Please help with new 55 gallon tank

[Cliffs]

Hi guys I have a new tank and Im loosing fish:
1) 55 gallon tank
2) took 2 weeks to cycle
3) End of cycle 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites , high nitrates
4) Removed 60% of water on Saturday night and added my plants and rocks (slate and stones I soaked in diluted bleach and rinced with declorinated water)
5) added back declorinated water
6) Bought 6 3" koi from Petsmart on Monday
1st fish was really stressed out of the bag and died that night
all other fish active and eating and looking good
2nd fish got lazy and died 2 days later (weds). All other fish active and alert
I have a 3rd fish starting to get lazy and on the way out
7) ammoia 0, nitrites0 nitrates low

my waterr is hard and my ph is about 8

Im going to do a water change tommorrow
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Thanks Cliff

[hungryhound]

A couple of comments that I can think of.

Hi guys I have a new tank and Im loosing fish:
1) 55 gallon tank
2) took 2 weeks to cycle
3) End of cycle 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites , high nitrates
4) Removed 60% of water on Saturday night and added my plants and rocks (slate and stones I soaked in diluted bleach and rinced with declorinated water)

It may be that you did not get all of the chlorine off of the plants and this could be causing the problem. I know you say you rinsed them with dechlorinated water and added dechlorinator, but depending on how strong a bleach solution you used. You may not diluted the chlorine on the plants enough for the dechlorinator you added to lock up all of the chlorine.


5) added back declorinated water
6) Bought 6 3" koi from Petsmart on Monday
1st fish was really stressed out of the bag and died that night
all other fish active and eating and looking good

I am wondering if he died from shock. Did you float the bag for 20 to 30 minutes to allow the water temperatures to equilibrate. And did you slowly add your tank water to the bag (1 cup every 10 minutes for 30 minutes to an hour) to allow your fish to get used to your waters pH and electrolyte balance. If not it may be that your fish died of stress from the changing water conditions


2nd fish got lazy and died 2 days later (weds). All other fish active and alert
I have a 3rd fish starting to get lazy and on the way out
7) ammoia 0, nitrites0 nitrates low

my water is hard and my ph is about 8

Im going to do a water change tommorrow
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

Thanks Cliff

Can you define lazy. The fish was not hanging up at the top gasping for air. There are a varity of factors that could have killed your fish as well as the unknown, but it is hard to tell from the information provided.

[Lady Hobbs]

Check your pH right from the tap. I'm wondering if either your gravel or some of the stone is raising that pH.

[hungryhound]

Lady Hobbs,

Am I correct in that could be a Cl-, stress, or oxygen issue, or did I just make stuff up?

I also wonder about the temperature of the water. I doubt that it should kill the fish but to get a cycle in a two weeks the water temperature would need to be pretty high? Doesn't a cycle of a cold water tank take normally 4 to 6 weeks because of the lower temperature of the water.


That said, even if the water was heated, I would doubt that the fish would die because of the temperature.

[Cliffs]

Thanks all for the replys.
The plants were from Petsmart in containers
I did a clorine test of the tank water and the test show none
i did take an hour to add a cup of tank water to the bag every 15 mins to aclimate the fish. I did not float bag or use any of the sores water in the tank
The cycle was done in 82 degree water but when I did the water change I brought the temp down to 70 degress
Any other thoughs. I feel like I mest something up

[hungryhound]

Thanks all for the replys.
The plants were from Petsmart in containers
I did a clorine test of the tank water and the test show none
i did take an hour to add a cup of tank water to the bag every 15 mins to aclimate the fish. I did not float bag or use any of the sores water in the tank
The cycle was done in 82 degree water but when I did the water change I brought the temp down to 70 degress
Any other thoughs. I feel like I mest something up

Well you pretty much shot down most of my replies. You usually want to float the bag in the tank allow the water temperature to slowly reach equilibrium, but I doubt that was the reason that your fish died.

On a good note. Petsmart has a like a 14 day guarantee , but that doesn't help why you lost them. I am not sure.

[Cliffs]

Thank you very very much for the input. There must be something. Could I have added too much declorinator? How about this ,my water smells fishy. Should the water smell after one week?

[Lady Hobbs]

Lady Hobbs,

Am I correct in that could be a Cl-, stress, or oxygen issue, or did I just make stuff up?

I also wonder about the temperature of the water. I doubt that it should kill the fish but to get a cycle in a two weeks the water temperature would need to be pretty high? Doesn't a cycle of a cold water tank take normally 4 to 6 weeks because of the lower temperature of the water.


That said, even if the water was heated, I would doubt that the fish would die because of the temperature.

I think your points were very valid. Perhaps the chlorine on the rocks set the tank back a bit but a 55 gallon tank doesn't get toxic levels all that high unless there is overcrowding right from the beginning.

I don't think this was true in this case so I have no idea what could be wrong in this situation other than a much higher pH than the fish were used to OR were ill when purchased.

When I cycle, I turn the heater as high as it will go as heat/oxygen speeds it along. I have to wonder, as well, if the temps in the tank were not warm enough when the fish were added.

I don't believe in this acclimating fish for an hour by adding bits of water, however. I think drawing out tank water in a bucket and soaking the bag in that for 15 minutes is plenty OR emptying the bag of fish right to this water and then netting them out and adding them to the tank in 15 minutes is plenty.

[hungryhound]

Thank you very very much for the input. There must be something. Could I have added too much declorinator? How about this ,my water smells fishy. Should the water smell after one week?

I am not sure that you can add too much dechlorinator. I think I over does it myself. I have a gone through a bottle that was supposed to treat 2500 gallons of water in less than 500 gallons, with no harmful effects to my fish. Needless to say I am now using a syringe to put in the exact amount of dechlorinater that i need. I don't think it is harmful, but it is a waste of money.

I am not sure what the smell of your water means. I really do not have a ton of experience, but there are many more that do. I am just trying to cover the basics so it will be easier for the pros of the board to mop up my mess later.

Correcting your water smelling problem could be alleviated by more water changes or adding charcoal to your filter. At least that is my understanding.

Another problem that you could be encountering is that the fish that you bought were not the healthiest when you purchased them.

Hopefully someone with a little more experience will be able to help you shortly. Don't worry, I have always been able to find an answer on this board and the posters here are truly knowledgeable. You just have to give them some time.

[hungryhound]

Thanks for your reply hobbs

It is good to know that I have learned something form being around you guys.

[Lady Hobbs]

PS......on another note......you can not add too much dechlorinator. OH......if you dumped a gallon of it in your 5 gallon tank then I would think so but adding a bit too much is better than not enough. When I do a water change, I add enough for the entire tank. Others add enough for only what they are replacing. For me personally, I just think it's easier to measure out the full tank volume and that way I know I've added enough. I do large water changes, tho.