Overfeeding

Question
hi

i got a starter kit aquariam tank with the basic equipment a filter,ich medicince and aquasafe and was set up at the fish shop Day 1. i overfed my fish cause i am still new at this, the water became cloudy, and informed my aquarists he advised me to change the water and add aquasafe (water conditioner), and not to feed the fish for two days. Day 2 after work i found one fish dead after an hour another this was before i did the water change, this was in the cloudy water, this is when i started doing my water change. first i drained the tank half way and left the fish inside, second i used two 5liter bottles and added half a tablespoon of aquasafe in the two bottles, let it stand for 5minutes and added it to the tank, probably after an hour the fish starting acting frantically coming up for air later that evening all of them died and only one was left in the morning.  

Answer
Hi Helen
Sorry for your problems starting out with your tank!  First thing, I'm posting a link for you to read through, it's about cycling a fish tank.  All new aquariums must go through this process, and once you understand it, it'll explain why your fish died.  Basically, fish and uneaten fish food put off ammonia in the tank.  Bacteria is growing in the tank(good bacteria) and converts the ammonia to nitrites.  A different bacteria then converts the nitrites to nitrates.  The whole process takes about 4-8 weeks to complete, and a lot of fish don't make it through this process.  Ammonia and nitrites are toxic to fish at any level, and during a cycle process, those levels spike really high.  So, here's the link to read through, copy and paste to your browser:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/startupcycle/Step_5_The_Cycle.htm

And, what kind of water was in the bottles that you used?  

Let me know if you have more questions!

Christy