More food than it is needed can also cause water pollution and create more toxic ammonia and nitrite which will kill the fish too. Overfeed fish can cause a digestive problem and kill the fish directly. Or get a bottle of live bacteria products such as Tetra SafeStart to jump-start the aquarium nitrogen cycle. Solution: Do fishless cycling before adding any fish. Most if not all fish will die before you can fully cycle the filter in a new aquarium. Both will increase to a very high concentration before they decrease. During which time, ammonia and nitrite will build up. It takes a source of ammonia and 4~6 weeks to cycle a new aquarium fully. You have not cycled the new aquarium/fish tank/filter.Ī new aquarium filter must be fully cycled to maintain the aquarium nitrogen cycle. Solution: Buy an aquarium filter, and have it run 24/7.Ħ. In a closed system, ammonia can’t go anywhere but to build up. The concentration of ammonia must stay at 0ppm (part per million) to be safe for the fish. Their poop along with leftover fish food will rot and produce more ammonia. As a result, toxic ammonia will build up and kill the fish.įish produce ammonia as a waste product. Without it, the Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle won’t start. Fish died due to ammonia poisoning because there is no aquarium filterĪn aquarium filter is mandatory. It can greatly increase the rate of gas exchange between the water and atmosphere.ĥ. The higher the water temperature, the less dissolved oxygen. The more fish you have, the more oxygen they need.Ĭ. Overstocked the aquarium with too many fish.
They will die if the dissolved oxygen in the fish tank runs out. Solution: We must use an aquarium heater in a tropical fish aquarium, or the fish will freeze to death.įish needs dissolved oxygen in the water. Since the majority of the fish in aquarium fish trade are tropical fish, they are more sensitive to the water temperature. Unless you live in a tropical area, the water In the fish tank can’t be warm enough without an aquarium heater. Tropical fish are from warm water ranged from 70~80F+ (over 20C). And it works almost immediately when you add it to the tap water. A single bottle can last for a very long time. Solution: Just buy a bottle of aquarium water conditioner. Without the aquarium water conditioner, the chlorine and chloramine in the tap water can kill the fish. Tap water is perfectly fine for aquarium fish as long as you have used an aquarium water conditioner. Solution: You must “acclimate” the fish slowly to give them time to adapt to the new water. Most of the quick deaths of fish are due to shock. If the fish are in severe shock, they usually die within hours, if not by the next day or two. “Dump” the fish in the fish tank right away can kill them quite fast. It is most likely the water in the plastic bag is very different from the water in your home aquarium. When you brought the fish home from a pet shop, or from elsewhere, it is usually in a plastic bag of water.
Water PH and water hardness can also affect them if there is a sudden large swing. Since fishes have no body heat, they are sensitive to sudden changes in water temperature. when the fish owner put them in the fish tank. Fish died in shock because there is a sudden large change in water temperature, PH, hardness, etc.
In the following, we will discuss the top 13 most common causes of aquarium fish deaths and how to avoid them. Anyway, the majority of them died in the first month. Some other fish died after a large feeding. Also, a lot of fish deaths took place after a massive water change. Some of the errors are more common than others.Ī lot of the fish deaths occurred soon after new fish are introduced. Majority fish deaths are due to some beginner mistakes we can identify and avoid. It does not mean they died for no reason at all.
They are the most mistreated pet animal in the world.įor sure, fish are fragile creatures compare to us. Many of them died within days, or even within hours. The average lifespan of aquarium fish after leaving the shop is no more than 3~4 weeks. Somehow most of the fish died within weeks after purchase. Some of them can live up to a decade or more in the wild. Most of the fish species have a natural lifespan of at least several years. Each year, people buy millions of aquarium fish. It is the most frequently asked question about aquarium fish.