Fish advice for my papa

V4NT0M

V4NT0M

V4NT0M

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Hey guys my dad recently got a new fish tank and his fish are dying...

He started off leaving the tank run for a week or so with no fish in, then got 5 black tetras which seemed to do ok, then a week later he got a couple more neon tetras, a cat fish and a couple of algae eating fish.

Sine he introduced those almost all of the tetras have died, all of the other fish seem fine, just wondered if anyone had any ideas or pointers... Is there a possibility that the fish maybe exhausted? The pump in the tank seems very strong and the fish are always pushing against it a bit, the tank, filter and heater came as a package so should really be rated correctly.

Is it also possible that the second batch of fish he got introduced something into the tank that's been killing them?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Also, can someone tell me what type of fish this is? They keep calling it a sucky fish but don't seem to know the correct name...

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Still think OCUK should have a fish section :)
 
Doesn't look like there is any water? Check with him that he put water in the tank ?
 
As above, check water. Also, is that a fish? I'm not sure it really looks like a fish. Check it is actually a fish.
 
Check the PH of the water... some fish are more sensitive than others and it needs to be just right. Also ensure plenty of vegetation and things to hide around/in, as some fish (loaches included) can be very aggressive and bull other fish literally to death.

Skyfall said:
Also, can someone tell me what type of fish this is? They keep calling it a sucky fish but don't seem to know the correct name...
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A loach?

Still think OCUK should have a fish section :)
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For the 10 people who have fish tanks?
 
The joys of OcUK. :o

Seriously though, it does sound like they are exhausted from the strength of the pump. I wouldn't have mentioned it if you hadn't of brought it up. Has he tested the PH level of the water? I don't know much but i do know fish don't like certain levels of alkaline/acid in the water.

Ah beaten to it.
 
Sounds like he didn't cycle the tank, the fish are probably falling over due to ammonia buildup. Its much less likely to be due to pH or water flow in a tank thats brand new.

Have a read of this thread - http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=10099

And maybe sign up on that forum and ask for further advice, its full of very helpful people.

He will probably continue losing fish until the tank has cycled.

The fish in the picture is an otocinclus catfish.
 
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Tetras are not really recommended for "new" tanks. They're better added to a mature tank of at least 3-6 months as they're quite sensitive to water conditions.
They do best in lower pH and soft water.

Platys and most danios are quite hardy and can be added to a new tank.

Letting a tank run for 1 week before putting a fish in doesn't really help much either.
As K4AD stated, ensurethe tank is fully cycled before adding any more fish.
Also buy a water test kit ( to include nitrite, nitrate, pH and ammonia) they're quite cheap and worth it.

Fish shops don't give a stuff and never ask what type of tank you have etc. I know they don't have to but with the amount of people who think "tank + water + fish = win" they should do. I suppose they are a business so once they've made the sale they don't give a hoot!
 
King4aDay and Gort are spot on. Your fish have been killed by Ammonia poisoning.

It takes weeks to cycle a fish tank before it gets to the point where you can start stocking it with fish. You either do this by adding bottle ammonia over time or using hardy fish which can take the ammonia poisoning quite well.

In laymen's terms, there is a cycle in the fish tank of bacteria that slowly build up which will break down the ammonia which is generated by the fish weeing. Until you get it to that point, your fish will die.

You can get test kits, or take a sample of water to an aquarium shop to have them test it for you. Usually most aquarium shops will tell you not to put fish in it, or at least which you could try to when they know you are new, or buying a full tank setup.

It usually takes me about 5 weeks to cycle mine when starting fresh using bottled ammonia.
 
sounds like you're adding too much stock, too quickly, and the tank needs more than a week to cycle, you need minimal nitrates and no nitrites.
 
When you left the tank for a week to cycle did you actually add anything to the water to initiate the process? Simply leaving the water to stand for a week will achieve nothing.
 
Yep Defo an Oto, Got 3 of them myself.

A lot of people think that fish keeping is a simple as buying a tank letting it settle for a week and then start adding fish, i do blame a lot of fish shops for this.

This cannot be farthest from the truth, Firstly you need to establish the correct bacteria within the filter to handle the fishes waste otherwise it quickly builds up and become's poisonous, As There is fish in the tank then he is doing a fish IN cycle, Tell him to get an API test kit and test the water for Ammonia and Nitrite, If any of these are above 0PPM then it is poisonous to the fish and slowly killing them, He will then need to do some massive water changes until these both drop to 0PPM, He will need to test daily and probably do daily massive water changes.

Also don't be surprised if the Oto "sucker" fish die's as they can be pretty strict on water condition.
 
wez130 said:
sounds like you're adding too much stock, too quickly, and the tank needs more than a week to cycle, you need minimal nitrates and no nitrites.
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NitrAtes won't be the issue, Most fish can take pretty high NitrAtes, Ammonia and NitrIte are the one's to worry about.
 
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