Looking for advice

[geobalzaniibro]

So I’m not new to the hobby but I’m not experienced I would say. I was wondering if anyone has any tips for me? I just purchased a haul of my whole stock and most of them died. Probably because I didn’t correctly cycle the fish tank.. I have not set up a fish tank without bio material from a previous tank in years! I set my new tank up and let it cycle as long as I thought was needed, but I was wrong, and I lost all my fish. So my question is, what can I do to be more successful in the hobby and maintain a healthy fish tank?

 

[tlindsey]

So I’m not new to the hobby but I’m not experienced I would say. I was wondering if anyone has any tips for me? I just purchased a haul of my whole stock and most of them died. Probably because I didn’t correctly cycle the fish tank.. I have not set up a fish tank without bio material from a previous tank in years! I set my new tank up and let it cycle as long as I thought was needed, but I was wrong, and I lost all my fish. So my question is, what can I do to be more successful in the hobby and maintain a healthy fish tank?

my question is, what can I do to be more successful in the hobby and maintain a healthy fish tank?

The key to success imo is patience. Had to learn that myself.

 

[Midwater]

... I just purchased a haul of my whole stock and most of them died ... what can I do to be more successful in the hobby and maintain a healthy fish tank?

Don't underestimate the amount of bio-filtration that you need, and stock your tank very slowly.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

I don't know how helpful you will find this, as it varies for everyone. But having set up all 3 of my tanks with nothing but biomedia from an existing tank, I highly advise to always (or at least whenever possible) choose this method and skip the cycling entirely.
It's both faster and easier - faster for obvious reasons, easier in that it's very simple to take the appropriate amount of biomedia to support those first few fish, instead of hit-or-miss NH3 ammounts.

And +1 to Midwater 's advice. Take it slow, a few small fish at a time, and always err on the side of redundant biomedia.

 

[esoxlucius]

I'm assuming you haven't got a test kit, otherwise if you had, you wouldn't have added fish if you'd have tested your water prior to prematurely adding your fish. If you don't have one....get one asap. They are extremely useful to have whilst cycling a tank.

Also, research, research and research. There is tonnes of beneficial material out there, especially on dedicated forums such as ours.

And lastly, be patient.

 

[Caveden]

So I’m not new to the hobby but I’m not experienced I would say. I was wondering if anyone has any tips for me? I just purchased a haul of my whole stock and most of them died. Probably because I didn’t correctly cycle the fish tank.. I have not set up a fish tank without bio material from a previous tank in years! I set my new tank up and let it cycle as long as I thought was needed, but I was wrong, and I lost all my fish. So my question is, what can I do to be more successful in the hobby and maintain a healthy fish tank?

I learnt this the hard way; compatability of fish. Different fish have different housing requirements and territorial nature. Some fish may just be more aggressive.
When I used to keep Asian arowanas, I guess I got unlucky choosing the more aggressive Asian arowanas and they killed quite a few of my tankmates. In the end had to rehome him.