My fish keep dieing?

Question

i've got a tropical fish tank i've had it for a while (4 months) when we first baught the tank we did everything nessesery, we added cycle and some stuff to take clourine and bleaches out of the water before adding the fist, then we had the water tested and all was fine, recently alot of fish have been dieing, there scales go dull and they genraly don't look to healthy, any ideas what this could be?

the oxygen pump is working fine, we've done plenty of water changes, there is no signs of any thing wrong it effects one fish at a time, they are all eating well.

the tempreture is about 76-77, the tank is 4 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet so it's quite large, we don't have that many fish we have about 22 fish wich are all small. guppie size and a bit bigger.

our tank can hold around 50 small fish it said in the brocure, they have all lived together happily untill now, all the fish are compatable together, there is no other signs of illness.

Answer 1

I agree with some advice and disagree with others.

Your tank has been up and running for 4 months. Enough time to cycle. (Please do not use Cycle in your tank. Honestly there are no test results to prove it even works. Also, any bacteria that is in this product dies off within the first two weeks on the shelf)

Are you using a good water conditioner? What other chemicals are you using? As was stated, you NEED to test your water quality. It could be as simple as your PH is way too low for your fish type.

Since PH isn't something that can be seen, it must be tested. Also, where are you buying your fish from? Walmart does not have the reputation of having hearty fish. Try buying from another store once you've had your water tested.

Also, you state you have an Oxygen pump, do you mean an air stone? Airstones and bubblers do NOTHING for replacing much needed Dissolved Oxygen into your tank. This is what fish breath. With that many fish (doesn't matter the size) Dissolved Oxygen is needed. Try dropping the water level of your tank about a 1/2 inch and allow your filter to dump water into the tank. This will add your Dissolved oxygen, not air stones.

Testing your water once and hoping it will remain in the safe levels just won't do it. If you are having a problem, you need to test it every day and compair the readings since they could change on a dime. Get a test strip kit. Thre are many out there be sure it tests for Nitrates nitrites PH hardness and ammonia. Keep a record of when you test and what the readings are.

Also, you say the tank is quite large 4x2x2 do you not know the gallons? How do you know how much dechlor to add to the tank? For parasites or any other purpose?

If you are still having issues, feel free to email or im me and I will try to help you further.

Answer 2

Are the fish that are living together compatible. They might get stressed if not. Do they have a big enough tank for their size?( look in a reputable book). Is you tank aerated with a pump? Do you have enough living plants (which keep the water to the correct water PH balance and oxygenated). Do all the fish need to live in a warm environment and do you have a heater at the correct temperature. Some tropical fish are from bad stock and don't live too long. Are the fish varied enough to live in a balanced enviornment like bottom feeders, glass cleaners, ones that don't attack others etc. ?The list can go on and on.
When the balance is right fish they can live 2 - 5 years happily together but it generally takes a lot of working out.

Answer 3

I'll agree with Paige (other than the part about the 1" of fish per gallon, which ISN'T a good rule and should only apply to guppy-sized fish!).

In your question and additions, you don't mention any water testing. You need to find out you pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels. "Cycle" is not the best product to cycle your tank - if it's been sitting in the store a while, it can lose it's effectiveness. Same with any "shelf" product. Refrigerated products are better, but even these don't last indefinitely. Check your water chemistry, do water changes (around 20% of the tank volume) when needed, and don't add any more fish till you reach ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0, and begin seeing nitrates in the tank.

If you have a test kit (or get you water tested at a pet store) and this doesn't seem to be the problem, post your results or another question and we'll go from there.

Answer 4

Look up fish health on the web,You will find alot of possibilities to your question.One thing you should have probably done is left your tank once filled with everything etc for two weeks to cycle and age abit as they could have well died from a illness called new tank syndrome.This happens in nearly every new tank where fish have been added too soon.There are alot of tropical fish forums on the web too which can be helpful as you can chat and learn about things you are wanting to know in regards to any fish,tank problems etc.When i first started out with fish i had the same sort of problem but then soon after they were living longer as i gained more experience.Fish do die quite often so do not feel upset.The more experience you get the better it gets and no one can say a fish is the easiest of pets to look after as i didnt think it was so i gave up my tank eventually.
Good luck and hope this as been of some help.

