fish

[sara..... 371]

Me too. With cichlids you pretty much have to pack the tank.

As for the well water, I assume even the well water is treated?

no no just flat well water we have it checked every six months to make sure its good water we live near the mountains so our water from a mountain spring i think

[NickD 203]

Was told drinking the water out of a tap in Venezuela could kill me, what about your water killing your fish. Had the best luck with fish in the country with my own well, tested to standards, chlorine and fluorine added to most city water can kill fish, and leaving it sit even for a couple of weeks doesn't get rid of all it. Running it through a carbon filter several times can get rid of most of it. And while your own city water may be good, your dwelling plumbing could be bad introducing copper and lead into the water.

Normally a large aquarium fairs out much better than a smaller one with a good balance between plants and fish, filtration, aeration, clean filters, and a good pump, but when our old 20 gallon aquarium broke, seams gave out and made one heck of a mess, was glad to get rid of it. Get a dog.

lol no dogs lol but our water is well water we live on a small farm so i dont know i guess i will take a trip into town and ask the people i got everything from

With well water, nitrates can be a problem on a farm, can just have your water tested. Now water from the middle of Lake Michigan is also pretty good, but a long 50 mile walk to get it. Also recall fish do excrement in the tank, but are fish that eat that stuff up.

[JanaknJanet 1]

Hi.. some important things first to try and figure out what is happening

1. How large is your tank.

2. Filter syster? undergravel or pump . carbon or no

3. Water.. you say well water.. has it been tested?

4. Thermometer

Reasons is.. if you have a small tank.. many times I have found smaller tank = harder to keep water clean. just my opinion. Is there air circulation via a air pump.. that will help with circulation of not only air but interchange of the chemicals produced by fish waste.

There are many things to think of.. but .. . the first thing I would do..

Especially if the fish are dying off. is..

GET THE WATER TESTED...

get a small container.. maybe just 1/4 cup or less.. take it down to your local pet store .. preferably a pet store that sells fish :-)

Many stores will test your water free..

Also.. if you recently bought your fish... many stores will also gaurentee the fish for 7-10 days.. ..

If your ph is off in the water that can cause damage or stress to any fish.. also.. if the water being used has too high nitrate/nitrite/ammonia....this can also kill off fish quite rapidly .

Was your tank stabilized before placing the fish? or did you get a tank and put fish in before it could set up a natural water balance? Normal tank setup is 2-3 days.. to stabilize water.

Here is a really good website .. there is alot of information.. Basics of fish for beginners

I had tropical fish for quite a while until I kept breaking my heaters during water changes.. augh. got to be a bit eqpensive.. I went from a 20 gallon tank with tropical to a 35 gal for my tropical .. was gifted a 55 gallon tank last spring.. might I say the bigger the tank the easier it is..

I have a canister magnum filter that will filter at a rate of 350gph.

With a cold water tank I dont need to be concerned with temp.. but I check my chemicals in the tank every other week. I tend to get a black algae fish store simply said that it is not harmful and a increase in ph will ususally do the trick.

At Freddies I got some alkaseltzer type tablets that are called tank buddies. phstabilizer.. . works a charm.

clears water and algae within a few hours..

If your fish are dying off.. get a water test.. find out what is off in the water.. could be a very simple fix..

my tank.. 55 gal cold water

my babies

`

[sara..... 371]

thank you so much guys i finally took some water down to the pet shop that i got the fish from, they gave me some tablets to put into the water and come to find out a couple of the fish that came out of one of their tanks at the shop had parasites? they lost some fish as well after i purchased mine. so all fish that died will be replaced that i purchased from them, i will take another sample of water in in two days if its ok then i will bring my new fish home

u guys have been a great help i knew NOTHING about fish other than they are calming and beautiful......at first i wanted tropical salt water fish cuz i love their colors but i was told they take even more work than these do..........

thank you for answer so fast and so many great answers

sara

Edited February 22, 2009 by estadia

[Jasman0717 9]

Me too. With cichlids you pretty much have to pack the tank.

As for the well water, I assume even the well water is treated?

I had several mated pairs I kept in 5 gallon tanks so could use the babies to feed the pigs like the Dempsey

[SingleCharles 0]

Change water once a month. About one third.

What kind of fish do you have?

we just got them about a week ago.....two red tuxedo fish, bubble fish, a silver spotted molly, thats whats left anyways

Bubble fish as in a goldfish with the bubble eyes?

