Hey community,
Just found this community earlier today and need some help. Last week i purchased this tank (starter kit that came with everything) for a good price and wanted to get back into aquariums. After filling up the tank with water and letting it “cycle”, thought it would be a good time to add some fish.
I was handed some test stripes from a local shop and when tested, it seemed to pass all the tests. Last night i bought 8 fish (4 neon tetras, 2 Red-gold guppies and 2 algee eaters). Things seemed to be fine until i checked on them this morning.
All of the neon tetras had died. 2 of them were floating and two of them havent been counted for. As i prepare the decreased ones a proper burial at the upstairs bathroom, I wanted to reach out to the community and see what i did wrong, how to improve to sustain a healthy environment for them.
Please let me know any recommendations, clearly the information here isnt enough, so i can update the information when needed.
Thanks,
Would you be able to explain what you did to cycle the tank?
Usually one week isn’t long enough to fully cycle a tank, especially since it seems as if it went from 0 life to basically fully stocked overnight. I’m guessing if the tank was cycled, it was cycled for a much smaller load of fish/life and the larger introduction shocked the system and the ammonia is too high.
Basically just letting the water “air out”, letting the water cycle through the filter. No additives / chemicals were added. Thinking about taking a sample of water to the shop and see what they can suggest. I like the notion that you mentioned about it being no life in the tank, to having alot of life all at once. Makes me want to research it more.
I was super bummed when i woke up and saw them dead. I feel bad. I dont want it to happen again
Letting the water “air out” often does not work anymore. Many municipalities have switched to chloramines for water treatment. Unlike chlorine, chloramines are long-term stable in water. This means they need to be removed either by treating the water with chemicals or filtered out with reverse-osmosis or activated carbon.
I think this is the answer. The tank not being cycled is obviously a problem, but not one that will kill off relatively hardy tetra overnight. Chloramines will. You need dechlorinator.