helppppppppppppppp!!!

**georgipooh** · 04-18-2012, 09:07 AM

i AM FROM A HOUSE HOLD FULL OF PETS BUT RIGHT NOW I AM LIKE A FISH OUT OF WATER! OOPS sorry caps lock! lol
my partner has always wanted tropical fish so we recently bought a tank and set it up carefully following all the advice given by pets at home. we were then told by someone that we should not get our fish from there and referred to an aquarium center!
to start we got 5 neon and 3 guppies and all seemed ok, we made it clear to the people at the center we were beginners and needed help and they seemed ok, but the other day my partner went fro a few more fish as we wanted to build the tank slowly to be sure we were doing it right and he got 3 shiny white fish and 2 ugly tank cleaning fish that look a bit like cat fish (sorry i really know nothing about fish! ) and since then the tank felt wrong to me! now i have a hamster 2 cats a dog and 2 rabbits, i have been around animals all my life and i took an instant dislike to the new white shiny fish.... soon one of the guppies suddenly died, now one of the others hides in a corner and there is only one neon to be seen in the tank! i think the new fish have hurt the others, i tried google images and the new fish look a lot like something called chichlids. my children are so upset that their favourite fish "shy bob" is nowhere to be seen and although i know in some way it is oiur fault that we didn't do more research but i am so mad this man has sold us what i think must be incompatible fish! what do i do? do i just take it on tyhe chin? do i ask to return the aggressive fish? sorry i sound so stupid but please advise me! i hate animals to be hurt and i am not sure how it goes!

**Joonkun** · 04-18-2012, 09:16 AM

alot of chiclids arent great community fish.

did you cycle your tank and for how long?
are you testing your water?
what are you're water params?
how often and much are your water changes?
how big is your tank?
how long in between adding the first fish and the second batch?
what size / kind of filter are you using?

you have left alot of details out. and since we are not there its too hard to tell whats going on with out as much information as possible. its kind of like calling the doctor on the phone and saying "my stomach hurts whats wrong with it" and expecting them to have a diagnosis.

**Honey Badger 1** · 04-18-2012, 11:40 AM

First thing you should do is sit back and think about whether this is really a hobby for you and your family. Not trying to be mean, but honestly this hobby isn't for everyone. If you choose to stay in this hobby, I suggest you start over by returning the all the fish then read and follow the directions in the link below.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ead.php?t=5640

The few weeks it takes to cycle a tank without fish is a great time to research what fish are appropriate for your tank and which one's you prefer.

**Lady Hobbs** · 04-18-2012, 08:01 PM

It happens a lot that people stock incorrectly when starting out. The best thing is not ever stock until you've done some research. A fish store is frankly one of the worse places to get advice from. People are hired to net and sell fish and often don't know a darned thing about them.

For instance, you should know what kind of fish these are other than "silver and shiney." All fish you stock in the future will depend on knowing what you have.

We can help advise what to keep and what to return but without us knowing the names of them, then we can't help much. You have to decide if you want cichlids or community fish and then stick to one or the other.

**ldoerr** · 04-19-2012, 01:28 AM

The dark catfish like thing is more than likely a common Pleco. They grow to be 2 FEET long. Like others have said, you need to return all of your fish. You then need to do some reading on this sight on cycling your aquarium. While you are cycling you can do research on what fish are appropriate for your tank and that can go together. Remember that small tank = small fish. We are more than happy to help you but we need to know more about you tank, maintenance etc... If you can post a picture of the white shinny fish that would help us out greatly.