For all you fish experts

[tmtpowers]

OK, so as many of you know I work at petsmart in the pet department. Well the biggest part of my job is in the fish department. I thought it would be a great benefit to me if willing fish/aquarium owners could answer some common questions I am asked. Some of these I already know the answer to, however I think it would be a good idea to confirm that I do in fact know the correct answer. So if you have a few minutes and want to, answer a few of these questions or even all if you feel up to it! Also, if you would give an explanation to your answer so that I can explain things better to anyone asking me.

These are the most commonly asked questions:

1) How long do I have to wait to put fish in my new tank?
(I know that fishless cycling is the best way to go, and some customers would be willing to wait, however keep in mind that some people want to add them and add them now. So please give the best answer as well as the quickest way to prepare the tank for fish w/out use of Biospira since someone would have to travel 45 miles to pick it up. Most people are not willing to do that.

2)Why can't I put a gold fish into a bowl?
(I hate people that ask this as many of them even after explaining how big gold fish get still want to get them)

3) How often should I change the water in my betta bowl?
(I know that bettas are far better off in a filtered and heated tank. Mine are provided with that however most people that buy bettas are looking for either a small bowl fish to save space, or something they feel they don't have to provide with a filter and heater)

4) Why can't I put a gold fish in with my tropical fish?

5) Why can't I mix African chiclids with South American chiclids?

6) Why should I add live plants VS fake plants? What are the benefits?

7) What are some easy to care for plants?

8) How many should I add to my tank?

9) How many fish can I put in my tank?

10) Why does my 55G+ need either two filters or a filter and a power head?

11) What size of a tank is good for a beginner?

12) Which water conditioner is best and why?

13) Why shouldn't I feed my Oscar all the Rosy reds he wants?
(I had a guy that had a 4" Oscar that was eating 50 rosy red gold fish every night!)

14) How many feeders should I be feeding my Oscar and how often?

15) When should I start my Oscar on feeder fish?

16) How much should I be feeding my tropical fish and how often?

17) How much and how often should I be feeding my betta?

18) How much and how often should I be feeding my gold fish?

19) Why should I test my water? I haven't tested it for x amount of months/years.

20) My ph is off the chart! How do I bring it down?
(I had a guy that has been having a huge problem with his PH being off the charts. He has been doing water changes and besides the Kh being quite high as well, everything else was in the normal range for tropical fish. He is a little over stocked but ammonia is at 0)

21) How do I bring down my Kh?

22) How do I bring down my Gh?

23) I used Prime to bring my ammonia down but it hasn't went down according to my ammonia test. Why?

I'll leave it at that for now LOL Didn't mean to write so many. I know some of these questions are out there but I really do get asked them often! Sadly know matter how good of advice you give, many people just won't listen. Many people have found out that we will not sell any fish to you if we know your tank is stocked to its limits or over stocked so quite a few won't even tell us their tank size any more :( Some people around here are just sad :(

[nerdyguy83]

1) If you can't get Bio-Spira or do a fishless cycle, the only other possible thing to do is to get filter media and/or gravel from an established tank and use it in the new tank. Even if you do this, daily water changes (30-50%) will be necessary for a while. Without the mature media, probably about a month. With it, probably around 1-2 weeks.

2) The fish will be stunted by the small environment resulting in premature death. Also, goldfish are very messy fish. Kept in a bowl, they will require water changes so often that it really doesn't make any sense. None of those arguments will work when a goldfish is .20 and a bowl is 6 bucks while a big setup is a ton more.

3)100% change twice a week

4)Gold fish are cold water fish, not tropical. Also, as stated above, they are extremely messy and would wreak havoc and create one heck of a minicycle in even a well-established tank.

7) Java moss, java fern

9) No hard and fast rule makes sense. 1" per gallon when talking about small tropicals that don't get much bigger than 2", but even then it all depends on footprint/height of the tank, filtration, cleaning schedule, etc. Basically, add slowly and see what happens.

10) A 55 gallon with one filter won't have enough water circulation. Water furthest from the filter won't get filtered and heat won't disperse evenly. You need to extra filter/powerhead to keep water quality and temperature consistant throughout the tank.

11) Some would say no smaller than a 20, and that is probably the best beginner size. I started with a 10 an did alright. It is cheaper to go the 10 route.

12) Prime: It is concentrated. You get the most bang for your buck, so to speak. Two drops per gallon as opposed to a teaspoon per five gallons with other brands. Plus it works really well.

