More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 10:48

I have lost almost every new fish I have purchased in the last 2 months. From different fish stores, different kinds, totally different species, and housed in different tanks. I'm giving up. I won't be adding any additional fish to my tanks. ALL of my current fish are fine and healthy yet every new fish is dying within weeks to a month of purchase, of course all outside of the money back period. It's not even about the money so much as it is about the death. I see some people on here selling off their whole hobby. I have considered it. But I have decided, no in wall tanks, no more fish and to just wait as they get old an die to reduce down tanks until there is 1 or none. Fish aren't treated as well, bred well, and are medicated so much as fry/juveniles that when they get to your own tanks they fail to thrive or even live. My angel fry born in my own tank are even doing perfectly fine. This shows me it's not my tanks or our water that's causing this since it's only new fish from stores that are dying. Fishy rant over, needed to vent to people who understand the fish keeping aspect and not these people around me who think I'm crazy for caring that my fish are dying.

**Madness** 2014-06-04, 11:15

Oh how I agree. Hang in there and dont give up.

Couple questions for you. What is the ph, and params of the tanks these new fish went into? What type of stores are you buying fish from? Are you quarantining the fish before introducing them into your tanks? Feel free to p.m. me if you'd rather discuss it there.

DMD123 2014-06-04, 11:47

Ive had the same feeling. I made the mistake some years ago of introducing two wild caught fish into my main tank without first doing a quarantine. I dealt with a parasite / Columnaris / Flexibacter issue that wiped out almost my entire tank including a two year old midas that I still miss to this day. I medicated, and did water changes and everything imaginable to try and save the fish. It was sad that I was putting down a fish every day, humanely with clove oil to ease their suffering. However it got so bad, I got hardened to all of it and by the end I was resorting to the quick method of severing the spinal cord with a sharp knife instead. Talk about feeling low! No one should have to do that to their pets.

I thought I was done with it all and put in a whole new batch of cichlids and had the same results. I finally broke down the entire tank and disinfected everything, including baking the rock to kill everything. This was no small chore. Draining and clean out a 210 gallon and baking 135 ponds of gravel was a huge task. This however killed whatever was in the tank and gave me a fresh start.

I too have dealt with multiple deaths trying to find my current pets. I cant even tell you how many plecos Ive gone through or Pearsei just to get my big Porkchop or my Rhino pleco I have today.

All I can say is hang in there. Think about where your fish items have been... are you using the same equipment from one tank to the next? If so you might want to consider disinfecting it each time before going into the next tank or to buy individual equipment for each tank. This will help stop the spread of certain things. Like madness said, a quarantine tank is also a must. Dont add these new fish into a established tank, give them a few weeks to watch them, treat for parasites before they go into your 'show' tanks.

Hang in there, it does get better and it is worth it!

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 12:06

I went for 2 years without adding any fish because of this same issue. Yet in those 2 years I never lost one of my established fish. I do not have a quarantine tank due to no more tanks being allowed in my house. Which I understand since I have 5 set up and our rooms are small. I just don't understand why it is only new store bought fish. My angel fry are in the same tank without any issue. You would think they would die off quick/get sick easier since they are so sensitive. That's what really makes me baffled and blaming pet store purchases as opposed to my tanks being the issue. The angel fry were not born in this tank either. So being moved would stress them and make them even more sensitive to disease and illness.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 12:08

That really sucks as well about the 210 issue. :/ I finally redid my puffers tank after never being able to kick algae. I started fresh with a whole new tank.

DMD123 2014-06-04, 12:40

The 210 gallon lesson taught me a lot. In fact I feel like I could have saved my big midas way back when by doing the treatment process I have done for duck lips. This whole process came about because I got my little Porkchop soon after the tank issue and she got sick. It was a mix of desperation and the fact I had become pretty hardened at that point and felt there was nothing to lose. If anything it made me read and research and think outside the box when it came to fish care.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 12:53

That's true. Bigger fish you have more options. For me with angel and tetras it makes it more difficult.

pbmax 2014-06-04, 13:17

I had the same problem for a while a couple of years ago. I didn't lose every fish, but a good number of them. I had much better luck when buying known tank-bred fish and shrimp, both from stores and hobbyists.

