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Hey everyone,
I am new on this forum and hope i can get advice. I will tell you as much as i can about my fish tank and my fish.

55 gallons, have had it for about 1 month, do 25% water change weekly, 50% water change once a month (that is what we were told to do)
We keep the water in between 76 and 82
Here's a list of what we have in the tank:
3 irredescent sharks (we've had the smallest one for about 2 months , he was in a smaller tank before, and the 2 other ones, we've had for about a month)
2 neon rosy barb (one male, one female, the female was sick about 2 weeks ago, popping eye and bulging stomach, we put salt in the water and it went away)
2 red tux molly
2 female bettas
2 male guppies
7 zebra danios (2 we've had since the very beginning 2 months ago, 5 we got about a month ago)
we had 3 bala sharks, but one died yesterday
we had 2 white mollies but they died yesterday as well

so here's what happened...
our smallest bala shark, the one we've had since the very beginning, died yesterday, after a day and a half of weird behaviour...he would not really swim, but just float about, mostly on his side or back, would twirl down until the bottom, we thought he was dead but then would start sort of swimming again. Yesterday morning when i got up, i thought he was dead, he was stuck on the filter, but when i went to fish him out of the tank, he suddenly started swimming. Then finally in the afternoon, he lay still at the bottom, on his back. I had noticed that the area at the base of his back fins and on his back fins had become quite pale, like whitish, but no other fish has this in our tank.
The two while mollies had been acting similar to the bala shark and they were also kind of curved towards the end of their body and we found them dead at the bottom late at night.
Today, the other fish are all fine but i've noticed since a few days, the smallest of the zebra danios is swimming at the bottom, alone, while the other others one are all schooling, and one of the male guppies has no more long flowly tail and barely any fins left, like another fish attacked him or he got stuck in the filter or something. But his side fins seem to be growing back. So, i just want opinions on what you think might have happened? We will be bringing a water sample to our aquarium store soon and i will post the numbers then.

Couple of questions,

Do you know about the nitrogen cycle of a tank? Your tank is new and probably hasnt completed cycling.

Here is a link to read up on it if you are unfamiliar.

http://fishprofiles.com/faq/begin-cycling.php#cycle

Having said that, I need you to test your water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. If you dont have the test kits take a container of water to your local fish shop and ask them to test it for you. Ask what the results are and post back numbers. Most problems with a new tank are water quality related so it is important to monitor these.

What is the pH of the water?

What filtration do you have for the tank?

How often are you feeding the tank? At present, until you have the tank problems sorted out I would be feeding a small pinch every second day to reduce ammonia output.

If your irridescent sharks are Pangasius hypophthalmus they are not going to be suitable for your tank for long. Google them.

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

Hi and thanx for answering...i know, it's probably water related, and we will have the water tested soon. Our filter system is Tetra Whisper EX70. I did google the Pangasius hypophthalmus and that is what we have...how fast do they grow though?? They should warn us before we buy it though, i mean, we're just starting out, we don't know much about fish, but the people that sell them should know right? anyhow, thx for telling me. We feed them twice a day, very, very little, we were told to give them what they can eat in 30 seconds or less, that the food should not make it to the bottom of the tank. There isn't any food left over, so im guessing we're doing ok. Will post back with water conditions this week.

How are the fish? Did you get the water tested?

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

P. hypophthalmus are fairly fast growers. I'm fairly certain this is a factor that makes them a good food fish in Asia. And no, fish store workers don't necessarily know how big fish get, and there's also the possibility they would simply retort that "fish only grow to the size of their tank."

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Jewel,

Unfortunately, most pet stores don't care that your tank isn't big enough to handle certain types of fish or that you shouldn't put fish "x" with fish "y" because they'll kill each other. Unless you bring spefic questions to them about specific types of fish, they seem to have a "don't ask, don't tell" policy. All they seem to care about is making money. If they sell you fish that get sick, they can then make money by selling you medicine to "make the fish better" which sometimes doesn't work and you wind up losing your fish anyway.

It's really up to you as the buyer to do the research on the fish you are interested in and find out what fish will work in what sized tank. Your next step is to try and find a good quality fish store. I got very lucky and was steered in the direction of a really good fish store that has done custom aquariums for a local appliance store (which I realize doesn't seem like a big deal, but this tank is one of the biggest salt water tanks in my state) and they've also done five restaurant aquariums for a restaurant chain. Plus they have some Marine Award (I forget what it's called, but it's a big deal apparently in the fish world). Like I said, I got very lucky to have been steered in their direction and they have been very helpful to me during my cycling process and once my tank cycled they helped me pick out good fish and helped me figure out what fish would be OK to keep with each other.

In other words, don't just research the fish, research the pet/fish store as well.

Good luck with your tank! I hope everything works out for you.

Thanx for all your replies and advice..Unfortunately, we still didn't get the water tested and we've lost 5 fish, but now all is well. The water is super clear, we've gone down to one feeding a day like suggested..i believe there was probably too much amonia or nitrate/nitrite.. as for our sharks, it's too bad that eventually we'll have to get rid of them... but for now our aquarium is really nice and our fish are doing well, and i will buy a test, definately, cuz hubby is too lazy to go have the water tested (we have to go by car, and i dont drive, and whenever i asked him, he "didn't feel like it" so next time, i will post the water conditions.