General Care Discussion :: most feeder fish died 2x in a row

[JNZBCBnLIL]

The past 2 times that I have done a complete water change in Leo's tank- almost all of the feeder fish have died over night after the change- could I be doing something wrong that could end up hurting Leo in the end? I don't mind losing the feeders- I just want to know if anyone else has experienced something like this! I know fish are very delicate to water changes- but I don't want anything to be wrong that could possibly hurt the little guy!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

where did you get them from?

[JNZBCBnLIL]

Petsmart- but they had been in the tank for a good 2 weeks!

[kburen]

Wow...My feeder fish from petsmart died overnight. Stewie didn't even try to eat them Some even died within hours of putting them in! And that was 2 in his tank and the rest in my regular fish tank!!

[JNZBCBnLIL]

The crazy part is I had about 12 (5 grey and 7 orange) in there to begin- because at the time I was unaware that he shouldn't be eatting those too often- so last night we were down to 5 (1 grey and 4 orange- all of the others he had eatten as far as I know)- and this morning I woke up to 2 dead and the rest swimming like they weren't gonna make it much longer! 1 of those seems to still be looking a little sickly but the other 2 are swimming just fine- it's weird! I just wanted to know if anyone knew if I was doing something wrong because I don't want Leo to start getting sick!

[sandyandspongebob06]

i got rosy reds from petsmart. n they r still living bout a week or so now, bought 6 and only 4 left.. r they baby gold fish or rosy's?

[JNZBCBnLIL]

They're just rosies because as far as I know goldfish are treats for your RES while rosies are actually food they recommend! (correct me if I'm wrong anyone) You should not feed goldfish often!

[N4784N R4613]

Do you use water conditioner after every water change? Where do you keep the fish when you are changing the water? AND just an FYI when you get fish from a pet store you have to put the whole bag (that the fish came in) directly in the tank for 15 min. to allow temp to adjust. Before releasing them into the tank.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

I used to work at petsmart so i understood that for regular fish that you wanted to survive and live awhile but I assumed with feeder fish it didn't really matter because they had a doomed fate anyway...? lol I sometimes use water conditioner but I was told by a lady who works at the zoo with the turtles that Memphis water has no chlorine in it (we have really clean water ??) and that I shouldn't need a water conditioner! I keep the fish with Leo in his other tank while I'm cleaning! But see the thing is they survived for 2 weeks up until the water change and I made sure the water was almost to the exact same temp it was at before the water change until I put Leo and the feeders back in the water!

[missibsu]

Fish are fish, regardless or not of the fact that they are feeders. Their doomed fate doesn't change the fact that they need certain things to survive. A complete water change can unbalance the tank. I believe the people who keep fish don't do complete water changes, just partial. Also, if you are adding water that is a different temp, then this could also be killing them. I've never had a problem with my feeders when doing a complete change, but for me, that usually means doing 90% of the water. I don't take my fish out, so I have to leave them a little bit of water.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

They lived for 2 weeks putting them straight into the water so I wondered why the water change when I had brought it back up to the temp they were used to was such a shock for them! ?? I was thinking it was maybe the shock of going from tank to tank so I'll have to try the 90% thing next time and hope they do well with that! I guess I also thought that it might not be such a good idea to put a bag that has been who knows where into the tank with Leo... the idea of that kind of bothered me too! any recommendations on what to do with the bag to make it safe before you place it in the water for 15 mins?

[Brianthedog18]

I bought 12 minnows from petco, and he ate 10 of them within an hour.

The other two, lived for over 5 months!! Then I got some new ones, and he ate them all. haha

If I hadn't bought new ones, I'm sure the other two would still be alive!

[Jessica313]

caring for fish is a bit different than turtles.. if you did a complete water change.. this is why all your fish died. fish need beneiftial bacteria that grows naturally in the water over time. this is why we do not ever do a complete water change for our fish ( i have a 30 g tropical tank)
turtles do not need any of this bacteria to stay healthy the way fish do.
my advice to you is this:
either wait till all the fish are gone until you do a FULL water change,
or
leave about 10 or 20% of the dirty water in when you do the change...
or
change ALMOST all the water, but leave the dirty cartridge in the filter for 2 more weeks '

hope this helps!

[bradhart]

I bought some white clouds for breeding, had them in their own tank and everything. I thought it was a great idea. But, it never happened. I got bored and started feeding them to the turtle. then i threw the last 3 in, and went on vacation. 2 weeks later, I came back to HUNDREDS of fry swimming around. Had to do a complete water change, filter clean, the works.... thats my breeding story.

[Muirner]

the turtles didnt eat the frys? I was thinking of using my old 10g tank for breading guppies. Or some other type of fish that could be used more often then just a treat... (suggestions?) but i hear you need to watch them or they will eat the babys, idk the girls are enough work for me.