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0-0 hey yo, I think I'm like a bad luck presence when it comes to fish!! I had left my house for two weeks with one fish just died and still had three more fishies in the tank. All healthy and happy!

Now, I just came home today and my bro just cleaned the tank too. And 3 hours later he comes up to my room saying, "Sis...one of them died... one's just sitting there and the other's on it's side"

My mom got wind of this is now saying this is now my last batch of fish I'm going to have for a long time.

I asked my brother what he did and other than move the fish, which I told him not to- from the main tank to a holding container. He did everything I told him to. >.< I have absolutly no idea what or why my little comets just croked or near death whenever I come home from collage!! D:

I'm a failure....so bad...this is a bad omen...

Awww, don't be sad. sad
You know, in my experience, every one sucks at keeping aquariums when they just start out.
It takes quite a while to find the perfect balance of space, amount of fish in one aquarium, food, which food type, temperature and etc.
There's a lot of variables, and they are different for each individual fish.
The books and website only give the general lines, but they aren't always true.
What I'm trying to say, is it takes time and practice to keep fish properly.
There's no foolproof rule of the thumb. You'll have to find your own way.
It took me years to get the hang of it honestly.
And a lot of dead fish redface

What you are experiencing may be just a series of unfortunate events.
There's a great chance that those fish were already sick, and would have died even if you didn't come home.
No need to get superstitious over that.

Maybe you could try guppies next time? They need a one time investment called a heater, but are generally cheaper then golds, and produce less waste which means less cleaning.
They are also less likely to destroy any plants you are keeping.

just, don't give up too soon. =/

Hmm, maybe there was something in the water?
Most pipe water isn't suitable for fish since it can contain chloride or copper or other things poisonous to fish.

Guppies, they eat, um, well what don't guppies eat.
Tropical fish flakes are a definite yes.
But they also like bloodworms and tubifex, and I'm guessing, since they are nicknamed 'mosquito-fish' i'm guessing they'll also like the larva.
Though, just stick to the flakes if you want less cleaning.
Nothing can spoil water faster then uneaten dead things.
They do best around 68-75 F i think.

Oh yeah, and it's best to give the aquarium a good cleaning.
I always clean it with decontaminated water and let it dry outside in the sun for a week, upside down.

First off what were the fish types and what size is the aquarium. Yes what the people are saying is true. But they didnt cover everything, what was the store like were you got them from, how did they look when you bought them, and how long have you had them. Answer these questions please for me. But to get down to buisness how long has the system been up and running.

The little comets were being held in a little holding container for a little while (probably like...3 hours?) when my brother was trying to clean the gravel. The holding container had the orginal tank water in there, so I doubt they got a shock from chlorine

The fish from what my brother said before he cleaned the tank was that they were all fine, until he transfered them.

They were in the holder for 3 hours because we wanted to heat the water in the tank a little bit before we added the fish back in but they didn't make back in the tank.

And yes we dechorinate the water all the time. We usually have the water sitting out for a few days to let the chlorine evaporate out. And even then we add a bit of the stress zymes too and water conditioner.

For you 55, the tanks been running for 2 months without any complications other than one comet dying a few weeks ago, but even after its death I monitered my remaining fish for changes and nothing unusual, they were active and ate and behavior were well.

But but their status from last week I do not know. Away at college.

I'm thinking the holding tank that he was using was contaminated with something...that I don't know about.

**I was not adding new fish. They were old fish that my silly brother took out of the tank when he was clean the gravel.**

@Ta Lu - It could have been the container being contaminated or stress because three hours is a long period of time to leave them in the container, even if you add stress reliever it may not always work unfortunately...
Do not feed goldfish too much as they produce a lot of waste! Usually clean as I said once a week or siphon out a quarter of the water. I find it's best to just leave the fish in and siphon the water out, so they can get use to the water temperature because your only adding a bit and the heater should help maintain the tank's temperature.

Bah. They tossed the water before I could test it. darn. *shakes fist* evil college! The world may never know. sad

.. comets? what size tank do you have them in and with what other type of fish? it may be caused my ammonia poisoning,nitrate poisoning, and numerous other problems. a single comet should be kept in at least 50 gallons, but their social so your better off with well... a pond. they are HUGE waist producers and can grow to around 23 inches.(and if they aren't housed properly, they will ether die of organ compaction=organs growing, outside body not growing, or ammonia poisoning/poor water quality)

they really arn't fish for novice fish keepers as they require a lot of work and space.

so those are my guesses for your die-off