HELP..THEY ARE DYING FAST!!!!!!

Question
IT IS 3 AM IN THE MORNING AND MY FISH ARE DROPPING OFF FAST .WE HAD A FRIEND WHO KNEW HOW TO MOVE OUR TANK TO NEW HOUSE AND NOW (NEXT DAY) MY FISH ARE DIEING FASTER THAN I CAN IMAGINE. WHAT DO I DO ? I HAVE NOTHING HERE TO PUT IN WATER ....CAN I PUT THEM IN A BUCKET OR SOMETHING? JUST SOMETHING TO BUY ME TIME!!!!!! PLS HELP FAST... THE FISH ARE GUPPIES, ANGEL FISH KINDA LIKE AN I HAVE 3 ALGEA EATERS 2 OF THEM ARE KIND OF HUGE AN ONE IS EXTREMELY HUGE, I'VE HAD HIM A REALLY LONG TIME

Answer
Hi Jennifer;

They are probably in shock. It may be worse to move them to a bucket at this point, adding to their stress. Make sure the tank water temperature is where it should be and make sure the filter and/or air bubbles are working if you have them. I wish I could tell you something that would help but shock and stress are a waiting game unless we can remove the cause. But, we don't know what the cause actually is in this case. Was water conditioner used when the tank was refilled and set up again?

You could make a 10% water change in case waste toxins are building up. That happens when tanks are moved sometimes. Water conditioner is necessary though so don't do it if you don't have any. The biological balance is disturbed after a move and ammonia rises making the fish sick. Especially if the filter was cleaned and/or the gravel and decorations were cleaned. It's like starting a brand new tank with a whole load of fish, too much organic waste for a "new" system. The beneficial bacteria has been killed or partly killed and waste toxins are building up and poisoning them.

Another possibility; Were they transported in a container that may have had detergent, soap or other chemicals at one time? If so, they may have been poisoned. The damage has already been done unfortunately so there isn't anything you can do except wait it out and hopefully some will recover. You could try to lower the concentration of any chemicals that are in the tank water by making a 25% change with conditioned water and using a chemical-free container to refill.

I wish I could help more. If you could fill me in with more details such as; How big is the tank? How may fish and how big (in inches)? How were the fish and tank transported? What kind of filter? Could something have accidentally been sprayed or poured into the tank while in transport? Or, anything else that might help us.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins