# dead angelfish.



## amandarhea818 (Sep 15, 2011)

So, like many, I started a tank without much knowledge of what I was doing (mistake #1) Under the common misconception of...buy tank, fill with water and fish and all is well (mistake #2) Listened to the "professional" advice of someone at PetSmart (mistake #3, and i'll just stop there with the numbering of mistakes because it could go on for a while) so...after a week of putting in the water, gravel, plantlife ect...it was time to add the fish...1 angelfish, 2 tiger barbs, 1 Leporinus Fasciatus, and 1 Rainbow shark is what I went with. After coming home and reading up on the fish I chose, there were MANY conflicting reports on wether they were all compatible. After 6 days all seemed well, until I noticed the rainbow shark relentlessly chasing a tiger barb (and then noticed said tiger barbs fin was nipped). Assuming it was the rainbow shark, I seperated him, to prevent further damage. I then went to another petstore to get some more advice and was told that it most probably wasn't the rainbow shark and that it was probably the other tiger barb that did the nipping. That tiger barbs do better in odd numbers and i needed another one, and to put the tiger shark back into the tank. So...i went to yet ANOTHER petstore to make sure that was the right thing to do. Everyone says YES...sounds good. SO...i come home and get "stan the shark" out of suclusion only to find..."beeks the anglefish" DEAD. a huge chunk taken out of his face. Talk about DISAPPOINTMENT. AND...I CRIED LIKE A BABY! :/ SO...with all of that information, would you be able to tell me...were they just NOT compatible or do I have a rogue killer fish that i need to do something about? 
Also, please don't thrash me too bad about my lack of knowledge about this before hand, I am doing everything I can to right my wrong.


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## blindkiller85 (Jan 8, 2011)

Well, the biggest problem I see is that your tank isn't cycled. Unless you added and neglected to mention that you used another means to cycle it. A week with water, gravel, and plantlife isn't even close. That could've been your cause right there and then the other fish were picking away at it.

Next, what's your tank size, what filter do you have, what lights do you have and what plant life do you have. Too much plants, and you need to ad Co2. Too demanding of plants and you need a really good light. Not the cheapy T8/12 lights that you buy at petsmart for 39.99-110.99. And lastly, do you have a heater. All of your fish are tropical and need 72-80 (Farenheit) degree waters. And as stable of temperatures as you can. Fake plants obviously need nothing.

The Fish:
Compatibility here is probably not the best. Tiger Barb's like to nip, as you saw already. Could've been harassing the angelfish in the first place causing it more stress and issues, leading to it's death. Could've been the tank not being cycled. Could have been not enough room + temperatures.

Rainbow shark's are suggested to have a 40g tank or more, not to say that's what they need for themselves, but that's the start. They usually are semi-aggressive towards other fish. Which means some chasing, not always, and possibly territorial once it sets up a space that it deems his/hers. Assuming that you will take great care one of these should be able to get to full size in a 20 gallon long aquarium.

Angelfish should really be kept in about the same. They grow very tall, but don't swim a whole lot, but how would you like to be kept in a box that you can barely live, eat, poo, and enjoy things in?

Leporinus Fasciatus might be a problem down the road. These guys get to 10 inches or more. Not to say it'd be a problem now. But a 40-75 gallon aquarium is where you probably need to end up being at. But of course, with a 75 you can add more fish than you have now safely, and in time.

Assuming you already know, you need to do water changes. Not the entire tank, but 20-30% per week is the best route. Not always necessary, if you're too busy one week you can skip it and your tank will survive. I've neglected my tank entirely for 1-2 months and it survived. It just looked like crap and I got lucky I didn't lose any fish. Tap water is fine, if you don't have a dechlorinator on your house or faucet then you can simply set it out for 24 hours and it will have no chlorine in it at that point. There are also additives to the water to dechlorinate the water. 

Cleaning the tank. Well, algae will build up, and lots of it. A scraper for your glass or acrylic will be close to your best friend. Buy them accordingly, they are made different for each surface and make a difference. A Gravel vacuum is a great thing, but you don't need to. Simply stirring the gravel and letting your filter do the work should suffice if you keep up on water changes. Then it comes to the filter. You don't need to buy a new one every time the old filter sponge gets dirty. Just rinse the junk off of it and clean the filter itself and put it back in. Don't use soap, ever. When the filter sponge is falling apart, well then it's time to replace it haha.

Good luck to ya.


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## amandarhea818 (Sep 15, 2011)

Ok...after doing MORE research I just read that the dang "plant-life" that I put into the tank, although pretty, are NOT aquatic plants...BACK to the petstore I go. My tank is 56gallons, the filter is Penguin Bio-wheel 350, the lighting is what came with the set-up. Yes, I have read about the cycling, and realize that is a problem. Just not exactly sure where to go from here, and I couldn't be MORE frustrated.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

the leporinus is not a good fish to have with others that are not aggressive....they are absolute lightning fast terrors..they will chase down anything it can...and kill it.

check with the store and see if they have any seachem "stability" or tetra "safestart".
these products will allow you to get the tank cycled quickly with fish in it..


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

56. What length is it? IMO tiger barbs should have 48" and a large school. They make a nice display by themselves, but can be hard on other fish. Sharks are, IMO, a one-to-a-tank, 2-caves-for-each, fish. 

Use a dechlor that 'detoxifies' ammonia unless you know for sure there is no chloramine in your water supply. And use one that detoxifies ammonia and nitrite, such as Prime or Amquel+ in a tank that hasn't 'cycled' yet.


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## giants1249er (Aug 3, 2011)

Return all the fish to Petsmart...they have a 14 day return policy. Then start a fishless cycle or a fish-in cycle. I prefer the fishless cycle since no fish is involved in the cylcing process which can be harmful to them. While cycling, you can research on what fishes you want and if they are compatible or not.


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## Ladayen (Jun 20, 2011)

giants1249er said:


> Return all the fish to Petsmart...they have a 14 day return policy. Then start a fishless cycle or a fish-in cycle. I prefer the fishless cycle since no fish is involved in the cylcing process which can be harmful to them. While cycling, you can research on what fishes you want and if they are compatible or not.


Bang on. The fish will all probably be dead soon in your tank.


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## amandarhea818 (Sep 15, 2011)

Thanks, appreciate all the advice. I will be starting over. The right way.


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## amandarhea818 (Sep 15, 2011)

I am HAPPY to report, I've only lost one more fish...my tank has been successfully cycled, and now houses 4 tiger barbs, the rainbow shark, Lep Fas, and a Pleco! a


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

cngratulations....glad to see that things are going well for you.....
keep the tank well covered...i have seen leporinus jump out of a tank and almost hit the ceiling and land half way across the room.....lucky i was there to pick it up and put it back....


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## mpfsr (Jun 22, 2011)

just a bit of info on tiger barbs..the more you have the better as they will focus there attention on the other barbs an not on other fish..they can be a terror in a tank if not enough of them to keep there attention.


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