# Oh God Help Me - I'm A Mass Murderer!



## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*OH GOD!!! HELP!!!!!!!!

I added my first batch of fish yesterday: 6 neon tetras, 6 hockey stick tetras and 4 corydoras (all approximately the same size) 
2 of the neons died within the hour
I thought they hadn't adjusted&#8230; and a lot of people said that sometimes some fish just don't make the transition&#8230;. I have had a non-planted aquarium before and that one had a bubble curtain but the LFS told me that my filter had the option of attaching a small pipe which stuck out of the tank and this is where the tank got it's oxygen. When I was setting up this tank, I didn't put in a bubble curtain. But when my neon's dies, I felt MAYBE they needed more air, so I put in a pipe and attached an air pump and then went to bed.
When I woke up this morning, 5 of the hockey sticks had died!!!!!!!!!!!

Now I'm convinced it's the water but I have a huge problem - I have no way of measuring the PH or ammonia level of the water! We just don't get these gadgets here! WHAT CAN I DO!!!???? I am just howling because I feel guilty of committing this mass murder!!!
For those who don't know, I have a tank that measures 48"(L) X 12"(W) X 24"(H). My tank is planted and I'm not sure if you'd term my tank as heavily planted.

I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!! PLEASE HELP ME!!!!!!!!*


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## HoustonFishFanatic (Feb 26, 2007)

from your previous post i understand u have been keeping fish for a while. I think you should have added the fish over a period of time. Tetras are as they are marketed are not good beginners fish. They need well balanced water parameters. I understand your problem with the PH measuring thing. But it would be a crime to say it out here " i never measured my water parameters for last 15 years or so in the hobby and hardly lost any fish once i got the hang of it". I had the same problem(availability).


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## eklikewhoa (Jul 24, 2006)

Was the tank cycled?

I think what happened was either your tank wasn't cycled and everything died or it was pre-mature and adding that big group of fish caused a onslaught of bio-load throwing everything into bad mode killing everything.

do a search on cycle, Nitrogen cycle, ammonia, and see what went wrong.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*Eklikewhoa & HoustenFishFanatic*

*Both my Housten Helpers 

HoustenFishFanatic: Yes, I have kept fish but ALWAYS in an unplanted tank. And it is now very clear to me that there is a huge difference between the two. Having said that, the truth of the situation is that I just do not have access to all the gadgets and gizmos that more advanced fish keepers living in America or even Singapore have. I am limited by my resources. 
I do have this forum and a couple others which to me are great resources too. So I'm hoping I can work around this with help and advise from fellow fish keepers keeping in mind my limitations.
What kind of tank and fish do you have?
Eklikewhoa: Yes the tank was cycled. But maybe I should have waited a couple more days before adding in the fish. And I should have known better than to add in 16 fish all at once. But I read somewhere on the internet that the best way to add in fish is to try and put all the fish of one kind at one time so that they don't attack new comers of their own kind if added at a later time. And then I figured - yes they are 16 fish but they're like 1/2 inch each! sigh...well I guess I have learnt my lesson.... No more fish adding for me. I'm going to do 50% water changes every alternate day for a week and then twice weekly and will then add in a couple fish at a time.....*


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## skincareaddicted (Mar 19, 2007)

I am sorry to hear that soulmia, i know how you feel. I am beginning to feel like a betta-killer myself, though i am not sure what i am doing wrong. I would go with easier fish to care for.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

skincareaddicted said:


> I am sorry to hear that soulmia, i know how you feel. I am beginning to feel like a betta-killer myself, though i am not sure what i am doing wrong. I would go with easier fish to care for.


*Hey,
How have you kept your Betta? I ask coz I lost 2 Bettas before I got the three I have currently - and I have come up with the simplest solution... 
I keep Jaws Diddee (JD), Rainbow Diddee (RD) and Hero Diddee (HD) ( they have Names AND Last Names :heh in 3 bowls that are about a gallon each (large goldfish bowls). I have a simple decoration of Ikea glass stones and in one of them I also have a fake plant. That's it. No oxygen, no filter - nothing. 
In any case, Bettas can breathe both, dissolved as well as surface oxygen...

