# Please help! Our fish keep dying!



## andrea virginia (Jun 6, 2011)

Hi, I'm new here but desperate for some guidance. About a month ago, we bought a new 10 gallon aquarium for our 5 inch goldfish. We got it all set up with the help of our 4 year old and 20 month old who were super excited about moving our family pet to his new home. We treated the water, thorougly washed the rocks and decor and aquarium, acclimated him to the temperature, and then moved him over with a net. He was dead within 12 hours. We'd had this fish for over a year!

Dad and I had the chemistry tested and it looked good so we could only assume he died from shock. We later found out that we should have switched out his water with the new water over an hour period to help him adjust to the chemistry.

So we started over, told our oldest that his first pet had moved to a bigger aquarium. Then we took him to pick out 4 neon tetras. We had the water tested. It was good. We followd the same temperature protocol (hadn't learned about the chemistry acclimation yet), placed them in the tank. Dead in 12 hours.

This time, we told our 4 year old Daddy had taken the fish to work with him. We started ALL over except for the actual aquarium. New rocks, new decor, thinking something was wrong with those. We let the quarium sit for a week and a half (the fish were "at work" this entire time). The water tested really great. We got 4 new tetras to replace the first 4. THIS TIME we acclimated them for both temperature and water chemistry by chaging out the water 25% at a time with our aquarium water. This was three hours ago. They are ALL DYING. 

I am so frustrated. I don't know what story to give my four year old this time. I don't want to keep killing fish, but I can't figure out what we are doing wrong. I will say this. The first time, with our beloved goldfish, some grass clippings got in the tank as I was cleaning it. But I completely rinsed it all over again as well as rinsing the rocks thoroughly. We have been using a stainless steel collander from the kitchen to rinse this stuff, But the collander is one that HASN"T been used in YEARS for anything. However, my husband did just tell me that he washed it out after the goldfish with soap and water.

Please help! My four year old named these fish so eagerly and he has an expressive language delay. So this was a really big coup for him to be able to come up with four names all on his own. And now they are dead again :-(


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

If you decide to get another gold fish, you will need a 20-30 gallon tank for 1, and 10 extra gallons per gold fish after that.

As for why the fish are dying, you haven't cycled your tank. Cycling is the growing of beneficial bacteria in the filter medium that keeps your tank water livable for your fish. Ammonia (fish pee, poop and food) gets converted into Nitrites which are then converted into Nitrates, which get taken out of the tank when you do your water changes. Your water probably tested great because there was NO bacteria in it, making it look like it had been cycled already, (although even with a fully cycled tank, there should be trace amounts of Nitrate).

Cycling tanks can take 4-8 weeks, (sometimes longer for some people). You _can_ use 1 or 2 hardy fish for this, (but you may loose them over the process). You will need a water testing kit for both this method of cycling and for the second method I have listed. You basically set up your tank, (let your tap water sit uncovered for 24 hours to air off gasses), treat the water with conditioner and put it in the tank. Turn the filter on and the heater to the temp' your fish will need. Let the tank sit for 48 hours, (to let things settle and for the water to get up to temp'). After 48 hours you can put in 1 or 2 hardy fish (cloud minnows for example). Feed once every other day (a small amount!) You will have to be doing water changes often to keep the fish from dying, but do not siphon the gravel during this process as good bacteria will also be growing in the gravel. You have to be testing your water during this process as well. You will start to get ammonia and Nitrites, (which you will be helping to keep in check with the water changes), and eventually they will both read 0, while you will have a trace amount of Nitrates. Then, you have to start adding fish slowly. If you add to many too fast, you will over load the filter. (In a 10g you would be ok with 5 or 6 smallish fish). Using some live plants will help speed the process up a tiny bit.

If you don't want to use fish because you are afraid they will die, here's another option: http://www.aquariumforum.com/f66/fishless-cycle-15036.html I'm currently doing this with my 20 gallon tank. I'm liking the idea because since you kind of 'over ammonia' things, the filter is ready for a large bio-load right after cycling, so you can add all the fish right away. (It apparently also takes less time than cycling with fish). Don't use live plants during the fishless cycle as the ammonia will burn them. They will be fine after the cycle though.

I know it's a lot to take in, but it's really not as hard as it seems. There are a lot of really knowledgeable people here who can help you, so if you have any more questions go a head and ask! It's a great hobby and can be really rewarding!

Good luck and keep us posted!


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

Holly is 100% correct. You need to wait for the tank to establish the bacteria necessary for the waste to be converted. Also, a 10 gallon tank is too small for goldfish. So stay away from them until you get something larger. Smaller fish and only a few fish is what you should have. Be sure to acclimate them for at least 20 minutes by floating the bag and then adding tank water into the bag and disposing the bag water in the drain.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The gf is gone....we're on to Tetras now.

Have you been conditioning the water? Tetras are not a good fish to use for your tank to go through the nitrogen cycle. You can cycle it fishless. Not sure that is what killed them that fast, but true nonetheless.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

I agree,you should now instead focus on fishless cycling.Explain to your son the fish decided they needed to wait to move in until its more healthy for them,and you can even show your son what you are doing.That will still give him the satisfaction of having something to do with the tank,but also show him at a very young age the proper way to start.Then once everything is all ready to go(be prepared itll take a few weeks for the cycle)you can add a few fish at a time,over the course of a few more weeks.Take it slow.Have you thought about live plants?It will help the water and the fish as well as add natural beauty to the tank.


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