# HELP...I'm new to having a big tank and my fish are slowly dying.



## Emilya26 (May 26, 2014)

Ok first off let me say that I am VERY new to this stuff. Of course my tank is NOT cycled. I've trod reading up on how to do it WITH fish in the tank and to be frank I get soooo lost. I just don't get it. I am more of a step by step person. I get lost in all of the other talk. Let me explain how I got where I am. 

I got a 20 gallon tank and the lady at Petco told me to put water conditioner in the water and turn the filter (Aqueon for 30 gallons ) on for 1 day. We had it on for a week only because that was the next time were were able to go out and get fish. I understand that I should have "cycled" the tank first but I didn't know. Anyway I went to Petsmart and got 2 Black Mollies 4 Guppies and 1 Corydoras. I know NOW that Cory's need more "friends" but again I didn't think about these things nor did I think it mattered THEN. A few days later one of the mollies had babies (about 20). 2 of the Guppies died. I did test my water and everything seemed high apart from a high PH. I lowered it and few days later got 1 more guppy, 3 more Gold Mollies (one which brought about 5 babies), a bigger Cory and 2 African Dwarf fish. The one guppy died and the big Cory died (looked like a wound) I think the other fish died of stress.) got 3 cobra guppies and 1 died (found at the bottom of the tank with his fins chewed up. My last Cory died as well....not sure why because he was eating fine and everything. He was out of the first bunch. Yes I have stopped getting more fish.The other day I noticed one of my Mollies was acting strange and I noticed white fuzzy stuff on her eye and mouth. And then another started getting it too but on her fins too. One Gold Molly has kinda the same but on its fins only. I bought some Ick and Fungus treatment and the next day found 2 Guppies shimmying and a couple of the fry were too. So I checked the water again. Ammonia was crazy high. So I got something to get rid of it and now Nitrates and a nitrites are high. I've been doing water changes daily. So right now my tank has 3 Gold Mollies, 1 Black Molly, 4 Guppies, 2 Dwarf Frogs,and about 25 baby fish. The pregnancies were not planned and I couldn't bring myself to kill them. Ammonia is around .25-.50, nitrate 80, Nitrite 10.0, hardness is 150, 0 chlorine, Alkalinity 40, and ph 6.8. I have a million chemicals. Wil post a pic of all of the bottles in a minute. So for now to save the lives I have what do I do? Please be specific in steps since I'm super new, it's easier for me to understand.


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## Emilya26 (May 26, 2014)

I added my chemicals to my gallery photos also I forgot to add that I have lost a few fry aswell. :/


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

First thing is your tank is way overstocked for a new tank.
Do 75% water changes daily to get your nitrites down. They actually need to be below 1.0 to be safe for fish. Use nothing but prime during this time.
Take the ph decreaser and toss it. It will cause more problems.
You can even do 2 50% water changes daily. It will take 4 to 6 weeks + cycling with fish.
Your livebearers can handle the higher ph.
Most of the deaths are caused by the ammonia and nitrites being so high as they are toxic to fish.


Hope you can make sense of this, having hard time typing and thinking at the same time.


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## Emilya26 (May 26, 2014)

Yeah I figure it was overstocked after the babies came. Just riding the waves at the moment. Ive been doing 25% water changes daily as not to stress them out too much. I figured doing 50% would be too much for them as they are already stressed probably. I'm moving the fry into a separate tank until they are big enough. They will be rehomed ASAP. I certainly has no intention of having this many fish. Yeah I should have stopped getting more after they were born but I guess a I got impatient. Oops. Not getting anymore until everything is situated.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You can not stress fish out by changing to much water as long as you change it correctly.
Nitrite is more toxic to fish then ammonia and any level over 1 ppm could kill a fish.
YOU NEED TO GET NITRITES TO 1PPM OR LESS!The only way to do this is change water.The % of water changed is how much the nutrient (nitrite) will be lowered.To get nitrite from 10ppm to less than 1 ppm you need to change 50% FIVE TIMES!
You should be changing 50% twice aday if you want fish to survive.
Get replacement water as close to tank tempature as possible and use the Prime(dechlorinator) every time.
Do not buff(adjust ) your pH,just use your tap water as it is.


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## Emilya26 (May 26, 2014)

Thanks guys will do 50%.


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## MriGuy85 (Aug 29, 2013)

The good news is you actually have nitrites...shouldn't be long before you are cycled, right guys?


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## Emilya26 (May 26, 2014)

Emilya26 said:


