good luck with the fish!

Answer 3

You didn't specify what size tank you have or whether you cycled it, but I suspect that you got too many fish, too quickly, and without cycling the tank
Cloudiness is caused by a bacterial bloom. In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. Because you didn't cycle first, your fish are now the source of ammonia and the bacterial populations are responding and multiplying. It will be a few days before the cloudiness goes down - but the cloudiness won't harm your fish, it's the ammonia you have to worry about. Do small, 10-15% daily water changes to dillute the ammonia, and just give it time. It will even out within the next month or so, although you may lose a few more fish in the process.

Answer 4

Get an air stone or air pump to aireate the water.
Over crowding can cause fish death, when you put new fish in, add a cpl of drops of stress coat and place the bags in the tank to get the water temperature even and reduce the shock - also have no lights on.
When you do a water change use something like aquasafe and easy balance or something to remove the chlorine in the tap water.
Rinse your new fish tank furniture before putting it into the tank if it's not plasic i always soak it in a bucket of used fish water first too...

A couple of drops of accu clear will sort out the cloudy water - you can buy it in the pet shops it's really good after doing a big water change at settling cloudy water.

My pets at home is brilliant but it depends on the staff and there ability to look after and source the fish.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Hi there! This happened to me, bought six fish from pets at home, the tank had been set up for seven days as i was told i had to do this before i put the fish in. For two days they were fine, then the next day one died, same again the day after and so on... no from six fish i have two!! I think it is the store! i will be going getting my money back for sure!!! They've sold us dodgy fish!

Answer 6

i really dont think that the ornament and plants are what caused your tank to be cloudy because when starting tanks 2-3 days after you've added the water it looks cloudy. this will go away( it helps if you have a filter) if a fish died befor u got it home then it chould be that the pet shop u bought ur fish from wasn't takin gud care of them. does ur tank have some source of oxygen?
when fish dont get enough oxygen the tend to stay at the top of the tank gaping for air... if u dont have an air pump get one. live plants also help to increass the amount of oxygen and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in ur tank.

Answer 7

If this is a new tank it is obviously not cycled. You need to learn about that before you add more chemicals, And definitely before you add more fish. The cloudiness is probably due to a bacteria bloom and while it is ugly it probably won't harm the fish. When every thing else balances out the bloom will go away. Until then do 10% water changes every day. Good luck. -----PeeTee

Answer 8

some pet stores just have junkey fish. iv had 1 fish that died on the way home. never go back there again. Did you rinse the gravel and ornaments in tap water before putting them in the tank?

Answer 9

my local pets at home gives you a 7 day guarantee if the fish died in the bag you've been sold dodgy fish if i was you I'd take them back and demand your money back

take a water sample with you from your tank and if your water quality is fine there is nothing they can say. then try and find a local fish dealer who's first priority is the fish not the cash.

good luck

Answer 10

Maybe the fish had not been quarantine long enough when Pets at Home had them, i would complain and ask for your money back. Maybe they were not healthy fish they don't just die like that. I buy all my fish from an aquatic store and any fish that i have lost within one week they always replace.