Very confused. I bought a 38 Gallon Tank and let it cycle for a couple of days. Then I went out and bought tropical, aggressive fish, so just seven. They were all advised to get from the guy at the pet store. One of the fish is a bit larger then the rest but they seemed to get along. I also have a heater in the tank, de-chlorinated the water and it's crystal clear with the 50 Gallon Filter I have running. I also got a catfish and two algea eaters.
One by one they keep dying. Not sure if its because there's a bully in the tank (eg the big blue fish). The reason I am confused-
1) The fish are not leaning on their sides- which sick fish do before they pass away. They all appear healthy. Then I come home and one is just dead on the gravel. No reason. No injuries.
2) The water is crystal clear. If there were issues with the water, wouldn't it be cloudy??
3) None of the fish are getting eaten- just fully dead.
4) I have a 38 Gallon and only 7 fish (now down to 3 plus the catfish and algae eater). They say the bigger the tank, the less maintenance. Plus I am not overcrowding them.
They did a water test at the store when I first got them, and the guy said my ammonia levels were a tad high. But that's normal for a cycling tank.
I think it's the blue fish bullying and stressing out the smaller ones out? Or perhaps the bigger algae eater (Pleco) - because I got him a week after getting the first algae eater (who was smaller) and the next day, the smaller one was dead. I'm upset I'm wasting money and losing fish. Didn't realize it was this hard.
The only other issue I think could be the heater? But it's always 80-82 degrees. That's normal I am told. I tried posting this earlier but it didn't work. I've gone on countless forums on the internet, but no one is answering![]()
Any advice would help.