OT, need help with fish tank

[pandora174]

We got our DS 4 a fish tank. Nothing fancy, the plastic kind with all kind of 3-d sharks & volcanoes etc.&it has a pump for air. I bought it from e-toys online & it 's the cutuest fish tank. Since my DS was a preemie his OT therapist thought it would be good for him to have a fish tank to relax him. WELL I got 3 small goldfish from WalMart, followed all the instructions & they died in 2 days. I told my DS they were sleeping ! We went back to Walmart & got 3 more fish. Before that I washed out the tank really well, used clean water & the drops to take the chlorine out of the water. I followed the instructions, did not overfeed & they are again not looking all that healthy to me. At the store they were swimming like crazy & now they're not that active, they just sort of lie there & move around a little. I just have a feeling they won't make it again & they're moving & not floating upside down but they aren't very active & how can I tell my DS the fishies are sleeping again. I must be doing something wrong ??

Any suggestions or advice ?:

 

[earthyfamily]

I had this same problem about 3 or 4 months ago. They all ended up dying and I tossed out the tank. Here's what could be wrong. First did you use dish soap to clean your aquarium? It's deadly to fish. Also there is something called a nitrogen level in aquariums, it's the delicate balance between feeding your fish and their waste products being decomposed. They excrete waste through using the bathroom and also through their gills when they breathe. It's wisest to only get one fish at a time and let the tank cycle completely, which can take quite a few weeks. When it cycles it basically teaches itself the delicate balance. Then you can introduce another fish, again one at a time, after the process is completed. I always thought that fish would be the easiest pet to take care of...but nooooo I will never ever own fish again. They are some of the MOST difficult pets to take care of in my opinion. You can do a google on "nitrogen cycle aquarium" and you'll get lots of information that way. I hope that helps.

 

[KristinU]

There's also the rule of thumb about one inch of fish for every gallon of water. It sounds like you have a little pump with airstone, but maybe that's not getting enough oxygen to the goldfish I'd try one fish at a time like earthyfamily suggested (although it sounds like you have several right now) Do you have a good fish store around? They might be able to give you some suggestions and test your water for you.

We're having really good luck right now with a betta, I had always thought they were mean, but Bluefish (DS named him ) is so friendly and comes over to see us all the time. He's actually the most social fish I think I've ever had.

Best of luck!

 

[a little bird]

I would second the poster who said to add one fish at a time. That's what I did when I got my aquarium this summer, and I haven't had a fish die yet. You might want to check your local library or pet store to see if they have any books about keeping fish.
Originally, I wanted goldfish in our tank too, but one of the workers at our local pet store told me that goldfish are actually some of the "dirtiest" fish and need twice the space, filtration, etc. of other fish. We ended up getting some fish called "Mickey Mouse Platys" which are so named because they have a black marking that looks like a sideways Mickey head!
Good luck!

 

[tiggger1]

your first problem Is getting them at walmart.. they usually dont have a correctly trained person to deal with the fish, so they might have been sick when you got them, I would go to real fish store or pet shop. make sure you dont buy fish from a tank that has a dead fish in it..it creates unhealthy levels of stuff that can make other fish sick ( my neighbor is a fish nut and has a huge tank and ive seen what she needs to do when a fish dies, she tests the water, changes a portion of it and adds certain chemicals to make sure the rest of her fish are ok)

Make sure you buy testing kits and chemicals for chlorine and PH..

another thing that might be the problem is, do you have well water? hubby had fish before we got married and we found out that well water wasnt good for the fish, so we would get a 5 gallon water container and fill it at my house and bring it back to his house for when we changed the water....

 

[beebumble]

We went the walmart fish way too. Kept having to make return trips because of the SLEEPING fish. Started buying them at the pet depot and they're still AWAKE !!!

good luck

have a magical nite

 

[kellyg403]

We always have trouble with Walmart Goldfish. But, we have bought a few Beta's and they have lived forever! We had one beta that survived a bowl crash, living in a teenagers room where his bowl often got very dirty etc. I actually killed him by mistake. I thought for sure he was gone when I saw how dirty his water was. I poured him out with the water and there he was flopping around. We didn't get him back in water fast enough for him to recover. DD was heartbroken and I was a murderer. That fish lived for a good 3 years in terrible conditions.

Ds11 has a small 5 gal tank he got for Xmas too, we have two goldfish in it and so far so good. Hopefully it will remain so since they are Walmart fish as well. I hope that you are able to get the tank straight.

Kelly