Hey all, I'm in desperate need of some real good guidance. :help:
My mother-in-law recently brought home 2 red eared sliders for my
two little boys. They started out in a little tiny plastic quart sized tank.
Knowing that this was just not suitable for these little creatures, I obtained a 10 gallon tank with an old filter bag type filter, a 25 watt underwater heater and a turtle dock. I nursed the baby turtles as best I could with the knowledge I had and read about. and learned that not only do they eat turtle pellets but they also eat fish, so I proceeded to buy small guppy type fish for them and they didn't like them so much. Actually only 1 of the turtles was actually eating the pellets. so these went on for about 2 months. In this two months the guppies got bigger and 1 of the turtles was eating regularly while the other not at all. So now I have 1 turle thats 3 times the size of the other which wasn't eating and eventually died.
So we gave it a proper burial and said a few nice words and were on to the thriving turtle we had left with the school of not so small guppies anymore.
Now another month went by and I started to read up on the care of fish and how to take care of them since I now have a turtle and fish to take care of.
My local LFS sold me so tetramin fish flakes to feed the fish and they seem to love it. Also while buying the fish food my boys were with me and fell in love with and had to have two angel fish. so I ended up buying 2 angel fish for the tank. I put them in the tank and they seemed to react surprisingly well with the turtle and guppies.
So now flash forward another month and whammo now I have a turtle, two angel fish, a mamba pleco, and two clown loaches in this little 10 gallon tank.
They all seem to be doing well as far as I can tell but I know very little about cycling water and keeping the tank healthy for the fish.
Now I just got home today from the LFS and I bought a 75 gallon tank with one of those, I think they call it a can filter system.
and I want to setup the tank the right way this time.
The 10 gallon I have now was not setup right, it was more like a wing it type thing. and lets just keep throwing things in the water and hope they live.
After reading some threads on this site, quite frankly I'm surprised any fish are still swimming in that tank.
I haven't checked amonia, nitrite or nitrate levels since day 1, and at this stage of that 10 gallon I'm almost afraid to.
This new tank I want to do right by and I'm hoping someone on here can help.
I did ask someone at the store about buying water testing kits and he said somthing about not needing the kit, just keep changing the water 10 to 20% at a time.
He also said not to add amonia, and explained why but I'll be damned if I remember his reasoning. He was almost speaking another language.
Now I have this beautiful 75 gallon tank with stand and canopy a giant filter that looks like an old vacuum cleaner and an old 10 gallon tank with fish and a turtle that is desperate need of some help.
there is another LFS closer to me than the other that offers in-house tank setups and stuff, but charge 75.00 per visit. Should I consider this until I learn what I'm doing?
Please help, I couldn't stand seeing my boys upset if the fish started dying also I would be upset also, the little buggers are really started to grow on me.:shakehead:
Thanks in advance.
Tweedybird
My mother-in-law recently brought home 2 red eared sliders for my
two little boys. They started out in a little tiny plastic quart sized tank.
Knowing that this was just not suitable for these little creatures, I obtained a 10 gallon tank with an old filter bag type filter, a 25 watt underwater heater and a turtle dock. I nursed the baby turtles as best I could with the knowledge I had and read about. and learned that not only do they eat turtle pellets but they also eat fish, so I proceeded to buy small guppy type fish for them and they didn't like them so much. Actually only 1 of the turtles was actually eating the pellets. so these went on for about 2 months. In this two months the guppies got bigger and 1 of the turtles was eating regularly while the other not at all. So now I have 1 turle thats 3 times the size of the other which wasn't eating and eventually died.
So we gave it a proper burial and said a few nice words and were on to the thriving turtle we had left with the school of not so small guppies anymore.
Now another month went by and I started to read up on the care of fish and how to take care of them since I now have a turtle and fish to take care of.
My local LFS sold me so tetramin fish flakes to feed the fish and they seem to love it. Also while buying the fish food my boys were with me and fell in love with and had to have two angel fish. so I ended up buying 2 angel fish for the tank. I put them in the tank and they seemed to react surprisingly well with the turtle and guppies.
So now flash forward another month and whammo now I have a turtle, two angel fish, a mamba pleco, and two clown loaches in this little 10 gallon tank.
They all seem to be doing well as far as I can tell but I know very little about cycling water and keeping the tank healthy for the fish.
Now I just got home today from the LFS and I bought a 75 gallon tank with one of those, I think they call it a can filter system.
and I want to setup the tank the right way this time.
The 10 gallon I have now was not setup right, it was more like a wing it type thing. and lets just keep throwing things in the water and hope they live.
After reading some threads on this site, quite frankly I'm surprised any fish are still swimming in that tank.
I haven't checked amonia, nitrite or nitrate levels since day 1, and at this stage of that 10 gallon I'm almost afraid to.
This new tank I want to do right by and I'm hoping someone on here can help.
I did ask someone at the store about buying water testing kits and he said somthing about not needing the kit, just keep changing the water 10 to 20% at a time.
He also said not to add amonia, and explained why but I'll be damned if I remember his reasoning. He was almost speaking another language.
Now I have this beautiful 75 gallon tank with stand and canopy a giant filter that looks like an old vacuum cleaner and an old 10 gallon tank with fish and a turtle that is desperate need of some help.
there is another LFS closer to me than the other that offers in-house tank setups and stuff, but charge 75.00 per visit. Should I consider this until I learn what I'm doing?
Please help, I couldn't stand seeing my boys upset if the fish started dying also I would be upset also, the little buggers are really started to grow on me.:shakehead:
Thanks in advance.
Tweedybird
