My mom has a 50 gallon freshwater tank (bio balls filtration) and for the past year every fish (tetras, mollies, bala sharks, goldfish, swordtails and a variety of cichlids, to name a few) other than angel fish die within a few days of being in the tank - the longest they last are about 10 days. Tank was fine when she inherited it about 4 years ago but has had progressively more and more rapid fish casualties as time has gone on. I've tested chloramine, chlorine, ammonia, pH, nitrogen and nitrate levels and all test normal. Tank temperature is around 75 degrees - introduced live plants about 8 months ago - no improvement. Several partial water changes over several months - no improvement. But, two angel fish have survived for several months. Any idea what's going on and what I can do to stop the other fish from dying - and/or why the angel fish are fine?
2007-05-18 13:03:25 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Are you sure your test kit is testing right? It sounds exactly like ammonia poisoning to me. You should be doing weekly 25-30% water changes to keep the pH steady, the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates at or near 0, and the fish healthy and happy. Weekly partial water changes are the best thing you can do to keep your tank healthy and the water quality good.
The only other thing it could be is pH shock. If you have let it go for several months with only several partial water changes, the pH has probably dropped significantly over this time. This and live plants tend to lower the pH. Angels come from South America and the water they live in is in the 6.5 range that is why they are not showing any signs of stress or illness. That and the fact that is has lowered slowly over a long period of time. Fish stores usually have water in the 7.2-7.4 range. This is way off and is deadly.
When you add new fish, do you test the pH in the bag water? If your tank pH and the bag pH are more than .5 different, the new fish can die of pH shock. Especially so if you don't acclimate them properly.
You should be floating the bag in your tank to equalize the temp and add 1/2 cup of tank water to the bag every 15 minutes. If your pH is .5 different or more, you should do this for about 2-3 hours. At the very minimum, you should do it for one hour. I have spent up to 4 hours acclimating expensive fish to my water so there was no danger of pH shock.
When you finally are ready to put the new fish in your tank, net them from the bag and release them in the tank. Do NOT dump the fish store water into your aquarium. You never know what kind of dangerous little critters are in their water what with hundreds of fish from different places all crowded into small tanks.
The best thing is a quarantine tank, but you still need to acclimate them according to the difference in your pH and the fish store's.
2007-05-18 14:43:27 · answer #1 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I have had a 55 gallon fish tank for over 13 years and have had all sorts of fish in it. I had 2 angel fish that lived over 4 years and parrot fish that outlived them! Angel fish are considered aggresive fish and from what I have been told by an expert...they should not be mixed with community fish (mollies, swordtail, guppies, etc.) If the Ph and everything is fine then I am not sure what is going on besides maybe the angel fish are attacking the others? If the angel fish are doing fine put a few more in there and see how they do. They like for thier PH levels to be higher then the normal 7.0....good luck and I hope you find your answer! :-)
2007-05-18 13:23:55 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
How large/old are the angels? These can become territorial and may be harrassing/killing the newcomers in the tank.
And 8 makes a good point about the testing supplies. Chemicals only are good for about 4-5 years, less if they're the test strips. Have your fish store do a test on a water sample and make sure you aren't off on your results. Your water changes should be 25% every week, using a gravel vacuum to siphon the gravel in the tank.
2007-05-18 21:08:12 · answer #3 · answered by copperhead 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had freshwater aquariums back interior the 1970s however the 1st time I observed a saltwater aquarium I knew that replaced into what i wanted. The fish, corals and coralline algae are prettier IMO than what you're able to do with freshwater fish. there is not any answer to the cost. If value bothers you do something else. the upkeep could properly be decreased with kit. I even have equipped an automated precise off gadget and calcium reactor to decrease the daily chores. it quite is my 2 cents. stable success on the speech.
2017-01-10 07:39:21 · answer #4 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, I think it's how you acclimate you fish.
2007-05-22 11:42:55 · answer #5 · answered by Chris 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