Hi I'm new to fish. Recently I catch fish at River and bring home and put in tank. I put 2 in a small tank. It's just a small ikan bilis size fish. One of it die after 1 week. Another die after I change the water.

What is my mistake?

You know what is chlorine?

Your tank got air regulator?

Ya I know. What should I do? Use filtered water?

No just put in the aquarium after catch from river. Just a small river fish no need invest so much equipment right?

Well.....depending on the size of the tank, a week is about right. Not enough O2 in water = dead fish

Change water probably die from stress. Also the way to introduce fish into tank water is to put the fish in plastic bag filled with the original water, put the bag in the tank (not opened). Then slow introduce the fish into the tank with the original water.

No regulator also a problem but if it's a beta (fighting fish) then a small tank with water changed every week is good enough.

This post has been edited by whyseej00: Apr 3 2022, 07:43 PM

It's not about filtered water or not, but you should use anti-chlorine if you're using the pipe water. Also it's advisable to set the water aside and cure for an additional day/night or so.

It depends on your tank size and location you left it with. Always be wary that fishes also require oxygen to survive. Small tank, dirty water and hot weather all can cause reduction of dissolved oxygen and hence death of fishes.

Too many variables. I catch another fish from the river. Any advice how I should start? I still have the dead fish in my aquarium. Should I start new and change the water or just reuse the dead fish water?

Dear fish = lots of bacteria in the water.

Suggest to find in YouTube basics of introducing fish into tank and deciding whether you need regulator or frequency of changing water. Also the right way to change water.

Yes, too many variables but you can try these steps for each of the concerns :-

1) Use rain water / well water - free from chlorine. If you only have water from the tap, use the chlorine neutralizer (available from pets shop). if you can't get chlorine neutralizer, leave the water in your tank exposed overnight + a small tea spoon of salt into the tap water, the salt will neutralize the chlorine.

2) Fish are sensitive to the water pH changes. Like what other have alerted, when introduce the fish into the tank, pour the water in the bag into the tank as well, the practice will normalize the pH level of the fish tank so that the change of the water pH is not significant until it causes stress to the fish.

3) When changing the water inside the fish tank, change only 1/2 or 2/3 of the water with the new water, this will preserve the pH level fluctuation so that it won't stress up the fish.

4) Oxygen level in the water, you need the an aerator to regulate the oxygen level in the water. If you don't have this, use water based plant as the substitute. The water based plant can introduce the oxygen into the water & at the same time absorb the ammonia level of the water.

5) Avoid using back the water with the dead fish, it was contaminated with the bacteria already.

Is it good idea to use filter water instead of tap water to ensure no chlorine? I use cuckoo brand

Sorry, I never try that before. Hence, cannot answer you on this matter.

If your tank is new setup, you need to cycle your tank first. Google about nitrogen cycle in aquarium.

Hey how is your fish keeping journey? Going strong or give up adi.

Heh die a few already but new batch survive longer like few months

Good to know. I too started from river fishing/catching when I was young. Gone deep into the hobby. Stop catching from the wild as I felt it was unethical. Plus may introduce bacteria, diseases into the tank.

I gonna share that some small fish like to be a school of themself. Then I saw 4 months tred. Happy ur enjoying ur fish.

I also bought from the pet shop glow fish. Can give some tips before they die to me again?

What is current tank setup? Water parameters?

What is water parameter? I have a small fish tank and I put 2 glowfish in it. Give them the red colour small fish food everyday. Then change water once a week with tap water.

Its to check whether ur water is safe for fish. Chlorine, nitrates, PH, temps all that. If ur having success with the current fish, u should be fine. But u can always improve the fish welfare. Idk what is glowfish . Must be some type tetra. Tetras are quite hardy and handle wide ph range. Depending on where u stay, u may have to filter ur water for dirt and chlorine. I personally pre filter from the pipe meter before it reaches the tap. Tap another filter. Always a good idea researching more on your fish. There are a lot of online resource for your typical hobby fish. If u wan the fish to have long healthy life.

Those feed should be fine. Don’t overfeed. Like most rookies do. Just more mess and cleaning later on.

Yeah it's tetra. I feed once a day 8 drops cos got 2. I use cuckoo filter water for them.