my fish always die.. why is that??

Question

the first time i got my aquarium (by the way: it has a filter and everything) i got 4 fish and after a while they all died.. after that i got 2 fish and they too died and then i got another one and it died.. why is that happening??!! i stopped trying to get fish cause im freakin tired of the fish always dying..
could it be because of the water? should i get bottled water or something?
and i notice that every fish that died curls.. why is that? is that even normal?
and sometimes there are green stuff on the aquarium from the inside?
and by the way i do wash my aquarium every month or so..

-i feed them twice a day

Answer 1

It is called the circle of life.

Answer 2

1. How many gallons is you aquarium try only 1 fish
2. Use tap water with a decholrinatior to remove chlorine.
3. Get a test kit so you can monitor your pH,ammonia and nitrate levels. Guppies a fish that are super hardy like a ammonia and nitrate level of 0 and a pH of 7. Get a continuous tester so that you can always monitor your levels.
4. Get a heater. Most tropical fish like a temp of 70-75 or at least guppies do.
5. Get a hardy live plant to fix your algae problem. I used to have mega algae problems now I have live plants and it's problem solved!
(Anything with the first word hygro is good)
6. Get a guppy if your tank is 5 gallons plus get a betta if it's lower. Both fish are very hardy and can be great to watch. If your first guppy survives get 2 more!
7. Stop washing your aquirium every month soap even the tinisest bit kills fish. Do a 25% water change with a shipon every week and use a dechorinator.
8. Only feed once a day one flake for every 1 inch fish. (I recomend Tetra-Min)

Hope I could help!

Answer 3

Next time all the fish die, totally clean out the aquarium, vacuum your gravel good and put in new water. Wash out the filter and change the pad and carbon. I don't know if they still make undergravel filters but they are more trouble than they are worth, don't use those. No not bottled water but you should set the tank up with fresh water and run the filter for 24 hours before you go to the store for new fish.

When you buy the fish, also buy a stress coat type product to help the fish acclimate. Float your fish bags in your aquarium for 30 minutes before you let the fish out so they get used to the temperature change. You could also buy de-chlor for your next water cleaning, for when you already have established live fish. It's a good idea to have ick medicine on hand too. Only change 1/3 of the water during any one cleaning. If you don't have a vacuum for the gravel you should also buy one of those.

It's not cheap to set up a successful aquarium but once you have the basics, it will be easy to fix whatever problems that you see arise. You may also want a water test kit but I have a 60 gallon that has been in this home running 4 years with no test kit and fresh water fish that moved here from my last place so they are about 6 years old now. I had a die out about 6 years ago but I have a supply of different water conditioners, my vacuum, a good filter system, extra air wand to keep the water moving and everyone seems to be fat and sassy in there. Don't give up, the more you prepare for a thriving tank, the better luck you will have.

The reason for my die out was that the flake food got to the bottom of the can and was too small and polluted my fish. Do Not crumble their food, lay it on the top and let the fish break it. The tiny pieces just fall to the bottom and pollute the water. Don't feed the tiny crap at the bottom of the food can. Tetramin food has been the best food in my fishes opinions.

Answer 4

The problem might be in how you're cleaning. You should only change 25% of the water at any time, and you should do a cleaning and partial water change every week. If you wait too long between cleanings, then try to change all the water at once, the sudden change from bad water quality to good may be too much of a shock. You should also make sure that you're replacing water with new water that's about the same temperature, and use whatever product you need to remove the chlorine/chloramine from your water. You should also call your water supplier to find out which of these is used to treat your water. If your product doesn't treat the correct chemical, this couls be what's killing the fish. And be sure your product says it will "remove" or "neutralize" chloramine (if this is what they use) NOT that it will "break the chlorine bond". Chloramine is made of both chlorine and ammonia, so if all it does is break the bond, you still have two chemicals that are toxic to your fish in the tank. Some products will treat both, but you need to use different dosages.

Answer 5

Your tank needs to cycle first which takes about 4-6 weeks.

After that you can add fish. I recommend only adding 3-4 at a time and then if you have the room, add more the next week.

You'll also need to do 20% water changes every week. If you have gravel, use a gravel vacuum to siphon out the water.

Feed your fish twice a day and only as much as they can eat within several minutes. After that remove any excess food.

Clean your filter parts about every two weeks while replacing your filter cartridge.

A heater will help keep the water temperature consistent.

Answer 6

Don't give up. Aquariums are pretty delicate ecosystems but once you find the balance it will become super easy and enjoyable.

First of all, the biggest mistake people make is to put fish into a new aquarium right away. You have to actually let it "cycle" through the nitrification process--a process that converts harmful chemicals into harmless ones.

Basically, you need to set up the aquarium, add some helpful bacteria (sold in pet stores) that will help jump-start this process, wait a few days (some recommend at least two weeks) before adding any fish. If you add the fish right away, most likely they will die because of ammonia or other chemical poisoning, which eventually goes away once enough helpful bacteria builds that will help convert the ammonia into several other chemicals before it comes to one that isn't dangerous to fish.