This is what I do: 
I religiously do a complete water change once a week. I do add in a few drops of anti-chlorine to the water as I think I have hard water and since I have no way to test it's PH, I just do this - and it seems to work.
I feed them only once a day. (yes I know you're supposed to feed them twice but I did that before and they died)
I alternate between 2 freeze-dried bloodworms or 2 pellets per day. Thats it. And that's quite a bit. You should feed them keeping in mind that their tummies are roughly the size of one of their eyes....

This seems to work great for them. They seem healthy, happy and very alert.
Check them out if want : http://s177.photobucket.com/albums/...ta Fin kids/?action=view&current=908dc02c.pbr

Let me know what you do and lets see if we can work something out....

Cheers
Natasha*


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## Markalot (Feb 14, 2007)

soulmia,

how did you know your tank was cycled if you can't test the water? If you can get anti-chlorine drops you can get test kits, just look for them. 

In case you don't understand the nitrogen cycle:

Fish and food waste produce ammonia, ammonia is deadly to fish. A bacteria will colonize your filter the eat the ammonia and produce nitrIte. NitrIte is deadly to fish, but fortunately another bacteria will come along that eats the nitrIte and produces nitrAte. NitrAte is a lot less dangerous to fish and can be removed by changing the water or having a lot of plants. (simple version). 

You should be doing massive water changes whenever your readings show a buildup of ammonia or nitrite. It takes 6+ weeks for a tank to complete the cycle. 

If you can't get test kits then the best course of action is to probably get 3 or 4 zebra danios and do 50% water changes twice a week for 6 weeks, then slowly add more fish. What probably happened in your case was a rapid buildup of ammonia from all the new fish being added which led to the mass death.

One more thing. If you can find it there is a product called Prime which can detoxify the ammonia and even nitrItes if used as directed.

Good luck!


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*Markalot, find my replies between your post in red *

how did you know your tank was cycled if you can't test the water? If you can get anti-chlorine drops you can get test kits, just look for them. 

*I KNEW I shouldn't have written that - it came out wrong  Well, since I didn't have access to a test kit, I read up a little bit. What I did was I filled the tank to check for leaks...then I drained this, and added the gravel, filled water that I had de-chlorinated till about 6 inches above the gravel. Then I planted the plants and set up the rocks and driftwood. (which had been boiled and cooled much beforehand) While I planted, I kept spraying the plants with water. Once I was satisfied with the set up, I filled up the tank completely. 
I did 50% water changes twice a week for 4 weeks. Then I got impatient and added the fish. I figured it would be ok... apparently not *

In case you don't understand the nitrogen cycle:

Fish and food waste produce ammonia, ammonia is deadly to fish. A bacteria will colonize your filter the eat the ammonia and produce nitrIte. NitrIte is deadly to fish, but fortunately another bacteria will come along that eats the nitrIte and produces nitrAte. NitrAte is a lot less dangerous to fish and can be removed by changing the water or having a lot of plants. (simple version).

*When I was doing the water change today, I couldn't find a couple of the dead fish, so I decided to clean out the filter in case a fish was sucked in there... I found brown slimy stuff in the filter... could this be the nitrite that you're talking about? I thought it was an algae of some kind.... sigh *

You should be doing massive water changes whenever your readings show a buildup of ammonia or nitrite. It takes 6+ weeks for a tank to complete the cycle.

*I did only 4 weeks...  *

If you can't get test kits then the best course of action is to probably get 3 or 4 zebra danios and do 50% water changes twice a week for 6 weeks, then slowly add more fish. What probably happened in your case was a rapid buildup of ammonia from all the new fish being added which led to the mass death.

*I currently have 2 neons and 4 corydoras in the tank (I'm praying I don't lose more!!) Should I go to the fish shop and buy the zebra danios tomorrow? My next 50% water change is day after tomorrow...*

One more thing. If you can find it there is a product called Prime which can detoxify the ammonia and even nitrItes if used as directed.