16) That is really up to the person. More food = more waste = more work for cleaning. I feed mine twice a day, rotating 3 food types. They could be fed once a day without problem.

17) Same as above.

19) To catch problems and just know that your tank is still healthy and going strong.

20) Test your tap water. If the pH is high there too, you can't do a whole lot other than buy bottled forever and use that for changes. Peat moss in the filter brings it down, but a fluctuating pH is worse than a stable high one. If tap water is high pH and the fish are fine, then leave it. You will just cause more problems trying to "fix" it.

23) Prime detoxifies ammonia (ionizes it), it does not make it dissapear. It will still be removed with a biological filter in this form, but it will not kill your fish. Tests cannot tell the difference between the two types. The only way I know of to show only toxic ammonia is the Seachem Ammonia Alert in tank meter thing.

Hope some of that helps

[plah831]

Nerdyguy does a good job of answering, as always, so I will just elaborate on some that he did not answer.

6) photosynthesis (what plants do) does the opposite of respiration (what animals do), at least during lighted hours. plants absorb co2 to produce o2, and absorb ammonia, ammonium, and nitrate as food. In addition, they also absorb metals from your water, thereby acting as a bit of a biochemical filter. They just help your tank act more like a natural ecosystem. Although it's not totally perfect and self-contained, of course. Keep in mind that in the dark, plants will respire! Therefore, many people turn on aeration at night (or whenever their lights are off) to prevent their fish from suffocating. Photosynthesis only occurs when there is adequate light.

7) some more easy plants are Anachris (if you can't grow this, you have a problem), Anubias, cryptocoryne, water sprite. However, plants are tricky because they each have different light requirements (wattage per gallon), and need for fertilizer. For example, Anachris and Anubias can both grow in low light without much need for fertilizer, but Anubias grows very slowly while anachris grows almost too fast! In fact, most people have to prune anachris constantly to keep it from overshadowing everything in their tank. meanwhile, water sprite while low maintenance in terms of nutrients, needs high light. It, too, can grow very rapidly. It and anachris can grow floating, while others need to be planted in special substrate because they absorb most of their nutrients through their roots. See what i mean? Tricky because lots to learn.

8) again, how many plants you can add to a tank depends. if you have the capacity for high light and are willing to fertilizer diligently and add CO2 injection, you can add almost as many as you want, within limits. The need for extra CO2 also depends on the type of plants you have/want and how much light theyr'e getting. More light, by itself, will not stimulate more plant growth unless they have enough carbon to fuel their photosynthesis. If slow growth is OK with you (which it is to me), CO2 is probably not necessary. I just let my fish and inverts produce it. I keep separate tanks with different lighting for high light (3+ watts per gal), moderate light (2 WPG) and low light (no light fixture, just well-lit room with windows).

16) Feeding does not HAVE to be every day. Fish, as ectotherms, do not have as high metabolic demands as mammals and birds do. However, at higher temperatuers (like tropical fish), they will burn their food faster than at colder temperatures. Thus, if you feed every other day (which is what I do usually) they will be hungry. They'll survive.

19) Like nerdyguy said. Aquatic organisms are dependent on their water for everything! Because we can't breathe water ourselvs, we have a harder time grasping when something is amiss. If you have smoke in your house and it's making your dog sneeze, you notice it because you can see and smell it. But if something's funky in your water that you can't see obviously, you won't know unless you test often until it's too late (i.e. your fish are sick).

20-22) The best and safest way is to mix your water with some reverse osmosis (RO) water. That is water that has been treated to remove extra solutes and minerals. Thus, it has lower pH and hardness (both GH and KH) than your regular tap water. You can buy an RO unit at fish stores, mail order/internet. A tap water filter, like Brita, will also do it, but to a lesser degree and for a lower amount of water. For instance, Drs. Foster and Smith sells a tap water filter that fits under your sink and connects to your plumbing (I think), but it only treats 25 gallons if you have very hard water. Another way of solving this problem without buying your own RO unit, is to buy bottled or filtered water at the grocery store. Make sure it says soemwhere that it is Reverse Osmosis treated. It costs about 35 cents a gallon, though, so it might get expensive fast. But for a 10 gal tank, it might work. Some RO works so well, that it's completely neutral in pH and has almost no solutes. Therefore, it becomes necessary to add electrolytes back in! They sell products to do that (RO water mixes) specifically for this purpose.

