fish getting sick form petsmart

joeshmoe

well about to give up on petsmart fish they just keep dieing! I dont no what to do any more change to another place? my bigger Kissing Gourami has just died swiming all day long and just stoped and laied down and died. my stats are : nho2 0 n2 10 n3 0.5 <its a lil high but i went to the lfs today and they said that its not high at all is my tester going?

Lupin

Do more water changes. Nitrites at 0.5 can kill your fish.
Your tank appears to not have cycled or you may have used meds that can harm your biological filter.

joeshmoe

lil bit but i went a cuple days ago and it said that it was cycled i shouldn't of believed them i didnt have test stirps at this time

Lupin

If you have seen ammonia and nitrites zero for the first time during cycling, wait for a few more days and see if you received the same results. If you do, then your tank has cycled.

Now that you have fish, all you have to do is keep monitoring your water parameters and if you detect ammonia and nitrites, do water changes immediately to nullify those two substances.

joeshmoe

i have one of those thing were u keep it in the tank and if it gets high it will show u

Lupin

Were you referring to digital gadgets that monitor water stats?
Don't panic too much when things like those happen. It's never too bad to do water changes. Besides there's a lesson learned on this and it certainly will help you avoid that in the future.

crazie.eddie

How did you acclimate the fish?

Unless you know the water parameters are the same as yours, you should acclimate them properly..

1. Turn the lights off in the tank
2. Float the bag in the tank, this will allow the temp in the bag to adjust to the tank temp
3. After about 15 minutes, open the bag and pour some water from the tank in the bag. I normally like to use a disposable shot glass or dixie cup.
4. After another 15 minutes, add more tank water to the bag.
5. Keep adding water until the bag gets full. Then empty some of the water in the bag into the sink and continue with 4.
6. Net the fish in the bag and release into the tank. The tank lights should still be off. Best to leave the lights off over night.

For sensitive fish:
1. Put the fish into a small container
2. Using an airline tube, start a syphon from the tank into the container. Tie a small knot on the airline tube so that the water drips into the container.
3. When the container gets full, empty some of the water.
4. Continue the drip method.
5. The water in the container should reach the same temp as the tank. Check the temp with the thermometer. If there is a big difference in temps, put the fish in the bag with the water from the container and float the bag in the tank for about 15 minutes.
6. Net the fish in the bag and release into the tank.

joeshmoe

ya i do the first one all the time and still

crazie.eddie

I never had problems from Petsmart or Petco. Also make sure that when you get fish, do not get them the same day or day after the fish arrive. Wait a few days later, which helps the fish settle.

Rebecca

Some of my friends who have fish say that they often have problems with Petsmart fish; either they're tanks get infected or the fish dies or something horrible happens. It may be whoever they buy from; maybe different areas buy from different suppliers and some suppliers have inferior fish (which could be why only SOME people have problems with PS fishies.)