My grandmother has a 38 gallon tank and has gotten all the things she "needed" from petco. All she has in her

Question

tank are 4 goldfish and 2 bottom feeders. She has some fake and 3 real plants. She only feeds them every other day and we do our 20% water changes and also have gotten those test strips and all of the levels are right where they are supposed to be. But one by one they slowly keep dying. Any advice?

Answer 1

You say that your tests say the water is right where it should be, but you don't mention what that is. I've seen questions on here that have said the same thing, but the test strips are so general that it says a reading of ammonia between 0-10 is okay, which it totally is not. This is the manufacturer's problem, not yours, if this is the case in your case, which I'm not saying it is. I'm just making an observation. You are overcrowded. For the fish you have right now, you really need to have a 60 gallon tank and if you had more goldfish before this, this could be the explanation of why they are dying. But, aside from this, you seem to be doing everything right. But, as others have said, fish from all those big pet store chains have very poor, sickly fish. Don't buy fish from any of these stores. Find a good reputable local fish store that specializes in only fish. And don't replace the fish that have died. You don't have the room. You haven't mentioned if any of the fish display any symptoms of disease such as white spots, white cottony patches, red streaks, red patches, holes, ragged fins, swollen, etc. You may wish to add some aquarium salt to the water. Don't use table salt. Add it according to directions. Don't add it directly to the water. Pre-mix it then add it slowly. Salt de-stresses fish and builds their slime coat. It also will help kill any diseases that may be in the water. Good luck with your grandma's fish and I'm glad that you are so sweet to try to help her!

Answer 2

I would not add any more fish. At this point is sounds like your tank is about as full as it should get. Goldfish are fun to have, but they are also very dirty fish and require a larger tank than most fish. Change the water and vac the gravel once a week. Also, clean your filter media. Make sure you are not overfeeding. You should feed the fish once or twice daily but no more than they will eat in just a minute or two. Any more than that and it can cause problems. You may want to take a sample of your water to an aquarium shop and have it tested just in case there may be something wrong with your test kit.

Chain pet stores like petco and petsmart are not the places to buy any type of pet or fish. You really should find someone who specializes in aquariums. They are more knowledgeable and the fish tend to be better taken care of and healthier.

Good Luck, and I hope this helps

Answer 3

Try Petsmart over Petco. I am trying to find a nice little aquarium shop in Denver, but until I do I am sticking with Petsmart. The one by my house is quite new (only a couple of months old) and is really clean and nice looking. The few employees I talk to there know something about fish and aquariums telling me they have their own home aquariums.

As for the type of fish you have, having read another goldfish question earlier, I think 38 gallons is too small for 4 goldfish to live healthily and thrive.

You also should have cycled the tank before adding any fish. I cycled my tank with no fish for about two weeks before I added my danio starter fish.

After adding my starter fish, I have changed about 10-20% of my water every 2-3 days, checking the water quality every other day. It is still cycling just fine.

Just my two cents.

Answer 4

As much as I like Petco, I have never found an employee who really knows fish. For starters, why Gold fish? Goldfish need cold water and daily feeding of their own kind of food. Are these exotics? or just common? They probably sold her a filter and heater and undergravel and themometer and all the fancy stuff. With goldfish all you need is a bowl and clean water. A 38 gallon tank does not need water changes. That is what the filter is for. You change the filter semi weekly unless you have way too many fish. Once a years you "break down the tank" (I just did mine) and clean everything. I have well water so I don't worry about chlorine, but most city water should be dechlorinated before fish go in. The anti-clor stuff is a couple of bucks a bottle and only takes a few drops per gallon. You only add water as it evaporates.
What kind of bottom feeders did they sell her. Gold fish ARE bottom feeders and don't mix with tropicals.
#1 Only Gold fish in the tank
#2 Room tempeture water that has been dechlorinated
#3 Change filter as needed
#4 Buy from a small pet shop that has really great looking tanks and knowledgable people working there.
#5 Feed only what the fish will eat in 3-5 minutes. You will get used to how much.
If you want to have a tropical tank, don't buy goldfish. Start out with mollies, platys, guppies, neons, etc. They are all live breeders and pretty little fish. Neons swim in schools as do some others, so they are fun to watch.
I keep Betta's, which are beautiful but a lot of work. Because they live in individual bowls without filters they have to be cleaned frequently. I buy reverse osmosis water from the pet shop for about 30 cents a gallon (bring your own clean bottles, I use 3 gallon size) and you don't have to do anything to it. Don't use your house water if it is softened. The salt or potassium from the softner will kill the fish, gold or tropical. Be very careful about cleaning any part of the tank or equipment. Any kind of soap will kill the fish. Use salt to scrub and paper towels to wipe. Keep one plastic bucket that is new and never had any soap or other cleaner in it and use it just for the fish tank. I marked mine with a Sharpie black marker. Cloth towels and rags may have soap traces in them. Rinse your hands and arms with clear water before putting them in the tank water. The water in the tank is like the air we breath. Any pollution can be deadly.
Once you get things right, don't mess with it. Micro-mangaing an aquarium is sure fire trouble. Leave the lights off in the daytime, turn them on at night when you feed the fish and off when you go to bed. Don't over feed. Dechlorinate the (non-softened) house water or buy purified water. Don't change water in a tank with a filter. Do change the filter on a regular basis. Talk to an expert.
There are few things we can put in our homes as relaxing and beautiful a fish tank. And once established, they are easy to maintain. I wish you luck with yours.

Answer 5

i would guess its the nitrogen cycle. happens to all brand new tanks, almost everyone looses the first fish they put in. you can either wait it out for another week or two, or you can find someone with an already established aquarium and take a half gallon of water and put it in your tank. how its works in a nutshell is this: your fish eat, your fish poop. this poop turns into ammonia in the water, which is veery toxic to fishies. this ammonia needs to be eaten by bacteria and turned into nitrites, which are toxic, but much less so, then it turns into nitrates, which are harmless. you said all your levels are normal, so other than that, take a good close look at your fish. look for rotting fins, white eyes, spots of white fluffly growth all over it, etc. if you find any signs like that, go to a pet store, describe exactly what you saw wrong with you fish, and theyll give you the correct antibiotics. after all is said and done, and you cant figure out whats wrong, wait til the fish die, then start all over after cleaning everything. if you do have to start over, get some water from a friends fishtank to get your healthy bacteria growing. :) good luck!

Answer 6

My guess is there could be some type of bacteria on the plants, or the tank itself. I had the same problem before and the only solution was to get a new tank. Only then my fish quit dying.

Answer 7

Fish from chain stores are often unhealthy. Every disease my fish have gotten were from Petco and Petsmart.

Find a small, reputable aquarium store. It must be local and clean, with employees who know what they are talking about.

Answer 8

I have several fish tanks and also different types of fish and I have excellent progress with my fish....I would suggest that u not do the 20% water change, only add the fresh water as the tank needs it....keep your filters clean, and feed the fish everyday at the same time, once daily. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Answer 9

Never but fish from petco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Most of their fish are diseased. My sister had a 50 gallon han bought a pleco from petco hand now only has a third of the fish buy from pesmart instead their fish are so much healthier!

Answer 10

did you let your tank set up for 48 hours before you added fish? how long have you had it? if you change water too often thats not good either