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#1919403
RepticZ
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Why does my mom’s fish always die! 
My mom keeps fish in a 20 gal tank and for some reason they always die within two weeks. At first she says that she notices white specks on the scales, and after a while they die. Its weird though. Because once a few fish die we just throw the rest in my turtles tank to see whats wrong with the other tank. And the fish has lived in the turtle tank for over a month! Its weird because the turtle’s tank just has regular water in it from the hose. why is this?
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12/23/08 02:42pm
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#1919574
Fish_man
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Message To: RepticZ In reference to Message Id: 1919403
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
does it have a filter
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12/23/08 07:38pm
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#1919582
RepticZ
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Message To: Fish_man In reference to Message Id: 1919574
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
yes
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12/23/08 07:44pm
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#1919585
Fish_man
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Message To: RepticZ In reference to Message Id: 1919582
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
do you have pics o fteh setup or could you describe it to me
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12/23/08 07:47pm
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#1919592
RepticZ
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Message To: Fish_man In reference to Message Id: 1919585
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
Im pretty sure the set up is fine. I dont have a pictures. But there is just a normal filter on it with gravel at the bottom and a few plants. It was a filter like this one: http://www.pennplax.com/Images/AQUAscans/Cascade%20Power%20Filters/CPF2-Cascade-100-Large.jpg
just a filter is running on it. and Flor. Lighs on top
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12/23/08 07:58pm
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#1919593
Fish_man
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Message To: RepticZ In reference to Message Id: 1919592
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
i dont know were are you buying the fish from
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12/23/08 08:02pm
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#1919597
RepticZ
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Message To: Fish_man In reference to Message Id: 1919593
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
most of the fish are bought at petco
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12/23/08 08:09pm
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#1919673
Rae rae
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Message To: RepticZ In reference to Message Id: 1919597
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
well the white specks could be ick or some other type of parasite. i’m not sure about petco’s reputation, i’ve never been there, but i have heard other people in the lizard forums say they hate how petco keeps animals. if they’re anything like walmart fish then that’s definitely the problem. have you ever got the water tested for the ph balance or ammonia levels?
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12/23/08 10:12pm
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#1919688
RepticZ
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Message To: Rae rae In reference to Message Id: 1919673
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
I tested the PH level of the water, and it came out to 8, and i also tested the Ph in my turtles tank. It is also eight. but the fish seem fine in there. Is there anyway that i can get rid of ick? what should i do to start the tank over?
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12/23/08 10:28pm
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#1920541
Flamingflower
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Message To: RepticZ In reference to Message Id: 1919688
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
Starting the tank over may very well be a good idea. Use a diluted bleach solution to clean it and let it dry thoroughly in the sun before refilling with water. You may use water from a hose, just let it sit out in the sunlight for a couple of days and it should be fine to use. Make sure your new fish are compatible with each other (you may want to find another fish supplier, petco/walmart aren’t the best of places, although there may be a few exceptions) and research your fish online before getting them. The supplier is supposed to be able to tell you compatability, but I wouldn’t completely trust Petco or any other big/chain supplier since they’ve given me wrong information before. It sounds like the fish you had died from ick(or ich as it is sometimes called,) which I believe can be spread from fish to fish. There is a treatment for this (over the counter medication.) Here is a good site to learn about ick (do not follow the instructions on this site unless you are dealing with a cichlid fish, and have done other research!)
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/ich.php
This site isn’t the best, but might help:
http://www.getridofthings.com/get-rid-of-ick.htm
When using formalin, make sure to use recently purchased formalin. Formalin that is stored for long periods of time can convert to paraformaldehyde, which can be toxic to fish. An indicator that this has occurred is the formation of a white precipitate in the bottle. Malachite green may also stain some decorations and silicone to a green color and may be toxic to piranhas, neons, sunfish, and some scaleless fish, if given at the recommended dose. For these fish or other sensitive species, they should be treated at half strength and monitored carefully for signs of distress.
While we rarely recommend treating an entire tank for a disease, ich is an exception. Make sure to follow individual label directions, and remove the carbon from your filter and shut off any UV sterilizers or protein skimmers during treatment because they will inactivate or remove any medications that are added.
