Fish Lovers 2.0

[Shadowhunter,]

Username: XxTheShadowGirlxX
How many tanks do you have: 1 (20 gallons)
Type of fish that you have: Had 6 sunburst wag platies
Your fish's names: Jace, Meg and the others were unnamed
How long have you had fish: Two years I think

I'm mostly here cause I need advice c: The reason I say "had 6 sunburst wag platies" is they all died :c Here's what happened (to the 4 we had after two were eaten):
My dad had left to go out of the country for a month and me and the rest of my family were visiting relatives 4 hours from home. A massive ice storm hit our neighborhood and power was lost for 5 days. We were not home and it was too far to drive back (and too dangerous cause there was a blizzard) so we phoned a family friend to rescue our fish. He got there the day after and tank water was literally frozen. He had to break ice of the top to get them out. They were unresponsive and at the bottom. He brought them to his house and the 4 full grown fish spent almost a week in a small beta fish bowl (filled with the old tank water). No filter and no heating. One died and they bought us a healthy new one. We had cleaned the tank before bringing them back home and my mom told me to dump out ALL the water. I told her it wouldn't be good for the fish but she said to do it anyway. I was going to gradually introduce them to the tank but it was almost 12 am so my mom just dumped them in. The next day, one was floating at the top. All 4 fish died, including the new healthy fish. My theory is it was too much stress for them and they couldn't handle it. Only one fish showed any abnormalities. It was swimming on its side and had a bit of white by its gill. The others were clean. The thermometer also wasn't working.
We're planning on getting new fish soon and I'm worried they'll die too. What do you think killed the platies?

One more thing:
One of the fish was pregnant and one baby survived. I named him (I think it was male XD) Jace. He grew to almost 1 1/2 inches. Then he disappeared. We left to go to the same cousins house (vacations are unlucky XD) and our grandfather was supposed to look after them. We had 5 at the time, the original 4 then Jace. He called us saying that all four fish were fine. Jace liked to hide in the barrels we had in the tank so we thought he was hiding and our grandfather hadn't seen him. We get back and Jace is nowhere to be seen. We cleaned the tank, checked out the gravel and everything but we found nothing, no bones and no Jace. Nothing in the filter either. He was almost as big as the other fish so I don't think they ate him. They did bully him though and would push him out of the way when I fed them. So, what do you think happened to Jace?
There was also another fry and I isolated it in a beta bowl but my mom thought the other fish wouldn't eat it and put it back in the tank. It definitely got eaten :'c

We also had two snails and they multiplied fast XD The odd thing is all of a sudden all of them died.

Picture of the eaten fry

Sorry for all the typing XD

[Blood Storm]

Username: XxTheShadowGirlxX
How many tanks do you have: 1 (20 gallons)
Type of fish that you have: Had 6 sunburst wag platies
Your fish's names: Jace, Meg and the others were unnamed
How long have you had fish: Two years I think

I'm mostly here cause I need advice c: The reason I say "had 6 sunburst wag platies" is they all died :c Here's what happened (to the 4 we had after two were eaten):
My dad had left to go out of the country for a month and me and the rest of my family were visiting relatives 4 hours from home. A massive ice storm hit our neighborhood and power was lost for 5 days. We were not home and it was too far to drive back (and too dangerous cause there was a blizzard) so we phoned a family friend to rescue our fish. He got there the day after and tank water was literally frozen. He had to break ice of the top to get them out. They were unresponsive and at the bottom. He brought them to his house and the 4 full grown fish spent almost a week in a small beta fish bowl (filled with the old tank water). No filter and no heating. One died and they bought us a healthy new one. We had cleaned the tank before bringing them back home and my mom told me to dump out ALL the water. I told her it wouldn't be good for the fish but she said to do it anyway. I was going to gradually introduce them to the tank but it was almost 12 am so my mom just dumped them in. The next day, one was floating at the top. All 4 fish died, including the new healthy fish. My theory is it was too much stress for them and they couldn't handle it. Only one fish showed any abnormalities. It was swimming on its side and had a bit of white by its gill. The others were clean. The thermometer also wasn't working.
We're planning on getting new fish soon and I'm worried they'll die too. What do you think killed the platies?

One more thing:
One of the fish was pregnant and one baby survived. I named him (I think it was male XD) Jace. He grew to almost 1 1/2 inches. Then he disappeared. We left to go to the same cousins house (vacations are unlucky XD) and our grandfather was supposed to look after them. We had 5 at the time, the original 4 then Jace. He called us saying that all four fish were fine. Jace liked to hide in the barrels we had in the tank so we thought he was hiding and our grandfather hadn't seen him. We get back and Jace is nowhere to be seen. We cleaned the tank, checked out the gravel and everything but we found nothing, no bones and no Jace. Nothing in the filter either. He was almost as big as the other fish so I don't think they ate him. They did bully him though and would push him out of the way when I fed them. So, what do you think happened to Jace?
There was also another fry and I isolated it in a beta bowl but my mom thought the other fish wouldn't eat it and put it back in the tank. It definitely got eaten :'c


Sorry for all the typing XD

my mom is the same way with fish lol. I have had fish randomly disappear too but they were much larger and I did find bones of them later on. a platy has very very fine bones that can be smashed into a powder you might mistake for poop or sand. he may have died and was eaten and his bones(being light and fragile) may have been destroyed and turned into powder of sorts. sorry about your fish. that is really sad. i would buy(and most people say no to this) a very cheap and very hardy fish(a pleco maybe) and put it in your tank to start up the cycle again. if you have issues with using a fish a less reliable way is to put a piece of shrimp(a raw shelled shrimp that you would eat works the best) in the tank and let it rot. this starts up the ammonia allowing bacteria to grow which allows the fish to survive. I have never been able to keep livebearers alive for some reason so I stick to my "bullet-proof" fish(my bettas and cichlids).

i like typing huge things so do not be sorry :p.