If you want, you can add a betta fish right away since they're pretty resilient fishes and will in turn also help get the cycle going.

Other problems you should be looking into is PH balance. All tap water has chemicals in it that need to be removed before using them with an aquarium. To do this you just have to buy a water conditioner/chlorine remover from a pet store and add the right dosage to your aquarium. You may also want to add sea salt which will also help the fish cope with hard water.

Also, if you started with a used aquarium tank or pebbles you may have a problem with a bacterial infection that is killing your fish. If this is the case, I would wash the tank out really well, using a little bit of bleach, rinse it and start over with new pebbles.

In short:
1) set up your aquarium, which should include filter, air pump, booster bacteria, water conditioner.
2) let it cycle. Give it time to build enough helpful bacteria that will help convert some of the dangerous chemicals (that come from fish waste and uneaten food) into less dangerous ones.
3) add fish, but only a couple at a time. Remember that the harmful chemicals that kill the fish come from the fish themselves (their waste and uneaten food) so if you add too many fish at one time you wont give enough time for the ecosystem of your aquarium to adapt to these changes.
4) clean regularly, by doing water changes about once a month. You'll need to buy a special hose in order to sift and clean the gravel and replace about 10% of the aquarium water once a month. Remember that the water that you will be adding to replace the one you took out needs to be conditioned as well. Also, water will naturally evaporate from the aquarium, but don't count this as the 10% of water that you will need to change.

Hope this helps and that you start enjoying your healthy aquarium very soon.

Answer 7

The reason all your fish die is very simple
you need to cycle your tank first of all, and you NEVER do a 100% waterchange like once a month, these are your main 2 mistakes you make and the reason your fish die

I assume you have a filter, heater and everything else you need
But you will also need a liquid master test kit which includes, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate testers

Set up your tank with tapwater, put your conditioner in, turn on your filter and heater.
NO FISH
you are suppose to cycle your tank before adding any fish
you can add fluid bacteria as directet, as well as daily a pinch of food, which will start your cycle
That means bacteria will start to grow which your future fish will need
Test your water every day and document your readings
you will have at first readings on ammonia and nitrite, which are both toxic to your fish
Once your tank is in the middle of the cycle you will see a spike in both of these readings, and also cloudines, that means the cycle is working and it will clear up by itself
Then you will slowly see the nitrate readings to rise, which is good because it means your cycle is in the endstage.

Once you have ammonia 0 and nitrite 0, and nitrate below 25, you're good to go for fish

But only add 3-5 fish at once, never more then that, a week after you can add more, but only if you have enough space

you will feed your fish twice a day what ever they eat in 3-5 min at each feeding, if there's left over food after 5 min, net it out

Do partial waterchanges of 25% once weekly with a gravelsiphon, and replace with conditioned water

Leave your light 10-12 hours on during the day and turn it off for 12-14 hours at night (a timer is helpful for that)

Also make sure your tank has no direct sunlight, or you will have green algae at no time

When you add fish, float the bag for at least 30 min, before neting your new fish into the tank



Hope that helps
Good luck


EB

Feel free to email me for further help
http://fishlesscycling.com/articles.html

Answer 8

The best thing to do with fishes is when you buy new fishes, first test them in the water with the bag that their in. Leave the bag in the water for like half hour so it can get used to the temperatures, when that time is up dump the fish in the tank with the net but don't pour the water from the bag in the tank cuz you don't know what's in the water where you bought it. It could be the water and the temperature. How do you clean the tank? What do you clean it with? It could be the chemicals from cleaning that's killing the fishes. Just use sponges and just plain water. When you clean the tank, use little water from the tank to put the fishes in when you clean it. Then after cleaning the tank, fill the tank up with fresh water and let it sit in the tank for 24 hrs before putting the fish in. That way the water in the tank is at room temperature and then put the fish back in the tank. It should work depending what kind of fish you get! I hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 9

evelyn march is on it!! When you say you wash the aquarium, what do you mean? using soap? no way..never use soap it will kill the fish.. just rinse the tank with water and rub your hand around on the glass to loosen up the green stuff(algae) How big of a tank? You say you wash it out so it must be small. be sure not to overstock it and keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrates those will kill the fish off fast if in a small tank.

Answer 10

Are they the same type of fish or different breeds? Goldfish emit alot of amonia from pooping alot and it is harmful to other fish in the tank. Also, if you feed them twice a day, they poop alot more and it gets dirtier faster, you should clean it every two weeks.
When you change their water, it has to be the same temperature as the water they are in or they will go into shock. Also use some water conditioner or treatment to cleanse the water. Hope this helps.

Answer 11

Temperature control is extremely important. Different kinds of fish live better in different temperatures of water. When you buy your fish, read up on them a little bit or ask a store clerk what temperatures are best. Buy fish that tolerate the same temps.

Also, make sure the type of fish food is appropriate. Ask the clerk at the store what food they feed their fish and get the same brand. Switching to a different kind of food may make them sick.

When you wash your tank every month, make sure you put new rocks in the tank, or clean the rocks/pebbles very well. That is where most of the bacteria is.