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Major Fish Problem2007-11-24 23:38:54

I just spent over 250 dollars on a stand and gorgeous set-up for my 40 gallon fish tank. I hated the rocks I had and purchased the type of sand that balances the ph in the water. So I put all the fish (2 bala sharks, 2 tiger barbs, 1 ghost knife, 1 sucker fish, 1 yellow tail, and 1 eel in my 10 gallon while I set up. I waited an hour and the fish began fighting with each other so I called the fish guy asked if it would be alright if I put the fish although the water was still hazy. He tells me its ok, its normal, the water is just settling, the fish will be fine, mind you I asked him twice. So I put them in the 40 gallon and before I know it 12 hours later all are dead except the ghost knife and the sucker fish. In fact, I had to help two "pass away" because it was clearly obvouis they were suffering and I wasnt about to let them die like that ever though they are fish. What happened!??! I'm angry and sad, did he give me the wrong sand with a high ph? Or what?!

Answers:

It sounds as if you didn't acclimate them properly. and that they probably died from the shock of being put into 2 different kinds of water in a short period (I don't know if you had any filteration setup in your 10 gallon or any places for the fish to hide while you were setting it up, but that would contribute to their stress- I personally do not know if those species you got are even compatable.).

Fish need to be acclimated rather slowly to new water (I've killed a few by not doing this), and it's not a hobby you can rush with. The filter should also be established before adding very many fish at a time (it needs to develop the bacterial "slime" which breaks down ammonia and nitrite).

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call pet store

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Salt water or fresh? You always wait 24 hours before putting the fish in new water. You float them in the little bags they come in to acclamate them to the water temperature for hours before you release them. You didn't specify what the water temp was, either. There are so many variables that can kill your fish besides temperature. Get a book, go online, get all the information you can get before you attempt it again.and take those dead fish back to the store for a refund. Good Luck!

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did they have some kind of water circulator to put air into the water? and dont sharks need salt water?. i dont know about the rest.i would go with rocks though cause sand can easily get kicked up by the fish or water circulation making the water smoky, but i dunno why they all started fighting.

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they my have killed each other

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Whoa! How long did you wait after setting up the tank before you added the fish? The water should never be cloudy before you add the fish. First, did you rinse the rocks and sand BEFORE setting up your tank? I usually wait a week after setting up before adding any fish or live plants. It sounds like your fish guy needs more experience before answering your questions. During the week before adding anything living, you need to test for pH, water hardness, and also gives time for the chlorine to dissolve out from the water. I would start over, rinsing out the rocks and sand outside the tank. Rinsing inside the tank only keeps possible contaminants inside. It is also possible that they sold you sand with salt on it, and this killed your fish. Rinse everything out and start over.

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Well first of all I would make sure that the fish guy was gonna replace my fish once my tank was healthy! Well I would reccomend that you know what your ph, and temp. requirement's are for the fish you want. Buy a ph tester,and also If you have city water you most likely have chlorine in your water.Just fill your tank and let it sit for 24 hours and the chlorine will evaporate.There are products that will eliminate chlorine from your tap water also.It Is very easy to test your own water,and not all advice you receive from your local pet shop will be the gospel.Invest In a good aquarium hobbyist book many of your questions will be answered In there.

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Fish don't do well to drastically different water conditions and parameters. The old water they were in was very different from the new water (you basically subjected them to a near 100% water change and the differences in the parameters shocked them to death which explains so many losses in so little time).