ALL of of my fish are dead or dying!!!!

molliefan09

I have read through the thread and +1 to everything said....and WELCOME aphid, we are glad to have you here!!! Im sorry to hear about the loss of your boyfriends fish but hopefully we can help you get on the right track and he will have a happy, thriving, beautiful tank!!!

Aphid

All of the fish are dead.

The closest fish store is over an hour away and between jobs and school it is so hard to get up there. He's just going to start completely over. This time we will be sure to make sure we have several sources tell us the fish we are getting are compatible and that they require the same things, whether they need to be in schools, and so on; that we are not overstocking and that no fish will exceed four inches in its lifetime.

I'm still going to get a vial of the water and if there is an opportunity, I will go have it tested in case it is some other problem. I'm pretty confident, however that it is as everyone says and that there was just too much bacteria in the tank from overstocking.

Thanks so much to everyone for your extensive help and following through with me. It is so greatly appreciated and great to know there are people out there who don't just think of themselves and can be selfless enough to really care about some stranger's tank and little stranger fish!!

I will definately try to use this forum as a resource as well to help us in our fresh start!

JohnnyD44

Sorry to hear about the rest of your losses. Don't give up though...it's tough and sucks to have to start over, but hopefully on here you can gain the resources and knowledge to achieve aquaria that is exciting to you and your bf rather than looking at your aquarium as a chore or just work.....

One side note: if you do decide to start fresh, I would do a fishless cycle on your tank....it may tank longer, but it's easy, and most of all you don't have to have fish stressed through numerous water changes.

No matter which way you choose to start your new tank....the number one rule with new tanks is to be patient....patience is everything when setting up a new tank....i've seen so many people jump the gun and crash a cycle because they got sick of waiting...

cheers to a fresh beginning!!

PaperclipGirl

Aphid,

I know Pep recommended it, but I have to agree -

Use the AqAdvisor - I love it.

I bought a used tank and the people I got it from had several incompatible species in there because they "looked nice" and didn't buy enough of ones that like to be in schools. I haven't started adding too much to the tank as I want to make sure the water cycle is actually done before I do, but I have re-homed a few fish that just didn't get a long and one that was too big for the tank.

The tank I bought was stocked at 154% of its capacity and that was only 12 fish in a 55g tank! And when we were tearing it down they were talking about what fish I could consider adding to the tank - but it was already overstocked!

The AqAdvisor helped me determine which fish were a good fit for the size of my tank, which ones were compatible, which ones needed to be in groups or alone, what basic tempertature and pH they need to be at, whether I needed to add filtration or not. I really find it useful. It even said I needed to make sure I had a lid as one species jumps out.

I go on there frequently and just put together combinations for the the heck of it.

Best of luck to you guys starting over!

Byron

I'm just going to comment on a couple of things in an effort to ensure you understand and can avoid future problems like what you've gone through.

The problem was not the bacteria, it was the number of fish and the uncompatibility of those fish. Too many fish in a small tank means high ammonia and this is deadly to fish. The bacteria and biology simply cannot support more fish.

The other thing that jumped out at me is your comment about fish reaching 4 inches for this tank. A 4-inch fish is way too big for a ten gallon tank. Nothing in such a tank should be more than 2 inches to be safe, and only a few if they are 2 inches at maturity.

Good luck, and if questions arise, ask us. We are all here to offer guidance as we can.

Byron.

JohnnyD44

+1

nomel

Doesn't look like anyone recommended this, but google "freshwater nitrification cycle". This will explain what your filter is actually doing and why the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings and from your test kit are interesting. The existence or imbalance of these chemicals in your water is, as everyone has suggested, what caused the loss of your fish.
If you find a nice explanation, it will mention that this is the reason you can never wash your filter material under tap water or use tap water that hasn't been dechlorinated for replacement...the chlorine kills the bacteria that you'll read about!

Can you describe the filter that he has and how often he changes the water?

This part you can ignore if you choose since many will disagree:
Fish compatibility had nothing to do with your loss...there weren't pieces missing from a crazy killer and one species wasn't wiped out...they all died, meaning something was wrong with the water. I'd take the fish incompatibility with a half grain of salt.

And, preparing for more disagreement, if he was changes a largish portion of the water every week (>25%), the tank, being 20G and not a 10G, can handle that many fish BUT not with the filter you have. I believe that your tank, with the amount of water changes that were done, cannot process as much waste as your fish were creating. I'm guessing the filter is a hang-on-the-back filter with two thin filter inserts, probably half inch total thickness.

I say with the amount of water changes done because you can keep a 10lb bass in a properly shaped tank if you change the water every day...he'll just have a terrible existence. :)

Am I right about the filter??

1077

]
Compatibility of fishes does not simply mean fish that won't eat other fish although that would seem to be important if one wants to keep the fish for any given period of time.
Compatibility also means that fish share similar pH,KH.GH,and temperature requirements. If this is not so,then fishes can become stressed which in turn can lead to weakened immune system and at that point, fish are more suceptible to Illness. Fish in crowded conditions where they are under constant threat of predation or are harrassed day in an day out ,seldom live long or as long as they might in less stressful,crowded conditions.One need only observe the Male livebearers in tanks where there are few females to realize this. Applys to other fish as well.

Frequent water changes alone or even with heavy filtration, do not insure that fishes kept in crowded tanks ,or large fish in small tanks,will remain healthy. One must also consider frequency of feedings,amount of food offered ,and Ph of a particular sample of water. Ammonia levels in crowded tanks can fluctuate during the course of a day depending on how much waste is produced by the fish, and how much food is going uneaten and at pH levels above 7.0 ,,ammonia is much more toxic than at lower levels.
Many who change water in cowded grow ourt tanks for example ,change large amounts of water daily for reasons stated. Point being,, weekly water change might not be sufficient.
Would agree that knowledge of nitrification process or (cycling ) would be in my view,mandatory reading for anyone setting up a new aquarium. Most of the published books on fishes(tropical ) and their care ,will contain this information. I would were it me,,, begin there.
Opinions on the internet are as numerous as blades of grass on a golf course and can often only confuse the new hobbyist.

nomel

I agree with 1077 completely. His opinion is should be considered more of a tree trunk than a blade of grass though.

But, I'll still disagree that incompatibiltity had anything to do with this case of mass loss or that it will be any realistic problem for you.

1077, do you still think that tank is overstocked, being a 20G and not a 10G like was first posted, assuming proper maintenance?

1077

I am perhaps the wrong person to ask about stocking tanks. I prefer larger tanks with fewer fish.
Will say that if algae eater mentioned was /is Common Pleco then maintaining water quality will be uphill battle.