Some newbie questions

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fish fillet

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Jan 13, 2003
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Hi everyone, this is my first post and I just want to say firstly what a relief it is to find a forum like this with such a wealth of experience and information.

Here's the story so far: 6 days ago I decided to go out and buy myself a tropical freshwater setup, something that I've always wanted to do. I bought the tank (about 18 gallons) and had no other knowledge on aquariums except for what my trusty salesman from the lfs gave me at the time of puchase.

So I set it up as per instructions, waited till the next day and then bought 5 male guppys. So far they all seem to be doing okay, although I have had to separate one of them as it was being harrassed and bullied constantly by the other 4. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why this is happening? The "victim" is brighter in colour and slightly larger than the others btw.

I have been told to wait and do a water change after a week, but I am itching to do one now. This may sound like a dumb question, but there is some sort of brown fluff like stuff that has appeared at the bottom of the tank this morning. I have no idea what it is. I also have put in three live plants and a couple of decorations soon after setting it up as well. Plants still look okay but I have noticed brown spotty bits floating on the surface of the leaves.

Any advice on the above would be much appreciated.:)
 
Oh, it's great to see someone starting out in the hobby. I started with guppies, too. It WILL become addictive. A couple things ...

Be sure to add a dechlorinator to the new, incoming water when you do a water change (StressCoat or Novaqua, something like that). It gets rid of nasties in the tapwater that can hurt your fish. And adjust your tapwater so it's the same temperature as the water already in the tank, so you don't get an ich outbreak which you'd have to treat with meds, etc.

Your tank will cycle, because it's new. This means that while its natural biotope gets balanced, you will get an ammonia spike because of the living critters in there (pee, etc.). As the cycling continues, helpful bacteria will eventually convert the ammonia to nitrite (both very harmful to fish) to nitrate (not so harmful). That process usually takes about a month. What this means is that you should do a partial water change every time your tank contains ammonia, probably every four days or so at first. To determine this, you're going to need an ammonia test kit (ASAP).

Do you have a heater in there? How about a filter? Any lights for the plants? How much?

The brownish stuff you're seeing is probably algae. Overfeeding will cause this. When feeding, a rule of thumb to remember is that your fish's stomach is as big as one of its eyes, and fish always act like they're starving. Feeding once or twice a day (not much each time) should get you there.

Male guppies without females in the tank (more females than males) will get aggressive with each other.

What else? Have FUN!! There'll be more questions, and more posts from people more knowledgeable than I, but this should get ya started okay.

-- Pat
 
Okay, setup = tank, 2 fluro lights, filter, gravel, water purifier, water conditioner and ph test kit. I also bought some plant fertilizer and some other plant stuff to put in the bottom third of the gravel. That's all I have so far. Lights are on a timer and on for ten hours each day.

Do I need to remove the algae asap?

And another question, and I know this is sooooooooooooooo basic for you all...lol..but when I do a water change can I just put the fresh water in to the tank and then add the purifier etc or does it need to be added to the new water (say in a bucket) first and then put in the tank?

Ta.
 
Hey fish fillet! Welcome to AC! Many ppl here add dechlorinator (water conditioner) to the tank as they add water...little bit of this, little bit of that style. It works for them. Personally I don't, I add it to a bucket w/the water.
 
You have algae after only one week? Is this possible? Your tank hasn't cycled has it? Have you thought of adding non iodized table salt or aquarium salt from your lfs? I believe it's one tsp per ten gallons. Helps with nitrates a lot and desease. Of course I am not certain of the effects of salt with live plants though I haven't heard of any problems. Doing water changes may slow down your cycle process. I add Stress Coat and salt to new tanks. But you shouldn't add it afterwards with each water change. Helps a lot. "1/4 water change by vaccuming is good after tank cycles." Hopefully you don't lose any fish while it cycles. Good luck! :) I have added conditioner with water in bucket and without.
 
I took myself off to the lfs and described the "algae" to them. Fella says its brown algae and gives me some "Algae Clear" to put in the tank once I've done my first water change which I did that evening. Boy was that first water change an experience........!!!! I was really anxious about getting it all right...and ended up botching a few things up, but fish are still alive and tank looks clear and healthy. Honestly, I feel like a first-time Mum...lol

I bought some more "babies" today...a Dwarf Gourami, a swordtail and a Panda Corydora. Guppys are giving the swordtail a hard time already *sigh* Tank is now 10 days old :)
 
Guppies may benefit from some salt in the water, but any salt will do - the non-iodised bit is an old aquarium myth that iodised salt is toxic to fish. It isn't.

It doesn't do anything to nitrates, but it does reduce the toxicity of nitrite. Nitrate isn't a problem at this stage.

Having said this, you may not get much of a spike with live plants - of course it depends on the size and type of plant, but plants use ammonia and nitrite/nitrate as food sources. Salt may not do the plants any good, so you've got a balancing act here.

Not sure what the water purifier is - can you elaborate?

Don't get any more fish at this stage. I wouldn't use the algae killer either - a little live algae will do no harm and will probably clear up as the tank matures. Dead algae will add to possible short-term problems in the new tank.
 
Twilight - rather than arguing this iodised salt and nitrate levels thing on several different threads at once, do you want to start a proper thread for it?

I've read your link. It says what I say.
 
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