[toady]

◉ v ◉ welcome !!

you sound like you know what your doing. anyway, do you have dogs or cats? it is possible he jumped out or the cat got in the tank and got him. He might of gotten stuck in the filter. may they s.i.p. sorry for your loss.

[Shadowhunter,]

~snip of awesome~
my mom is the same way with fish lol. I have had fish randomly disappear too but they were much larger and I did find bones of them later on. a platy has very very fine bones that can be smashed into a powder you might mistake for poop or sand. he may have died and was eaten and his bones(being light and fragile) may have been destroyed and turned into powder of sorts. sorry about your fish. that is really sad. i would buy(and most people say no to this) a very cheap and very hardy fish(a pleco maybe) and put it in your tank to start up the cycle again. if you have issues with using a fish a less reliable way is to put a piece of shrimp(a raw shelled shrimp that you would eat works the best) in the tank and let it rot. this starts up the ammonia allowing bacteria to grow which allows the fish to survive. I have never been able to keep livebearers alive for some reason so I stick to my "bullet-proof" fish(my bettas and cichlids).

i like typing huge things so do not be sorry :p.

We'll probably try a different breed this time c: I never knew their bones were that fragile ovo That sounds more likely then my theory that he was a fishy alien and his planet needed him XD

◉ v ◉ welcome !!

you sound like you know what your doing. anyway, do you have dogs or cats? it is possible he jumped out or the cat got in the tank and got him. He might of gotten stuck in the filter. may they s.i.p. sorry for your loss.

Nope, no other pets aside from a younger sister And they're swimming in fishy heaven <3

Found old (and bad quality) pics ouo
The little one in the background was Jace <3
Such reflection
Really fuzzy XP

[Blood Storm]

~snip of awesome~
my mom is the same way with fish lol. I have had fish randomly disappear too but they were much larger and I did find bones of them later on. a platy has very very fine bones that can be smashed into a powder you might mistake for poop or sand. he may have died and was eaten and his bones(being light and fragile) may have been destroyed and turned into powder of sorts. sorry about your fish. that is really sad. i would buy(and most people say no to this) a very cheap and very hardy fish(a pleco maybe) and put it in your tank to start up the cycle again. if you have issues with using a fish a less reliable way is to put a piece of shrimp(a raw shelled shrimp that you would eat works the best) in the tank and let it rot. this starts up the ammonia allowing bacteria to grow which allows the fish to survive. I have never been able to keep livebearers alive for some reason so I stick to my "bullet-proof" fish(my bettas and cichlids).

i like typing huge things so do not be sorry :p.

We'll probably try a different breed this time c: I never knew their bones were that fragile ovo That sounds more likely then my theory that he was a fishy alien and his planet needed him XD

◉ v ◉ welcome !!

you sound like you know what your doing. anyway, do you have dogs or cats? it is possible he jumped out or the cat got in the tank and got him. He might of gotten stuck in the filter. may they s.i.p. sorry for your loss.

Nope, no other pets aside from a younger sister And they're swimming in fishy heaven <3

Found old (and bad quality) pics ouo
The little one in the background was Jace <3
Such reflection
Really fuzzy XP

for a 20 gallon tank I would go with dwarf cichlids(ram cichlids or African jewels...not at the same time lol.) or a fancy goldfish(most fancy varieties only get about 8 inches long which would be more suited for slightly smaller tanks). just ask around and do some research but remember that everybody has a different idea on how a type of fish should be cared for(I think bettas are just fine in a 2.5 gallon tank but some other people think that 20 gallon is the minimum for a betta lol.) good luck looking for a new fish .

[toady]

I recommend 30 gallons for a fancy, because I believe you should get two. They seem happier together. But 30 is good for 1. The dwarf cichlids is good.

[.Lupin.]

Does anyone have experience with fishless cycling? My ammonia has been at 3-4, nitrites at 5, and nitrates crept up to between 10-20. The past few days ammonia dropped a little, so I dosed it back up to 4 with 1 mL of ammonia. It's a 20 gallon, by the way. Pretty much overnight nitrites dropped to 0, nitrates dropped to 5, and ammonia dropped from a strong 4 to slightly above 3. The pH is close to 7.6, I just ran it. I have no idea what's going on in the tank right now. If anyone could help, that would be great. I use API Mastertest liquid tests for testing, if anyone is wondering about the accuracy.

[toady]

Does anyone have experience with fishless cycling? My ammonia has been at 3-4, nitrites at 5, and nitrates crept up to between 10-20. The past few days ammonia dropped a little, so I dosed it back up to 4 with 1 mL of ammonia. It's a 20 gallon, by the way. Pretty much overnight nitrites dropped to 0, nitrates dropped to 5, and ammonia dropped from a strong 4 to slightly above 3. The pH is close to 7.6, I just ran it. I have no idea what's going on in the tank right now. If anyone could help, that would be great. I use API Mastertest liquid tests for testing, if anyone is wondering about the accuracy.

How long have you been cycling? Put in a pinch of fish food everyday as waste, but you can skip for a while (not recommended) and just let it take course. It can take months.

[.Lupin.]

Ive been cycling for a little over two weeks, so I know the cycle isn't complete. I'm using pure straight ammonia, no additives. The fishfood doesn't work for me, it just gunks up the tank.

[toady]

Okay. Thank you