new tank syndrome problems...

Question
QUESTION: Hi :) I recently purchased a 10 gallon tank from a pretty nice pet store (a small chain, not anything like a petsmart or petco)that seems to know what they are talking about as far as tropical fish go. My tank is equipped with a Whisper filter for 10 gallon, a heater, a bubble maker (is that an air stone? i'm not sure) The hood has 2 bulbs ( i think they are fluorescent but im not sure about that either) I have natural color gravel and plastic plants, as well as a eqyptian vase decoration in my tank. The decoration was designed for aquariums, so i think its unlikely that it is leeching toxins in my tank. My tank was stocked with 4 female balloon mollies, all around an inch and a mystery snail. My tank is about 3 weeks old. I purchased a ammonia test kit a week or 2 after i got the tank up and running, and found out i had some bad ammonia levels. I used AmQuel to get that under control, and currently have the levels at .25 ppm, but thats as low as i have gotten it. Then my fish started dying. I lost a balloon from a not-so-reputable store (im never going to that store again) but all the others were looking fine. Then my white balloon had fry. Only 8 were alive by the time i discovered them. Then, the next morning, the fish that seemed strongest was dead when i woke up, and the one that had the babies was stuck on the filter intake. I helped her up. She is feeling better today, so i have 2 fish left. All the fry died. So, i took my water to the pet store to have them test it as well, hoping to i.d a problem The test results they got were much higher than what i got with my kit right before i left for the pet store. Could my test supplies we weird, or maybe does the ammonia climb in a golf ball sized tupperware (well, a little bigger) in a 20 minute drive? Also, i had my ph levels tested while i was there. They were lower than the scale showed, so lower than 6.0. The manager gave me something to put in the water that was supposed to heighten my ph some. It helped a little, and the water change i did brought my ph to where it was supposed to be. The next day, though, my ph lowered again. I did another 15% water change, and the ph jumped from to 7.6. My poor fished are experiencing a ph roller coaster, or i have faulty test supplies. Now my ph is right back to 6.0. My tap water is neutral, i already tested it, and the only thing i'm putting in it before it goes into my tank is some AmQuel to condition the ammonia and some salt. Its really overwhelming to loose like 10 fish (including the babies :(  )in a 4  day span, and to have such fluctuating tank readings... especially since i have no idea how to cure my tank, all i know is that my ammonia need to go down and my ph needs to go up.

ANSWER: Hi Allie,
 The first thing to realize is that you seldom fix water problems by adding chemicals to the water. As often as not, that creates more problems.  A pH of 6 is not actually that bad and is highly unlikely to be the problem.  In contrast, constantly fiddling with the pH can be a HUGE problem.  BUT, and this is a big BUT, many of the little test kits that people buy do not work very well -- I do not trust them at all.  

 The most important thing in keeping fish is clean water.  You should be changing 25% of the water in the tank once a week, every week. That is far more important than worrying about the chemistry or even testing it. If you do your regular weekly partial water changes, your water should be fine.  In fact, I NEVER test my water and I currently maintain 140 tanks.  

 As for why your fish died, that could be many things. The fact that you now have the ammonia down doesn't mean that a lot of damage wasn't done before and that that caused the fish to die later.  It is also very possible that you are overfeeding your fish, resulting in the high ammonia.  Most people vastly overfeed their fish.  Keep in mind how small they are.  You should feed your fish once a day and only give them food that they eat right away. NEVER put in food for them to eat later. It will only rot and cause the ammonia level to skyrocket.  

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi again :) I lost another fish this evening..... Leaving just one. She isn't looking too well either. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to kinda start over and try again. I world probobly vacuum out most of the water, give it a thorough scubdown, etc. I was wondering if I could get a dmall fantail goldfishtobgo in my tank for a few months, and then upgrade to a larger more adequate tank afterwards (most likley a 20 long) I know a 10 gal is small for a Goldie, but would it be ok while it is small, and just for a couple months?

Answer
Hi Allie,
  Personally I think you should stay away from goldfish.  They are actually not the simplest fish to keep alive and often have enormous problems with disease.  There are many other fish that would be very happy in a 10 gallon tank, but a goldfish is not one of them.  For example, you might consider getting a single convict cichlid.  

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>