Help losing fish

[FrozenTundra]

you can cycle with fish - just make sure you read the cycling with fish sticky. but you have to be able to test ammonia daily and do very frequent water changes.

[Tylersdad86]

Thanks everyone, we are hoping to save the Tetras we have left they seem to be in good spirits even in the little bowl they are in, we have the water change completed on the 10 gallon and the water looks really good with not much uneaten food in there and the snail we thought was dead is still alive and moving around a lot so that is nice. Hopefully they can be saved. Thanks!

[Triton]

Until you can get the full test kit I'd do 50% pwc per day, but next time leave the fish in the tank during the change, no need for extra stress

[Tylersdad86]

Bought the test kit the night that I started this, somehow we were able to get out enough to go by the pet store. Checked the levels of ammonia, nitrite and ammonia was around 0.25 and nitirites were 0. So water was pretty good, we did 50% water change anyways for first 2 days and everything checked out good but yet we still lost fish and both snails, so we started with 6 tetras, bristelnose and 2 snails and are down to bristlenose and 2 tetras. Water checks out great but the fish when they die do the same thing. Get throw around the tank by the filter pressure, cannot swim just sink, erratic rapid breathing, float upside down. We are pretty much done with this the little one is pretty much done and I am tired of the 60 trips back and forth to fish place. Water temp has held steady at 75-76. My oldest sons tank is still doing good he just had 7 glofish tetras and only 1 died, doing somewhat the same as the fish in my youngest sons tank. So over this should have left Kevin in his bowl and not started this chain reaction of deaths. I have a 5 gallon that we are cycling fish less right now but I am just pretty much done with it all want to turn it all off and throw away the stuff and cut our losses. Not sure wht else to do when the water checks out fine and this still keeps happening.

[Tylersdad86]

Guys grasping at straws here but could it be if not the water conditions but we had 2 different kinds of tetras 3 red minors and 3 candy canes and maybe not having the 5-6 of the same kind they state is what is needed would that stress them out enough to die?

[Slaphppy7]

I think the cycle is hurting them more than the lack of large enough shoals...you are doing what you can, keep doing water changes, test daily, all the good advie you;ve been given...read the fish-in cycle sticky again, and strictly adhere to it: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=36492

[madagascariensis]

sorry for your losses. if you decide to continue, maybe just try a cycle with whetever is remaining, and if that goes too, just do a fishless cycle maybe?
and sorry if I missed this, but you are using dechlorinator, aren't you?

[Tylersdad86]

Yes using dechlorinator and the numbers using the good test kit are coming back great, losing the other 2 tetras right now as I sit here doing the same as all the others, so frustrated and pretty much done with all of this, not sure how we as kids got awa with throwing fish in a aquarium and them living for years and yet these after trying to take care of them dying off daily. So if both die off tonight we will have nothing but a bristlenose left, quit even wasting my time taking them back for a refund also, cost me almost as much in gas back and forth much less my time. Thanks everyone for your time

[vafa]

don't be discouraged.
pretty much everybody starts out in this hobby with a bunch of dead fish.
it could be that your fish are permanently damaged from ammonia before and are suffering now.
keep the ammonia and nitrite under 0.25 and you should see things turn around.

[Tylersdad86]

Well so far the last Tetra made it today but who knows if he lasts much longer or makes it years, just don't know so have the bristlenose and the tetra left and that's it. Number still look really good and water changes are now more like 30% every other day and they are holding tight. If this tetra last for a little I will try to get some more fish down the road and hope they all live, if not maybe try some galaxy Rasbora's down the road, if we do anything at all. Thanks everyone for the help.