# New fish Dying Question



## Vidivici (Jun 21, 2010)

So i keep getting fish from petsmart and they all seem to keep dying. The first time i had them in a new quarantine tank and i couldnt change the water at the time due to my house water failing. The readings on my test kit all read that the water was normal, though, but i thought maybe there was something else wrong with the water that i just didnt see.

This time i got more and put them in my main tank (kinda stupid but i didnt have time to change the water on the other tank) As it is i have stupidly been not really changing the water really on my main tank lately. However all the water tests say that it is perfect. 

This time like last time the fish keep dyinh even on of my other fish died :icon_neut. So i was wondering is it the fact that im not changing the water killing them (how fast can a mini cycle happen) or am i just having sucky luck with the chain store


Additional details: I think i might be over feeding the cories a bit as I see food with some mold on it floating around occasionally (i remove it when i see it), the black skirt that was in my tank first died from some mouth disease so i have been putting in Melafix for the past 2 days. The 10 fish i got where 4 Rasbora Heteromorpha (all died) and 6 long fined zebra Dainos (1 died) I did accumulate them to the water first (can anyone link the proper way to do it maybe that is my problem) Also unlike last time they all seemed to die for no real reason.


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## Quesenek (Sep 26, 2008)

Well there's your problem, if you added all 10 fish at once then it went into a mini cycle causing the ammonia to spike. I would try only getting 2-4 fish at a time if I were you. 
I don't know how you introduce your fish, but I let them sit for 10 min floating then I pour a cup of water into the bag and let that sit for another 5 min. You may already be doing that or the drip method but I thought I'd throw that out for ya.


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## Vidivici (Jun 21, 2010)

Quesenek said:


> Well there's your problem, if you added all 10 fish at once then it went into a mini cycle causing the ammonia to spike. I would try only getting 2-4 fish at a time if I were you.
> I don't know how you introduce your fish, but I let them sit for 10 min floating then I pour a cup of water into the bag and let that sit for another 5 min. You may already be doing that or the drip method but I thought I'd throw that out for ya.


Well i would normally agree except they die over the course of like a week. And as i said how long do mini cycles last? because i have tested the water and everything seems fine. Also the fact that it is a 55 gallon tank (more water means more dilution of waste), there is 2 filters (filters are a ehiem 2215 and 2013), they are small fish, and there are a bunch of plants I would think would stop the mini cycle. Plus if a mini cycle occurs why are only my new fish effected?


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## Quesenek (Sep 26, 2008)

Vidivici said:


> Well i would normally agree except they die over the course of like a week. And as i said how long do mini cycles last? because i have tested the water and everything seems fine. Also the fact that it is a 55 gallon tank (more water means more dilution of waste), there is 2 filters (filters are a ehiem 2215 and 2013), they are small fish, and there are a bunch of plants I would think would stop the mini cycle. Plus if a mini cycle occurs why are only my new fish effected?


I'm not sure about how long the cycles last, but I would have to guess until you do a 50% water change just like a regular cycle.
Your test kits may come up clean, but from my understanding any amount of ammonia is too much ammonia your tests may not be sensitive enough to detect the little bit still there. 

If I were you, I would buy some fish from another store and see if they do the same thing. If they do just fine then you know it's not your water.

One other thing I forgot to ask. How long has this tank been running?


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## fresh.salty (Jul 2, 2010)

I've had the best luck with Petsmart fish if they haven't had them but for a couple days.

I also have to do a long acclimation. My GH, KH and pH is drastically lower than the tap water they use. If I simply float the bag the fish will be swimming on their sides at the surface within a minute and most dead in the morning.


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## Vidivici (Jun 21, 2010)

the readings for my tank (i just tested it) are 0 ppm ammonia (tests down to .25ppm) 0 nitrate, 0 nitrite, 75 ppm gh, 40 ppm kh ,6.8 ph


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Lots of things can kill new fish. The stress from going from the breeder to the distributor to the store and then to your house can be too much sometimes. I always find out the dates new fish come into a store and then wait three days before buying them to avoid the weakest stock. Try to avoid buying fish where dead fish or sick fish are present in the tank.

Always quarantine no matter what. If a fish has a disease such as TB, you could be infecting all your prized fish and looking at a teardown of the tank.

Also, I only drip acclimate now, especially with tanks that are co2 injected for a minimum of an hour. Like everyone else stated, I would only buy a few fish at a time if you are close to the store. Less fish = less stress. Also, when they bag the fish, ask them to only put a few to each bag. I always add a bit of prime to the bag when I get it home to be on the safe side.


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

Is melafix a broad spectrum antibiotic? If your putting that in your main tank, and it's an antibiotic, you're decimating your bacteria bed.


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## Vidivici (Jun 21, 2010)

they have died with and without it. Well only 2 have died with it one because of a mouth disease and the other i have no clue


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

No melafix is not an antibiotic at all - it's more of an antiseptic and pretty useless if you're dealing with a serious illness.

Are you sure this tank is cycled? Even in my heavily planted tank with few fish and weekly water changes I usually have a nitrate reading.

Mini cycles will last for as long as it takes for the bacteria growth to catch up with the new bioload. No way to really say how long that will be as it's gonna be different in each situation.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I won't buy fish from the Big Box stores- I've regretted any time I've ever done it.

If you start off with healthy stock from a reputable source, drip acclimate them, quarantine them for a minimum of 2 weeks, and make sure you tank is fully cycled and stable before adding them then you should minimize your losses.


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## DaveK (Jul 10, 2010)

Vidivici said:


> So i keep getting fish from petsmart and they all seem to keep dying. ...


The fish you lost are generally considered to be easy to keep. The first thing I'd try is a different LFS. 

While a cycle is possible, these are fish that are usually tough, so I'd call that a maybe. To be sure, get the basic test kits, and test your water. 

My rant on test kits and water testing... Just because the test kits give you a good reading, it does not mean your water is OK. You could have a bad test kit. There are also plenty of other possible problems that the test kits don't test for. In other words, the tests can indicate that you do have a problem, but they can not prove that you don't.


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