I'm putting it all down to transit and acclimation stress / shock. They likely weren't in great shape when I got them and my water parameters were probably different enough that they just couldn't handle my tanks. I've had better luck with fish and shrimp shipped via priority mail by hobbyists on aquabid and ebay than buying directly in stores.

I don't have any real solution or insight to offer, except to say don't give up. Smile

You might try buying from other hobbyists if you can, even via mail. All the shrimp I have in my signature were received via priority mail. So were my CPDs, gold ring danios, chili rasboras, h. formosa, and Kribs I just received a couple of weeks back. Of those, only the chili rasboras were purchased from a store (Wet Spot - UPS ground, not USPS).

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 13:33

So I'm not the only one! My 5 LF bristlenose are in the same tank and are awesome. I may just have to divert where I purchase from. Problem is getting the quantity I need to up my schools as opposed to buying groups of preset amounts online.

DMD123 2014-06-04, 13:38

I have lost schooling fish also. When I had my red hook silver dollars I had lost two pretty early on and was pretty bummed because they were not cheap. So when I replaced them I overbought and that group turned out to be super healthy with no loss and that is how I ended up with seven big red hooks when I only wanted five. But the fish you are raising are a bit smaller so if you end up with one or two more than you intended, it would be just fine.

**Madness** 2014-06-04, 13:42

pbmax wrote:I had the same problem for a while a couple of years ago. I didn't lose every fish, but a good number of them. I had much better luck when buying known tank-bred fish and shrimp, both from stores and hobbyists.

I'm putting it all down to transit and acclimation stress / shock. They likely weren't in great shape when I got them and my water parameters were probably different enough that they just couldn't handle my tanks. I've had better luck with fish and shrimp shipped via priority mail by hobbyists on aquabid and ebay than buying directly in stores.

I don't have any real solution or insight to offer, except to say don't give up. You might try buying from other hobbyists if you can, even via mail. All the shrimp I have in my signature were received via priority mail. So were my CPDs, gold ring danios, chili rasboras, h. formosa, and Kribs I just received a couple of weeks back. Of those, only the chili rasboras were purchased from a store (Wet Spot).

pbmax 2014-06-04, 13:51

I'd like to add as an exception (and it never hurts to suck up to the boss...) that my blue platies from Aquarium Co-Op were healthy when I got them and are still thriving in my tanks months later. cyclops

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 13:55

DMD123 wrote:I have lost schooling fish also. When I had my red hook silver dollars I had lost two pretty early on and was pretty bummed because they were not cheap. So when I replaced them I overbought and that group turned out to be super healthy with no loss and that is how I ended up with seven big red hooks when I only wanted five. But the fish you are raising are a bit smaller so if you end up with one or two more than you intended, it would be just fine.

True I do have multiple schools I wanted to up the numbers of though. So if I ended up with too many of all I'd be waaay over stocked.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 13:57

pbmax wrote:I'd like to add as an exception (and it never hurts to suck up to the boss...) that my blue platies from Aquarium Co-Op were healthy when I got them and are still thriving in my tanks months later.

My mom got 3 platys from petsmart and they are doing fine so far and so are my gold skirt tetras. So it varies I guess.

DMD123 2014-06-04, 14:00

Ive got a few fish from The Wet Spot and have had zero issues. They recently had an article about quarantine of fish and their own process.

http://www.wetspottropicalfish.com/index.php/spotlight

I like what they do:

"I’m frequently asked by concerned fishkeepers about our quarantine process for fish, often followed by the question of whether or not they should quarantine our fish before adding them to their established aquaria. So to clarify and also emphasize our own value of healthy fish: whenever we receive new fish, they are kept in quarantine for at least seven days, though we may hold them longer if they need it. When medications are needed, the fish receive the full treatment before leaving quarantine. No fish are removed from quarantine and placed on sale until they are plump, healthy, and active.

