i think tropical plants killed my fish?

Question

i had that tropical look in my aquarium but with all diffrent kinds of plants but they all turned yellow they became ugly so i threw them in the garbage so i had a fire mouth cichlid and before that i had scats they all had white dots on them they got sick and they died what did go wrong.

Answer 1

Scats are brackish fish. They got ich from stress from lack of salt. There are very few plants available that can handle the salinity necessary for scats. You probably got amazon swords for your plants, they die off because they are grown above water. Amazon swords will regenerate underwater, but the leaves will look very different. The old leaves have to die off first though. You might want to try anubias or java fern in the future, and stay away from brackish fish until you know what you are doing.

Answer 2

It probably wasn't the plants themselves - plants when properly kept will help to keep a tank healthy. BUT... and here's the catch.... The plants you can get at most pet stores are fast-growing types that need a LOT of light and nutrients to stay healthy. And the fish tank kits you buy as a unit don't come with near enough light. Those plants usually need 2-3 watts per gallon. And when plants start to die, it's almost like having too much food or a dead fish in the tank - they will soil the water, stressing fish and making them susceptible to the kinds of bacteria that are ubiquitous in even the best maintained aquariums.

If you want to try again, assuming ALL your fish died, soak it with a diluted bleach solution, then rinse the living heck out of it. Soak again, this time with a blend of water and aquarium salt, which will leech out the chemicals. Then leave it in the sun to dry. Get all new rocks and filtration and heater (those aren't so awfully expensive). Fishless cycle your tank (articles at www.aquahobby.com can teach you how if you don't know) and while that's going on, research your plants and make sure you get the right kinds for your tank's lighting and stock - and if you get cichlids again, you will be limited in what will work for you, as they tend to be terrors on plants. Then you should be ready to restock and keep a really healthy, happy tank!

Answer 3

The dots are a fungus called ick for short. An inexpensive medicine from the pet store would have cleared it up if you had acted sooner. (I keep medications for common fish problems on hand all the time, just in case). The plants may have brought the fungus into your tank. Ick does not just appear out of thin air. PS rotting plants are not good for the aquarium either, it's good you removed them. Next time try more light. Aquarium plants need sunshine just like any other houseplant. Why not set up an aquarium with plants first, and add fish later when you are sure everything is stable. I also like to put in a couple of feeder fish or even minnows I've caught first just to make sure everything is OK before buying expensive fish.

Answer 4

I agree with fivespeed302 on this one about the plants. I would go with a hardier plant like the java fern too. As for the problems with your fish? always looks to the water quality first, test and test and test regularly, find a problem with the water, rectify it immediately, especially with expensive fish

Answer 5

white dots could have been either ick or a body fungus, they're both caused by stress usually from poor water conditions, probably from your dying plants that broke down and turned into ammonia. either disease is fairly easily treatable, but the best medicine is a water change (use a syphon, no more than half the water)

Answer 6

white dots. my fish had taht. i dont remember exactly what it is called but its like a bacteria that gets on the fish and kills them. go to a fish store and look for some medicine. it will tell you what the disease is called then you can go home and look it up

Answer 7

Are they bargains for fishes thought?
If! immediately out! if so! maybe are fishes ill?