Fish Mysteriously Dying... 20L

lorax84

This forum has a lot of European members, unless you specify that it is a 20long people will assume you mean 20 litres. Putting that aside I would still say you probably started a mini cycle in your tank. Adding a lot of fish at once to a tank that is not matured (running <6 mo) can easily do that. Without an exact list of fish in the tank I really can't tell you anything else.

Ongaku

I gave an exact list in the main post, I can give you the numbers too if you would like.

3 Platy
3 Neon Tetra
1 Albino Cory
4 Guppy
1 Golden Ram
1 Balloon Molly
4 Glo Fish

lorax84

While I would agree your tank is not inherently overstocked, it is definitely overstocked for being only 2 mo old. When starting a new tank you have to slowly increase the stock and let you tank build up the bacteria to handle all the waste produced by the fish. If you try and dump 5 new fish in after a month or two you will experience what you are seeing, a mini cycle. You will get a slight bump in ammonia which can be detrimental to sensitive fish. My suggestion is to change 20% of your water every day until the ammonia disappears.

Having addressed that I would also like to point out that the fish you have in your tank will not do well long term. Danios are cold water fish, mollys and platies do well in hard water and cories, neons and rams do best in soft water. Cories and neons also do better in groups of 5 or more.

marshallsea

While on that site did you notice temp requirements for your range of fish? This may be part of your prob. What temp is your tank?

Stormfish

I had no idea about this stock calculator. I used it. Awesome!

/threadjack

marshallsea

I love it. It allows me to plan ahead without costing money or harming fish.

Stormfish

I already knew my tank was overstocked by a few fish, and it confirmed it. But my filters are above capacity (125%), which is why I'm running two filters to begin with. It also recommended a 54% water change weekly, which I'm already doing as well. Just nice to see I'm doing it right! I just wish it could account for things like live plants for balancing out the tank.

marshallsea

I agree, its not 100% but it works as a rough guide. More people (especially new boots like me) should use it.

maxw47

I just entered your stock list in a 5.5 gallon aquarium (A little bigger than 20L) and a filter for a ten gallon tank. Here are the results(I think you entered your tank as a twenty long)-
Warning: Platy is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 2 inches.
Suggestion: If you want to keep more than 1 Platy, minimum recommend male to female ratio is 1:2 (M:F). You will be less likely to experience problem if you get even more females.
Warning: Neon Tetra is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 1.5 inches.
Warning: Albino Cory is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 2.5 inches.
Warning: Guppy is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 2 inches.
Warning: Golden Ram is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 2 inches.
Warning: Zebra Danio is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 2 inches.
Warning: At least 5 x Neon Tetra are recommended in a group.

Warning: At least 4 x Albino Cory are recommended in a group.

Warning: At least 5 x Zebra Danio are recommended in a group.


Warning: Water temperature requirements are not fully compatible between all selected species.
=> 18 - 25C: Platy
=> 20 - 28C: Neon Tetra
=> 22 - 27C: Albino Cory
=> 18 - 28C: Guppy
=> 26 - 30C: Golden Ram
=> 18 - 24C: Zebra Danio
[Display in Farenheit]
Recommended pH range: 6 - 7.
Recommended hardness range: 5 - 12 dH.


Warning: You NEED to add more aquarium filtration capacity!!!

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 37%.
Recommended water change schedule: 92% per week. (You might want to split this water change schedule to two separate 71% per week)
Your aquarium stocking level is 271%.
Your tank is seriously overstocked. Unless this setup is temporary, you should consider a larger tank. [Generate Image]

marshallsea

I believe he has a 20g, not a 5 g. Stocking wise he'd probably be alright in a planted established tank. But the fish incompatibility is and will be a problem for the fish and him. The fish may die off until the tank is right for the remaining fish.