Help: first aquarium and 1 fish died

[Hurric]

I set up my first 10 gallon aquarium about 2 weeks ago. Yesterday I got first fish, pack of 4 Orange Von Rio Tetras(is that right?) from Petco. Before getting the fish I took water sample and got confirmed the water condition is ready.

This morning I woke up finding one out of four tetras died. I took water sample to Petco again and confirmed again water condition is not the problem. Now with the 3 tetras left, the bigger one keeps chasing others non stop, to the point the two smaller ones are always in the corner bumping into the glass. One of the smaller ones also is constantly in a weird slightly diagonal position, bouncing up and down.

From my understanding these tetras are schooling fish, why is the bigger one keeps fighting the other two? It seems it has created stress to the smaller ones and I am at risk losing more?

Video link (hopefully it works): https://photos.app.goo.gl/1DiayAs9qVHeWACV7

Any help or advice is appreciated.

[Hurric]

Another video link showing all of them fighting: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XWGieXNrket7TZvJ7

[Odd Duck]

Most shoaling fish do best with at least 6 or more in the group.  Schooling is what anchovies do - stay tight together as much as possible.  Most aquarium fish are shoaling - stay rather loosely together but will go off on their own if no threat is perceived, nothing startling them, etc.  Tetra species can be somewhat aggressive to their own if the group is too small.  There can be a bully or males sparring for the females can get too rough.  This is NOT to say that’s why your other fish passed, but food for thought on your group size.

Sometimes fish pass unexpectedly.  Fish are extremely good at hiding symptoms are can be severely ill with no outward symptoms.  It’s impossible to tell what happened to your fish that passed without having pictures and without having the numbers from testing.  Sometimes impossible even with pictures and test results.

Ideally, you would test your water at home with the API Master Test Kit as that’s considered the most accurate at this time.  You have to follow instructions very carefully including shaking the test solutions exactly as directed for accurate results.  The Aquarium Coop strips are reasonably accurate but don’t have an ammonia test block on the multi-test strips.  You have to get ammonia strips separately.  The test strips are accurate enough to spot trends but testing has to be done fairly frequently at first to determine if your tank is truly cycled and ready for fish.

Your tank is extremely sparse at this point and you don’t have anywhere for the bullied fish to get away from the bully.  They are not a species that will go inside the hut, typically.  You need about 10 more plants in there to break up lines of site.  You should consider finding an easy to keep plant package.  ACO has them and would be money well spent to give your fish a much better chance at doing well overall.  In the mean time, I would get at least 3 to 4 more of the same species of tetras - they do look like Von Rios.  I usually would recommend adding only 3 to 4 fish per week in that size tank, but you need more of the same species of fish in there to disperse any aggression present within the group.

[Tlindsey]

On 2/17/2024 at 1:47 PM, Hurric said:

Another video link showing all of them fighting: https://photos.app.goo.gl/XWGieXNrket7TZvJ7

@Hurric Sorry for the loss. I never kept the Von Rio but had that experience with a group Congo Tetras. That's possibly a male trying to spawn. 

[Hurric]

On 2/17/2024 at 11:11 AM, Odd Duck said:

Most shoaling fish do best with at least 6 or more in the group.  Schooling is what anchovies do - stay tight together as much as possible.  Most aquarium fish are shoaling - stay rather loosely together but will go off on their own if no threat is perceived, nothing startling them, etc.  Tetra species can be somewhat aggressive to their own if the group is too small.  There can be a bully or males sparring for the females can get too rough.  This is NOT to say that’s why your other fish passed, but food for thought on your group size.

Sometimes fish pass unexpectedly.  Fish are extremely good at hiding symptoms are can be severely ill with no outward symptoms.  It’s impossible to tell what happened to your fish that passed without having pictures and without having the numbers from testing.  Sometimes impossible even with pictures and test results.