23) Yes, most chemical ammonia detoxifiers just add a hydrogen ion to the NH3 to make the less toxic NH4 (ammonium ion). The positive charge of ammonium makes it easier for fish to keep out of their bodies. Otherwise, the neutrally-charged ammonia just diffuses in, I think. I have a Seachem Ammonia Alert and I think it does only read toxic ammonia. I don't know how it does it. But, I also use a test kit and I get the same reading (after the multiplication factor that ammonia kits always include, you know, where you hve to look up your temperature and pH).

Hope that helps, too! Good for you for asking these questions and having the resources available to you! I wish more pet store employees would be like you. The last time I went to Petsmart, the manager offered me a job :) I said I'd apply and never did it. Too much bad pet care out there for me to be bothered! I would just get upset and disheartened with the whole world. The fish department girl told me that that day, someone had flushed a hamster down the store's toilet because they told them they wern't allowed to take back pets!!! Ugh. Some people make me sick.

[plah831]

bump. the responses weren't registering.

[rosita]

Nature's Emporium, up Church Street, carries Bio-Spira. I paid $25.00 for a bag that was sufficient for a 90g; I used it all in my 55, did great!! So they don't have to go to G'boro!! Just across town. :hi:

[CatLover]

Here's just a couple. Most questions are thouroughly covered, but I'll just go ahead and post a few things.

2. If someone is just hard and fast determined that they need to put something in a bowl, suggest a betta. Still, shouldn't be put it in a bowl, but it is better suited to a bowl than a goldfish. Just emphasize that they can only put ONE betta in container. Suggest that they don't put any sharp decor in with their betta since they have fragile fins. Convince them not to put marbles in a betta bowl because all kinds of crud can get stuck between marbles and they are harder to clean. A betta in a bowl shouldn't be fed near as much as a betta in a tank because they don't get excercise. I have a betta who lives in a 10 and eats like a pig, but he is constantly moving and burning off his food.
6. IMO, plants are not that necessary for a beginner. They should first try to master taking care of their fish before they start putting plants in. I didn't start with live plants, but I added them eventually. I think that the person really needs to have a sound understanding of the cycle and preferably already have their first tank cycled. If the person doesn't understand everything, not only will they have fish waste and possible overfeeding decaying in the tank, but they may also have partially dead plants decaying in the tank. Even what seems obvious to us, a beginner might not know. EX: putting a plant with small leaves next to the filter intake where the plant could get sucked up and clog the filter and possibly the tank owner could even come home to an overflowing filter box depending on what kind of filter they have. Also, chances are that when a person buys their first tank, they will select one that comes with a hood and light. The light may not be very high wattage or the right spectrum, and the new tank owner may not realize that they are going to need to choose low-light plants. A common mistake is burrying plants too deep or burrying plants that shouldn't be burried at all. Such as java ferns. Even if stem plants are burried deep they can start to decay in the substrate. You don't want a newbie dumping lots of ferts into a tank if they don't know what they are doing. That's just my opinion on live plants for the newbie. Now, if the newbie wants to start with live plants, then whatever. I just wouldn't encourage it.

7. Unless they have special substrate, I would recomend plants that are not heavy root feeders. Good suggestions as stated above. Many people say that hornwort is a good beginning plant, but I don't really think so. If not properly nourished it can shed all over the tank and clog filters, etc before the plant newbie even knows what is going on. Java ferns, anacharis, I've never had the others mentioned above, but I am sure they are good choices. Almost anyone can grow (or anyone that is trying, anyway) anacharis. It is super easy. Don't have to figure out how to plant it because it can even just float. Another advantage, person can buy one bunch, and they will soon have enough to fill a 10 gallon tank and they will even be throwing excess away eventually!

11. For a beginner a 10 gallon is the smallest size I would suggest. The larger the tank the more room for error there is. You do a few things wrong in a 1 gallon or 5 gallon and all the fish are dead. I really think that something between 10-30 gallons would be appropriate for a beginner. If they get something too huge, they will be overwhelmed or will feel the need to fill it up with too many fish because it looks "empty" (Well, chances are they will want to fill anything up with too many fish)

12. Prime.

Well, those are a few comments. Others feel free to diasagree with me, I like a good discussion:) (at least disagree in a tasteful manner:))

[tmtpowers]

Thaks guys! This is really helpful! And thanks for the tip rosita! I had no clue that nature's sells biospira! Very nice to know!

[Galaxie]

Wow! That's a lot of questions! I'd suggest using the "Search" utility from the top menu to provide answers. The answers are here, in the archives, you just have to dig them out. I remember reading debates on most of your questions over the past couple years here at AC. Read, read, read, and study.
:read: