Hello! I'm a newbie here. I hope this is the appropriate place for me to post my question.
I've kept tropical aquariums in the past, usually with guppies and a beta. I currently have a 15 gallon column tank with guppies and fruit tetra. I purchased a used 29 gallon hexagon tank about 5 months ago. I have had nothing but problems with it!
I put black aquarium sand in it and also a large rock from the aquarium store. It has a aqua clear 50 HOB filter that came with the tank. I filled it and did a fishless cycle which took about 6 weeks. I'm keeping the temp around 80. I started stocking with 3 congo tetras. About a week later I added 5 black phantom tetra. Another week or 2 later I added 2 dwarf gourami. I also added some driftwood from the LFS. About a week later I noticed small white dots on my black phantom tetras. It almost looked like they were sparkling. They began to die off. Then my gourami started seeming lethargic and both eventually died as well as 2 of my congo tetra. At this point I had 1 survivor who I named Charlie. I thought maybe it was ich so I turned the heat up gradually and kept the tank around 85 for a couple of weeks.
I gradually turned the heart back down and to 79. Charlie was still fine. I thought maybe the wood caused it because it kept growing slime on it so I took the wood out. I decided to try another congo tetra and another black phantom tetra. These were ok for about a week. After that, the BPTetra developed the spots that the previous ones did and the congo kind of wasted away and died. Charlie still remains.
I went to my LFS and spoke with the guy there and had him test my water. My ph is high (~8) but ammonia was at 0, nitrite is at 0 and nitrates were low. He thought maybe the pH is too high for tetras. He thought I may have better luck with live bearers. So he gave me 4 rainbow fish and told me to keep a close eye on them. He told me that the wood shouldn't be the issue so I put the wood back in. I had taken my big Rock out when my second batch of fish started dying because I thought maybe that was the issue but it didn't make a difference. As of now I have Charlie and 4 rainbow fish. I really don't want these guys to die! Charlie is so cute, he schools with them and seems really happy to have them around.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Specs: I have the API liquid test kit. I've been testing throughout the process with zero ammonia and nitrite and low nitrates. I do weekly 15 to 25% water changes using Prime water conditioner. I've changed the carbon and the sponge in the filter once (at different times). pH is usually around 8 which is high but I guess it's common for our hard water around here. My tank has a canopy which gets moist and grows mold/fungus. Could that be the issue? I also have 2 banana plants and 1 anubias nana. All plants are happy and healthy. I appreciate any help. I'm so frustrated/discouraged. I've tried to do everything right!
I've kept tropical aquariums in the past, usually with guppies and a beta. I currently have a 15 gallon column tank with guppies and fruit tetra. I purchased a used 29 gallon hexagon tank about 5 months ago. I have had nothing but problems with it!
I put black aquarium sand in it and also a large rock from the aquarium store. It has a aqua clear 50 HOB filter that came with the tank. I filled it and did a fishless cycle which took about 6 weeks. I'm keeping the temp around 80. I started stocking with 3 congo tetras. About a week later I added 5 black phantom tetra. Another week or 2 later I added 2 dwarf gourami. I also added some driftwood from the LFS. About a week later I noticed small white dots on my black phantom tetras. It almost looked like they were sparkling. They began to die off. Then my gourami started seeming lethargic and both eventually died as well as 2 of my congo tetra. At this point I had 1 survivor who I named Charlie. I thought maybe it was ich so I turned the heat up gradually and kept the tank around 85 for a couple of weeks.
I gradually turned the heart back down and to 79. Charlie was still fine. I thought maybe the wood caused it because it kept growing slime on it so I took the wood out. I decided to try another congo tetra and another black phantom tetra. These were ok for about a week. After that, the BPTetra developed the spots that the previous ones did and the congo kind of wasted away and died. Charlie still remains.
I went to my LFS and spoke with the guy there and had him test my water. My ph is high (~8) but ammonia was at 0, nitrite is at 0 and nitrates were low. He thought maybe the pH is too high for tetras. He thought I may have better luck with live bearers. So he gave me 4 rainbow fish and told me to keep a close eye on them. He told me that the wood shouldn't be the issue so I put the wood back in. I had taken my big Rock out when my second batch of fish started dying because I thought maybe that was the issue but it didn't make a difference. As of now I have Charlie and 4 rainbow fish. I really don't want these guys to die! Charlie is so cute, he schools with them and seems really happy to have them around.
Does anyone have any ideas?
Specs: I have the API liquid test kit. I've been testing throughout the process with zero ammonia and nitrite and low nitrates. I do weekly 15 to 25% water changes using Prime water conditioner. I've changed the carbon and the sponge in the filter once (at different times). pH is usually around 8 which is high but I guess it's common for our hard water around here. My tank has a canopy which gets moist and grows mold/fungus. Could that be the issue? I also have 2 banana plants and 1 anubias nana. All plants are happy and healthy. I appreciate any help. I'm so frustrated/discouraged. I've tried to do everything right!