Anybody keep tropical fish

Fr0dders

Fr0dders

Fr0dders

Caporegime
Joined
18 Oct 2002
Posts
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Location
West Yorks
we've just gotten into fish keeping as my 5 year old wanted a pet, and we're not really cat or dog people so fish seemed an ideal compromise

we've got 5 neon tetras and 5 male guppies

now last week 1 of the guppies dropped down dead. No white spot or similar, we've not been over feeding them, and we have a heater and filter and the water looks clean with nothing that would obviously cause them any harm

but today another one of them dropped down dead.

I cant for the life of me work out whats happened, apart from them seemingly being very close to each other a lot and seemingly figthing

do guppies fight, or is there another reason theyve died
 
How big is your tank? Also, have you done any water checks on it, such as pH, nitrite and nitrates? What temperature is your heater set at?
 
i have a tank, and fish do die sometimes whether they are stressed, killed/bullied by another fish, poor water qaulity or kids lol...

1. What size is your tank (litres)?
2. How long did you wait before you put the fish in?
3. What chemicals did you add to the water?
4. Whats the water temp?
5. What light do you have and how long do you have it on for a day?
 
Guppies and Tetras are usually the first fish offered to starter fish keepers due to their general hardiness. They are much less likely to keel over from minute changes in alkalinity or temperature than most other breeds.

Regular partial water changes? Expert opinion varies on this, but one third of the water changed weekly is more than enough. Did you originally treat the water with TapSafe or similar - removes all the nasty crap that the water companies put in our drinking water. Clean the filter regularly too - if it's the usual in-tank box type one, fill a washing-up bowl with water from the tank and clean all the crap out in there. That way you don't lose all the beneficial bacteria that builds up in the filter.

To be honest, I gave up on tropicals - too much like hard work. My old man, on the other hand, was a very successful breeder of Discus - and they're a right bugger to keep healthy, let alone breed.
 
its a 60L tank

temp is currently set to 26

not sure how to test for the others. If they are wrong, what should be used to correct it


also we've only had the tank 3 weeks, and the fish were gradually introduced. Not changed the water yet, would not changing the water cause the problems were having ?
 
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You did not mention in your post if you tested the water quality. Clean water does not necessarily mean good quality water. You should be testing your water quality every week. Don’t wait for the first sign of trouble. I would recommend getting a test kit capable of checking PH, Nitrate, Nitrite and Ammonia. You will most likely find out that you have a very high ammonia/nitrate count. In large amounts this is like poison to your fish. Opinon differs on this, but I would no a 1/3 water change every day for 3 or four days. Don’t forget to use tap safe to get rid of the chlorine. Conduct regular water changes each week to keep the water fresh for your fish.
 
How long did you leave the tank on before you put in the fish? Its often required to keep the tank running for a couple days to a week, to let it cycle, and then only add a few hardy fish so that the bacteria that breaks down fish waste has time to develop.

As jr1104 said test the water, I would recommend a proper test tube kit, rather then test strips as they are pretty useless. If you cannot get hold of one of those, go to your local fish shop, they should be able to test the water for you for free, or if they are cheap a nominal fee.

Also did you add some dechlorinator before you put the water in the fish tank?

And finally, do a 25% water change, as that sometimes help reduce stress on the fish. My younger brother does a 25% water change every week, and that seems to keep the fish happy :)
 
we put the fish in about 3 or 4 at a time, and left it a week before adding new fish.

We did use some tap safe before we put the water in.

Think my problem is likely to be that ive not changed the water yet. I wasnt entirely sure how often i should be doing it.

and no ive not tested the water quality. Obviously need to get a kit.
 
Are you cycling your tank? i.e. replacing about 1/4 with fresh water (every week or every month, I'm not sure). It's to do with the level of nitrates and toxins building up inn your tank, it takes time to establish a good balance that the fish will be happy in. There are a few fish forums where you can get sound advice about this.
 
