Please help!!! Ready to give up…

I feel sad and burnt out trying to figure how this fish hobby. I’m doing everything I can to do this right but I can’t seem to figure it out!

A little history: My daughter brought home a goldfish from a birthday party. Totally unprepared and naive, I went to Petco and bought a 10 gallon tank setup and listened to their instructions. Did weekly water changes, but may have over cleaned the filter and killed the bacteria because the fish died a few weeks later.

I’m stubborn. I decided to start over the right way and cleaned out the tank and bought all new substrate and decor. Researched the nitrogen cycle, that took me 3 tries and several months to cycle (fishless), but housed a happy looking male betta. After 8 months, I decided to redecorate his tank for Christmas, and simultaneously went out of town for a few days, coming back to a dead decaying fly that had gotten into the tank. I removed the fly, but the damage was done and he got bad dropsy and then fin rot and it was too bad by the time I got the medication I ordered. I tried to humanely put him to sleep with clove oil. I was heartbroken.

Take 3: A month later, I donated my 10 gallon tank to a teacher friend’s classroom and bought a 20 gallon. I have a thermometer, heater (79 degrees), fluval filter, bubble wall along the back, a large piece of reef looking decor, smaller piece of reef looking decor, a medium sized full fake plant, and white gravel. I cycled it using Fritzyme TurboStart 700 and ammonia, and a little higher water temp, and kept the lights off to not get algae, and bought 3 tetras on Sunday, once the ammonia and nitrite were zero after 24 hours and I did a water change. When I got home from the pet store, I noticed some white stuff floating around the tank. By the time I acclimated the fish (took almost 2 hours due to pet store water with toxic levels of everything and a very different pH than my tank water), the floaters seemed to have mostly settled so I introduced the fish to their new home. I put some aquarium salt to help them calm down, and some Microbe-lift special blend.

Now comes the stress. Two of the three fish seem to swim together and chase each other fine, while the 3rd seems to mostly keep in hiding. He comes out on occasion and swims around, but hides whenever I come around (I think he hates me haha), and only seems interested in his reflection when I turn the lights on. I know it takes a bit for the fish to get used to their new home, so I kept the light off for the night and didn’t feed them at first. The next morning I tried to feed them Hikari micro pellets, but they just floated around the top and when they fell, they didn’t fall anywhere near the fish and they didn’t see them so they just sat on the gravel. I didn’t feed more in case they ended up seeing it on the floor and eating it, but they didn’t. In the evening, I tried some freeze dried bloodworms. Same scenario and they just ended up sitting on the gravel. Next feeding, I tried Bug Bites tropical flakes, with a tiny bit more success. 2 or 3 of the fish at least got one tiny crumb haha. I can’t decide if my hider got any. Next feeding, tried a small combo of the pellets and bloodworms and nothing, and this morning I tried more pellets and nothing. All sitting and collecting at the bottom of the tank. I decided to vacuum out what food I could see so it didn’t decay and mess up the water parameters (I’ve been testing with API master kit), and when I did this, ALL of the water became clouded with white particles/flakes!! It was sitting on the white gravel! I also noticed that it looked like it was sticking to the smaller reef like decoration, so I took that out and rinsed it off. What is this, and what do I do now???? I want to add 3 more tetras to make a school, but I can’t even get the ones i have to eat and I can’t let them swim around in this crazy water they can’t see in! I tried vacuuming out the large floating pieces, and checked the filter media… what the heck? I’m trying to do everything right, asking the forum when i am unsure, and I’m usually a pretty intelligent person, but can’t seem to figure this fish stuff out! If it’s not one thing, it’s another lol! Why is there something wrong with me?

 

Step one is stop feeding and cleaning and using those products. The white stuff is probably you managed to culture some infusoria or other biofilm from all that food and Microbe Lift. Just do nothing for a few days and it will clear up

 

Not all pet store fish are going to be healthy when you bring them home, especially from a big box store.

