The fish wont eat

Question
Hi, I am watching over my brothers fish in the past 2 weeks I have lost 3 of them. I just noticed that they are not eating , they take it in and spit it out. I feel really bad that they are dying off. I am not sure what kind they are just know 2 are sucker fish and I am sure they are fine. I feed them tropical flakes. They were eating fine as far as I know. We just cleaned out the tank last night but still nothing. Water temp is between 75 & 80 degrees. Any advice? And can fish flakes go bad in the can?

Answer
Hi Marie,
If I knew what kind of fish these were that would really help. If you could describe them to me I may be able to identify them. The Sucker fish could be Plecostomus or Chinese Algae eaters. And these fish don't do well on fish flakes alone, they need vegetable-based foods and even vegetables themselves such as Spinach, Romain lettuce, or Zucchini and more.

There are lots of things to consider as to why the fish keeping dying. Is it possible uneaten food is lying around and polluting the tank? Water quality problems are the biggest number one cause to fish loss. Are you making sure to dechlorinate the water when making the water changes? Are you making sure it is of the same temperature as the tank itself or just a tiny bit warmer? How exactly do go about cleaning the tank? These are all important things to know when trying to figure out what's wrong with your fish. Sometimes things like overcleaning the tank cause result in ammonia buildup because the bacteria that naturally remove this toxic chemical will be destroyed if you over-clean the tank.

The most you should do is use an aquarium gravel vacuum and  siphon any leftover food or waste out from the gravel while draining the water. About a 30% water change is a good place to start. You may have to increase this depending upon how bad the water is.

Fish flakes can certainly go bad. Especially if they've sat around for very long or they have gotten moisture in them. If you are suspecting the flakes are bad, just throw them out and get some new. Old, bad tasting flakes could certainly be part of the problem why the fish aren't eating.

Let me know how a few more things about how you are caring for the fish and all. I hope we can figure out the problem soon...

Best Wishes,
Karen~