MrLOL said:
we put the fish in about 3 or 4 at a time, and left it a week before adding new fish.

We did use some tap safe before we put the water in.

Think my problem is likely to be that ive not changed the water yet. I wasnt entirely sure how often i should be doing it.

and no ive not tested the water quality. Obviously need to get a kit.
Click to expand...

You should do a change 2 - 3 weeks after you first set the tank up.

Also, did you use any good bacteria to set the water up quickly?
 
http://www.tropicalfishexpert.co.uk/WaterChemistry.html

AFAIK, a complete water change is exactly NOT what you should do

EDIT:
Here: http://www.tropicalfishexpert.co.uk/WaterQuality.html
Says you should change about 1/5th of the water weekly so you don't destroy the balance of good bacteria that destroy the nitrates. Things like guppies and tetras are generally quite hardy and good to build up a balanced tank but I'd expect a few to die getting there. After a =month or so when the tank has had time to establish you can begint o add more exotic species to the tank.
 
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Complete water change is a definite no-no.

It's a funny business, though. As many have said, expert opinion differs wildly.
 
Everyone is right, you need to be doing about a 1/5 water change every week. Get a test kit, and do a water test about every other week, just to keep track of water quality. If you find that the water is fine, it might just be stress from a new tank. I know people say guppies are hardy, but no fish is immune to stress, and some are just weaker than others. If this is the case, give it another month or 2 with these fish, and if they stay all right, then it would be fine for you to introduce some more fish.
 
Biohazard said:
ot-I have two goldfish in a 40l tank, but I'm not sure if adding anymore (any other kind of coldwaterfish) would upset these two.
Click to expand...

Nope, stick with goldfish. their waste products are lethal to most other types of fish.

Dirty buggers, goldfish :/
 
All new tanks need to be "cycled". This is the process that matures the bacteria in the filter medium to a level where they are able to break down the ammonia and other waste that fish produce.
In a sense tropical fish keeping is more about looking after this bacterial colony than actually looking after the fish themselves. Look after the bacteria and the fish will be fine. It is of course a bit more complicated than this.
Overstocking a tank at an early stage creates a situation where there is not enough bacteria to break down all the waste produced by the fish stock. This is when the fish end up being poisoned by their own waste.
Cycling a tank can take many weeks and there will be an ammonia spike nearing the end of this cycle.
I would reckon you have overstocked your tank, so i would suggest maybe 50% water changes every day or every other day till the ammonia levels drop and the filter can cope.

On the other hand fish sometimes just die!
There is a wealth of info on the net, do some reseaching, or any questions dont hesitate to ask me. Ive been keeping tropicals for quite some time and have had all the trials and tribulations!
Good luck :)

Ali
 
I do a 10% water change on our 90 litre trop tank and that is every other week. (It has now been running 14 years)

I wouldn't worry too much about your first fish dying, that is almost to be expected and if anything it will help kickstart the necessary cycles. I've been helping another member on here with his and he has had some losses. Testwise, don't go overboard. Get PH, Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite. Also make sure you have a temperature guage.

Do not over feed as this will pollute the water and fish don't need feeding that often as they can go for days without. Make sure all the levels are right. Any dead/rotting leaves from your plants should be removed instead of being left to deteriorate.

You'll find some fish just are not suited to your kind of water but you'll only find this out by trial and error. I once bought a dozen Cardinal Tetras (very similar to Neons) and lost the lot within a week yet in the same water I had several fish that had been going for years. I never bought anymore Cardinals. Also some fish will adapt to water that isn't quite right, others will just turn their toes up and snuff it.

To those who think trops are complicated, try marines and then you'll find trops are basically bulletproof.
 
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Yeah ive been wanting to try marine for ages but have been a bit scared tbh. Marine fish look totally amazing and keeping coral would be awesome aswell.
Maybe one day when i have a bit more time on my hands.
 
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