IMO Don't add food for at least 24 hours if they didn't take it eagerly on the last feeding. Let them get hungry, both to keep up with water quality and so it is obvious whether or not they are eating on the next attempt.

the dead fly did not ruin your tank on the first restart, so something else certainly was off. A dead bug is not sufficient contamination to affect the cycle or the health of the fish. Something else must have been wrong with that fish or the setup, and determining that will likely help you succeed in solving your current puzzle.

In both cases it is possible you started out with a fish whose health was already compromised, in which case none of this is your fault.

 

Not all pet store fish are going to be healthy when you bring them home, especially from a big box store.

IMO Don't add food for at least 24 hours if they didn't take it eagerly on the last feeding. Let them get hungry, both to keep up with water quality and so it is obvious whether or not they are eating on the next attempt.

the dead fly did not ruin your tank on the first restart, so something else certainly was off. A dead bug is not sufficient contamination to affect the cycle or the health of the fish. Something else must have been wrong with that setup, and determining that will likely help you succeed in solving your current puzzle.

In both cases it is possible you started out with a fish whose health was already compromised, in which case none of this is your fault.

I believe it was due to the changing of the decor, and the fly seemed to happen at the same time. Not a recipe for success.

Step one is stop feeding and cleaning and using those products. The white stuff is probably you managed to culture some infusoria or other biofilm from all that food and Microbe Lift. Just do nothing for a few days and it will clear up

It looks like the white stuff was present before putting the fish, so a result of the cycle, and I just hadn’t noticed it until I brought the fish home. My gravel is white and I had to look close to see it on the decor item. I see that it’s a LOT since using the vacuum, and it’s been a couple of days now without any improvement. I will not put in any more bacteria for now and see, but how does it just disappear?

 

I believe it was due to the changing of the decor,

that makes sense! the decor houses biofilm which helps keep the tank in balance generally, even beyond the N cycle.

but how does it just disappear?

a healthy biological filter will magically cause particulates to fall out of the water column. I forget the exact chemistry but I've seen it in action.

 

I won't argue with someone who disagrees, but I doubt that the fly caused the tank to crash. There was something else going on.

To start with, I'm afraid you started out with some of the fish with the most health problems, but here's where you are right now. I agree with the comments above about not feeding for a few days and quit adding chemicals.

Let things level out for a week or so, then add a few more of the same species of tetra you have now. They are shoaling fish, and can be stressed if they don't have enough of their own species in the tank with them.

 

the cloud could be from silt in the aquarium gravel... Did you wash it out, I mean, a LOT, before putting it in the aquarium? it will eventually vacuum out with cleanings and get caught in the filter if you didn't wash the gravel, and it will eventually settle also, but it's going to keep occurring when you vacuum the substrate for a day or two every time it gets disturbed until it settles again.

Also, buy a small can of the tetra flakes. it's one of the cheaper foods and lower quality, but it's also really common to be used or something similar, your fish might just not understand about the worms and pellets and bug bites.
Try a basic, easy flake, and then work into the other foods and transition them.

A lot of times, breeders will start with like brine shrimp and just work it up to a flake food you could buy anywhere,pet store have it, walmarts and targets have it, heck I've found tetra flakes at gas stations. it makes it simple for people that get the fish that will likely grab "tropical flakes" as a food because it's cheap. The thing is, sometimes the fish have no idea that other things like pellets or the bugbites or bloodworms are food, no exposure to it so they dont' know what to do with it.
Buy it in a small package and give it a shot, worst case they don't eat, like they aren't already.
If they will take it, feed that, and add in other foods with it, and switch them over once they are used to the other foods. it will associate them to the routine of feeding and what food is.

 

that makes sense! the decor houses biofilm which helps keep the tank in balance generally, even beyond the N cycle.

a healthy biological filter will magically cause particulates to fall out of the water column. I forget the exact chemistry but I've seen it in action.

It looks it’s snowing in my tank lol!

