I am still new to fishkeeping and am trying to rectify some really stupid newbie mistakes made in the first month of being a fish owner. I have lost a couple of fish, but after reading this site I am apparently quite lucky I haven't lost more in my ignorance. Most of the ones I lost were probably already sick before I got them home considering how fast they went downhill while all the others stayed healthy.
I have a 1G tank for my betta and he is doing fine, but I may consider a slightely larger tank for him in the near future. I am doing about 30% water changes on that tank every 2-3 days.
I have a 10 G with 3 common (feeder) goldfish (2" long each), 1 pictus (2.5" long) and one small common pleco (1.5" long). This tank has been up and running with these fish for a month now and is also stabilizing.
My concern is my 35 G I just set up last week. I had no bad luck with just throwing my 10G together in one day, gravel, fish and all (ok, maybe a little, I lost pleco #1 within hours of putting him in, and one goldfish died of mysterious causes about 5 days later) but by and large the fish are active and healthy in that tank for now, I will be moving the pictus and probably the pleco out soon to a bigger tank as they grow. So because it worked fine for my 10 G, I set up my 35 G over about a 4 day period, adding more fish every 2 days or so - Ignorance is Bliss. I have had 1 tiger barb die and I hated it, it was a slow death and he didn't respond to any medication (I treated for velvet and he was very gold colored, iridescent looking, then he got pop eye at the end and I treated for that also). I currently have a HOB filter by Top Fin I am not sure of the model, but it is the one designed for my tank size. I also have a carbon filter and ammonia remover that I put in last night to remove the remaining medication in the tank and to help keep ammonia levels down.
Mistake #2 was putting too many fish in my tank (at least with their potential sizes). I have 9 tiger barbs now, 3 Opaline Gouramis, 2 pictus, 1 common pleco, 1 albino rainbow shark, 1 peacock eel, 3 live plants (not sure what kind). I am doing frequent water changes (every other day about 40-50 % because I didn't cycle the tank properly and have too many fish), and as of last night it looked like I was finally getting some of the toxin levels under control. I bought an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals testing kit and tested for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Here are my readings:
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 - 0.5 ppm
pH - 8.0
Nitrate - 5.0 ppm
when I change water I am treating with "ph 7.0 Seachem pH Regulator" that also removes chlorine, ammonia and chloramine.
Is there any thing else I can do to help this tank recover from my ignorance?
Thanks!
I have a 1G tank for my betta and he is doing fine, but I may consider a slightely larger tank for him in the near future. I am doing about 30% water changes on that tank every 2-3 days.
I have a 10 G with 3 common (feeder) goldfish (2" long each), 1 pictus (2.5" long) and one small common pleco (1.5" long). This tank has been up and running with these fish for a month now and is also stabilizing.
My concern is my 35 G I just set up last week. I had no bad luck with just throwing my 10G together in one day, gravel, fish and all (ok, maybe a little, I lost pleco #1 within hours of putting him in, and one goldfish died of mysterious causes about 5 days later) but by and large the fish are active and healthy in that tank for now, I will be moving the pictus and probably the pleco out soon to a bigger tank as they grow. So because it worked fine for my 10 G, I set up my 35 G over about a 4 day period, adding more fish every 2 days or so - Ignorance is Bliss. I have had 1 tiger barb die and I hated it, it was a slow death and he didn't respond to any medication (I treated for velvet and he was very gold colored, iridescent looking, then he got pop eye at the end and I treated for that also). I currently have a HOB filter by Top Fin I am not sure of the model, but it is the one designed for my tank size. I also have a carbon filter and ammonia remover that I put in last night to remove the remaining medication in the tank and to help keep ammonia levels down.
Mistake #2 was putting too many fish in my tank (at least with their potential sizes). I have 9 tiger barbs now, 3 Opaline Gouramis, 2 pictus, 1 common pleco, 1 albino rainbow shark, 1 peacock eel, 3 live plants (not sure what kind). I am doing frequent water changes (every other day about 40-50 % because I didn't cycle the tank properly and have too many fish), and as of last night it looked like I was finally getting some of the toxin levels under control. I bought an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals testing kit and tested for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH. Here are my readings:
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 - 0.5 ppm
pH - 8.0
Nitrate - 5.0 ppm
when I change water I am treating with "ph 7.0 Seachem pH Regulator" that also removes chlorine, ammonia and chloramine.
Is there any thing else I can do to help this tank recover from my ignorance?
Thanks!
if you go get a 75, you could move the fish I said to "get rid of" to it and would possibly be fine