Why did my daughter's tropical fish die so quickly?

Question

She got them on Sunday, and today one is dead and the other is dying. She was feeding them properly, according to the directions on the tropical fish food.

Her tank is a 1 gallon tank, which has the air bubbles thing, but no filter. The water got cloudy within a couple of days, but I didn't think it was anything to worry about. Today the water is somewhat cloudy and the second fish is laying next to the dead one, still alive, but looks like the breathing is labored. What did we do wrong? Can we do anything to save the one sick fish?

Answer 1

for the answer before me, you would call 2 small platy's overcrowding a 1 gallon tank, but you would put a betta in there which is 4 times their size, how is that not overcrowding?

your fish are dying because your tank was not cycled before you put them in there
that means, a tank must be going through a nitrogen cycle, whereas nitrite gets converted into nitrates, and healthy bacteria can grow

Also platy's need a filter as well as a heater set around 76-82 degrees, since they're tropicals

I assume you have an undergravel filter, so you do have already a filter

your fish are most likely dying from either ammonia or nitrite poisening, or through pH shock

Please read the following on cycling a tank, and the proper way on acclimatizing a new fish to it's new home
http://www.fishlesscycling.com/articles.html
http://fishlesscycling.com/forum/index.php?topic=428.0



Hope that helps
Good luck

Answer 2

Reasons for immediate fish death after purchase: - Water was not conditioned, so it still had Chlorine and other chemicals in it - The tank was not cycled, parameters fluctuated too much when you added fish - The fish was ill at time of purchase, so basically the move from the shop to your home killed it - The fish was not properly introduced to the tank, was just dumped in, hence shocked - The fish was put in the wrong water conditions (like keeping a saltwater fish in a freshwater tank) Edit: For the future, take note of these points... 1. Tetras are schooling fish, no matter which Tetra you buy you should get them in groups of 5-6. Otherwise, they are known to exhibit weird behavior out of fear of not being in a school, like nipping at other fish. 2. Tetras need a lot of swimming space. The smallest are Neon Tetras, which don't hit an inch at adult size. But still a school of 5 would need at least 10 gallons, ideally 15 gallons. 3. Even if a tank is filtered, doesn't mean it's cycled. The nitrogen cycle needs to established in a tank otherwise it can't hold many fish for long. And, tetras are sensitive fish. The cycling process can take up to two months! Read up on it. =) 4. 1g is not a good tank. In fact, with such little volume of water, it's very dangerous to keep. Your parameters could fluctuate overnight, even in hours, and kill your fish. As a beginner you should aim for the biggest tank you can afford. Larger quantities of water are safer. 5. The smallest tank that can hold fish is a 5 gallon, which is good for a lone male Betta.

Answer 3

You should only have 1 fish in a 1 gallon tank. Check the temp, don't overfeed. The water in tanks usually do turn cloudy when they are first set up. It usually goes away but you may want a filter. But it is kind of hard to say why they are dying. Oh and plz take the dead fish out of the tank.

Answer 4

Actually your tank was going through a normal process called Cycling, in order to get good bacteria in your tank there must first be bad waste for it to eat. In the time period (usually about a week) it takes for the good bacteria to build up your bad waste (ammonia, nitrates and nitrites) is just having a field day on your poor tank.

However a few other things to consider. First, unless your two fish were really small you over crowded your tank. Unless your dealing in 'micro-fish' I wouldn't put anything put a Betta or maybe a guppy in a 1 gallon tank.

If you post what kind of fish it is perhaps we can have a few ideas as to how to save the poor fellow.

Answer 5

what are you keeping in a 1 gallon tank? 1 betta would do ok but he wouldn't be that happy about it.

to save the sick one change the water. fish need acess to clean water -- in 1 gallon stuff can build up really fast so the only chance you have of keeping anything in there is changing out 1/2 the water every couple days.

Answer 6

How long was the tank set up before they died? Most tropical fish need a heater, as well as a filter and aerator. You probably can't do anything for the sick fish at this time.
Before getting or accepting any fish, you should do research to find out it's needs, then set up accordingly at least one week before getting the fish.

Answer 7

If they are tropical fish, they need a filter. It also sounds like they were being overfed (cloudy water). A filter would help combat this though. Excess food/waste causes nitrogen build up and kills fish.

Another consideration: Is the water too warm/too cold?

Answer 8

they are overcrowded. or you are putting warm or hot water in cause that water is cloudy. it happended to me