Goldfish keep dying within a week

Clanagael

Hello

I got a 2nd hand fish tank from a mate.
I cleaned tank very thoroughly, put in new stones, new furniture, new air filters, water conditioner and softener etc and left for 2 weeks. on putting in 6 new goldfish, they all died off gradually over 6 days. None of them lived more than a week. When the first few died, I moved the rest to a large bowl until I tried to figure out what to do but they all slowly died off.
Over the next week, a slight white fuzzy bacteria layer formed at the bottom of the tank.

I cleaned tank again, cleaned it alot more thoroughly, cleaning for 15 mins a night for a week. New Stones, No furniture, new filter, filled again with water, conditioner & softener. Waited 10 days and put new fishies in... within a week... they were all floating again. Before they died, there were what looked to be ... white spawn looking floaties floating around the tank. not staying at top or bottom, but a combination of all over it. The fish eat them and spat them back out again.... over the few days that they lived, the water became totally foggy, unable to see much of the fish while they were in there. Loads of that white frog-spawn looking stuff in it.
Fish died, i left the tank to see what else would come of it.

Now the tank has a black layer of what looks to be powdery stuff over the stones at the bottom of the tank. those white spawn things floating at the top and stuck to the air filter....

Any suggestions for moving forward. should i do the whole thing again, am i wasting my time... On further research, I found out that a turtle of some sort had died of some disease in the tank before I got it and it was left dormant for months, with the same water in the tank....

Am I wasting my time with this tank? Is it the tank that is totally screwed with the turtle infection or is it possible that it is the water or the combination of not waiting long enough for the water to be ready... any advice would be great as I have spent well over 300euro on new bulbs, stones, filters and tank at this stage and hate throwing it out....

Thanks

Compton

clean it with warm water, keep it out of direct sunlight, use stress zyme and stress coat... clean filter often, partly change water every week and use the stress coat and zyme againn... etcc...

Gary ITR

Rather than testing with fish to see if they live or die, take a water sample to your nearsest trop shop and thay can test it for you. If you live in an area with poor water 10 days wouldn't be enough to let it run either

ronanphilip

you can get great help or advice from this site about fish keeping http://www.irishfishkeepers.com


also here is an article on seting up a fish tank with some links to topics on cycling ect http://www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-the-hobby/247729/Step-By-Step-Guide-To-Setting-Up-An-Aquarium/

hope this helps

Jimkel

Doesn't anyone read books anymore!!

Read a book on fishkeeping, please. There is so much you don't know and did wrong it's not even funny. You should of researched the animal you wanted to keep before buying them. just think those fish did not have to die. By the way that white "spawn" is called fungus, it occurs when silly people attemt to keep fish.

ValerieR

@ Clanagael,
The problems you are having are probably linked to water quality problems. Please, do read up on cycling your tank and measuring your water parameters in order to offer a good home to the next batch of fish you will be purchasing again.
There are several ways to 'mature' your tank (cycle). The most used method would be to feed your tank for a couple of weeks without any fish and maybe add some product which helps your filter to develop the beneficial bacteria you need. Once the water parameters are fine, then you can add fish.
The links offered by Ronanphilip are excellent.
You don't mention the size of the tank ? How many litres ? With normal filtration, you can add 1cm of adult size fish per litre in the tank or thereabouts.
I would clean the tank and everything else you have in it with boiling water, buy a testing kit for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate and would recommend that you go to a good LFS (Live Fish Shop) and ask for further advice.
If you have any other questions, do ask, and I am sure someone will be able to help you.

ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

luckat

ValerieR, what do you mean by 'feed your tank', please?

I haven't kept fish for several years now, after all the fish in my tank died with black fungus on their gills. I felt lousy about it - especially as all the fish in the outdoor pond were perfectly healthy. (Until a man came to kill wasps and his 'harmless to fish' insecticide poisoned the pond forever, killing every frog, newt and fish in it and wrecking the water so nothing has been able to live there since.)

ValerieR

@ Luckat,
The cycling process is well documented in a various places on the internet.
The idea is that a beneficial set of bacteria colonises your tank filter media to help eliminating the toxic stuff which is added to the water by your fish's waste.
There are several beneficial bacteria : the ones that transform the ammonia into nitrites (both are VERY toxic to your fish) and the ones that transform the nitrites into nitrates (plant food which is, within reason, not so toxic for your fish).
By feeding the tank without fish in it, you are providing a source of ammonia which encourages the 1st set of bacteria to develop and then the 2nd.
By measuring your water parameters during this process, you will find 1st a peak in ammonia, then the ammonia will 'disappear' and the nitrites will peak and finally, the nitrites will disappear and the nitrates will be up.
Once the tank is cycled, it is safe to add fish ; the water changes are, in this case, to eliminate the nitrates.
If you have fish in a tank that isn't cycled, you should monitor your water parameters several times every day and as soon as the ammonia or nitrites reading show greater than Zero, a water change must be done immediately as it is putting the fish in danger of a premature death.

I am no specialist in goldfish (the process is the same for any fish though) and don't know what black fungus means. Probably a water quality issue though. Make sure that your tank is aerated and filtered correctly in addition to your water parameters. Maybe someone else can help there.

As far as your pond being poisoned ... Maybe a complete water change would do the trick ?

I hope this helps.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com

luckat

Valerie, thanks very much. An answer and a couple of questions:

The water in the tank has been changed many times - this happened five years or so ago. The exterminator came and helped me to empty out the tank at the time, and rain and hoses have filled it many times over the years.

There's earth at the bottom of the pond, though, and maybe that still contains the poison.

Now the questions: what do you feed your tank *with*? And what do you use to measure the ammonia and the nitrates?

It's great to have someone to ask who knows what she's talking about. At the time of the fungus deaths, I looked all over the internet and couldn't find any help.

ValerieR

@ luckat,

Yes, the internet is a great resource indeed :-)

The best is to feed your tank with fish flakes. Some people would add a shrimp (frozen - like the ones you buy to eat) and leave it there to decompose with the same effect.
The other thing I meant to add in my earlier post is that the process is accelerated greatly if you were to get your hands on either filter media or 'dirty water' coming from a filter sponge from another well established tank as it already contains the bacteria.
This bacteria survives with the oxygen that is present in the water - the sponge or the 'dirty water' shouldn't be stored for more than 1 hour. Otherwise it dies.

To measure your water parameters, it is best to use a test kit consisting of re-agents. You take some of your water, add it in a test tube with the provided chemical and you can measure, according to the resulting colour, the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate.
Something like this : http://aquariumpharm.com/Products/Product.aspx?ProductID=67
You can find this in any good fish shop.
I would avoid the paper strips as they are not supposed to be that reliable.

I hope this helps.
ValerieR
www.irishfishkeepers.com