 

Smaller tanks are more sensitive to small changes than larger tanks, and that can be very frustrating! As a teenager I had a 10gal with 5-6 guppies. They kept dying and it was so frustrating! I finally just gave up and stopped messing with the tank, only fed the fish every 2nd day, let the Algea build up a bit instead of doing weekly water changes and vacuuming of the gravel. They flourished and started breeding like crazy, so I learned to leave my aquarium and fish alone and let the ecosystem do its thing. I seem to always run into trouble reading online what I “should” be doing instead of what my personal experience tells me. Also, starting with unhealthy fish can make you feel like you are doing something wrong, when it’s not necessarily your fault. Don’t give up! It’s a learning curve, and you have to figure out what works for you and your aquarium/fish and sometimes a lot of fish don’t make it, but then you get it right and it’s worth the trial/error and frustration.

 

Agree with stop adding chemicals and weak fish in the start. The things you’re seeing in the water could be a bacterial bloom of a new tank also.

Don’t be disheartened , you’re doing your research and asking for help. That’s perfect. Even the experienced aquarist can struggle with new tanks. Let it settle and mature and things will get easier .

Keep testing and water changing weekly , you’ll soon get a feel for when somethings off just by looking. Oh and if you search the amount of “ I’m about to give up threads “ it may make you feel better knowing you aren’t alone

 

the cloud could be from silt in the aquarium gravel... Did you wash it out, I mean, a LOT, before putting it in the aquarium? it will eventually vacuum out with cleanings and get caught in the filter if you didn't wash the gravel, and it will eventually settle also, but it's going to keep occurring when you vacuum the substrate for a day or two every time it gets disturbed until it settles again.

Also, buy a small can of the tetra flakes. it's one of the cheaper foods and lower quality, but it's also really common to be used or something similar, your fish might just not understand about the worms and pellets and bug bites.
Try a basic, easy flake, and then work into the other foods and transition them.

A lot of times, breeders will start with like brine shrimp and just work it up to a flake food you could buy anywhere,pet store have it, walmarts and targets have it, heck I've found tetra flakes at gas stations. it makes it simple for people that get the fish, very basic. BUT, the fish have no idea that other things like pellets or the bugbites or bloodworms are food, no exposure to it so they dont' know what to do with it.
Buy it in a small package and give it a shot, worst case they don't eat, like they aren't already.
If they will take it, feed that, and add in other foods with it, and switch them over once they are used to the other foods. it will associate them to the routine of feeding and what food is.

This sounds like great advice, and will stick with the flakes for now since I did see a couple of them eat a bite yesterday.

I did rinse the gravel well (so I thought). Is it strange that this stuff wasn’t there for weeks while cycling and then showed up? Or does this silt happen over time?

Thank you!

Agree with stop adding chemicals and weak fish in the start. The things you’re seeing in the water could be a bacterial bloom of a new tank also.

Don’t be disheartened , you’re doing your research and asking for help. That’s perfect. Even the experienced aquarist can struggle with new tanks. Let it settle and mature and things will get easier .

Keep testing and water changing weekly , you’ll soon get a feel for when somethings off just by looking. Oh and if you search the amount of “ I’m about to give up threads “ it may make you feel better knowing you aren’t alone

Haha! Thank you, that does make me feel better lol. Is there anything tried and true to help with unhealthy fish that I don’t know about? Or just hope that a healthy environment will eventually do the trick?

I won't argue with someone who disagrees, but I doubt that the fly caused the tank to crash. There was something else going on.

To start with, I'm afraid you started out with some of the fish with the most health problems, but here's where you are right now. I agree with the comments above about not feeding for a few days and quit adding chemicals.

Let things level out for a week or so, then add a few more of the same species of tetra you have now. They are shoaling fish, and can be stressed if they don't have enough of their own species in the tank with them.

Thank you, my plan was to add 3 more fish after a week, but I want to make sure the environment is good before adding more! I didn’t have this “snow” with my last tank, so I’m totally nervous about what it is and where did it come from!