Preventing ich
Ich is a very common disease and if your fish get it, you are going to end up having to treat the entire tank. Therefore, it is a much easier disease to prevent than treat, and the following is a list of suggestions for helping to prevent ich in your tank:
Only purchase healthy fish that are free of all signs of disease.
Never buy fish from a tank that contains a dead or a diseased fish.
Always place new fish in a proper quarantine tank for a minimum of two weeks before introducing them into your tank.
Never buy plants from a source that keeps them in a fish tank with fish. If you do, make sure to quarantine your plants for at least 4 days.
Purchase fish from as direct a source as possible to reduce shipping and handling stress.
Remove to a quarantine tank and treat any fish that begins to show the first signs of ich.
Avoid any fluctuations in temperature, pH, or ammonia levels as these are all very stressful to fish and can result in an outbreak of ich.
Always feed a variety of properly stored food including freeze dried, frozen, and flaked
Do not overstock your tank. Most tanks have too many fish and not enough cover which leads to stress, disease, and increased mortality.
Maintain excellent water quality and do regular water changes.
Last one lol. This info might prove handy =P A bit lenghty, but I hope it helps!
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12/25/08 09:08pm
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#1920651
Spike O tortoise rex
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Message To: Flamingflower In reference to Message Id: 1920541
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
Does the tank have a heater, and are you putting tropical fish in it? Sounds like ick to me!
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12/26/08 12:55am
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#1922613
RepticZ
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Message To: Spike O tortoise rex In reference to Message Id: 1920651
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
Yeah! it is ich, i think you guys are right. because it does spread from fish to fish, which does eventually kill them off. Thank you Flamingflower for your post. It really helped. I think im going to start over on her tank. And take everything out. i can not get the PH level to get below 8. I use aquasafe to get help stabilize it.
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12/29/08 08:07pm
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#1922808
Tpau15
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Message To: RepticZ In reference to Message Id: 1922613
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
Here are some easy ways to get your PH down: Put drift wood in your tank. The drift wood will naturally lower PH. It is preferable to buy some at a pet shop, otherwise you’ll have to soak the piece you find on the beach repeatedly to get all the salt water out of it. If you find a piece at a fresh water site, you’ll have to bake it to kill all "bad things" living in it and on it, visible or not. (Even the piece you buy at the store should be baked to kill the spores and such in the wood.) You can also collect rain water. Rain water is naturally acidic. Be sure to filter the caught rain water through a fabric, like a t shirt, and filter it with carbon media for a few hours BEFORE adding it to your tank. (Rain water will have contaminants in it from the atmosphere.) The last, but most expensive way, is to add some sort of a neutral regulator chemical to the tank (found where ever fish are sold.) You will have to add it continually to keep the PH stable, and lowered. You will have to test it often to make sure that the PH stays stable, as fluctuations in PH can cause your fish you die off. It would be a good idea to get your PH lowered before you add more fish. The PH scale is a logarithmic scale. This means that you go from a PH of 7 to a PH of 8, the PH of 8 is ten times more alkaline than the PH of 7. A PH of 5 is one hundred times more acidic than a PH of 7 and so on. If your PH is higher than that of the pet store you bought them from, the fish you bought could be dieing off due to PH shock. Even if they didn’t die right off from the PH shock, they could have been stressed from the higher PH to the point that they became more susceptible to disease. Most fish are more accustomed to a lower PH closer to a neutral PH of 7.
-tpau15
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12/30/08 12:46am
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#1923892
Chels42
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Message To: Tpau15 In reference to Message Id: 1922808
Why does my mom’s fish always die!
yeah it’s ick, i lost some frogs to that a few years back. Infact they sell chemicals at petsmart that you can put in the water to prevent the disease
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12/31/08 04:46pm
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#2055304
Nicole b
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Message To: RepticZ In reference to Message Id: 1919403
 Why does my mom’s fish always die!
maybe its the PH some fish have a low number and some a high one, buy a tester or give some water to a petshop and they will test it for you. and or maybe you are not cleaning it good
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08/12/09 02:36am
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