# Got my first fish and it ended in disaster



## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Title says it all really, I'm a rookie with fish keeping and was hoping to get some advice as to where I went wrong.
My tank arrived on Saturday so I got everthing set up and left the water to clear and warm up...
Tank = 4'L X 2'H X 18"W
63 UK gal / 289L
Tetratec EX1200
300w heater
3D Amazon background
By the time I got up on Sunday morning, the water was crystal clear and the tank was heated to 24 degrees. At this point I added Tetra Aquasafe dechlorinator - should I have treated the water before adding it to the tank?
A few hours later I added Tetra Safestart live bacteria - this stuff claims to cycle the tank immediately but I had reservations as to how well it was going to work.
After adding the bacteria, I went out (perhaps too hastily) to buy some fish. Not wanting to stock the tank too quickly, I got a black ghost knife fish and a frontosa cichlid.
When I got the fish home, I floated the bags in the tank for 15 minutes. I then added some tank water to the bags, floated them for a further 15 minutes and then released the fish. The frontosa imediately seemed very stressed and swam to a bottom corner of the tank and stayed there. Over the next couple of hours he would move to somewhere else in the tank and lie completly still on the gravel. He wasn't moving hardly at all, the only reason I didn't think he was dead was that when I checked back after a while, he had usually moved elsewhere.
The knife fish on the other hand, seemed quite content - he was very active all evening, constantly exploring the tank and seemed to have taken a liking to one of the background's caves.
Considering the above, I was very worried about the frontosa not lasting the night but thought the knife fish seemed to be settling in ok.
Before going to bed, I dropped a little bloodworm into the tank but neither fish seemed even remotely intrested.
Monday morning, I got up to find both fish dead - the frontosa belly up at the surface and the knife fish lay on the gravel under some artificilal bog wood.
Did a water test and results were...

N03 20
N02 0
PH  7.5
KH 80
GH 180
Unfortunately, the test kit didn't contain an ammonia test

The GH (general hardness) seems very high although the care sheets for both fish said the preferred moderately hard water.
Obviously, I've screwed up somewhere but having never kept fish before, I wasn't sure what to make of their behaviour once released into the tank.
The final thing I should metnion is after telling people at work about this today, I was warned that the LFS I used kind of sucks. A driver in our goods in office overhead my conversation and said that any fish he has bought from this place has died - one of them even taking every other fish in an already long established tank with it. I was also told by a family member this evening that this LFS should be avoided.
So there it is, if you haven't got bored and stopped reading by now, thanks a lot and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Steve


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I can't comment on what went wrong but I've used the tetra safestart myself on 2 tanks without issue. I know lots of people don't think it works though so you can probably expect replies saying that's the problem.


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## markn (Jul 29, 2010)

Your Ph was a little low from what info i can gather. Perhaps you did rush a little when stocking but i dont blame you, i even done it myself. Have a look on here at the fishless cycling of a tank. It might help you.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Either the fish were really bad quality or your tank hadn't cycled.

I can't imagine the water quality getting bad that quickly though, especially in a 63 gallon tank.


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Morgan Freeman said:


> Either the fish were really bad quality or your tank hadn't cycled.
> 
> I can't imagine the water quality getting bad that quickly though, especially in a 63 gallon tank.


thats kind of what I was thinking, they didn't even last 24 hours.


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

I'd try fishless cycling this time to eliminate that as a cause and pick up an API test kit so you can check ammonia levels aswell. They're about £20 on ebay delivered.

And probably best to go to a different shop!


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## littlefoot (Dec 6, 2007)

Hi black ghost knifes like soft water and plenty of hiding places and plants etc,they are also nocturnal.


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

There are better ways of cycling a tank. See sticky post.

Frontosa and ghost knife fish do not live together. totally different water requirements. Frontosa are also not idea to be kept solo. Ghost knife are fairly sensitive fish and can be lost simply due to stress.