Ideally, you would test your water at home with the API Master Test Kit as that’s considered the most accurate at this time.  You have to follow instructions very carefully including shaking the test solutions exactly as directed for accurate results.  The Aquarium Coop strips are reasonably accurate but don’t have an ammonia test block on the multi-test strips.  You have to get ammonia strips separately.  The test strips are accurate enough to spot trends but testing has to be done fairly frequently at first to determine if your tank is truly cycled and ready for fish.

Your tank is extremely sparse at this point and you don’t have anywhere for the bullied fish to get away from the bully.  They are not a species that will go inside the hut, typically.  You need about 10 more plants in there to break up lines of site.  You should consider finding an easy to keep plant package.  ACO has them and would be money well spent to give your fish a much better chance at doing well overall.  In the mean time, I would get at least 3 to 4 more of the same species of tetras - they do look like Von Rios.  I usually would recommend adding only 3 to 4 fish per week in that size tank, but you need more of the same species of fish in there to disperse any aggression present within the group.

Will my 10 gallon tank be able to hold so many tetras? Also will a new tank be ready to take all of them in together?

[Odd Duck]

Yes, but not much else in that size tank.  It’s not ideal to put that many at once into a new tank but you will likely have less in the tank very shortly if you don’t rapidly disperse that aggression.  Adding plants will help add biofiltration and make it more possible to keep that many tetras.

They aren’t a species that I would typically recommend for a new tank and new fishkeeper because they are a species that tends to be a bit more aggressive in a smaller group.  It’s a bit tricky to get and keep your tank in balance when this species really needs to be 6 or more.

Don’t get me wrong, they are lovely.  They just need a bigger group than 4.

[Hurric]

On 2/17/2024 at 11:29 AM, Odd Duck said:

Yes, but not much else in that size tank.  It’s not ideal to put that many at once into a new tank but you will likely have less in the tank very shortly if you don’t rapidly disperse that aggression.  Adding plants will help add biofiltration and make it more possible to keep that many tetras.

They aren’t a species that I would typically recommend for a new tank and new fishkeeper because they are a species that tends to be a bit more aggressive in a smaller group.  It’s a bit tricky to get and keep your tank in balance when this species really needs to be 6 or more.

I got really conflicted right now. On one side I am afraid my tank is not readily cycled and the fish died due to too many fish come in before i have enough cycling to support them; on the other hand the remaining 3 keep fighting...

[Gannon]

I'm sorry for the loss, lots of people have left great advice in here and anything id say would be redundant so I just wanted to say its okay for things to go wrong, I hope you stick around through this tough part of the hobby and become an amazing fish keeper! The hobby becomes so rewarding!

[Odd Duck]

On 2/17/2024 at 1:35 PM, Hurric said:

I got really conflicted right now. On one side I am afraid my tank is not readily cycled and the fish died due to too many fish come in before i have enough cycling to support them; on the other hand the remaining 3 keep fighting...

If you can get more plants in, that will help in both regards.

[Hurric]

On 2/17/2024 at 11:52 AM, Gannon said:

I'm sorry for the loss, lots of people have left great advice in here and anything id say would be redundant so I just wanted to say its okay for things to go wrong, I hope you stick around through this tough part of the hobby and become an amazing fish keeper! The hobby becomes so rewarding!

Thanks for the kind words. I just got lost a little about what to do next. I went into a local fish store, and they told me my filter is not the proper one. It is the Sicce Nano Micron, which is inside the water. They told me to buy a hang on the back filter which will help. I am not sure whether they are helping or just selling things to me. Need to learn a lot of stuff all at once...

Edited February 17 by Hurric

[lefty o]

On 2/17/2024 at 1:35 PM, Hurric said:

I got really conflicted right now. On one side I am afraid my tank is not readily cycled and the fish died due to too many fish come in before i have enough cycling to support them; on the other hand the remaining 3 keep fighting...

start slow, you can add a few more fish over time, as the tank builds a good bacteria colony. one important thing to keep in mind, no one has ever entered this hobby, and not killed a few fish in the process. there's a learning curve.

