I Keep Killing My Fish. The Levels Are All Good.

I've been trying for 3 months to get this new 16 gallon aquarium to work. I started with a betta and he only lasted about a week. Which I don't understand because I've kept bettas in less than a gallon of un-conditioned, un-filtered, un-heated tap water and they lived for almost three years. I tried some corys and they only lasted about a week. I left the tank alone for a few weeks and let it cycle with flake food and dying plants (because apparently the light isn't appropriate for growing plants. After the ammonia and nitrite drop and I got nitrate I did a water change and got 6 cherry barbs. I checked ammonia levels twice a day with the API test kit and it stayed at 0. Regardless the fish started dying within 2 days. The Ph stayed steady at 8.2 which is the same as the water they came in. I spent two hours slowly acclimating them to the tank water. I use tap water treated with Prime. It's hard alkaline water. I'm using the tests correctly but I'm still wondering if it could be wrong and I actually did have an ammonia spike.

 

I had the same problem, after that I started using RO/DI water with seachem equilibrium and that fixed my problem.

 

Switch your source, the fish are likely sick to begin with.

 

Slow acclimation is actually the reason why your fish keep dying.

How long is the drive from your fish store to your house?

 

Did you check your nitrates? Your ammonia and nitrites could be at zero while your nitrates are too high. I also agree with what everyone else said. I hope things get better for you.

 

The nitrates are between 5-20ppm. I can't really tell which orange it's closest to.

 

Slow acclimation is actually the reason why your fish keep dying.

How long is the drive from your fish store to your house?

With theses recent fish the store was about 15 minutes away.

 

Can you describe with more detail about how you are preparing the water for the fish tank. Also, which filter do you use? I'm asking like that since a tank with no fish, and then adding fish, would be affected in a way that the filter properties should be confirmed and known.

 

Did you use any chemicals other than Prime?

Did you add or drip water during the acclimation? It sounds like you did but I want to clarify.

Slow acclimation is actually the reason why your fish keep dying.

How long is the drive from your fish store to your house?

OP said the water they came in had a pH of 8.2. If that was the pH of the bag water then it just goes to show that CO2 build-up isn't going to lower pH enough to make ammonia less toxic in many cases.

 

Switch your source, the fish are likely sick to begin with.

Start with this advice here and you will be less likely to be doomed from the start. Just one dirty fish can blow up the tank. That why most experienced aquarists use quarantine tanks. Even if you don't put them in there for a month or longer. Sick fish will often show symptoms in 10 days or less. That's not foolproof of course, but it tilts the odds further in your favor. There is nothing as disheartening as putting a new fish in community and he shows symptoms of a contagious disease two days later. Moving a fish, even 15 minutes stresses them some and their immune system is compromised making them susceptible to anything they might be carrying already, or existing in your tank now.

 

Can you describe with more detail about how you are preparing the water for the fish tank. Also, which filter do you use? I'm asking like that since a tank with no fish, and then adding fish, would be affected in a way that the filter properties should be confirmed and known.

I have an aqueon quiet flow 20. I took out the carbon filter and put in filter pads cut to size and added Fluval bio-max. I'm using tap water treated with Prime. It's heated to 78 degrees.

Did you use any chemicals other than Prime?

Did you add or drip water during the acclimation? It sounds like you did but I want to clarify.

I didn't use anything else.

I added a 1/2 cup every 15 minutes.

 

I had the same problem, after that I started using RO/DI water with seachem equilibrium and that fixed my problem.

Do you use anything in addition to Equilibrium like and alkaline buffer? Do you have pH fluctuations?