*I have asked my LFS to source out a test kit .. lets see what he comes up with... Should I do a litmus paper test in the meanwhile? It won't be accurate but I may at least get an indication of the PH levels of the water...? The LFS guy told me that he will be able to get an anti-ammonia medicine for me by Saturday... lets see what this is.... *

Good luck!

*Thanks for replying and the advise.... I am really dependant on the forums... knowledge is limited here - look at me!!*


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## Markalot (Feb 14, 2007)

Leave the fish you have in the tank in the tank or take them back to the fish store in exchange for a few zebra danios, but DON'T add more fish.

A tank can't cycle without fish or another source of ammonia. You can have it sit there for months and it won't cycle. You can't see the bacteria and it's not related to the sludge you found, it's too small to see. It's probably easier to think of the two bacterias as tiny animals, one eats ammonia and poops nitrite, the other eats nitrite and poops nitrate.

You need to test for AMMONIA and NITRITE, PH doesn't matter at this point. You are testing for chemicals in the water that shouldn't be there.

It's critical you understand the nitrification process before moving forward because it's your job to take care of this bacteria, they should be your best friends.  They live on filter media and on special foam pads or biowheels if you have them. If you only have filter media and you change it then you risk losing the bacteria and having to start over again. If you rinse the filter media in untreated water you risk killing the bacteria and starting over again. Like I said, think of them as small animals you can't see and be careful.

Now, at this point you should be doing water changes EVERY DAY or every other day since you have fish in an uncycled tank. Your fish store person sounds clueless, unfortunately, so good luck with that. Besides Prime there is a product called Ammo Lock that will also bind the ammonia, but you're still going to have issues once the second part of the cycle starts.

Plants can also really help to use up the Ammonia and NitrIte but at this point I don't think you have enough plants or can get enough growing in time to help.

This is a good article covering cycling a freshwater tank.

http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/forum/index.php/topic,1766.0.html

One more thing:



> could this be the nitrite


Nitrite is a chemical and you test for it's existence in the water. You can't see ammonia, nitrIte or nitrAte, you can only test for them. You can't see the bacteria that eats ammonia and nitrIte, instead you test to make sure they are working.

By the way, you said you had other tanks, are they up and running with fish inside? If so you can cut a piece of filter off of one of them and put it in your new tanks filter. The filter media from the old tank will have the good bacteria on it and they will happily move to your new tank. As long as you don't cut off too large a piece you shouldn't hurt the existing tank.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Make sure you have at least 80 watts of fluorescent light. Keep the light on for 4 to 5 hours per day. The plants will absorb the excess ammonia. FEED LIGHTLY for the first two weeks. Only what the fish can consume in one minute (twice a day).

DO NOT add more fish. Change 50% of the water each day. Be sure to add chlorine remover to the water. The remaining fish should survive if you follow these steps.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*Again... find me in red...*

Leave the fish you have in the tank in the tank or take them back to the fish store in exchange for a few zebra danios, but DON'T add more fish.

*Ok, right now, only the 4 corys and 1 neon has survived! I don't know what tomorrow has in store - I'm scared to sleep! If the neon dies, will the cory's be enough for me tank or do I then need to get the Danios?*

A tank can't cycle without fish or another source of ammonia. You can have it sit there for months and it won't cycle. You can't see the bacteria and it's not related to the sludge you found, it's too small to see. It's probably easier to think of the two bacterias as tiny animals, one eats ammonia and poops nitrite, the other eats nitrite and poops nitrate.

*Have the bad bacteria NEVER heard of constipation!!?? I wish I could just give them an imodium!  *

You need to test for AMMONIA and NITRITE, PH doesn't matter at this point. You are testing for chemicals in the water that shouldn't be there. 
It's critical you understand the nitrification process before moving forward because it's your job to take care of this bacteria, they should be your best friends.  They live on filter media and on special foam pads or biowheels if you have them. If you only have filter media and you change it then you risk losing the bacteria and having to start over again. If you rinse the filter media in untreated water you risk killing the bacteria and starting over again. Like I said, think of them as small animals you can't see and be careful.