[Cinnebuns]

During those 2 weeks before you added fish, what did you do with the tank?  Was it set up?  Did you add fish food or ammonia?  Do you know the exact readings the fish store got when they tested it?  

I'll be honest, I'm very skeptical of trusting any fish store that tells someone their water levels are fine. Some employees know what they are doing but most do not. 

Have you read up about the nitrogen cycle?  I know there is a ton to learn all at once but this is the most important topic and is the center of all of fish keeping. 

In case you haven't, here is a video to get you started:

 

 

Edited February 18 by Cinnebuns

[Lonkley]

On 2/17/2024 at 12:43 PM, Hurric said:

Thanks for the kind words. I just got lost a little about what to do next. I went into a local fish store, and they told me my filter is not the proper one. It is the Sicce Nano Micron, which is inside the water. They told me to buy a hang on the back filter which will help. I am not sure whether they are helping or just selling things to me. Need to learn a lot of stuff all at once...

That filter should be fine. It's basically just a sponge filter. A hob would be more versatile but it would be easy to overwhelm such a small tank.  For my 10g shrimp I'm running a sponge and I occasionally put the cheapest of the cheap 10g hob from Amazon to just filter with fine polyfiber pads. I just leave it for a day too pull fine particles.

Ultimately your gravel and plants and decoration will have more beneficial bacteria than your filter. 

Just looking at your tank it seems a bit pristine to be cycled. You should have your own water testing kit and with a new tank I would monitor daily. You can always do a water change to fix ammonia and nitrites while it cycles.

I would also pick some stem plants. They grow fast and you can cut them and make more plants and get to the density you want. That will give your fish some place to hide and fry to hide if you have them.

[Mmiller2001]

Uncycled tank, you can probably expect the remaining fish to die off as well. Read up on cycling a tank.

[Lonkley]

On 2/18/2024 at 3:30 PM, Mmiller2001 said:

Uncycled tank, you can probably expect the remaining fish to die off as well. Read up on cycling a tank.

We did fish in cycle for decades. Just need to take care of the water more for the first couple months.

[Mmiller2001]

On 2/18/2024 at 5:06 PM, Lonkley said:

We did fish in cycle for decades. Just need to take care of the water more for the first couple months.

Poor fish.

[Galabar]

2 weeks isn't long enough to cycle your tank.  Also, without a source of ammonia, no beneficial bacteria will develop.

Do you have a way of testing ammonia and nitrite in your tank?

My advice would be to test and feed very lightly while your tank cycles.

[Hurric]

On 2/18/2024 at 8:49 PM, Galabar said:

2 weeks isn't long enough to cycle your tank.  Also, without a source of ammonia, no beneficial bacteria will develop.

Do you have a way of testing ammonia and nitrite in your tank?

My advice would be to test and feed very lightly while your tank cycles.

I am now feeding lightly plus I got a second filter. I did put some fish food day 2, not sure whether they started the cycle. I took water sample to local aquarium store, tested with api kit and it’s okay. I will get a api master kit myself and start testing.

[Lonkley]

On 2/18/2024 at 9:15 PM, Hurric said:

I am now feeding lightly plus I got a second filter

Adding a second filter won't help in the short term. Filters just allow for bacteria growth and that takes time. 

[johnthekings]

I'm sorry to hear that your first fish died. It can be disheartening, but it's also a common learning experience for many new aquarium owners.

Remember, setbacks are common in the hobby, especially for beginners, but they can also be valuable learning opportunities. With patience, diligence, and the right knowledge, you can create a thriving aquarium environment for your fish.

[KaitieG]

My first fish died...didn't do much (any) research beforehand and listened to the pet store.  Whoops!  Then I felt SO bad...started to research and research and research.  Now we have 5 tanks, healthy fish, and it's turned into a great hobby.  Don't beat yourself up!  This is a great place to start learning!