 

Yes don’t buy them

you’ll soon get an eye for it and avoid the sickly looking ones. Skinny fish , shredded fins ( can be boisterous tank mates but best avoid ) , cloudy eyes, unusual swimming patterns, lethargic fish etc are all avoids . Certain fish are unfortunately known for being inbred or weak, like fair ground goldfish, betta’s , certain tetras like neons etc. It also massively helps to choose fish that suit your natural water.

What tetras do you have ?

 

. . . Is there anything tried and true to help with unhealthy fish that I don’t know about? Or just hope that a healthy environment will eventually do the trick?

Knowing which ones are more disease prone, or just likely to have weak genetics, and not buy them, is the best. (Commercially raised guppies, neon tetras, bettas, and dwarf gouramis are among the worst, though if you can find some from a hobbyist breeder they're probably okay.)

If you already have them, then yes, providing a healthy environment is the best option. A healthy environment, in general, consists of clean water, minimal feeding, and don't clean anything else (leave biofilm, mulm, etc alone).

Avoid adding a bunch of chemicals with a shotgun approach, and only medicate if you're certain of what you're treating.

 

This sounds like great advice, and will stick with the flakes for now since I did see a couple of them eat a bite yesterday.

I did rinse the gravel well (so I thought). Is it strange that this stuff wasn’t there for weeks while cycling and then showed up? Or does this silt happen over time?

Thank you!

some gravel friction will cause some dust. but generally, if the substrate goes undisturbed, it will all settle. but when it's kicked up by fish or cleaning, it will float around a while before settling again, the finest particles suspending the longest.

You might have seen it filling the tank the first time, and it settled through the cycling, and now that you are cleaning and stuff with fish, it's getting kicked up. Could maybe be a small bacterial bloom as your decay bacteria is getting established. I don't see any of it as harmful to the fish though. it should go away in time. New tanks do these things as they wear in and establish.

 

I would also not recommend buying fish from chains, your current fish may be healthy, but the next few fish you get from a chain story may not be. Almost every time I get fish from a chain rather than my LFS, there's at least 1 fish death in the batch; that's one reason I recommend using a quarantine tank.
Your tank should clear up in a few days. You could probably let most of that stuff settle onto the substrate and then vacuum it, if you do have a bit of bacterial bloom, it'll clear up with time.

 

It looks it’s snowing in my tank lol!

Bacteria blooms can get severe enough that it looks like snow....but thats in pretty extreme cases.

Also looks like you have crushed coral/aragonite substrate? That will also dissolve and lead to cloudiness. Again, dont have to do much it'll settle by itself

 

I just had a thought off the back of Cherryshrimp420 ’s comment .. you mention white gravel, can you show us a photo of exactly what it is please ?
The particles look too large to be a bacterial bloom but you don’t have plants to be decaying, I doubt the decor is causing this. The more info you can give , the more we can rule out and pin point what’s causing it.

it’s likely not a huge issue but if it is crushed coral then that much will affect pH so better to know now than wait and struggle later

 

I feel sad and burnt out trying to figure how this fish hobby. I’m doing everything I can to do this right but I can’t seem to figure it out!

A little history: My daughter brought home a goldfish from a birthday party. Totally unprepared and naive, I went to Petco and bought a 10 gallon tank setup and listened to their instructions. Did weekly water changes, but may have over cleaned the filter and killed the bacteria because the fish died a few weeks later.

I’m stubborn. I decided to start over the right way and cleaned out the tank and bought all new substrate and decor. Researched the nitrogen cycle, that took me 3 tries and several months to cycle (fishless), but housed a happy looking male betta. After 8 months, I decided to redecorate his tank for Christmas, and simultaneously went out of town for a few days, coming back to a dead decaying fly that had gotten into the tank. I removed the fly, but the damage was done and he got bad dropsy and then fin rot and it was too bad by the time I got the medication I ordered. I tried to humanely put him to sleep with clove oil. I was heartbroken.