*Ok I definately DO NOT have a biowheel. I didn't even know what it was till I just googled it  !All that I have is a submersible pump and I have attached the picture here. Thats ALL I have in terms of filteration.*

Now, at this point you should be doing water changes EVERY DAY or every other day since you have fish in an uncycled tank. Your fish store person sounds clueless, unfortunately, so good luck with that. Besides Prime there is a product called Ammo Lock that will also bind the ammonia, but you're still going to have issues once the second part of the cycle starts.

*Thanks for the sympathy. You have NO idea how frustrating it is! I'm clueless - and he's beyond that! So it's like the blind leading the blind!*

Plants can also really help to use up the Ammonia and NitrIte but at this point I don't think you have enough plants or can get enough growing in time to help.

*The weird thing is that my plants seem to be doing well... I saw some new roots and small new leaves!! Yes they won't grow fast enough to sort this problem for me but at least I'm not killing everything....*

This is a good article covering cycling a freshwater tank.

http://www.badmanstropicalfish.com/forum/index.php/topic,1766.0.html

One more thing:

Nitrite is a chemical and you test for it's existence in the water. You can't see ammonia, nitrIte or nitrAte, you can only test for them. You can't see the bacteria that eats ammonia and nitrIte, instead you test to make sure they are working.

By the way, you said you had other tanks, are they up and running with fish inside? If so you can cut a piece of filter off of one of them and put it in your new tanks filter. The filter media from the old tank will have the good bacteria on it and they will happily move to your new tank. As long as you don't cut off too large a piece you shouldn't hurt the existing tank.

*Sigh... when ou say filter media - do you mean the sponge that's in the long can at attached to the filter? In any case, I donated my 20 gallon to my maid... so I don't have that option.
Waaah I'm doomed right??*


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## Markalot (Feb 14, 2007)

Not doomed, just change the water.

Bacteria grows on anything that has access to oxygenated water. In your case it's probably on whats inside that cylindrical object.

If your nervous change the water. If you have spare time change the water. Change 50% every change and do it once a day if you can. Since the bacteria isn't ready to take on the load yet you'll have to do it for them. Water changing won't slow down the establishment of the bacteria so do it often. You can save the fish by keeping the water free of ammonia (fish pee if you like) until the bacteria can take over.

The plants love the ammonia (ammonium) too, so you should see good growth and the faster they grow the more they'll be able to remove. In heavily planted tanks people don't even worry about cycling the filter because the plants use up all the ammonia, but heavily planted means a LOT of plants and they should all be healthy and growing.

Do a 50% water change then sit down and start reading everything you can about cycling a tank and heavily planted tanks and fish loads and all that good stuff. Read all the stickies at the top of these forums, read the articles over at the link I gave you.

By the way, is this the same tank or a new one:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ium/39320-desperate-empty-aquarium-owner.html


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

Not doomed, just change the water.

*will do.*

Bacteria grows on anything that has access to oxygenated water. In your case it's probably on whats inside that cylindrical object.

*The thing inside the cylindrical object is similar to scotch brite: http://www.foodservicedirect.com/productimages/WE96503Ms.jpg 
The old tank's cylinder had sponge.... and if I didn't clean that it would just get the water all dirty... yellowish...the fish poop would be on the tank base... ewww that was awful.*

If your nervous change the water. If you have spare time change the water. Change 50% every change and do it once a day if you can. Since the bacteria isn't ready to take on the load yet you'll have to do it for them. Water changing won't slow down the establishment of the bacteria so do it often. You can save the fish by keeping the water free of ammonia (fish pee if you like) until the bacteria can take over.

*Changing water is not an issue at all. I have a lot of help so that is the least of my worries.*

The plants love the ammonia (ammonium) too, so you should see good growth and the faster they grow the more they'll be able to remove. In heavily planted tanks people don't even worry about cycling the filter because the plants use up all the ammonia, but heavily planted means a LOT of plants and they should all be healthy and growing.

*But if I don't clean the filter, the tank's base will be full of fish poop!*

Do a 50% water change then sit down and start reading everything you can about cycling a tank and heavily planted tanks and fish loads and all that good stuff. Read all the stickies at the top of these forums, read the articles over at the link I gave you.

*Would you term my tank as heavily planted??*

By the way, is this the same tank or a new one:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/f...ium-owner.html

*Yep! That's my tank. I am a member on that forum too! I'm so desperate! All I'm doing is crying buckets!!!! By the way, people on that forum feel I should add in a couple of zebra danios tomorrow to get this cycling started.... I am just at my wits end!!! What do I do!!!!!!*


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## Markalot (Feb 14, 2007)

It's safe to wash the filter media in old tank water (in a bucket) or new water that's been treated with the chlorine removing drops. Just swish the junk out and reinstall. I don't think you should have to do that more than once a month. The fish poop should fall into the gravel and you can remove that with a gravel cleaner when removing water.

Someone else here will have to answer your planting questions, I'm very new to planted and natural tanks. 

DO NOT ADD MORE FISH! I'm not sure why you asked this question. Why would you add more fish? Quiz: what would happen to your ammonia levels if you added more fish?


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

It's safe to wash the filter media in old tank water (in a bucket) or new water that's been treated with the chlorine removing drops. Just swish the junk out and reinstall. I don't think you should have to do that more than once a month. The fish poop should fall into the gravel and you can remove that with a gravel cleaner when removing water.

*Ok DON'T kill me - what the hell is filter media???!!!!!! Another thing gravel cleaner???!!!!Is this what you mean : http://home.pacbell.net/powerfx/images/siphon.jpg If this is what you mean then I have one!! YAY!!!!!!!! And I bought it in Thailand for like 1 dollar!!!!!! *

Someone else here will have to answer your planting questions, I'm very new to planted and natural tanks.

DO NOT ADD MORE FISH! I'm not sure why you asked this question. Why would you add more fish? Quiz: what would happen to your ammonia levels if you added more fish? 
*
Well, on the other forum, I was told that since I had only 1 neon and 4 cory's left, the cycle would prolly take longer to start... so they said - add in a couple danios and get things moving....
Reply to your question: more pee!!!!!!*


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

Filter media is anything inside your filter, usually foam or other things for the bacteria to grow on.

Do not add any more fish please! You can cycle a tank completely without adding any fish. All you need to do is add food to the tank and as it breaks down it will provide the ammonia to start the cycle.
As you have some fish I would personally stop feeding them for a day or two (they will not starve for sucha short time) and then, once you've stopped losing any fish, start feeding them very small amounts of food once a day and then build up from there. Once you are feeding your fish two or three times a day and they are doing well (probably 2-3 weeks at least) you should be fine to add some more fish again.

I would add my voice to all the calls from the others to get some test kits. I'm sure that you must be able to get some test kits by ordering them off the internet. Shipping to Bangalore can't be that bad for a couple of test kits, especially if ordered from Singapore or similar. You may even be able to order them from Mainland Europe.


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## Markalot (Feb 14, 2007)

> Well, on the other forum, I was told that since I had only 1 neon and 4 cory's left, the cycle would prolly take longer to start


That is simply not true. To start the cycle you need ammonia. Ammonia kills fish. You had fish die. Without tests to confirm it we really don't know but I would guess you have 1.0 - 2.0 ammonia which is what killed the fish. The cycle is not sped up by adding more ammonia, any will do. The bacteria you grow has to balance the number of fish you have. If you have 4 fish craping in the tank then you'll end up with enough bacteria to handle 4 fish. Take 2 fish out and the bacteria population will decline, add more fish and it will grow. Add too many fish at a time, and you'll get a spike of ammonia and nitrite until the bacteria can catch up.

But as long as you have a source of ammonia (rotting food or fish waste in the tank) you'll slowly grow the bacteria.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

Filter media is anything inside your filter, usually foam or other things for the bacteria to grow on.

*Ok. The thing is, when I had my 20g unplanted, I was encouraged to do full water changes once a month and no partial changes at all!!!! And, the filter was cleaned every week... and the fish lasted forever!! So this is a whole new ball game now... not only am I being told to do frequent water changes but I'm being told not to clean the filter!!!!!* 
Do not add any more fish please! You can cycle a tank completely without adding any fish. All you need to do is add food to the tank and as it breaks down it will provide the ammonia to start the cycle.
As you have some fish I would personally stop feeding them for a day or two (they will not starve for sucha short time) and then, once you've stopped losing any fish, start feeding them very small amounts of food once a day and then build up from there. Once you are feeding your fish two or three times a day and they are doing well (probably 2-3 weeks at least) you should be fine to add some more fish again.

*Thats what I plan on doing. I was told to add a couple of danios but I think i'll just stick with the water changes for now....*

I would add my voice to all the calls from the others to get some test kits. I'm sure that you must be able to get some test kits by ordering them off the internet. Shipping to Bangalore can't be that bad for a couple of test kits, especially if ordered from Singapore or similar. You may even be able to order them from Mainland Europe.

*yes. that's what i'm planning to do now. Singapore or Thailand... if you know of a reiable place, please send me the link!

Thanks for writing in!*


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

Markalot said:


> That is simply not true. To start the cycle you need ammonia. Ammonia kills fish. You had fish die. Without tests to confirm it we really don't know but I would guess you have 1.0 - 2.0 ammonia which is what killed the fish. The cycle is not sped up by adding more ammonia, any will do. The bacteria you grow has to balance the number of fish you have. If you have 4 fish craping in the tank then you'll end up with enough bacteria to handle 4 fish. Take 2 fish out and the bacteria population will decline, add more fish and it will grow. Add too many fish at a time, and you'll get a spike of ammonia and nitrite until the bacteria can catch up.
> 
> But as long as you have a source of ammonia (rotting food or fish waste in the tank) you'll slowly grow the bacteria.


I agree. And I won't be adding in any more fish but I also don't want to discredit what the other forum guys say... i'm just completely shaken up coz I woke up to a massacre!


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## Markalot (Feb 14, 2007)

soulmia said:


> I agree. And I won't be adding in any more fish but I also don't want to discredit what the other forum guys say... i'm just completely shaken up coz I woke up to a massacre!


Yea, that can be tough. Hang in there, I'm sure you'll get it. Good luck!


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I'm so sorry to hear of your losses Soulmia. It really looks like you're trying to do everything right, and one thing that sticks out to me is that you may have gotten weak or diseased Neons to start with, so you may not have done anything wrong to start with.
The other big thing that affects new fish is a difference in temperature, so you need to float the bag for at least 20 - 30 minutes before adding them to your tank to equalize the temperature. I didn't catch if you did that or not, but if not, that may also be a culprit.
What temp do you keep your tank at? For your fish it should be around 76 -78 degrees F.

The nitrogen cycle has been covered already, and when you have live plants in the tank, even with the amount of fish that you added, it seems to me that something may have been wrong with the fish themselves.

As for the total water changes, that was the really old way of doing things (I remember that from my childhood days in the 60's...), and every time you do it, you pretty much have to start your cycle again, so the frequent partial changes are the only way to go.

As the others said, don't add any more fish, keep up the partial water changes, and if you can, get your hands on a good test kit. Have you checked places like Aqua Bid or E-bay to see if there are some that will ship to your country? I usually see sellers that ship world wide, so it's worth a try. 