Of course, this still leaves the question of whether or not to quarantine our fish, since we’ve already done so. While not strictly necessary with our fish as they have been held long enough for any communicable diseases to be identified and eliminated, it is never a bad idea to quarantine your new pets. This will allow them time to recover from the stress of their journey, whether from our storefront to your home in our local area or from our Online Sales department to any part of the country."

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 14:04

I haven't heard of many issues from wet spot. I wonder if I call the directly if they will ship certain numbers of some tetras. Online it lists them for sale in certain numbers as well as on aqua bid.

DMD123 2014-06-04, 14:15

Yeah they do have minimums on some fish. Not sure if they would lower those numbers, could just email or call and ask.

**Aquarium Co-Op** 2014-06-04, 14:45

We also offer the same service as the wet spot and don't have minimum orders on quantities.

www.aquariumcoop.com

Infact I shipped out to another wafishbox member yesterday. Smile

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 14:51

Aquarium Co-Op wrote:We also offer the same service as the wet spot and don't have minimum orders on quantities.

www.aquariumcoop.com

Infact I shipped out to another wafishbox member yesterday.

I may just have to get some from you Cory. When I decide to get back into purchasing.

dwarfpike 2014-06-04, 14:59

If you don't have a quarantine tank (which I always recommend, but know it's not always feasible) then I highly recommend only getting fish from stores that quarantine their fish (and most LFS don't). There is a reason I drive all the way to Edmonds to buy at the Co-Op despite having closer options. When I've done mail order, it's from places like Wetspot and Aquatic Clarity where I know quarantine before they sell their fish.

Also, if you know the water parameters are wildly different (and again, don't have a quarantine tank to acclimate them properly), you do have to take more time to acclimate them. Most people I think don't take enough time with this. My newest fish took almost an hour because they I know people have had issues with the species.

Some species it's just hard to get quality stock. For instance, I flat out refuse to buy blue rams (Microgeophagus ramirezi) unless they are wild caught or bred locally. The stock from the asian fish farms are horrible, just plain rubbish.

There are things you can do to help minimize the risks, but nothing beats a quarantine tank (not to beat the dead horse more).

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 15:39

I will definitely be going the quarantined store route. A little more spendy but worth it in the long run I believe. Maybe in the future I can get a quarantine tank set up, but not right now. I think Cory and wet spot will be getting my money instead!

thecarl 2014-06-04, 17:42

Stores that don't quarantine = bad - waste of money, unfortunately. Sad

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-04, 18:47

thecarl wrote:Stores that don't quarantine = bad - waste of money, unfortunately.

I'm finding that out the hard way...

thecarl 2014-06-05, 00:32

You're not the only one that did.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-05, 01:01

I was unhappy to hear tonight after transforming from a regular store to a super Walmart they brought back the fish. I protest Walmart and haven't been there twice in a year and that was for other people, not my own money spent!

thecarl 2014-06-05, 02:23

I cringed so much when the Walmart in Lynnwood started selling live fish. No way anyone that works there has a clue as to what they're doing.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-05, 09:44

Nope, our always has dead fish in the tanks, green sides so you could barely see the fish and bettas in half cups of water.

DMD123 2014-06-05, 11:13

Most of the fish Ive seen at the Walmart look to have not been fed. Its almost as if they think they will sell before they need to ever feed them.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-05, 11:17

I have noticed that too. :/

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-05, 11:19

On a fb page, which is forum-like, they are having people film fish in poor conditions in Walmart's across the nation and turning it in trying to get then to remove all live fish from their stores. A lot of people have gotten on board with it.

DMD123 2014-06-05, 12:15

Back when I was a kid many of the department stores sold pets. In fact I remember getting a hamster from Kmart back in the day.... I really dont know why they even do this anymore. There are tons of specialty stores out there to handle this. I do like the fact they carry some pet supplies. I have had late night trips to pick up fish meds before. But now I pretty much have a fish medicine cabinet going so I dont have to do that anymore.

ShortyKiloGyrl 2014-06-05, 12:31

There are places that carry pets that definitely shouldn't!

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More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

Re: More than frustrated, I pretty much give up.

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