why did my fish die?

Question

ok, i have a 38 gallon tank about a week and a half old. this morning i found my guppy dead. i get home this evening from enjoying a drink or two at a local hotspot, and find my angelfish dead. i had two, but now only one survived. the only thing i can think of doing wrong was not letting the dechlorinator sit in the water long enough when i did my thirty percent water change with my gravel siphon, so thats one of my questions. it sat for about 5 minutes in a five gallon bucket, clean, and i measured the right amount. ive never had this problem before with my smaller mini-bow tanks, and when i upgraded, it seems like all is falling apart. i had noticed a little bit of strange behavior from both fish last nite and the nite before. my temperature is sitting at 79 degrees as of rite now. i know it should be less, i have a heater, but in south texas, its of no use rite now... is there something i can buy to cool my water too? i think thats all, and this is long. thanks for your help.

did it sit for long enough? can i cool my water? HEEEELLPPP!!! ive invester waaay to much money.

ok, my mommy doesnt involve herself, im grown. also, i have more than one fish. and im kinda new...

doing the water change, wouldnt thave have helped the levels and save the fish rather than killing them?

Answer 1

Your temperature is within tolerable limits for both your fish (they can go up to 85o easily). And dechlorinator works instantly, IF chlorine is what's added by your water company. Some public water suppliers are now using chloramine as a "sterilizer". This is a combination of both chlorine an ammonia, and is a lot more stable than chlorine, which can leave the water after 24 hours. A traditional dechlorinator will remove chlorine, and it breaks the bond between the chlorine-ammonia combination, but the ammonia will stay behind in the water (and ammonia is toxic to fish). So I'd advise checking the dechlorinator you use (some will remove chlorine and chloramine, but the dosage is different), and contacting your water company to see which product they use in the water supply.

Since you haven't had this problem until now (and the tank is 1 1/2 weeks old), I'm more inclined to believe that your tank is in the cycling process, and you're getting ammonia building up in the tank. Ammonia is also produced by excess food and fish wastes. Normally, the ammonia is converted to nitrite (also toxic) by bacteria, then converted to nitrate (relatively non-toxic). But if your tank is new, you haven't built up sufficient bacteria yet. If the ammonia and nitrite are present in a greater amount than the bacteria can process, they'll multiple quickly. This fast reproduction is called a "bacterial bloom", and makes your water appear cloudy - perhaps you've experienced this? It normally takes 3-6 weeks to build up a good bacterial population, but until this happens, you'll need to remove the toxic products by doing partial water changes - about 25% of the water every week. By doing 30%, you should be removing enough ammonia and nitrite, but this will depend on the frequency with which you're doing the changes. If you have a water testing kit (or can get a local pet/fish store to test a sample of your water for you), you can easily find out if this is your problem.

As far as the "strange behavior" you mention - did this include gasping at the water surface, followed by lethargy and sitting in place at the bottom of the tank? These are both signs of ammonia/nitrite poisoning. You can tell them apart somewhat, because in ammonia poisoning, the fish's gills will look light purple rather than red.


ADDITION: The water change would help, but how much it would help would depend on the initial amount of ammonia/nitrite in the tank, and how much time occurs between water changes. If the original level was high enough, even with a 30% change, there could still be enough left in the tank too have an adverse affect on your fish.

Answer 2

First of all, 79 degrees is not too hot. Most tropical fish like their water between 78 and 82 degrees.

Second, how many fish did you put in a tank that has been going for a week and a half? You need to cycle your tank before adding a significant number of fish (or certain types of fish). So what does cycling your tank mean?

When you put new fish in new water, there are no beneficial bacteria in the water to eat the fish waste. The fish waste will quickly poison the fish because there is no where for the waste to go. Cycling the tank means that you start with a couple of fish of certain species that can handle the change in water chemistry. I suggest starting with two or three zebra danios or white clowds.

Every 3-4 days, do a 10-15% water change during the cycle. After 3-4 weeks, you can slowly start to introduce other fish to your aquarium, a couple of fish at a time.

Answer 3

Dont cool your water, angels need almost 80 degrees anyway, your problem was gravel siphoning a week old tank. When you frist set up a tank you need to let it run twenty four hours before putting any fish in it, after that only a couple fish to help build a bacteria bed. For a fishtank to run correctly you need a biological bacteria bed in your gravel, otherwise when you start putting fish in your ammonia and nitrates will spike killing all your fish. Dont gravel vac until the tank is at least a month old, and when you do dont change your filter so you will keep some of your bacteria.

Answer 4

Sounds like "new tank" syndrome. A week and a half is not long enough for a tank to mature and for the beneficial bacteria (that breaks down fish waste/ammonia) to establish itself. Most magazines recommend you let a tank mature for a month or two. (Put a few "lesser value" fish in the tank, and let it run as normal before adding your more valuable specimens).

Also, you don't mention whether you equalise the water temperature during your water change. (I don't think it's a chlorine issue, if you're using dechlorinator - they're work pretty much instantly).

Good luck!