Take 3: A month later, I donated my 10 gallon tank to a teacher friend’s classroom and bought a 20 gallon. I have a thermometer, heater (79 degrees), fluval filter, bubble wall along the back, a large piece of reef looking decor, smaller piece of reef looking decor, a medium sized full fake plant, and white gravel. I cycled it using Fritzyme TurboStart 700 and ammonia, and a little higher water temp, and kept the lights off to not get algae, and bought 3 tetras on Sunday, once the ammonia and nitrite were zero after 24 hours and I did a water change. When I got home from the pet store, I noticed some white stuff floating around the tank. By the time I acclimated the fish (took almost 2 hours due to pet store water with toxic levels of everything and a very different pH than my tank water), the floaters seemed to have mostly settled so I introduced the fish to their new home. I put some aquarium salt to help them calm down, and some Microbe-lift special blend.

Now comes the stress. Two of the three fish seem to swim together and chase each other fine, while the 3rd seems to mostly keep in hiding. He comes out on occasion and swims around, but hides whenever I come around (I think he hates me haha), and only seems interested in his reflection when I turn the lights on. I know it takes a bit for the fish to get used to their new home, so I kept the light off for the night and didn’t feed them at first. The next morning I tried to feed them Hikari micro pellets, but they just floated around the top and when they fell, they didn’t fall anywhere near the fish and they didn’t see them so they just sat on the gravel. I didn’t feed more in case they ended up seeing it on the floor and eating it, but they didn’t. In the evening, I tried some freeze dried bloodworms. Same scenario and they just ended up sitting on the gravel. Next feeding, I tried Bug Bites tropical flakes, with a tiny bit more success. 2 or 3 of the fish at least got one tiny crumb haha. I can’t decide if my hider got any. Next feeding, tried a small combo of the pellets and bloodworms and nothing, and this morning I tried more pellets and nothing. All sitting and collecting at the bottom of the tank. I decided to vacuum out what food I could see so it didn’t decay and mess up the water parameters (I’ve been testing with API master kit), and when I did this, ALL of the water became clouded with white particles/flakes!! It was sitting on the white gravel! I also noticed that it looked like it was sticking to the smaller reef like decoration, so I took that out and rinsed it off. What is this, and what do I do now???? I want to add 3 more tetras to make a school, but I can’t even get the ones i have to eat and I can’t let them swim around in this crazy water they can’t see in! I tried vacuuming out the large floating pieces, and checked the filter media… what the heck? I’m trying to do everything right, asking the forum when i am unsure, and I’m usually a pretty intelligent person, but can’t seem to figure this fish stuff out! If it’s not one thing, it’s another lol! Why is there something wrong with me?

This is a very easy fix. Forgetting the water which others can give input on (which is the main issue) the issue with the fish is a very very simple fix—get more. I had 6 red eye tetras and they hid constantly and would hide the entire time I was I. The room. I never saw them. I got four more and it was a different tank. You will enjoy the fish if you just up the numbers. The water issues will hopefully behelped with other forum members input, and while you didn’t say you were upset that the fish are hiding and you did say that you were getting more, you also said you’re burnt out and I think some of that is that you aren’t enjoying the fun of a fish tank: seeing the fish!

 

I just had a thought off the back of Cherryshrimp420 ’s comment .. you mention white gravel, can you show us a photo of exactly what it is please ?
The particles look too large to be a bacterial bloom but you don’t have plants to be decaying, I doubt the decor is causing this. The more info you can give , the more we can rule out and pin point what’s causing it.

it’s likely not a huge issue but if it is crushed coral then that much will affect pH so better to know now than wait and struggle later

This is the gravel I have!