A week? Did you start the tank from scratch and drop them in, or did you acclimatize your tank a week or two before you got your fish? Dropping fish into a sterile tank is pretty hard on them. Some can take it, some cannot. If you put the fish in a sterile tank, it is possible they are suffering from ammonia poisoning.

Some common fish diseases are dropsy, and ick. When I worked at a pet store, we had a 72 hour guarantee for our fish. If the fish died within 72 hours, you got a replacement! Some pet stores are not so generous, but usually fish come with some guarantee.

For the fish you are talking about you need a heater and a filter and possibly an air bubbler if the tank is crowded.

Check out this website for some good information:

http://www.fishlore.com/FishFAQs.htm

Good luck!

I hope that helps - good luck!

[Nagishkaw 510]

Me too. With cichlids you pretty much have to pack the tank.

As for the well water, I assume even the well water is treated?

I had several mated pairs I kept in 5 gallon tanks so could use the babies to feed the pigs like the Dempsey

Mean fish. I did that with my Severums.

[sara..... 371]

Change water once a month. About one third.

What kind of fish do you have?

we just got them about a week ago.....two red tuxedo fish, bubble fish, a silver spotted molly, thats whats left anyways

Bubble fish as in a goldfish with the bubble eyes?

A week? Did you start the tank from scratch and drop them in, or did you acclimatize your tank a week or two before you got your fish? Dropping fish into a sterile tank is pretty hard on them. Some can take it, some cannot. If you put the fish in a sterile tank, it is possible they are suffering from ammonia poisoning.

Some common fish diseases are dropsy, and ick. When I worked at a pet store, we had a 72 hour guarantee for our fish. If the fish died within 72 hours, you got a replacement! Some pet stores are not so generous, but usually fish come with some guarantee.

For the fish you are talking about you need a heater and a filter and possibly an air bubbler if the tank is crowded.

Check out this website for some good information:

http://www.fishlore.com/FishFAQs.htm

Good luck!

I hope that helps - good luck!

bubble fish is what they called it they are fat bellied, and there is a fifteen day guarantee on the fish from then thanks of God.

i ran it for about a week then put my fish in we used an accelerate that they sold us stating it would only need a week before fish could be put in so thats what we did........in hind site i prolly would have ran it two weeks but beings they had fish that came from the same tank a couple of ours did have a problem and died im assuming as they are that there was a problem with the fish we put in with the others.........

i have a good heater good filter system, also a thing that makes bubbles (air something or other i like the sound)

i will say this after putting in the tablets they gave me the fish are alot more lively than they had been for a couple of days

Edited February 22, 2009 by estadia

[Jasman0717 9]

Me too. With cichlids you pretty much have to pack the tank.

As for the well water, I assume even the well water is treated?

I had several mated pairs I kept in 5 gallon tanks so could use the babies to feed the pigs like the Dempsey

Mean fish. I did that with my Severums.

It was kind of fun to get stoned and watch them beat the ####### out of each other

[Nagishkaw 510]

Me too. With cichlids you pretty much have to pack the tank.

As for the well water, I assume even the well water is treated?

I had several mated pairs I kept in 5 gallon tanks so could use the babies to feed the pigs like the Dempsey

Mean fish. I did that with my Severums.

It was kind of fun to get stoned and watch them beat the ####### out of each other

[JanaknJanet 1]

Glad that you were able to take the water sample in to the petstore..

Sounds like they were able to identify one of the problems .. part due to sick fish from their tank.. and possibly a imbalance --thus the tablets .

Have fun with your tank.. .. always remember.. It will never hurt to take a sample of water in to get checked.. ..

I always thought .. fish tank.. - easy pet.. hahaa.. the more into it youget.. the more technical it can be..

When I had a tropical tank .. I had these goldfish looking fish.. they were called cosmo. they kinda looked like elmo. very comical.. also another fun thing to go in a tropical tank... a couple of the african dwarf frogs.. they look like little scuba divers..

Have fun with your tank... again.. glad you got it figured out

[Nagishkaw 510]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, estadia !!

[Jasman0717 9]

I always thought .. fish tank.. - easy pet.. hahaa.. the more into it youget.. the more technical it can be..

Even with a couple of placostamous I would have to get in there with the elbos grease to get rid of the algae. It gets bad with cichlids, they are pigs