Answer 5

four gallon of water per inch of fish is the rule for setting up a tank this allows space for them to find there own territory and room to grow also en ought oxygen as they ex hail carbon witch stays in the water for along time also have an under gravel filter this makes friendly bacteria to digest waste you should start with a twenty gallon tank if you want to keep fish don't be fobbed off with cheep novelty tanks you should have a heater this keeps the water constant tropicals like 80 to 83 degrees & gold fish dont mind

Answer 6

I can't stress this enough, PH level's and water hardness for fresh water fishes is very importmant which most people seem to forget or don't know much about. Instead of pure tap water, I would use 1/4 tank reverse osmosis (RO) water and 3/4 day old tap water with water conditioner, and "ph down" kit which is an acid to lower the aquarium water ph level. Angels are very sensitive to water hardness and require RO water which can be purchased at your local water supply store and don't forget to lower ph level.

Answer 7

I have a tank with goldfishes, and they are 20 months old, when i clean them, i pour some of the water from the tank into a bucket. So the germs, and echosystem remains.

The only reason why the fish could of died is you killed the fishes echosystem

Answer 8

If it is a new tank, maybe the higher temp made the sealant "off gas"?

Make sure of things you put in the tank. At lower temps there wouldn't be any problem until higher temps are effecting them.

Answer 9

If you had a week and a half old tank, did you let the tank cycle for the appropriate amount of time before adding fish? I don't know if I got your info straight. If your tank is less than 2 weeks old, you need to let it cycle for six weeks before adding fish. If you add Danios, a hearty type of fish, that is very hard to kill,-- seriously--,used to speed up the tank cycling time to about 4 weeks, it helps things sometimes pretty well. For your sized tank, you would need about 6 Danios. What it does is allow your tank the time to build up the "good bacteria" that your tank needs to help keep your Nitrite and phosphate levels in check. Go to your local fish store and tell them that you have a new tank and they can help you out. Most reputable stores will sell you Danios to help you cycle your tank and then they will buy them back from you when your tank is cycled. Another quick way to cycle your tank is to add a substance that you buy called Bio Spira, which is basically the good bacteria that your tank needs to keep fish alive. You buy it from the store where it should have been kept refridgerated and then put in your tank as soon as you get home. You can keep it in your refridgerator for a day at most before you use it, because it has live bacteria in it.
When you set up your new tank, you didn't clean it out with any soapy products did you because that will kill fish quickly as well due to the soap products being very alkaline. You can't put fish into a new "clean" tank--meaning just set up with water for the first time-- and expect them to live.The tank has to have the right amount of good bacteria, which basically comes from the waste products of the Danios, that the other fish need in the water. You shouldn't need to do a water change on a new tank for at least 2-3 months, if you have a good filter, because you'll just get rid of the desirable bacteria. Only exchange 25% of the water when you do an exchange and only exchange water every month or so after you have it established. Your water temp sounds fine, usually between 72-77 degrees. When you add new water because of evaporation, try to keep it near the temp of the water in the tank because a sudden change in water temp changes the alkalinity of your water as well. If you ever have questions about your water, take a sample from your tank after you've had the lights on for over an hour, and take the sample to your fish store and let them test it. Don't leave your lights on all of the time because it promotes algae growth.
The biggest mistake with having new aquariums is that we add the fish too soon and don't give the tank a chance to cycle and grow the necessary bacteria that fish need. Also, remove the dead fish as soon as possible because the dead fish will make your water toxic by releasing nitrates and nitrites and phosphates.
The second biggest mistake when we start new aquariums is that we mess with them too much. Once you've let the tank cycle for 4-6 weeks, then add a few hearty fish---not too many at a time because it changes the chemistry of the water too much---leave the tank alone! Just add some water when needed, add your few drops of dechlorinator, and let it go. The popular dechlorinator I use doesn't need to sit in the water. I just add the drops to my tank after I add the new water. Actually, I have a large 80gallon chiclid tank that I have 2 large Oscars in--about 7inches long---and I have 2 Chinese algae eaters in it and a placa, but when we do a water exchange, we've had them for so long that we just add new water with the hose from outside and drop the dechlorinator in--1 drop for every 10 gallons of water. Of course, never add other fish in with chiclids except for other compatible chiclids or they'll eat them. The placcas and algae eaters are too quick for the Oscars or too spiny on the outside for the Oscars to eat. Once your tank is established after a few months, you can add more fish but keep in mind the size of your tank because some fish are very territorial. Angel fish can be very aggressive with other fish and do better in a bigger tank because of their size when fully grown. To keep your algae level down, get a placa--I can't spell it all--but they are the sucker fish that attach to the sides of your tank, but ask about which ones to get because the one I have in my other 75gallon tank is rather large, about 10inches long and I have a Chinese algae eater in there also. I have a smaller placa in my 40gallon tank. I also have a 25 gallon saltwater reef tank which is alot of fun as well and once it is set up and cycled, the less you mess with it, the better it does.
Go to your fish store and get some one who knows what they are talking about to help you before you spend anymore cash on fish that don't make it and make you feel bad. Take a water sample with you, please! Fish can be a great, relaxing hobby once you get the routine down. It shouldn't stress you out but do just the opposite.
Good Luck to You!!

Answer 10

25% water change not 30
over feeding
temp fine
chlorine kills in a day or two
good luck
ps'' poor fishies ''
angel fish kill smaller fish