My fish are dying! why?

Question

I recently got 9 tropical fish. In the 2 days I've had them, 2 have died. another one looks like it's about to die. One that died had red spots along it's back that were never there before. My fish tank does not have a light. Could this be a problem? Should I replace the water?

Answer 1

Most likely it's related to water quality.  Need to buy a test kit, that tests ammonia and nitrites.  Make sure both are at 0ppm.  Read this:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biolog...

Red spots-could be a sign of ammonia poisoning, bacterial infection, or parasite infection.  But, since they died within 2 days of buying them, I'd again think it's along the lines of water quality.

It would also help to know the tank size, number/types of fish in the tank, how long the tanks been up and running......

.

Answer 2

HMM...do you have gravel (or pebbles), plants, CONDITIONER FOR THE WATER?, and other fish items??? you NEED those items if you want your fish to live...you see i had fish (gold fish) and they always died cause i didn't know how to take care of them. i didn't have gravel or plants and didn't even havee conditioner...RIGHT when i got them and then overnight...they died. i was like SO sad. anyway, i got a betta and i did LOTS of research on it and now its really healthy and active...

to make it short:

you didn't have a the right items...OR

you don't really know that much about your fish...

am i right?

Answer 3

I'm assuming you never used water conditioner, have a filter, gravel, plants and decorations, etc.

It's essential to have a filter and heater.

There are many other things you need to learn about fishkeeping. Here's a site which will give you easy to follow directions, tell you what supplies are needed, and tell you about the nitrogen cycle.

I assume you never cycled your tank. It's important that you do so. Go to the site below to learn how. The fish most likely died of high ammonia.

www.fishlore.com

Answer 4

Maybe you should clean out the tank and go to a pet store somtimes they have stuff you can treat your tank with.

Answer 5

You may have to replace the water then test it use water conditioner. Also you matbe stessing the fishes if they have a small tank. Though never use tapwater without water conditioner like tetra aquasafe.

Answer 6

replace the water in case the dead fishes left diseases in the water also maybe a light could work and do you have a filter or something to keep bubbles in the water that might be a problem if you dont...are you feeding them to much or to little?  

Answer 7

The fish will be dieing from ammonia poisoning. In a new tank the biological filtration is not working to process waste ammonia.

Have a read of the link below, it explains how the nitrogen cycle works in the tank, and how to set it up.

As an emergency measure, yes, do some large partial water changes. The fish can live in treated tap water, they cant live in ammona polluted water. You will need to keep doing partial water changes, maybe every day, for a couple of weeks untill the filters cycle bacteria become established.

Make sure you have some water treatment too, some tap water still contains traces of the chlorine that was used to treat it. The chlorine kills anything biological in the water, inculding fish.

The light is not needed unless you want to grow live plants. The fish can live fine by normal room light.

If you set up a new tank and dont run a fishless cycle then you MUST only add a few fish to begin with. Untill the filter starts working fully there is no way to remove the fish's waste (apart from water changes).

Ian

Answer 8

Ammonia Poisoning

Fish are gasping for air at the surface. New tank setup or a tank with too many fish.

treatment: Ammonia poisoning is easily preventable. Avoid adding expensive and less hardy tropical fish until the aquarium has cycled. For more information on cycling your aquarium please read about the aquarium nitrogen cycle. You can use a substance called zeolite to help absorb ammonia but the best solution is to ensure that your aquarium has cycled and that your tank is not overcrowded. If your tank has not yet completed the nitrogen cycle, you will need to perform frequent water changes to keep the ammonia levels down.

Answer 9

make sure if you have fish they have the right type of water, there is either fresh or salt water and if ur going to replace the watermake sure it's room temprerature i wouldn't really know but make sure you have the right type of water water temp. and fish food and every thing else

Answer 10

mabye u need to get them a light and r they salt water fish mabye u need to get new water

Answer 11

Adding fish to a brand new aquarium stresses the fish, and sometimes it can be fatal. If you have added fishes to the brand new aquarium that may be also the reason.

Salt bath:  So a salt bath is a good way of treating the fish without damaging the bacteria we need. It is a good antiseptic and fungicide. If you are using high doses, its best to try to gradually raise the concentration, so the fish don't become stressed. Sometimes it can be effective to use a short salt bath, with higher salt concentration (such as fungal infection - 10G/Liter for 30 min).

If you are using new aquarium you could visit http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fish... which will then prevent any fish going through the hazardous experience.