First fish tank (ie sea of death)

[mossimo]

I have already killed 3 fish and the damned thing has only been set up for 48 hours.  All the chemical stuff says water ok, wtf?   

[Rameses]

You're putting saltwater fish in a freshwater aquarium, aren't you?

[mossimo]

Fresh water in fresh water.  I am afraid what it will look like in the morning so I keep staring at it waiting to see how the hell they are croaking.  Maybe I will get plastic fish for it.

[ejw24]

What kind of tank - marine or freshwater?  48 hours isn't really long enough to cycle any tank unless you add a micro-bacterial to jump start it...

[somegirl]

You might not be able to put straight tap water in. Find out if your water supply uses chloramine. Or talk to the local pet supply store.

[Kopfjager]

In the past I have had saltwater tanks up and running with live coral only, 30+ days before I ever introduced a fish. From that point on its one fish a month to make sure everything is good to go.

[Wanwo]

30+ days before I ever introduced a fish

I agree. It'll settle down after a few weeks. It just takes a while for the algae and bacteria to grow and stabilize everything. Good luck for the remaining fish. Freshwater fish are cheap anyhow.

[DucPete]

I agree with above posts.  I was into the saltwater hobby for a while.  Even if you let the water circulate or use a chemical to remove the chlorine, you'll potentially still have other problems. 

How big is the tank?  Usually the size is in relation to how serious and how willing you'd be to invest more money into it. 

If you want to do it right, make sure you have a thermometer, and some pH test strips at the least. 

Also, when you start a tank it's a bacterial desert and you need to let that grow as ejw24 said.  Usually there's a spike in Ammonia which serves as a fuel for the bacteria.  Then there is a spike in Nitrite, shortly followed by Nitrate.   Using a seed batch of bacteria isn't a bad idea.  But you'll have to make sure it has time to grow.  One method is to add a very hardy fish.  The fish produces waste and if it's hardy won't die in the cycling process.  But it's frowned upon because it probably sucks for the fish.  During the spike you may get an algae growth which could subside at the end. 

Patience is the hardest thing to deal with.  That and the chemistry with Salt tanks.  I had my 125 cycling for a few months before adding fish.   

[mossimo]

This morrning they are still alive.  FYI I added several solutions to bring the tap water to an acceptable level and let it cycle for 24 hours (as directed) before I put fish in.  The fish I threw in where tester fish to make sure all is ok, which is paying off.  It must be shock or something else for their abrupt deaths...  Thanks for the tips though

[Le Pirate]

I hope you're tempering the fish when you first put them in....That means to temp AND to water quality.

The abrupt change in WQ could shock them pretty bad.



btw---if you have trouble keeping them alive, go with gold fish (black moors are my favorite). they are super hardy and it's about impossible to kill them.

[Grampa]

FYI....this in not a fish tank.



never buy off craigslist

[PizzaMonster]

I'm thinking the ammonia in the water is killing your fish.  If not it's an extreme temperature change or your local water has some chmical in it like chloramine.

Get a decent book on fishkeeping and read the chapter on the Nitrogen Cycle.

In a nutshell, the fish pee in their water.  There is ammonia in the fish pee.  In a newly established aquarium without properly aged water there is no "beneficial bacteria" to break down the ammonia.  After the bacteria gets established in the tank it will break down the ammonia into less toxic nitrates and finally into harmless nitrites.

It would probably be a good idea to google Nitrogen cycle and then head back down to the aquarium shop for a good starter book and an ammonia test kit.

I spent 10 or so years raising tropical and marine fish as well as live corals.  I have to admit to learning the hard way how to do it as well.



Oh...And a big +1 on Duc Pete's comments.  If I had have read the whole thread earlier I would have seen my comments weren't really needed!

What kind of fish are you trying to put in the tank and how big is it?

Have fun!

[Speedbag]

There is a product available through pet stores called 'Cycle'. It will help establish your bacterial load in the system quickly.

Like others have said, ammonia is the culprit. The new fish are peeing (and pooping) in the nice clean water and there are no beneficial bacteria present to break it down. Takes a bit before a tank is truly good to go.

I have two saltwater tanks and my larger one was six weeks along, dark all that time (cured my live rock and sand as my tank cycle) before I added critters.

Aquariums are neato. 

[DucPete]

Aquariums are neato. 

And expensive.   

I went the reef tank route.  Metal Halides, Calcium reactor, Kalkwasser reactor, 300 rated skimmer, Tunze wave box and two streams.  Not to mention the library of books I have.   

It's pretty addicting. 

[Speedomax]

I had a nice 75 gallon tank once, with oscars, jack dempsy's, and an aligator gar. Also had a freshwater crab lobster thing, that was cool.  I bought a tiger shovelnose it was $115, went on vacation and left a friend to come over and feed them once in awhile. when I got home the tiger was dead, wtf. Aquariums are cool, also alot of upkeep ect.