> Ok first off let me say that I am VERY new to this stuff. Of course my tank is NOT cycled. I've trod reading up on how to do it WITH fish in the tank and to be frank I get soooo lost. I just don't get it. I am more of a step by step person. I get lost in all of the other talk. Let me explain how I got where I am.
> 
> I got a 20 gallon tank and the lady at Petco told me to put water conditioner in the water and turn the filter (Aqueon for 30 gallons ) on for 1 day. We had it on for a week only because that was the next time were were able to go out and get fish. I understand that I should have "cycled" the tank first but I didn't know. Anyway I went to Petsmart and got 2 Black Mollies 4 Guppies and 1 Corydoras. I know NOW that Cory's need more "friends" but again I didn't think about these things nor did I think it mattered THEN. A few days later one of the mollies had babies (about 20). 2 of the Guppies died. I did test my water and everything seemed high apart from a high PH. I lowered it and few days later got 1 more guppy, 3 more Gold Mollies (one which brought about 5 babies), a bigger Cory and 2 African Dwarf fish. The one guppy died and the big Cory died (looked like a wound) I think the other fish died of stress.) got 3 cobra guppies and 1 died (found at the bottom of the tank with his fins chewed up. My last Cory died as well....not sure why because he was eating fine and everything. He was out of the first bunch. Yes I have stopped getting more fish.The other day I noticed one of my Mollies was acting strange and I noticed white fuzzy stuff on her eye and mouth. And then another started getting it too but on her fins too. One Gold Molly has kinda the same but on its fins only. I bought some Ick and Fungus treatment and the next day found 2 Guppies shimmying and a couple of the fry were too. So I checked the water again. Ammonia was crazy high. So I got something to get rid of it and now Nitrates and a nitrites are high. I've been doing water changes daily. So right now my tank has 3 Gold Mollies, 1 Black Molly, 4 Guppies, 2 Dwarf Frogs,and about 25 baby fish. The pregnancies were not planned and I couldn't bring myself to kill them. Ammonia is around .25-.50, nitrate 80, Nitrite 10.0, hardness is 150, 0 chlorine, Alkalinity 40, and ph 6.8. I have a million chemicals. Wil post a pic of all of the bottles in a minute. So for now to save the lives I have what do I do? Please be specific in steps since I'm super new, it's easier for me to understand.



Realized I put everything seemed high...I meant everything seemed fine apart from high pH. 

Anyway the Nitrates are getting pretty low. nitrites are still kinda high but everything has dropped drastically with the water changes. The lone black Molly and Gold Molly that had either Ick or Fungus have both cleared up about 90%. The black Molly which I was worried about is swimming around a bit more. Not outta the woods yet but it looks promising.  I will keep doing daily water changes till Nitrates and Nitrites as well as Ammonia are at safe levels. When that is reached...

How often do I change my water? 20% weekly? 

Also, considering all of the chemicals I have acquired (pictures in my gallery) what should I use and do at each water change to keep my chemicals safe so this doesn't happen again? Or should I still only use prime? Do I keep the filter on? I've been rinsing my filter out in the old water bucket about every other water change. Is that ok?


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## evanb (Jul 10, 2013)

By the order that you listed your parameters, I think that you may be using the "Tetra Easy Strips". Am I right? If so, you may want to invest in a liquid test kid because they are more accurate. while you're cycling, you most definitely want accurate results. Personally, I still have some of these myself (shouldn't have listened to the petsmart guy), and will be getting an API liquid testing when they run out. I just don't want to waste mine. So, to ensure that the results are accurate, I use at least 3 strips and average the results. However, in your case, with a cycling tank, I would highly recommend switching to liquid testing, or at least using multiple strips to ensure accuracy. Even with a cycled tank, the liquid is still better in the long run (both for the wallet and the fish) Best of luck on the aquarium.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

FEED LESS FOOD and stop rinsing filter until tank is cycled.Everything besides the pH is not fine.Proper levels are ;0(zero) ammonia,0(zero) nitrIte,and anything under 40ppm for nitrAte.Nitrates need to be removed FOREVER with water changes so being able to accuratley test your water is very important.As far as cycling goes;with "fish in tank" you really should probly be changing water every or everyother day(MUST KEEP AMMONIA AND NITRITE UNDER 1PPM).You have to understand that the % you change is the % the nutrient will be decreased,so if your nitrIte is 10pmm(your fish should be dead and are dying in front of your eyes) a 20% change will leave you with 8ppm(still killing your fish).Once the beneficial bacteria grow(who knows how long this will take) ammonia and nitrItes will zero out all by themselves(the crazy water changes don't last forever).BUT untill you have grown enough beneficial bacteria to convert both ammonia and nitrIte you need to be the "keeper" and deal with these.
Once cycled then you need to watch how fast your nitrates grow and change enough water to keep them from going over 40PPM.
Most here change 50% or more a week(some do get away with less as they are low stocked and feed sparingly,but every tank and keeper is different).
Most new keepers OVERFEED without a doubt.Most fish can live being fed only 2-3 times aweek(for real).


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## Emilya26 (May 26, 2014)

I have stopped feeding 2 times a day. Hubby felt bad and said they were starving because they were swimming around the tank our direction. Hahaha! Not sure which strips I have. I'm not home and I don't usually take notice to the brand. I barely found out about the more sophisticated testing kits after I bought the testing strips. We had dropped about 300$ or more on the tank setup so I was waiting to get back into the flow financially before getting the official one. I usually take about 2 test strips to be sure. Sometimes 3 if the first 2 are very different. Again please keep in mind this is my first "big" community tank so if I do things wrong please remember IM NEW TO THIS! I appreciate all responses and will take them into consideration and will use the advice from now on.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

It gets easier with time. And soon you will be wanting even a bigger tank. The only time I ever spent $300 on a tank, I got 15 of them and the rack. You will soon learn that you don't have to spend that much to set up a tank. There is always some sort of shortcut to take. Like substrate I spend 8.00 for 50 lbs. and can do several tanks

And for feeding, I feed mine 3 times a week and they do fine.


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## Emilya26 (May 26, 2014)

Oh we spent 300 for the stand, tank, filter, gravel, chemicals, food, a few ornaments that the kids chose and of course those weren't cheap. We also got a few other things for our other pets. Today the black Molly is chasing everyone else around like she used to. She's obviously feeling much better. Haven't seen her do that in days. Going to do a 50% change today and test levels again. I'm hoping everything is back to normal. If not I will continue to do it daily. Will let you guys know the results.


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