newbie here, i need some insight from you pros

m3th0d

m3th0d

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Apr 15, 2004
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i'm so glad i finally found a good forum about freshwater aquariums.. i've been looking for one for a while! anyway as you well may know i'm a newb at this hobby and i need some help. :)

last week i bought a 10 gallon tank from a local pet store that came with everything for about 50 bucks. well i took it home, set everything up and let the water cycle for a few hours and then went back to the store and got me some fish. i got 2 neon tetras. 3 balloon mollies, 1 black molly, and another fish i can't remember it's name but it's completely see-through.. like you can see it's spine (anyone know?? :confused: ). yeah so anyway, i put these fishes in and they, in my opinion, seemed to adapt well to it's new tank EXCEPT the black molly being the biggest fish in the tank is very VERY aggressive towards the other fish, esp. during feeding time. but i've done some research on the black molly and i've found that they're not all that aggressive(?) so i was thinkin' about giving him to my cousin who has a 50 gallon tank and bigger fish. what do you guys think i should do?

also, a few days later my sister bought a guppy and a swordtail from i think wal-mart but they both died like a day after. the guppy would do nothing but just hang around in the corner by himself, eating nothing. and the swordtail would just stay under the heater, also eating nothing. did i do something wrong? or is there something wrong with my tank... i kept saying to myself they're just fish but it kinda got to me. :( it's my first time and all and i'm a little afraid all my fishes are gonna die now. can ya guys help me?

thanks ;)
 
what's a nitrogen cycle? :(

i was researching a little bit around here and i see that keeping fish is a little harder than i thought! i had a betta fish in a bowl a while ago but never had to do any maintenance but with my new 10 gallon tank i'm finding there's a whole list of stuff i have to go through. the person at the pet store didn't really tell me anything so i came here..
 
The Nitrogen Cycle

Fish waste and decaying food produce ammonia, which is highly toxic to fish. This ammonia needs to be broken down into nitrite, also toxic to fish. Then the nitrites are broken down into nitrates which are not really good, but way safer than the first two.

These evil things are handled by benificial bacteria that has to culture inside your tank. You should read up on fishless cycling in the 'Stickys' at the top of the forum. The nitrates are kept under control by doing frequent water changes.

My best advice is to keep reading as much as you can, in the meantime, do partial water changes to your tank to keep your remaining fish alive and healthy while your bacteria is growing.
 
Best thing you can do right now is daily water changes of 30% or so with a good dechlorinator (assuming you have chlorinated tapwater).

Then go to the newbie forum and read all of the stickies that are posted at the top. Great info on them.

Perhaps getting rid of the black molly would be a good idea if you can find it a new home. A 10 gallon tank can easily get overstocked and this will lead to lots of dead fishes. I wouldn't add anymore to this tank. Also even though the black molly isn't really aggressive being cramped with other fish can make aggression come out in certain fish.
 
Get yourself an ammonia and nitrite testers. If you test your water for ammonia, you'll probably find that there are detectable (if not moderately/high levels) of ammonia. This is not good. During the first few weeks your main goal is do keep your ammonia levels as low as possible. If this means doing 50% water changes (or more) daily, then do so. Since it is a 10 gallon tank, it won't be as big of a headach. Test your ammonia levels daily, and keep those water changes going everyday. Once those ammonia levels are undetectable, switch to your nitrite testers and keep an eye out on those. Once again, keep those water changes going until you cannot detect nitrites anymore. After that, congradulations, your hardwork paid off, and your tank is cycled. From then on, do a 30-40% water change once a week, and as long as you don't feed your fish too much, your tank should be running alright. BTW, remember to use water free of chlorine/chloramine. Use a water dechlorinator for that. As long as the water you're putting into the tank is simliar in temperature as the tank itself, you can quite literally do a a near 100% water change, and your fish should be fine. The more often you do water changes, the better off your fish will be... this applies even to already cycled tanks.

HTH
-Richer
 
thanks so much you guys all that info was very helpful..

but i still have many questions.. sorry. :p

first off, when i change my water everyday do i just take like bowl and dump the water out? or is there a specific way to do it? (really stupid question)

also i have some bottles of AmQuel that removes ammonia, chloramines, and chlorine... and on the directions it says that i have to put 5ml (1 teaspoon) PER 10 gallons of water. now the first day i got my tank i emptied a whole bottle of this stuff because that's what the lady at the pet shop told me to do. the bottle was 29ml, which is approciximately 6 teaspoons. this is making me very confused. i wanna start changing the water right away and so i wanna know how much of this stuff i'm supposed to put per 30% water change.

and a few more questions:

i have a marineland biowheel, and it says i have to replace the filter every month or so, is that really necessary?

do i have to fill the tank up to the top?

how long does the light have to be on per day?

and last but not least.. i really wanna change my gravel because it's black and it just kills the mood of the tank.. i had no choice because it came with the set. i want a more natural sandy look, so is it too early to change it now or no?

i'm taking this all as a learning experience.. i really wanna get into this hobby. don't have too much time right now because of school but later on i wanna be pro like you guys and eventually get like one of those 100 gallon tanks.

:cool:
 
Water changes--use a hose and siphon tank water into a suitably sized bucket.

Follow the directions on the AmQuel bottle for dosages.

Change filter media when necessary-this varies greatly by your tank's bioload. I prefer sponge type media, but that's just me.

I fill my tank such that the water level is just above the bottom part of the top trim of the tank. This works best for my filters too (AquaClears)

Lighting duration is mostly personal preference if you are not keeping a planted tank. Sure, you want to see your fish, but you don't want an overgrowth of algae either.
My lights are on 8 1/2 hours/day. I use a timer.

Replacing the substrate in an established tank?
I don't know how to do this effectively without a major, major disruption to the tank. I would either learn to like the black gravel, or if you really can't stand it--tear the whole tank down and start fresh, with the attendant problems of beginning a new tank.

Bill in WI
 
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another fish i can't remember it's name but it's completely see-through.. like you can see it's spine (anyone know??)
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This was probably a glass tetra :)

when i change my water everyday do i just take like bowl and dump the water out? or is there a specific way to do it?
Click to expand...

You CAN just get a bucket and start bailing, but it will be easier on you and your fish to get a gravel vacuum... you stick one end into the tank and hang the other off the side into a bucket, and siphon water up from the bottom of the tank... that way you get all the junk that is hanging out in the gravel while you're removing nitrates. Kill two birds with one stone :)

do i have to fill the tank up to the top?
Click to expand...

That's actually not a good idea, because you want some air at the top for oxygen exchange, as well as to prevent your fish from jumping out of the tank... I keep mine about an inch down, if you go with a fish that can jump, like hatchets or catfish that dart up to the top of the tank, you'll want more space so they won't bust their noggin on the tank lid when they decide to do this.

how long does the light have to be on per day?
Click to expand...

Unless you have a planted tank, you don't ever HAVE TO have your lights on, other than for your own amusement. The ambient light in the room is enough to keep the biological clock of your fish in the right time zone. I just turn my non-planted tank lights on when I'm in the room and plan on looking at the tank... my planted tanks stay lit about 10 hours a day.

There's a lot of information to be given out about starting a new tank that could be stated about stocking levels, water testing, changes, aggression levels, tank size, etc.... it can be very overwhelming. You ask good questions :) You'll catch on. Good luck!

EDIT: <calls 1-800-ABCDEFG>
 
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