Fish randomly dying, not sure why

Blabomb

Also if you are having trouble keeping your water healthy consider adding plants to your tank. They will help create a very healthy tank

dizark

but dont live plants need special lighting to stay alive?

Blabomb

Ummm yes and no. They need more than your regular incandescent "yellow" lights but the bulbs they need are readily available at most hardware stores. They need the "white" lights with a kelvin rating of 6500+, I think? I am by no means an expert on plants at all so I would wait for Bryon or somebody else more knowledgeable with plants to help out here.

Amethyst123

I'm glad you read the article on cycling a tank - very important step. As you've seen, you can lose lots of fish in a non-cycled tank.

As far as how many fish you can put in a 20g tank - in general, you can use one inch of adult fish to one gallon of water as a rule-of-thumb. However, some fish need more water than that, because of territorial needs, being more active, needing to live in a school of the same species, or whatever. I STRONGLY recommend that you know EXACTLY what kind of fish you have, what their species needs in terms of food, lighting, space, male to female ratio, etc. Check out fish info on this site and others on the internet about what you have, and if you discover that they won't be compatible in the long run, then either take them back to the store and exchange them for something compatible, or get another tank (or more) so you can house them appropriately. Then, before buying any more, do your research.

As for lighting for plants - fluorescent bulbs are best; some say they are for aquariums and/or for plants, but they tend to be more expensive than necessary. Look for bulbs that say "daylight," or "sunlight" or "full spectrum" on them. They tend to have a bluish cast, sometimes obvious on the unlit bulb, sometimes only visible when lit and in comparison to the yellowish light of incandescent bulbs. By the way, thanks to cfl bulbs, you can use fluorescent bulbs in hoods intended for incandescent bulbs.

Also, make sure your plants and your fish need similar lighting requirements. Some fish need low light, so if you're using live plants, you need low light plants, or if your plants need higher light level than your fish, provide places for them to get out of the light, like shelves, caves, etc.

dizark

Now that I think of it, the light I'm currently using is a Full Spectrum bulb and does have the bluish tint.

Thanks again for the replies and information.

redchigh

If you use compact flourescents in your house, then the 'blueish' onces are the color you need for light.

I wouldn't stress about plants, you can just do daily 30% water changes and that SHOULD keep ammonia down.

To monitor cycling, you'll need to test for nitrites and ammonia at the minimum. When both appear, and disappear, you're all cycled.

You should probably buy a good liquid test kit though... They run about $35 or so but will last you years and years.

dizark

Ok so got those liquid test kits. Did a water change today (20-30%), added tap water conditioner to the new water and let it sit overnight. Made sure the water temp was the same as tank, which it was. 2 fish have died since. Measured both my Nitrate and Ammonia levels. Nitrate is great at 0, but my Ammonia was high like 1.0-2.0. I just added some Ammonia Safe from Tetra and a shortwhile after added some StressZyme (live bacteria).

How long should I wait to test for ammonia again after I have put the ammonia safe stuff in the tank?

Oh and for the past couple days, the fish were doing great, so to have 2 die today, would this be stress from the water change, or both that and the high ammonia levels?

Thanks
Matt

bearwithfish

i would say the high amonia levels ....were it me personally i would not add any chemicals to the tank as they typically just hide the issue and your test will come up false... i wold continue to do water changes daily until you see the levels drop. (NOTE: depending on the conditioner you use you may be able to use the water right away or with in a half hour.. leaving the water out over night wont do much for you .. that is a method used to avoid conditioner)

dizark

I am using API Tap Water Conditioner. What do you think is a good waiting time. I know I should wait for the water to reach room temperature, and match that of the tank. If I did a 20-30% change yesterday, what should I change today?

bearwithfish

with the API i would only wait about 5 minutes or so realy.. i would stay at 30% ... if you use a thermometer you can set your water temp to match with out having to wait .. you can get a food quality digital at walmart for like $10 and be good to go////