# My fish. Or lack of...



## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

Ok, so over the last couple of weeks I have been gradually adding some fish.
I started off (as advised) with some platys. Then I got a few guppies and 2 dwarf gouramis.
The Platy's I bought from our local garden centre as alot of people say its not good getting fish from pets at home. I also got my guppies (3 of them) from there.
I bought the two dwarf gourami's from pets at home.

One of the guppies died as did all 4 of the platys!  I took them back with my receipt and they said did I want a replacement I said no, just my money back.

I figured it was because there were too many guppies in the tank, there were quite alot, same with the platys.

My cousin bought some opaline gouramis and tetras from pets at home and they are all fine so I think I will stick to there from now on!

Tank's looking a bit lonely now just 2 gouramins and 2 guppies until the weekend when I get more. My light did arrive though so will get some pics up.

x


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Oh no! Sorry to hear that you lost so many fish 

Did you cycle the tank & everything before the fish were bought?


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

yep it was up for 2 weeks with live plants and i asked on here what order to put the fish in too.

Forgot to mention, my cousins guppies died (all 5 of them!) and one of her platys, bought at the same time as mine.

x


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

2 weeks is a very quick cycle - were you adding ammonia or fish food to the tank for those 2 weeks? 

Also, have you got a test kit? If you can give us readings for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate it'll show if there's anything wrong with the water - it often turns out that alot of fish deaths are caused by water issues.


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

Yes I was adding stuff I bought from the pet shop, the guy who works there used to breed fish.

I took a water sample to pets at home it came back fine, The nitrates was about 19, nitrite was 0, and ammonia was 0.2

My cousins was very similar to that also.

xx


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

poisongirl said:


> I took a water sample to pets at home it came back fine, The nitrates was about 19, nitrite was 0, and ammonia was 0.2


Was this before you added the fish, or quite recently? If it was before you put fish in the tank, then its not surprising that the results were so good as there would have been nothing in your tank to dirty the water (though ammonia should still be 0 really).

The purpose of cycling a tank is to mature the filter (by building up good bacteria) so that it can cope with the waste that fish produce. I'm sorry if I'm coming across as patronising, I'm sure you know some of this stuff already , but it really doesn't sound like you were given good advice regarding cycling - the stuff you can buy in bottles from an lfs do not do the job properly.

It would be well worth you getting your own testing kit so you can test your water any time you need to, but don't get the test strips (they're rubbish) - the liquid tests, like the API Master Test Kit, are much better (and cheaper in the long run)


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

It wasn't a new filter I put in it was one from my dads tank which has been running for months.
I think I will buy a testing kit.
My couisn went back to pets at home and bought some platys and guppies on sat, so far they are all still fine, so I'm hoping it was just because of the conditions the fish in the garden centre were in.
I won't be able to get a testing kit til the next time I'm at pets at home, but will take in another sample and if its good then does that mean it wasnt my fault they died and i can get more fish?
I need to get a plec before too much green stuff appears, my tanks not in direct sunlight but it does get alot of natural light and when I've had live plants before it makes the algae come quicker than with plastic ones.

Can anyone remind me what kind of plec it is that stays kinda small? My tank is 2.5ft by 1.5 and 1.5 high. I used to just buy the common plecs you get and swap them for a small one when it was bigger but don't want to do that anymore.

x


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## Elspeth (Apr 7, 2009)

We've bristlenose plecs(two of them) as they stay quite small. Well, so I'm told, Fremlin is the fish man, i just say what I like in the shop and he tells me whether or not they'll get on with what's already in our tank!


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## hazyreality (Jan 11, 2009)

poisongirl said:


> Can anyone remind me what kind of plec it is that stays kinda small? My tank is 2.5ft by 1.5 and 1.5 high. I used to just buy the common plecs you get and swap them for a small one when it was bigger but don't want to do that anymore.
> 
> x


Plecolita Vittata are the Mini Plec, you are looking at 2-3 inches in size. Perfect for smaller tanks.

Unfortunately the garden centre was technically not doing anything wrong in the laws eyes. They say as long as their is no nitrite or ammonia present then you are not over stocked. If we have a large import in (80 guppies/platies etc) then we will always put the airstones in the tanks and get a high protein feed into them ASAP because they have had to be starved for about 1-2 weeks before they get to us.

If you have a shop that is just for fish in your area then that would be far better than pets at home or a garden centre(our local puts puffers with fighters!)

Test kits I would recommend are Waterlife Liquid Test Kits(Ammonia and Nitrite)(unless using Amquel then Ammonia turns grey ) and Interpet Liquid Kits(Ammonia and Nitrite) those 2 are all you really need. They should be about £7-8 pound a piece.

*Heidi*


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

Thanks 

Don't have a tropical fish specialist close, but I'm working on my cousin driving me to glasgow to get some fish, from the shop I always went to when I lived there, the guy was fantastic. Its only 1.5 hours away and they do put air in the bags so the fish would be ok that long in a bag??

I'm looking for a tropical fish specialist closed but dunno if there is.

x


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## Elspeth (Apr 7, 2009)

Should be a PM!


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

poisongirl said:


> It wasn't a new filter I put in it was one from my dads tank which has been running for months.


That makes a difference - I thought you'd set up a new tank with a new filter 

Definitely get your water tested again, just to make sure its all ok. And if you are going to buy yourself a test kit I'd get one that tests pH and Nitrate aswell as Ammonia and Nitrite. I know Ammonia and Nitrite are the important ones, but the more you know about your water the better (imo!). You can get the API master kit for under £20 on ebay and it'll last you aaaages


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## Guest (Apr 8, 2009)

Guppies aren't as hardy as they used to be due to the development of fancy strains. Unless you get them from a trusted source such as a breeder then there isn't really any point in buying them as they rarely last long.

As the others have said, try to get your own test kit. You'll be surprised how problems with water quality can arise overnight and even 0.2ppm of ammonia is lethal to most fish. Regarding test kits I use the ones from Salifert by TMC, they cost around £7 each and they are very accurate.

I wouldn't really rely on a plec to deal with algae. Most species such as _Peckoltia vittata _don't consume large amounts of algae, the same applies to most _Panaque_ and _Hypancistrus_ species. I would try some Amano shrimps (_Caradinia multidentata_) instead. Some people will recommend Otocinclus, however these are quite sensitive to new tanks and need pretty good water quality.


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## PoisonGirl (Oct 24, 2008)

Just back from pets at home again... with a water test and no fish!

Nitrates was 17, nitrite was 0, and ammonia was 0. Cousins was the same. So I must be doing something right 

Have been looking on ebay for testing kits too theres a few good ones.

Will test again and hopefully get more fish at the weekend.

Thanks guys 

x


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