This is a very easy fix. Forgetting the water which others can give input on (which is the main issue) the issue with the fish is a very very simple fix—get more. I had 6 red eye tetras and they hid constantly and would hide the entire time I was I. The room. I never saw them. I got four more and it was a different tank. You will enjoy the fish if you just up the numbers. The water issues will hopefully behelped with other forum members input, and while you didn’t say you were upset that the fish are hiding and you did say that you were getting more, you also said you’re burnt out and I think some of that is that you aren’t enjoying the fun of a fish tank: seeing the fish!

You are so right… I was upset about not being able to feed them properly and worried that they weren’t happy or getting along. After I turned the tank light on this morning, the 3 fish are now swimming around and chasing each other! The one that was hiding was actually the first to figure out that I am just trying to feed them, so I gave him a little flake food and he ate it! I figured out if I put it on my finger and release it underneath the water, it starts to sink right away so I have a better chance of it getting to them before they run away. I do feel much better now that it seems like they are happier, and I am excited to see how they thrive when there are 6. The “snow” has mostly settled and doesn’t seem to be bothering them, but I guess time will tell. Hopefully it’s nothing harmful, but I have not put in any more chemicals or bacteria, but am checking the water parameters every day until I feel confident that it’s better. Thank you!

 

Yeah that substrate is probably aragonite/crushed coral. It will leach minerals into the water which is also a food source to bacteria and will further fuel the bloom. Google marine snow to see this action in mineral-rich saltwater. In freshwater it's less common but still possible

 

that product isn't crushed coral or aragonite.
What all of those types of colored or pure white gravels are is "white dolomite". the other unnatural colors come from a dyeing process of the white dolomite.
Dolomite is a calcium,magnesium carbonate with a hardness of 3.5 to 4 it functions similar to crushed coral or aragonite granite, quartz slate, all in the 5-7 range.
Aragonite is calcium and carbonates only. it's a common naturally occurring crystal form of calcium carbonate,
Crushed Coral is Calcium heavy from shell inclusions, and carbonates from limestone deposits.

it's actually useful to buffer against acids created in the tank. it's a bit harder than crushed coral on the hardness scale but not as hard as say basalt or granite or something like that.a tank needs
calcium and magnesium are also useful. I'd think it's beneficial however, if there's some acids in the tank, like if the pH of the source water is low, you can have heavy stripping and get that snow effect from mineral releases as the carbonate is taken. I wouldn't call it harmful though and usually passes once the tank stabilizes.

,

 

that product isn't crushed coral or aragonite.
What all of those types of colored or pure white gravels are is "white dolomite". the other unnatural colors come from a dyeing process of the white dolomite.
Dolomite is a calcium,magnesium carbonate with a hardness of 3.5 to 4 it functions similar to crushed coral or aragonite granite, quartz slate, all in the 5-7 range.
Aragonite is calcium and carbonates only. it's a common naturally occurring crystal form of calcium carbonate,
Crushed Coral is Calcium heavy from shell inclusions, and carbonates from limestone deposits.

it's actually useful to buffer against acids created in the tank. it's a bit harder than crushed coral on the hardness scale but not as hard as say basalt or granite or something like that.a tank needs
calcium and magnesium are also useful. I'd think it's beneficial however, if there's some acids in the tank, like if the pH of the source water is low, you can have heavy stripping and get that snow effect from mineral releases as the carbonate is taken. I wouldn't call it harmful though and usually passes once the tank stabilizes.

,

The pH is actually higher than I would like and am researching how to slowly lower it to not shock the fish.

 

The pH is actually higher than I would like and am researching how to slowly lower it to not shock the fish.

The pH of the tank, or the pH of the source water? or both?

 

The pH is actually higher than I would like and am researching how to slowly lower it to not shock the fish.

There no point changing pH when you have that substrate. It's gonna counteract whatever pH lowering products you put in. Not sure what tetras you have but most of the popular ornamental tetras are perfectly fine with higher pH

 

The pH is actually higher than I would like and am researching how to slowly lower it to not shock the fish.

how high is it? unless it is like 8.2+ most captive bred tropical fish will do just fine, and trying to chase an exact number can lead to other challenges.

