Hexagon 30g Questions

gmiller1122

gmiller1122

AC Members
Jul 6, 2005
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First off, I'm new here, so 'hello.'

Second, we've had our tank for two weeks now. It is a 30g hexagon.
We have:
3 Serpae Tetra
2 Zebra Danio
2 Longfin Barb (High-fin? Not sure, something the salesman mentioned)

I brought home 3 zebras yesterday and to my dismay, one developed 'dropsy' -- I looked it up. It was really bad. It wouldn't eat and just kinda floated around the top. After researching how difficult it is to treat, I decided to put it out of its misery. I live 50 minutes from the nearest pet store and would not be in the area for several more days to
get medication. I am upset w/myself for not noticing the problem when I bought the fish.

Right after this, I found 1 serpae tetra (I had 4) lying dead on the bottom of the tank. I have no clue what happened. I had changed 1/3 of the water earlier, but the other fish seem to be doing well. :help:

The Ph is a little high, but the water is good otherwise, according to the test strip. I will be getting some ph decreaser when I can make it to the store again.

Now, I've noticed that one zebra (larger, longer fins) is chasing the other one
around ALL the time -- I feel bad for the smaller one! I've read here that they do better in larger groups -- is this true? Why is the one being so aggressive? :help:

Finally, I just wanted to know if anyone had any insights/suggestions for maintaining our aquarium. Any special needs for these fish? For a hexagon tank?

Thanks,

G
 
Your best bet would be to get a few more of the kinds of fish you have now and stick with just those. They will all appreciate a few more friends. But first, was the tank cycled when you put the fish in? Can you give actual numbers for the ph, nitrite and amonia?
 
According to the test strip:
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
pH: 8.4 (or close to it)
Total hardness: 24-30
Alkalinity: between 250-300

Test strip does not measure ammonia -- or is it the same as nitrate?

I've been looking around on the board, but still don't really get what cycling is all about. When I got the tank, I got it situated, filled it, regulated the temp., and added stress coat. Three days later, I brought home 2 barbs and 2 serpae tetras. Two weeks later, I introduced 5 more fish. This was all according to the salesperson's suggestions. However, he said nothing about test strips, cycling, etc. I should have known it's not as simple as he made it out to be! Or is it?

I'm thinking I need:
- tester for ammonia (or is it the same as nitrate?)
- a new pet store? :huh:

Is this right? Also, I notice that a lot of folks have only 1-2 of certain fish in their tanks -- but you suggest I have a few more of the ones I already have. Is this dependent on the type of fish? Finally, using the various estimating criteria I've read about, I figure my tank can handle about 15" of fish. So, it seems these numbers would be maximums:

5-6 serpae tetra
4 Longfin Barb
5-6 zebra danios

Does this sound about right?

Thanks for your input, Holly. I appreciate the time.

G
 
The process is: ammoina - nitrIte - nitrAtes.

Ok cycling in a easy to understand way: Cycling is talking about the process of buliding up bacteria to convert ammoina (deadly to fish, roting food, fish poo, limit is 0ppm) into nitrIte (deadly to fish) and then finaly into nitrAtes (removed by water changes, limit is 20ppm in my tanks). Cycling is when you are growing this bacteria to support the fish load (the fish poo and stuff). So before any fish hit the tank you want this bacteria, or else the ammoina, and nitrite levels will rise to a deadly level. So in your tank there is little or no bacteria. This is why you have no nitrAtes. What you need to so it:

1) Get a new test kit. Those strips are pointless because they give miss reads. Get the $12.99 one under the "test kits" tab here: www.bigalsonline.com

2) Cycle the tank. This is the heardest part. You need to test daily. Keep the ammoina and nitrites below 0.25ppm while cycling. To keep them low do daily 50% water changes. This will take some time, normaly 38 days.

3) Dont worry about the pH. Your fish will be fine in the tap water's pH. With the chemicals you are using, you are doing more harm then good. This is because in a few hours the chemcials will ware off and the pH will go back to its orginal level. This change over and over will stress fish out. So stop using them and let it B.

4) Dont worry about other fish yet! That will come later.
 
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The process is: ammoina - nitrIte - nitrAtes.
Click to expand...

Ok, so 0 is a good number, right? Thanks. Any insight on the other questions? I've read several of your posts, and it seems you know your stuff!
 
Cool. Thanks. Any insight into the cause of death for my serpae? (see 1st post).
 
once the tank is cycled you will always want the amonia and nitrite to read 0 and the nitrate will register, how high depends on various things, but it should not be 0 (maybe if you had a planted tank, but for now, thats not all that important!). The fish that you have like to be in groups, 5-6 of each would be fine (however, hold off on getting anymore fish for now). Some fish do not need company of their own kind, some are aggressive with their own kind, etc. All depends on the specific fish! And you should start doing the water changes now, and consider taking a sample to your LFS every couple of days until you get a different test kit (if you decide to).

Your LFS might not be bad, they might have just assumed that your tank was up and running. But even if they didn't, most will not get into the details of cycling a tank. If you can get bio-spira that is a product that will almost instantly cycle your tank, that is something you could consider
Don't be discouraged with the fish deaths, just start doing the water changes and keep reading up and your tank will be in perfect shape in no time ;)
 
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