What caused my fish to die?

Question

I was bored yesterday, so I went to WalMart and bought two mixed fruit tetras. I understand that WalMart is probably not the best place to buy fish at, but hey, that's not the point. I purchased the fish around 5:30 pm, along with a bowl, rocks, and food. I kept them in their plastic bag until I got home, at around 9:30 pm. I emptied them into their bowl, and they just sat at the bottom. I didn't put the rocks in there yet or the food, because I am pretty sure that they are dead. How could they have died in such a short time? Should I take the fish back to WalMart and get new ones?

Answer 1

I am sorry you did not get correct advice on how to set up a tank.

First you need a tank with a filter and heater for Tetras, then it is best to have it set up at least a day before placing ANY fish in there (longer is even better). You also need to de-chlorinated your water before placing fish in the tank (or if your tap water has chloramines, I would use products such as Prime which is great for new tanks regardless of chlorine or chloramines as it changes toxic NH3 to less toxic NH4 and binds it there.

Once you have removed your chlorine (if necessary) adjusted your temperature, checked basic water parameters (kH, pH, Ammonia), you can start with a few fish. It is best to wait at least 1-2 days for the first fish after initial set-up.
Float the bag your new fish came in for 10 minutes, then open the bag and add a small amount of water. After 5 more minutes add some more water, and continue this process for about 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, gently remove your fish without adding ANY of the bag water to your aquarium to prevent disease transfer.

I would recommend reading this article for good basic Freshwater info:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Basic_Aquarium_Principles.html

This can be a fun hobby is you have the correct information.

Answer 2

I wouldn't advise any more fish until you get a proper set-up for them.

1) Fish don't survive in bowls - you should have a tank of at least 10 gallons, 20 or larger is even better.

2) Fish need to have oxygen in the water - this comes from water movement; only a few kinds of fish can survive by breathing air at the water's surface.

3) Fish will do better in a tank with a filter - it will help keep the water cleaner and the movement will help the fish get oxygen they need.

4) Most fish will need a heater to keep their water warm - especially fish considered "tropical"; goldfish (not suitable for bowls or small tanks), paradise fish (an aggressive fish not suitable for bowls or tanks less than 5 gallons, bigger would be better), white clouds, and guppies are able to survive without a heater if their water stays above 65-70.

5) It's best to buy fish and take them straight home - if the water isn't moving around in their bags, the oxygen isn't getting into their water.

6) Make sure the water in their bag and in the tank is about the same temperature - and add something to the water to take chlorine/chloramine out; float the bag for about 15 minutes, then open it and pour out about 1/4 of the water (down the drain, not into the tank - if there are parasites or diseases in the water from the pet store, you don't want to add these to your tank!) and replace it with water from the tank. Wait a few minutes, then do this again (3 times total). Then net your fish and put him in the tank. This way he gets time to adjust to any differences in the water chemistry slowly.

7) Don't buy fish at WalMart! Most aren't healthy to begin with, and anything else you do that causes them stress just brings them closer to a point of no return.

See the link below for more info on keeping fish:

Answer 3

According to your question, you left the fish in the plastic bag for 4 hours. That alone may have killed them, as they may have used up all the oxygen in the bag and suffocated. Or their accumulated wastes may have poisoned them. When you purchase fish, you should take them home immediately and set the bag to floating in the container that the fish will be living in, to allow the water in the bag to adjust to the same temperature as the water in the fish bowl or aquarium. After 15 minutes or so, you should empty some of the water out of the bag with the fish (down the drain, never put pet store water into your tank! It can have diseases in it!) and add water into the bag from your bowl or fish tank. Do this again a couple more times, taking your time about it, before you release the fish into their bowl or tank.

Always remember, a sudden change of temperature, even just a few degrees, will kill your fish. A sudden change in pH of the water will kill them. Any time you clean out the bowl, you have to give them time to adjust. Also you need to put a chlorine remover chemical ("water conditioner"), available at wal-mart, into the water, to make it safe, or else chlorine and other chemicals used to make drinking water safe for humans, will kill the fish.

Answer 4

Well,first,a 'mixed fruit' tetra is a dyed fish. They inject them with dye and it'll wain eventually,sorry to tell you. It's not good for them.

Second,honey,you don't use a bowl for any fish. You use them as vases for exceptionally short flower stems. These fish need at least 2 gallons of water per fish,so I'd suggest going out and buying a small 5 gallon setup if you'd like to keep a pair of them.

Tetra,typically,are schooling fish. They enjoy the company of 5 or more of their fellow... so in all honesty,I'd suggest the tropical-ready 10 gallon setup they've got at walmart. I think it's $50,but then all you need is 10 pounds of rock and you're good to go.

There's a -lot- to fish keeping,and I would be more than happy to help you out. Feel free to IM me. =)

Answer 5

Did you acclimate them?? If not, the rapid teperature change might have taken its tole on them. You need to acclimate any fish that you buy for about 20-30 minutes. Just set the bag that you bought them in in the water and let the water gradually warm to the temperature of the water in the aquarium or bowl.

Answer 6

Did you acclamate them into their tank? If you don't know what this means, you have to let the bag you got them in float on the surface of your water in the tank for about 10 minutes, and then let them out..If you did that, maybe your water was just too high in nitrites, nitrates, ph, or phnemonia..I've had all of these problems happen..Good luck..
oh and by the way, i get fish from wal mart too..there's nothing wrong with it...mostly every store that carries fish knows how to take care of them....it's a rough job, but if you know what you're doing, it's easy

Answer 7

Almost everyone here is correct, float the bag for 30 minutes, get them home right away, have the water prepared ahead of time for fish, have the correct size tank and the correct equipment for the animal you are housing, etc: but here's a novel idea I don't remember seeing:

RESEARCH THE PET YOU WANT TO BUY BEFORE YOU BUY IT SO YOU DON'T KILL IT BY NOT KNOWING IT'S NEEDS!

Answer 8

How many ways did you go wrong:

0)Went to walmart for fish.

1)You bought dyed fish which tend to be in poor health to start with.
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerinfo/a/paintedfish.htm

2)You just dumped them in without equalizing the temps.

3)A bowl isn't suitable for tropical fish like a tetra. They need a heater, and filter. Even for really hardy fish like betta, paradise gourami, and goldfish it's hardly suitable.

4)You waited 4 hours to put them in the bowl. Honestly this falls into more not ideal area than not survivable.

Answer 9

First of all you have to remove all the chlorine out of the water and second you have to put the bag into the water so that it can adjust to the temp of the water in the bowl! They probably went into shock and died. Yes you can take them to Walmart and get new ones but make sure you have the Chlorine Out next time!

Answer 10

I suppose there could be other reasons, but I didn't see that you mentioned an "aerator" (air pump), and I think tetras need air bubbled into the tank's water, so they have oxygen in the water that they breathe. Without oxygenated water, they may have died from lack of oxygen (kind of like suffocating, but for fish).

This is one idea, though there could be others...