fish tips please. semi aggressive tropical?
i got my brother a goldfish(it was used in one of my biology experiments lol) for and early xmas pres. it lasted two weeks(which is actually really long considering we had to place him under a microscope and give him nicotine and alcohol to see the change in blood flow(don't worry we did it proper so as not to harm nor drown him)) and died the day we left for vacation. since then the snail i bought to go with it and his rat(3yrs and then got cancer) have passed away. so we decided to go all out and get a 20 gallon aquarium for him. we waited a week with the filter and heater before getting fish. we even got the water tested before we bought any just to make sure. he wanted semi aggressive tropical so we bought 2 silver dollar fish, a rainbow shark, and another that i forgot the name of.
but the silver dollars died on the second day, and the other two the day after(it looked like their eyes got fuzzy and white and they stopped swimming and flipped upside down.)
my brother is also aware that our cousins puppy just died after being taken from a coyote(my uncle tied to chase him down to get him to drop her but to no avail) so i feel really bad for my brother because that's a lot of lose to go through in just one month. he is only 12.
so long story short. do you have any tips that i can use to prevent them from all dying again next time? i really appreciate it.
oh and the aquarium details just in case.
-Aqueon fully submersive water heater(has the arrow thing on top to pick what temp u want) set to 76/77 degrees
-Aqueon power filter 10
-Top Fin bubbler(smallest size)
-TetraColor fish crisps with color enhancer
-we have a glass lid and light on it(the ones that lie all the way across) and the back is open so the filter and heater and, well, air to get in
thanks!!
Comments
Cycling the tank has to start with an ammonia source (fish, fish food, old filter media from an established tank, or pure ammonia which is hard to find). Your tank was left a week with water, but the cycle didn't start. That's why the water tested fine. You've got to start the cycle and then test the water for ammonia daily and do water changes as needed. Then go through the rest of the cycle lightly stocked until its complete. You also bought fish that have too much bio load for a 20 gallon tank. Try something tiny like small tetras or guppies.
Sorry to hear about all the deaths (specially the dog)
But i don't think there is much wrong with you tank but maybe you need to start him of with some more Hardy fish like neon and glolight tetras (what i started of with and can recommend) i know there not Territorial but they are still colour full to look at, i put them in the same time as you a week later and they are doing really well, then a week later once those had settled down i added Territorial fish (rainbow shark, and fighter fish) they do fine with the others the fighter likes to show the fish whose in charge by chasing them but does no harm. i would recommendd starting of with something smaller that will last and work your way up when your tank cycle has settled
hope this helps
I would say have your water checked again. I had this problem when I had my 10 gallon I have since learned that a lot of the decorations that you buy at walmart dont have the correct paint and releases ph and other chemicals into the water that kills the fish. It got so bad my son who was 3 at the time would tell people everytime I brought new fish home that "Momma got new fish to kill!". I have cichlids and love them maybe you should try those.
There is something wrong with the water quality. I would test your water again and make sure everything is ok. My guess is that the tank is not fully cycled yet or has water quality issues.
What are the levels of all the chems? (nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, and ph)
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