Answer 5

Do you have an oxygen pump in the tank? Is it working well? Is the temperature correct?

Are the fish interested in the food you are giving them? If so then that is at least good.

Is the tank getting full of algae? Are there any other problems with the fish - e.g white spots or other signs?

Can you go back to the shop where you got the fish and ask their advice? If you can tell them which type of fish you bought they can possibly help you. They may even do a home visit to check for you if you ask them nicely. If they can't help you then do not go back to them to buy fish. Any good shop will make sure that people know how to help the fish.

If they try to sell you more fish say you can't buy any more until you are sure you have got the original problem fixed.

Answer 6

I'm not real sure but I'm going to guess. If you have holey rock as a decoration (that's the pretty orange and white rock that's supposedly aquarium safe) it leeches toxins into the water. Driftwood can do the same thing. As well as sandstone. Basically any stone that bubbles for days after you put it into the water can leech toxins. If you haven't changed your carbon out that could be spitting something into the water.
If you are not using an airator, carbon dioxide can build up in the water.
Dull scales could mean bacterial infection of some sort as well, but I would think if your water perameters are ok, I think toxins. Fish rarely get sick and die if the water is perfect. Check nitrates, if they are higher than 40 ppm that could be the culprit.
Could even be the water itself. I know here where I live the tap is not suitable for fish, no matter what conditioner you throw in there. I have to buy R.O. water and buff it. To me its better to start with a clean slate and make the water what I need than to guess what the city put into the water system. Get a water report and see just what's in there. I figured I don't drink the tap water, how could I let my fish live in it? I used to use tap water but I couldn't keep the fish alive more than a couple of months, since I use filtered water I haven't had a single loss in over 3 years.

Answer 7

What types of tropical fish do you have in your tank? And this may be a stupid question but do you have a heater in the tank? Most tropical fish prefer a temperature between 75-80 degrees. If you have too many fish in your tank, overcrowding can raise your ammonia level and your water can become toxic to your fish. Are there any physical signs of disease or illness on the fish, other than the dullness of their color? Do you notice any white specks, red streaks in their fins, or cottony growths on their mouths or scales? Take a sample of your water to the store you bought your fish from. If any more fish die before you get a chance to get up there, put them in a ziplock bag and put it in the freezer to preserve them. take the water and the fish up to the fish/pet store and have the associates take a look at both. Sorry I couldn't be more help, if you provide a little more info, we may be able to offer more insight. Good luck with your fish :)

Answer 8

Have you tested the water recently for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate?

Have you tested the pH and hardness of your water, if so are they compatible with the fish you have?

How often do you do water changes?
Should be around 20% every 2 weeks

How often do you clean the filter sponge and how do you clean the filter sponge?
Should be once or twice every two months. Make sure you clean the filter sponge with water taken out of the tank and not tap water as the tap water will contain chlorine and kill your friendly bacteria in the sponge.

Do you have any live plants in the tank?

Gee

Answer 9

take a sample of the water to your local shop that has a good reputation for tropical fish. ask them to test the water for amonia.......you might be feeding them a little bit to much and need to cut back. this can sometimes make them swim towards the top of the tank like they are gasping for air too.

Hope you get it sorted, try livebearersuntil you feel a bit more confident - guppies and platties, you'l find that you have lots of babies in no time and they keep the tank colourful.

Answer 10

just keep going this is normal we went through same thing for 1yr it could be that the fish come with disease and pass it to others you just have to percevere hun it will work honestly aslo type tropical fish in search engine and will come up with lots of sites that wil be of help as differant fish mixing could also be the problem DONT GIVE UP