Keep us posted, and don't give up hope.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*MARKALOT!!!! : *

*My baby made it!!!! 
My little neon made it through the night! :cheer2:

I was so anxious that I just refused to sleep! I think exhaustion from all the crying took over and I basically passed out in front of the tank... woke up with a start this morning and was frantically looking for my little one... (the cory's are fine - they're swimming like crazy and eating everything in sight!) and I couldn't find it! I'm telling you, short of jumping into the tank, I did everything! 
And then suddenly, just as the morning sun peeped out, so did "Samson" - that's what I've called the strong little fella
He popped right up to the glass and stayed there looking at me for the longest time... must have thought I was :loco: coz I was laughing, crying and clapping!! :lol:

Do you think doing another water change today be pushing it? I am just so happy he's alive that I want to do anything and everything to sort this out!

- that's from Samson to you :first:*

*JanS:

Thanks for the post! Yes! I did seem to be doing everything right but I guess "seem" is the key word. I did acclimatize them as required but I obviously did something wrong! But Markalot helped me as did a couple of other people from another forum I use and if you read the post to markalot, you will realize that my little Samson's fine!

I will not add in any fish for a while... keep up with the 50% changes everyday if need be... and pray for the best!

Do write in to me - I live in a country where fish keeping is so nascent that I could do with all the help I can get! - I'm off now - going to admire my little survivor  *


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

*I resemble John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.. coz... my neon's Stayin' Alive!! *

*I'm telling you - I have never prayed so much in my life!!! ! changes 25% water today. 
Tomorrow will be 50%... and will continue this for a week.... hoefully I can add in 2 - 4 fish on Monday... but only if all's well.....

The cory's are fine - chompin' away at the gravel and driftwood and the neon's zipping between the leaves.... oh I could just kiss it - I'm so relieved! 
coz... my neon's Stayin' Alive!!

I'm telling you - I have never prayed so much in my life!!! ! changes 25% water today. 
Tomorrow will be 50%... and will continue this for a week.... hoefully I can add in 2 - 4 fish on Monday... but only if all's well.....

The cory's are fine - chompin' away at the gravel and driftwood and the neon's zipping between the leaves.... oh I could just kiss it - I'm so relieved! *


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

That's great news Soulmia! 

PS, now I have that BeeGee's song stuck in my head...


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Dont feel too bad about it. Everyone here has gone through it at least one time. But dont do this too often tho. lol. I ve learned that it is very very important to acclimatize i.e. pouring a little aquarium water into the water with the fish you got from the lfs over a period of at least 1/2 hour. this sorts out the differences in temperature and water chemistry so your new pets do not get shocked.

i had 3 Puntius johorensis which i added quickly to my tank. the next day i saw fin rot. i was puzzled. i took them out put them in new water with salt and they healed. throw them back into my tank and they got fin rot again! i was very puzzled as the other fishes we very healthy. this happened a few times (gawd) till i had a revelation of pouring a little of the aquarium water into the quarantine tank over a period of 2 days to be sure, b4 introducing it to the aquarium again. i nvr had any problems with them again. and previous to these 3 fishes, i nvr acclimatized my fish ever. been keeping fish for over a decade btw, since i was a kid.

i do it for all new fauna now - be it shrimp, frog or snail. lesson learned.


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## soulmia (Apr 11, 2007)

JanS said:


> That's great news Soulmia!
> 
> PS, now I have that BeeGee's song stuck in my head...


I LOVE doing that! And I HATE having that happen to me!!! Especially when a song I hate gets stuck in my head! LOL!! Sorry mate but I have to


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## harsh (Jan 22, 2006)

Hey Soulmia 

Although everyone here have already told you most of the things you need to know, i being your fellow countrymen will try and let you in on some local resources.

First of all.. man Bangalore is the best place for an aquarist in India although there's no ADA or Tropica here but the fellow aquarists are your best resources.

although APC is my number one resource in this hobby some local perspective is also very helpful. Please register www.indianaquariumhobbyist.com (hope i'm not breaking any rules) , trust me you will find this very useful, there are plenty of Bangalore members there. I myself get most of my stuff from Bangalore guys. I go by the same nick there also.

PM me for anything, i'll be glad to help you out.


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