All Fish Are Dead, Now It's A Start Over

[fotoladysince9]

Ok this is to the experts. I have a 20 gallon tank without fish. It's a start over. First I'm not sure what my first concern should be before I get more fish. When I visit Petsmart I get different responses each time I go. Therefore, I'm hoping to get solid help from someone here in tis forum.

What should I do first? My water seems really warm. What settings should my heater have? My water has evaporated. Should I do a water change while there isn't fish? Should I just simply add water?

What type of fish should I get as a beginner for the thousandth time beginner? I want fish large enough to see from a distance. I tried the tiny ones and they weren't fun to watch.

Should I buy a kit and test my own water? Pet Smart always encourage me to let them check it. If I had a kit at home perhaps it would help me to respond to my tanks need more often, I guess.

Your help appreciated in advance.

[Cliff]

I would suggest empty the tank and give it a good cleaning with only water, not soap of any kind.

Refill it with dechlorinated water and bring the temp up to 78F. I would also suggest getting yourself a good liquid test kit and then completeing a fishless cycle to get your tank ready for fish. There is a link below in my sig to a thread here that explains how to do a fishless cycle

While your tank is cycling, you can figure out what type of fish you wnat to stock

[PAMOJA4LIFE]

I'm going to follow this thread closely coze I've lost 90% of my fish in less than two months since I bought them
Try downloading and reading the free ebook, that's what I did and I'm reading it now.
I'm now tryng to understand the fishless cycle

[Cermet]

There are some really serious issues here when you are concerned how warm your tank water seems!

The first step is to download and read the FREE fish keeping book here(http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ead.php?t=1602)

Do not buy any fish until you read up on fish keeping like temperature of the water and how to measure and set this critical parameter. Also, you need to understand about cycling and if you want to do a fishless or fish cycle (this thread is in the beginners section).

Critically, determine if you have untreated or city (treated) water (treated water contains chlorine compounds that can be deadly to fish and YOU must buy chemicals to remove this toxin before adding fish and when ever you add this type of water to the tank.)

Best of luck

[fishmommie]

++ to what Cermet and Cliff said

I was just like you 10 months ago - well, without the dead fish. But I knew nothing about fish keeping and soon learned I could not rely on the advice from PetSmart etal.

I found this forum. I studied the e-book AND I studied fish in and fishless cycling.
I now have 3 tanks and have not lost a fish due to poor quality water.
I would highly recommend fishless cycling
and please continue to asks questions before you purchase any more fish. we can help

In the meantime you need:
filters appropriate to the size of you tank - if you don't know if your filter is the right size, then ask
you must have a heater and a thermometer so you can keep check on your tank water temp and on the water that you replace during water changes
API liquid water test kit so that YOU can test your water every day. (do not buy test strips. They are highly inaccurate.
water conditioner to remove the chlorine from tap water.

If you cycle with fish, you must also do DAILY water testing to check for Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates because any of those toxic elements could spike over night and you could lose your fish.
You must also be prepared for the possibility of daily water changes if you cycle with fish.

If you don't have all of the above and haven't been doing all of the above - then you have your answer for why your fish died :o(

Oh - and regarding fish - a 20 gallon tank is a small tank. Small tank = small fish. You could have a nice school of serpae tetras or neon tetras or some cherry barbs. there are a lot of nice choices but if you don't get your tank cycled correctly then no fish is going to live regardless of the tank size
Good luck and do ask questions

[Orion5]

Hi! :)

+1 to everything everyone said before. It's essential to get the tank cycled and learn the basics before getting the fish, so that you get out of the cycle of the fish dieing on you before you have a chance to enjoy them.

Good luck!

[Goes to 11!]

Bethy --> Meh - Online promises aren't worth the paper they're written on. :-P

What type of fish should I get as a beginner for the thousandth time beginner?

IMO, A Filet-O-fish. You are obviously not yet ready to responsibly keep fish according to this:

I grew so angry towards the fish I flushed it down the toilet.

Perhaps one day you will attain a temperament, balance and maturity that will allow you to successfully deal with the myriad of issues that inevitably come with pet ownership. The very best thing you could do until then is leave them alone, FFS [For fishes sake].

Considering your reaction to what is a natural fish behaviour, Leave all pets aside because you have a long journey of personal growth ahead of you that will require all your focus and attention and I wish you luck with it.

[fishmommie]

After Bethy pointed out the other threads/posts by this member, I am beginning to suspect we are being played. No one could be that insensitive or immature.
so sad. time wasted all in good faith

[Lady Hobbs]

Everyone makes mistakes starting out and everyone needs a question answered now and then. But I think when you have started over for the "thousandth time" and just now are asking for help, that the lack of caring is just not there.