My suggestions. Go for hardy community fish until you get the hang of it. Dont feed for at least 3 days after putting any new fish into a tank. Fish can go 2 weeks without food so this is more than safe (subject to the species, a few need daily feeds but are specialised fish you probably wouldnt even dream of buying as yet, puffers and stingrays being a couple off the top of my head)

One tip, research research research. A lot of the stuff pet shops sell to go into fish tanks are rubbish, this from a person who used to own a Tropical fish shop. Those filter start cultures are usually long dead before they even get anywhere near a tank. Just because they sell it, doesnt mean its any good.

Research your fish and keep a list of fish you are going to be stocking, do not buy anything that is not on that list of fish when you go into a shop. Also NEVER buy the lonely looking 'poor baby' that is sitting by itself at the back of a tank somewhere, if its not swimming activly you dont want it. Again subject to species, some fish like plecs will do that.

Do not buy a common plec, a sailfin plec or an unidentified one. They get HUGE and will take up your entire filter capacity by themselves. They seem to put out 3 times more than what goes in them. A good community plec that cleans well is a bristlenose plec, aka ancistrus. Any of the ancistrus species will be fine, and may even breed for you for some extra cash. Always sellable.

Make your list first now, then get a few hardy tetra (after reading new tank sticky thread)

PM me if you are not sure of any species and I will advise if you like. Please remember its only my opinion though and others would maybe disagree. Fishkeeping isnt always an exact yes/no. There is trial and error involved in putting some fish together also.



edit

ps. that shop that sold you a knife and a frontosa without asking a heap of questions regarding if they are going into the same tank, stay clear of them. They dont seem to have much care for the advice they give. Any decent shop would have questioned you about that knife since they are hunters and will gladly each pretty much any fish big enough to fit into their mouths. Same goes for the frontosa. The main flag for the shop should have been the completely different setups and water they needed.

Look around and find another shop, if they dont question you about your purchases, move on to another till you find one that will say NO when you ask them if you can keep those two fish together, you might that way find a shop that is going to give you sound advice.

edit again lol

should I have treated the water before adding it to the tank?
Dechlor in a nutshell
Your filter is there for a home for your bacteria
chlorine kills bacteria, its why its in our water, otherwise dechlor the tank first if your using a hose to top up.
hence, always dechlor water before it goes into tank.
never wash any part of filter sponges under a tap or in fresh water, only ever in water out of your tank.
If you run out of dechlor, standing water for 24 hours or longer will dissapate the chlorine. Not ideal though
Get a pond version of dechlorinator, same stuff just more concentrated and lasts heaps longer. We use one bottle a year of the pond version. One a week of the tank version.


You might find some black filter sponge or carbon in your filter, take it out. throw it away and replace with normal (blue) sponges. Carbon soaks up ammonia, starving your bacteria. It also releases that ammonia back into the tank in one go when its soaked up enough, you will not know its doing it. A healthy filter does not need it and fluval are demons for their filter systems. Also do not take their advice and change sponges every 2 weeks. eeeeeeeks. Their filters runs in a fashion designed to force you to spend money constantly and your tank is in a constant state of being on the brink of crashing. Only replace sponges when they are too thick of grime to rince out anymore, also do not overclean your sponges. a quick rince to get the thick of grime off them is enough, and only clean when your filter starts to slow down a bit. Dont clean as a routine and never on the same day as water changes.


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## wiggywhitetrash (Sep 11, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice guys. I got some tiger barbs on Tuesday as I hear they are a very hardy fish. After almost a week they seem to be doing well. They're eating ok and no longer hiding. They seem to fight a lot but I think this is normal as they are establishing a pecking order. Got a pictus Catfish today which so far, also seems to be doing well. A video for anyone interested...

YouTube - video-2011-04-09-14-56-47.3gp


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Nice tank! Barbs look nice against the stone background.


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## nicnet (Apr 3, 2011)

Just a note, pictus cats dont really like being by themselves, and are fairly sensitive to water quality. I'd get some more later. They look great when they are in shoals.


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