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fish dying

3K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  Lupin 
#1 ·
ok, so i got a new tak last thursday, i had it set up on thursday and let it run overnight. On friday i got a heaterand put it in. On saturday i got 3 X Ray tetras and 3 eon tetras. One neon died on the way home and I found one dead the next day. On sunday i git 3 glass bloodfin tetras and 3 bala sharks. yesterday i got 2 lemon tetras and 3 neon tetras to replace the ones that died. They were all ok this morning but when i got home from school both the lemons and the lone neon from the forst batch were dead. One of the balas in floating around on his back but hes alive. Ive had a hard time keeping the temp stable and last night it dropped to about 72, but i dont that would kill them ina day. Any explaations?
 
#2 ·
First off...bala's are not good for 10 gallon tanks i would take them out asap.

I know exactly why your fish are dyeing. You havnt cycled your tank. Do you know what cycling the tank is? Well...your obviously going to have to be cycling the tank with fish ! Lol. here is what it is in short terms for ya.

When the fish poop that turns into AMMONIA which is very bad for the fish and is what killed your fish. Over a period of time bacteria will form in your tank from the AMMONIA and the bacteria will eat the AMMONIA, than the AMMONIA will turn into NITRITE'S, which is very toxic to the fish also, and than when there is enough bacteria in the tank it eats the nitrite's and than turn's into NITRATE. Which is not hardly at all toxic to the fish.

Do you have a test kit? I would recommend buying a MASTER TEST KIT. You will need at least the kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I would get that ASAP and test your water.
I'm pretty positive this is called the " New Tank Syndrome". I did it too when I first started!

Your water when finished cycled should be this:
AMMONIA : 0
NITRITE: 0
NITRATE: under 40

also, neon tetra's are not good hardy fish for the cycling process because the ammonia kills them easily

I would recommend taking all of your fish back for some credit or something and return them for lets say a few zebra danios or platy's...molly's. Those are just a few hardy one's that i can think of.

Hope this helped and If you have any more questions about this than us at fishforum will be sure to help you!!!
Good luck,

Nick
 
#3 ·
What are your water stats? How long has your tank been running?

Balas shouldn't be kept in a 10 gallons tank.:blink: 3 of them are best kept in a 75 gallons(but this may still not be enough). You are adding too many fish for a 10 gallons tank.

More bala info:
They grow to 30 cm max and as they are quite skittish and tight shoalers, they are best kept at around 6 to increase sense of security. For 6, the minimum tank size required will be 150 gallons, not anything else below.
They are jumpy which requires cover lids on your tank.

I'll be adding that for a 10 gallons tank, only neons and lemons will easily fit but neons are best added once the tank establishes around 4-6 months.

Hooky, it's best to research the fish first before you buy it. If you didn't, it's Impulse Buying which will lead you to troubles due to compatibility, space and other issues.
 
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