All of my fish died? Can someone tell me why? HELLLLP!!!

[casi]

My little sister got a freshwater fish tank for Christmas. BUT... they all died. I don't understand why. I think that it may be because we have a heater beside it. But, i really don't see how that could cause such a problem especially since it does't put out much heat and the tank is a foot above the heater. We also think that it may be because of our water being niot clean enough. I read in another post that you have to quarantine your fish. How do you do that and why?
~CJ

[kc5gvn]

Hi casi, Welcome to Auspet. I'm sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner. Considering how new the tank is there could be any number of reasons for losing your fish. I'll try to cover the most common causes with regard to a new tank, and some things that you mentioned. I'll start with two items you mentioned.

TANK ONE FOOT ABOVE HEATER
You have to remember that hot air rises and cold air falls. A tank set one foot above a heater is going to overheat. Tanks should never be placed above heaters, fireplaces or televisions or electronic equipment. The heat given off by these items will cause the tank to get too warm for fish to live in.

TANK NOT CLEAN ENOUGH
People new to the hobby tend to overfeed their fish. They put in more food than their fish will eat in 5 minutes. This food collects on the bottom of the tank and causes several problems the most common of which is fungus. You should only feed your fish just enough food that they will eat it all in 5 minutes. Also you need to do partial water changes on the tank periodically, siphoning the water from the bottom of the tank and removing excess food and waste. Other reasons for this are to maintain PH and keep ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels down.

OTHER CAUSES

PH SHOCK
New fish need to be aclimated into the tank. When you get your fish you need to float the bag in the tank approximately 15 minutes to adjust the temperature of the water in the bag to the temperature of the water in the tank. After the 15 minutes open the bag and pour a cup of water from the tank into the bag. Add water in this manner every 10 minutes until you have twice as much water in the bag than what you started with. This adjusts your fish to the PH and other trace elements in the tank water.

NITROGEN CYCLE
When you set up a new tank and begin to add fish it will cause the tank to go through what is called a nitrogen cycle. A cycled tank is essential to keeping healthy fish. There is a way to "fishless cycle" your tank without losing any fish. Please use the URL listed below to get more information on the "Nitrogen Cycle" and "Fishless Cycling".

http://flippersandfins.net/Cycling.htm

I hope this information will help you keep from getting discouraged so you can enjoy keeping tropical fish.