Tropical fish disaster

[darlingsweetpea]

Just before Christmas I brought a tropical fish tank and on Boxing day added 6 Harlequin fish. They have all died.

Everything is from pets at home and I have followed to the letter all their instructions. They have since contradicted themselves as the person I spoke to today said we should only have been sold 2.

I had the water tested this morning at the store and it was all fine.

My aibu is...I want to return everything and receive a full refund about £150. I'm cross as I have followed everything and achieved nothing but I'm not sure if this is realistic.

Thanks

To be fair you need to let the tank run with no fish for at least a couple of weeks to let the good bacteria build up in the filter otherwise putting fish in too soon creates an imbalance because they excrete toxins faster than the bacteria can break it down. I'd keep the set up but just wait a few weeks before introducing fish. You may just have been a bit too keen, then just add a couple and wait a few more weeks before thinking about more.

Harlequin tetras? I can't imagine only having two they need a few to be happy. Did the heater pack in or anything like that?

You can't just add fish to a new tank. It can take more than a month for the tank to cycle and right bacteria to form.

If there are no fish in the tank then there won’t be anything to help build up the bacteria in the filter. Running it empty is pointless unless you’re adding some other kind of food/matter.
A fish-less cycle isn’t necessary.
Ideally you add fish slowly, a few at a time.
OP, find a fish keeping website forum to ask on, you’ll get better advice. It comes down to size of tank, filtration, waste, plants, bacterial load etc.

How big is the tank? I've had to google what a harlequin fish is and they are enormous! Harlequin fish - Wikipedia

I too thought you need to leave the tank and filters several weeks to 'season' and stabalise before adding the fish.

Read up on how to cycle a tank. The quickest way is to order Nitrico Goop. You can also run it empty but add drops of ammonia to simulate fish waste. You need a water testing kit, not those crappy strips.

I have a tropical set up and had and water cycle for around 4 weeks before adding fish, you can buy filter boost chemicals to add to the tank in the beginning which helps the good bacteria to develop in the tank and in the filter media
when I first started out I had the same problem when I first got a tank and nearly gave up but a lot of research later and I've finally nailed it, I've learnt it's better to go slow with a tank let the water cycle get the water levels correct and slowly add the fish to allow the water to adjust each time.

Thanks for the reply, my question isn't about the fish it's about the refund. Is it acceptable for me to ask for a full refund based on the wrong info provided as quiet frankly I don't want to deal with any more fish related stuff.

Phone them and ask. You can try your luck and say you were mis-sold it but I don’t think they’re obligated to refund a used item.

Sounds like you might not have set the tank up far enough ahead- depends when ‘just before Christmas’ is.

How many litres is it? That can also influence how many fish you can add first in one go. Did you have any sources of good bacteria in the tank before Introducing the fish ? Was the temperature correct?

Too many variables to think you’ll get a refund. I once got a refund for 6 neon tetra, as after we got them home we noticed they were full of white spot.
Highly doubt you’ll get a refund for a full set up, especially if you’ve used it and they can’t re-sell.

It's worth a call and see. Though it's a shame. Keeping fish is amazingly relaxing

Just return or sell the lot… you don’t appear to be cut out for this… save you and the subsequent dead fish 🐠 a lot of bother.

yeah that was harsh… but if you are going are yourself up to care for another living thing you need to spend more time and effort than asking the guy at the pet store how to to make your pet thrive.

If you started the tank and just threw 6 fish in without cycling it or anything then I do think it's on you really. You need to do your research when it comes to tropical fish.

That being said Pets at Home are usually pretty strict on how many fish they give you in relation to the size of your tank and they use a points system so if they've got that wrong then maybe they will refund.

Wow, how are pets allowed to be sold to people who have no clue what to do with them. This is why pet stores are so wrong. No they don't have to give you a refund as you should have done your own research and been properly prepared. Your poor fish.

Could have been sold diseased fish , we had terrible experiences with buying from pets at home including their plants being full of snails etc

Yes because it’s not their fault you aren’t capable of doing minimal research.

Pets at home generally are terrible when it comes to fish, they have a terrible reputation.

Fish are great pets, next time use an independent aquatic store.

It doesn’t sound like you knew what you were doing.

I keep tropical fish, and another type of unusual pet. Most pet stores are absolutely clueless and you cannot rely on their advice. Without commenting on individual staff, who of course vary greatly, chain pet stores care about money and don’t give two hoots about animals or their welfare.

I don’t think you’re entitled to a refund (it’s not like they’ll be able to re-sell) but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

More likely to be harlequin rasboras!

With most new fish keepers, it's over feeding.

Take it you did absolutely no research into how to run a fish tank?

Ammonia will have spiked and killed the fish due to the tank having not been cycled. You can do this with fish in, but the pets at home tank is most likely too small for that number of fish to be added to a totally uncycled tank.

I have two tropical tanks now but honestly felt like giving up in the first few weeks as I found it really difficult to maintain the water quality and so ridiculously stressful with the testing etc.
Tanks have been running for years now and they pretty much maintain themselves (other than 20 percent weekly water change and gravel vac) as I have the right balance of bottom feeders, mid dwellers and algae eaters etc but it takes time to build this up, so worth it though if you can be bothered to research and read into it on fish keeping websites, I love sitting watching the fish.

You need to cycle the water before you can add fish.

Pets at Home are reputed to be shit at giving advice.

You'd be better going to an indie fish shop, or reading Practical Fish-keeping articles or blogs, or good books on the topic.

Yeah, but snails aren't bad in themselves. They won't kill fish.

Your tank clearly wasn't ready. When we got our Siamese Fighter Fish (RIP Colin), my obsessive personality came into play beforehand. I made sure everything was perfect for his arrival. Getting the water right is an exact science!

So I'm sorry, but you were irresponsible too.

You might have an argument as they should have asked you about your setup before they sold you the fish.

That said, you should have done the most basic research into how to keep fish before buying them. I hope this is a lesson and you don't get any more pets on a whim.