Unknown Death PLEASE HELP

[santiagooo_]

Hello, I am only 16 years old so please don't get mad at me if I made any obvious mistakes or anything like that please.
What Happened
Around a week and a half ago, I ordered 6 Electric Blue Acaras, 2 Firemouths, and 2 Plecos from PetSolutions (My dad wanted 2 Acaras for his 90 gallon and I was going to keep 4 for breeding). For about a week, everyone looked healthy, I didn't see signs of sickness or anything, till 3 days ago, I noticed that one of the Acaras would sleep the whole day and would only wake up when I feed them. Then 2 days ago, I noticed a different Acara had little white spots everywhere on his fins and body, I'm thinking this was the ick. Then yesterday, when I came home from football practice, I noticed 3 of my Acaras were dead. I was shocked, I called my dad, and he told me that they were still alive when he was there 10 minutes before I got there, so I searched up possible ways they could've died, none of them made sense to my situation. Then, this morning when I woke up, I noticed that the other 3 Acaras died off too. It didn't make sense to me because they were fine 8 hours ago. The Firemouths are still alive and the Plecos are nowhere to be found.

Details

• My aquarium is 46 gallons
  -3 feet long and is more square shaped than rectangle shaped so probably 3 feet high, IDK the width though
  -80-83F degrees
  -Aquarium was ran with filter for a week before fish was put in
  -Has a filter, heater, light, and a pump
  -Fake decorations such as wood, plants, and gravel
• Acaras were 1-2 inches, Firemouths were 2-4 inches
  -Firemouths are still alive
  -Fed them one small pinch of cichlid crisps 3 times a day
  -One of the Firemouths would try to bully every fish in the tank, but the Acaras would fight back
• Top of the water looks kind of soapy, which wasn't 24 hours ago
• Ordered online from PetSolutions

I really want to know how they died so I don't make the same mistake again. Also, if the 14-day refund for PetSolutions is expired, I'm thinking of getting a Flowerhorn. Do you think ONE Flowerhorn ALONE as a wet pet will be fine? I'm planning to have 2 filters set-up in the aquarium to deal with his bio-load (I think that's what they call it). Also, I did a size test with a circular food plate (12 inches) and realized that the Flowerhorn WHICH WILL BE ALONE WITH NOTHING IN IT will still have lots of space.

 

[robham777]

Welcome to MFK, sorry about the losses. From what you stated about running the filter for a week prior to placing fish in the tank I would guess ammonia poisoning. Do you have a means for testing water parameters such as ammonia, ph, nitrite, and nitrate? Are you at all familiar with the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium? The tank sounds like a 65 gallon tall.

 

[santiagooo_]

No I am not familiar with the nitrogen cycle. Is it really 65 gallons? I bought the aquarium from craigslist and I was told it was 46. Also, I thought running the filter a week before putting in the fish would remove things and clean the water?

 

[robham777]

A 65 is 36"long x 18" wide x 27" tall if I remember correctly, so if the tank is narrow (12 inches) it probably is a 46. In a nutshell the nitrogen cycle is a biological process that converts toxic fish waste into a much less toxic substance. Fish excrete ammonia through respiration and urination into the water. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish even in small quantities. A filter will not remove ammonia from the water, but there is a type of bacteria that will convert ammonia into nitrite, which is still toxic to fish. A second type of bacteria then converts nitrite to nitrate which is not an immediate threat to aquatic animals. The problem is that it takes a while for these bacteria to develop a sufficient colony to process the amount of ammonia produced by the fish. Usually before stocking a tank you would promote the growth of these bacterial colonies through a process known as tank cycling. There are some instant cycle products also known as bacteria in a bottle on the market, but I am not sure how well any of them actually work.

Do you have any water conditioner/dechlorinator on hand?

Here is a link to a more detailed article about cycling a tank. There are a number available online.

http://aquariuminfo.org/cycling.html

 

[Fat Homer]

Welcome to the forums... as mentioned above you'll need to research the Nitrogen Cycyle in fishtanks, once you understand how that works that will be half the battle...

 

[santiagooo_]

Oh okay, thanks for the help. I remember my dad putting water conditioner into the water after day 2

 

[santiagooo_]

is ammonia behind the soapy surface too? I can probably post pics if you need them. Also about the flowerhorn as a backup plan if 14 days have already passed?

 

[robham777]

Oh okay, thanks for the help. I remember my dad putting water conditioner into the water after day 2

The reason I asked about the water conditioner is because the only way you will be able to save the fish currently in the tank is to change some of the water in the tank out for fresh water to dilute the ammonia. To do this you will need to use a water conditioner. Ask your dad if he has a test kit for ammonia.

is ammonia behind the soapy surface too? I can probably post pics if you need them. Also about the flowerhorn as a backup plan if 14 days have already passed?

Not sure about the surface looking soapy, a picture would probably be helpful. I have never kept a flower horn so I will let others more knowledgeable answer that question.

 

[santiagooo_]

 

[robham777]

I think that is just small bubbles from the air stone accumulating on the water surface. Ammonia in the water is only detectable by testing. I noticed in your first post that your water temp is above 80F, you should let that drop to around 76F. If I am right about ammonia being the issue it is less toxic to fish at lower temps. If you can't test the water you should take a sample by your local fish store tomorrow and get them to test it for you. Write down the results so that you can post them here.