bccarver825

I have a "new" tank about 2 months old now. When I first bought the tank I also purchased 14 fish of various types and all died but 2. I know now that my first mistake was not letting the tank "cycle" before I added the fish. I still have two that are hanging on, I call them "my little troopers". Last week I bought two sucker fish for janitorial purposes. One lasted 3 days the other died 5 days later and now I have brown fuzzy-looking stuff growing on the rock in the bottom of the tank. I think that is from overfeeding. My problem is that I have spent several hundred dollars on this endeavor and if I try to add new fish...they die. The guy at the fish store told me that sucker fish were "hardy" and since the other two were doing good that there should be no problems. Well, evidently there were problems since they didnt last a week. When I took the first dead sucker fish out he was slimy and smelled awful! But, the second one that died did not. I am at my wits end! I do the 25% water change every other week or so. When I set the tank up, should I have washed the rock before I put it in? Could that be why all the fish died but two? I have a pH kit but no others. I added stress coat before I added the sucker fish and I acclaimated them to the tank, but I did not take the fish out of the water from the fish store and just put the fish in, water and all. Was that my mistake? I really want to have a beautiful tank with several fish but I am beginning to wonder if I should keep the tank at all. It is very discouraging and I am afraid to spend anymore money just to flush it, literally, down the toilet.

Lucy

Hi bccarver825 Welcome to Fish Lore

I'm really sorry for your loss of fish.

Whenever something goes wrong in a tank, one of the first things to rule is water quality.

It would be helpful to know what your readings are for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.
I see that you don't a test kit, the API Master kit is a liquid test kit, it's very reliable. Avoid the strips, they're inaccurate and a waste of money.

Whenever something new is added to a tank, it's a good idea to rinse it first. It's also a good idea to let as little of the stores tank water mix with your water. It's hard to say if that was the problem.

I know it's frustrating but with the help of our members you'll be enjoying your tank soon.

Good luck.

capekate

Hello BCCarver and welcome to fishlore.
Well, I surely can understand your frustration. Its a wonderful hobby to get into, can be expensive for sure and when you see fish dieing off, that can be heart sickening. I know how you feel.
I have added a link below for you to check out the topics listed. I believe that it can answer a lot of your questions for you.
Please read up there, and if there is anything we can do to help from there, please post it. I see in your aquarium info that you do not know about the nitrogen cycle. Its important to have water test equipment on hand, especially when starting out to be able to check the water for ammonia and nitrites which will kill off your fish if they are at toxic levels.
I hope the link will be able to answer some of your questions for you and good luck... please keep us posted and dont give up! We have all faced problems not unlike what you are going through when we started out.


READ FIRST: Freshwater Beginner Important Topics

Shawnie

Hi bccarver..welcome to fishlore !!

The gals gave some great advice and hopefully it will get better for you...alot of us that started out did the same things...at this point if you could get some prime water conditioner, and an api liquid master test kit, those will be your best friend if your tank isnt fully cycled....I think the brown might be diatoms which is normal for a new tank and harmless to your fish if it is that...

daily water changes of 30-50% with the prime will save the fish and neutralize any of the bad ammonia or nitrites for 24 hours until your next change...once your ammonia & nitrites are 0 and nitrates under 20, you will be safe to slowly add more fish...goodluck!

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore and I wish you the best with your tank from here on out.

pinkfloydpuffer

Welcome to fishlore! Everyone's given you excellent advice, so I'll leave it at that!