Why are my fish dying? Is there anything I can do? In this article we will cover 10 reasons why your fish may be dying.
We all ask ourselves: Why are my fish dying? In the world, the life expectancy of a fish that leaves a petshop store is generally no more than 3 – 4 weeks. Certainly, many of them die in a few days, or even in a few hours. Fish are the most badly treated pets in the world.
Certainly, fish are more fragile animals than we are, but that does not mean that they should live for a short time in an fish tank. Most early deaths are due to some mistakes that we can identify and avoid.
Next, we will discuss the 10 most common mistakes that may be killing your fish.
Lack Of Use Of Water Conditioners
Tap water is perfectly good for any fish tank, as long as you have used a good water conditioner to remove heavy metals. However, without the conditioner, chlorine and chloramine in tap water can kill fish.
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How to solve it: Just purchase a good water conditioner for tank. Certainly, they will be available in every pet shop store. A single conditioner can last a long time. And its operation is almost instantaneous, when added to the tap water.
Incorrect Temperature For The Species
Most tropical fish come from warm waters ranging from 21°C to 26°C in temperature. In summary, the water in your fish tank may not be at the ideal temperature, depending on the region in which you reside. Since most of the fish sold in the petshop are from tropical waters, they may experience sudden changes in temperature.
How to solve it: Get a heater or thermostat to leave in the fish tank, or the fish can acquire diseases and die in a short time.
Death From Lack Of Oxygen
Your fish need oxygen dissolved in the water. However, they can die if that dissolved oxygen runs out. Several factors can cause this to happen:
1 – The fish tank may be too small for the species. Less water means less dissolved oxygen;
2 – Overcrowding the tank with fish. The more fish you have, the more dissolved oxygen your aquarium will need;
3 – High temperatures. The higher the temperature of the fish tank, the less dissolved oxygen;
4 – Lack of pump / air filter.
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How to solve it: Get a pump or filter with the ideal capacity for your fish tank. This will increase the rate of gas exchange between water and the atmosphere.
Tank Too Small For Your Fish
A small tank has very little water. This means very little dissolved oxygen, as mentioned earlier. Unfortunately, small tanks mean unstable temperature, water hardness and pH.
Dirt also accumulates more quickly. Without a doubt, some people still keep fish in small bowls and cups. None of which is suitable for keeping animals
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How to solve it: We do not recommend anything less than 18 liters for a small betta fish, for example. The bigger the fish tank, the easier it will be to keep the fish alive.
Fish Overfeed
Overfeeding fish can cause digestive problems and kill animals very quickly. This excess causes “pollution” in the aquarium water and an increase in toxic substances such as Ammonia and Nitrite, which are also fatal.
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How to solve it: Feed the fish only once or twice a day. Add a little feed in the water and check the animal’s behavior in the search for food. After a few minutes, it will no longer have the same behavior and you can stop feeding it. Any leftover feed must be removed immediately, as it can sink and rot, causing the problems described above.
Sudden Changes In Temperature, pH And Water Hardness
Fish are not like us, they have no body heat and are sensitive to sudden changes in water temperature. Water pH and hardness can also affect them if there is a sudden change.
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When we bring a fish home, after buying it from a store, it usually comes in small plastic bags. However, the water in this bag is more likely to be very different from the water in your fish tank. Simply “dumping” the fish in the water can kill it quickly. If they suffer any type of shock, they can die in a matter of hours or a few days. Anyway, most of the sudden deaths happen due to this reason.
How to solve it: You need to “acclimatize” the fish slowly to allow the animal time to adapt to the new water.
Ammonia Poisoning Because The Fish Tank Has No Filter
Filters in aquariums are mandatory. Since they serve for biological filtration. Without this, the Nitrogen Cycle (Cycling) will never start. As a result, toxic ammonia will accumulate and kill your fish.
The fish poop, along with leftover food, will rot and produce ammonia. This compound is toxic to animals. The ammonia concentration must always remain at 0 ppm, this is the only acceptable value.
How to solve it: Buy a filter for the fish tank and purchase biological media. Remembering that the filter must stay on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
You Have Not Cycled The Fish Tank
A new filter needs to be cycled to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels zero. This process takes about 4 – 6 weeks. During this time, ammonia and nitrite will accumulate. Both will increase and decrease over the weeks. However, most fish do not tolerate these compounds in the tank, so it is ideal that the aquarium does not have any animals during this period.
How to solve it: Cycle before adding the fish.
Fish Died Of Disease And Parasites
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of parasites and fish diseases. For example, Dropsy, Ich, Lernaea and Popeye. Many of them are contagious. A single sick fish can cause everything else to die if not treated properly. Many people report that the fish started to die after introducing a new animal to the tank.
How to solve it: Buy healthy animals from reliable sources. If you go to a store, check where the fish are stored, if there are no dead fish, or if they are showing some type of irregular swimming.
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Isolate fish purchased in a quarantine tank for at least 3 weeks. You can also separate a diseased fish and place it in a separate aquarium. Treat the animal as quickly as possible with the products available on the petshop market.
Do Not Perform Partial Water Changes Frequently
Even if you have a perfectly cycled tank, the end product of the Nitrogen Cycle – Nitrate – will accumulate. Although this compound is relatively harmless, very high concentrations can affect the animal’s immune system in the long run.
How to solve it: Perform partial changes of 30% – 50% once a week to keep nitrate levels under control and add some plants in the tank so that they can also consume this compound.
What did you think of this article? Do you have questions about reasons why your fish may be dying? Leave it in the comments!
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