 

It’s about 8.2

the cloud could be from silt in the aquarium gravel... Did you wash it out, I mean, a LOT, before putting it in the aquarium? it will eventually vacuum out with cleanings and get caught in the filter if you didn't wash the gravel, and it will eventually settle also, but it's going to keep occurring when you vacuum the substrate for a day or two every time it gets disturbed until it settles again.

Also, buy a small can of the tetra flakes. it's one of the cheaper foods and lower quality, but it's also really common to be used or something similar, your fish might just not understand about the worms and pellets and bug bites.
Try a basic, easy flake, and then work into the other foods and transition them.

A lot of times, breeders will start with like brine shrimp and just work it up to a flake food you could buy anywhere,pet store have it, walmarts and targets have it, heck I've found tetra flakes at gas stations. it makes it simple for people that get the fish that will likely grab "tropical flakes" as a food because it's cheap. The thing is, sometimes the fish have no idea that other things like pellets or the bugbites or bloodworms are food, no exposure to it so they dont' know what to do with it.
Buy it in a small package and give it a shot, worst case they don't eat, like they aren't already.
If they will take it, feed that, and add in other foods with it, and switch them over once they are used to the other foods. it will associate them to the routine of feeding and what food is.

Are they blind? They literally swam right through the falling food and had no idea. I don’t know what to do!! They are going to starve to death before I get any more lol

It’s about 8.2

Are they blind? They literally swam right through the falling food and had no idea. I don’t know what to do!! They are going to starve to death before I get any more lol

Well, the same one that ate yesterday just figured it out and caught a few flakes. The others are just not fast enough. They sw towards it, they have to be hungry right??

 

My tanks are all at 8.2 pH. Angelfish, Bolivian rams, turquoise rainbowfish, pearl gouramis, serpae tetras, pristella tetras, lemon tetras, black neon tetras, Corydoras trilineatus, Corydoras panda, guppies, and neocaridina shrimp have all done well for me.

 

It’s about 8.2

Are they blind? They literally swam right through the falling food and had no idea. I don’t know what to do!! They are going to starve to death before I get any more lol

Well, the same one that ate yesterday just figured it out and caught a few flakes. The others are just not fast enough. They sw towards it, they have to be hungry right??

I have had the same feeling of frustration watching fish refuse food. In some cases they simply never get appetite again and slowly die.
However there’s no rush to get the next meal in there, just be patient, most aquarium Fish would take weeks to die of starvation. It is up to them when they decide to recover or not, you can only do what you can do, sounds like you are making your best effort.

i don’t know if it came up yet, but checking the type of food and ingredients. I’ve found that many fish simply don’t like standard brand commodity flake food, and I don’t blame them it’s mostly wheat and soy filler. I’ve switched to Fluval bug bite flakes for my picky community members and it helps with mealtime enthusiasm: the first ingredient is real insects.

 

This is just my opinion, ignore if wished.

I would never use white substrate in an aquarium since it is semi retroreflective and thus has a side effect of dazzling the fish.....in human terms with bright light above and white gravel below, its a constant migraine inducing menace.

I looked this particular substrate up, review wise. It seems to have a few issues with flakes of what seem to be "snow like" bits or flakes coming away from the gravel, semi constant bloom like appearance and on occasions actually causing harm to the fish everytime general maintenance such as gravel vac and water change is done.

Nothing on the bag suggests that the gravel is unsealed painted. However given the issues with flaking and the "snow like" issue, I tend to think it is painted and its the paint that is flaking away.

It is a Petco own brand, thus as with most big chainstores, they get the cheapest they can, stick their name on it and sell it at a competitive price compared to the genuine aquatic substrate brands that are specifically manufactured to a higher standard......essentially you get what you pay for.

Personally I would clear that substrate right out and replace it with a darker or more natural one that is actually made by an aquatic substrate manufacturer. May cost a bit more but keeping fish healthy is more important than saving a few pennies.

 

This is just my opinion, ignore if wished.

I would never use white substrate in an aquarium since it is semi retroreflective and thus has a side effect of dazzling the fish.....in human terms with bright light above and white gravel below, its a constant migraine inducing menace.

I looked this particular substrate up, review wise. It seems to have a few issues with flakes of what seem to be "snow like" bits or flakes coming away from the gravel, semi constant bloom like appearance and on occasions actually causing harm to the fish everytime general maintenance such as gravel vac and water change is done.

Nothing on the bag suggests that the gravel is unsealed painted. However given the issues with flaking and the "snow like" issue, I tend to think it is painted and its the paint that is flaking away.

It is a Petco own brand, thus as with most big chainstores, they get the cheapest they can, stick their name on it and sell it at a competitive price compared to the genuine aquatic substrate brands that are specifically manufactured to a higher standard......essentially you get what you pay for.

Personally I would clear that substrate right out and replace it with a darker or more natural one that is actually made by an aquatic substrate manufacturer. May cost a bit more but keeping fish healthy is more important than saving a few pennies.

I use landscaping river rocks, or pea gravel, all natural types from the garden section at home improvement stores or landscaping supplies. Cheap and effective and usually non reactive.

 

I have had the same feeling of frustration watching fish refuse food. In some cases they simply never get appetite again and slowly die.
However there’s no rush to get the next meal in there, just be patient, most aquarium Fish would take weeks to die of starvation. It is up to them when they decide to recover or not, you can only do what you can do, sounds like you are making your best effort.

i don’t know if it came up yet, but checking the type of food and ingredients. I’ve found that many fish simply don’t like standard brand commodity flake food, and I don’t blame them it’s mostly wheat and soy filler. I’ve switched to Fluval bug bite flakes for my picky community members and it helps with mealtime enthusiasm: the first ingredient is real insects.

So I have the bug bites flakes, Hikari mini pellets and freeze dried blood worms, and a frozen brine shrimp. The yellow one would randomly chase and catch some flakes if he saw them, but it’s so hard to actually get the food to fall where they are at! I went to the pet shop to ask them and the guy showed me how he pinched the flakes on top and they all swam and jumped to get them! Mine don’t even look at the surface of the water lol. Yesterday I tried the frozen food, and had some success!! They all seemed to want it and I finally saw my little purple one eat something. That one is definitely the slowest and I have seen her eat anything in days. I tried the flakes this morning and no one is even seeing them again. I turned on the bubble wall so the food would fall and I saw the purple one catch one this time, but it’s mostly just falling to the ground because they don’t see it or can’t seem to catch it. This is all so very different than when I would feed my betta, so I’m frustrated and worried. I feel like the pellets will definitely just fall so I’m weary of trying those again until I’m about to vacuum the gravel. If they can’t see flakes how are they going to see these tiny balls haha?

 

Sounds like you have plenty of good food options. in this size aquarium you won’t need to worry about your aim or feeding technique, that’s never going to be the reason they are not eating. They can smell the food within a minute of it being dropped in. If they’re hungry and healthy they will be looking for it constantly. By withholding food one or more days and focusing on pristine water quality, you’ll make it easier for them to smell the fresh food and find it appetizing.

when my LFS sold me some rams who refused food, I thought I was feeding them wrong or not providing the right foods. I was very new and figured I must have made some mistake. I now believe it was not the case, because I’ve seen how the store I bought from has had sick fish for sale in their tanks and learned that the employee who was stressed while netting and bagging my fish very well could have shocked them.

It was a very long process watching all 5 fish die , one held on for an astonishing 2 months in my quarantine tub. eventually I would go a week between feedings. They never took any food. But really there was nothing I could have done, I’m pretty much certain of that now that I’ve bought several from other better stores and had a 100% success rate using the same acclimation process and water parameters.