55gal stocked tank and i know nothing about fish

[bluemeate]

so my cousin who i live with works for a moving company and someone there sold him a sweet setup for about 100 bucks. its a 55gal tank with a filter two lights a heater and a air pump. thing is we know absolutely nothing about fish... to top things off, the guy who sold us the tank wouldnt respond to phone calls after the tank got sold. one of them died the first day we moved the tank in....

we had to take about 2/3 the water out to be able to move the fish tank and when we put the water back in, we used tap water and just treated it with a bottle of some water treatment stuff the guy gave us... then 2 weeks later we go to put the tank on a stand and my cousin removes about 80-90% and refills it with water form the outside hose... 2 more of the same type fish die and another big fat noctournal fish we didnt even know we had died.

the fish we have are 2 corydoras... 2 more bottom feeders just a bit larger... the three other fish that died are little catfish that have bodies kinda look like little sharks and we just bought two more. then we got this huge giant brown fish (about8-10)in long that just sucks on the walls. then theres two more nocturnals that just hide... about 4in long kinda skinny, dark blue or black with a yellow lateral stripe... tehn two more chunky bottom dwelling black fish about 4 or 5 inches long.... im guessing these are all pretty sturdy fish seeing as how they survived the conditions we put them through... coming on here so i can learn how to treat them right :X

we went to the pet store just to buy some random fish and also bought wha ti think are two small angel fish, 4 african dwarf frogs, and i bought 12 tiny goldfish to see if they get eaten (I plan on buying a bunch of tiny schooling fish but am testing the waters to see if they get eaten)

id post pictures but i dont have access to a camera right now...


any advice....

 

[Amante_di_Betta]

Angel fish are not a good idea. Highly aggressive and not hardy. They are sensitive to things. Even the smallest things. I wouldnt put anymore fish in the tank until you figure out what you have. The thing thats stuck the the side Im going to assume to be a pleco. The bottom dwellers I would need to see pictures and probably the help of some other things. The feeders you bought will probably die, they are not hardy and cold water fish for the most part. But like I said, get some pictures. Dont put anymore fish into the tank until you figure out what you have and I wish you the best :-D

 

[Tifftastic]

I would for sure not only figure out what you have but test your water and make sure the parameters are good, before you buy any more fish.

I would have to disagree on Angels being "highly" aggressive, I have seen them kept well with other smaller community fish like cardinal tetras and rummynose tetras as well. You just have to remember that they are cichlids and can be territorial, just my opinion.

I would also recommend against buying "random" fish, and to make sure that you do research before you buy.

 

[Lupin]

so my cousin who i live with works for a moving company and someone there sold him a sweet setup for about 100 bucks. its a 55gal tank with a filter two lights a heater and a air pump. thing is we know absolutely nothing about fish... to top things off, the guy who sold us the tank wouldnt respond to phone calls after the tank got sold. one of them died the first day we moved the tank in....

:welcome: to AC!

Could you please tell us more about the filters, lights and heater used? What brand are they for instance? You will want to check that these are working properly as defective products tend to harm and even kill the fish. Do you have a thermometer for the tank?

we had to take about 2/3 the water out to be able to move the fish tank and when we put the water back in, we used tap water and just treated it with a bottle of some water treatment stuff the guy gave us... then 2 weeks later we go to put the tank on a stand and my cousin removes about 80-90% and refills it with water form the outside hose... 2 more of the same type fish die and another big fat noctournal fish we didnt even know we had died.

The bottle of water treatment is most likely dechlorinator. What brand is it? Tapwater has chlorine, chloramine and heavy metals in it. Be sure to check the brand you used can eliminate those. Chlorine is a gas and can easily dissipate if left in a bucket overnight however chloramine is another story and as it doesn't dissipate, it becomes the problem aside from the heavy metals hence dechlorinator is very important for use.

Please buy API Master test kit. Avoid the test strips as these are grossly inaccurate. Check your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. KH and GH are optional however they can be just as important when it comes to checking hardness levels. Make sure both ammonia and nitrites are zero. Ammonia and nitrites are toxic to the fish. Nitrates should not exceed 40 ppm either as these are dangerous to the fish. Please check this sticky thread for information about cycling and follow the instructions.

the fish we have are 2 corydoras... 2 more bottom feeders just a bit larger... the three other fish that died are little catfish that have bodies kinda look like little sharks and we just bought two more. then we got this huge giant brown fish (about8-10)in long that just sucks on the walls. then theres two more nocturnals that just hide... about 4in long kinda skinny, dark blue or black with a yellow lateral stripe... tehn two more chunky bottom dwelling black fish about 4 or 5 inches long.... im guessing these are all pretty sturdy fish seeing as how they survived the conditions we put them through... coming on here so i can learn how to treat them right :X

Could you please provide pictures of these catfishes? Your 'giant brown fish' is a common pleco. Check the following species and please update us which species match yours, Pterygoplichthys pardalis, Pterygoplichthys gibbiceps and Hypostomus plecostomus. There are a few others of course. All these share the same common name 'common pleco'. Almost all common plecos can grow to 12-24 inches depending on the species. They will certainly outgrow the 55g. Rehome them as much as possible and try to research more about the plecos and their dietary requirements.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46284

we went to the pet store just to buy some random fish and also bought wha ti think are two small angel fish, 4 african dwarf frogs, and i bought 12 tiny goldfish to see if they get eaten (I plan on buying a bunch of tiny schooling fish but am testing the waters to see if they get eaten)

Provide pics of these frogs for further ID verification. They can be mistaken for African clawed frogs which are predatory and can grow rather large at 4 inches. The albino forms often available are ACF, not ADF.

As far as goldfish, goldfish are coldwater species. The rest of the fish you mentioned are tropical species meaning they will prefer temperature no lower than 76 degrees Fahrenheit. If you bought the common goldfish, they can certainly reach 8 inches and even bigger. They contribute plenty of wastes as well which can rapidly deteriorate the water conditions. Sell them as much as possible or return them to the LFS.

id post pictures but i dont have access to a camera right now...

Pics are very important. We'll wait though if access to camera is not possible. Good luck.

 

[Lupin]

Angel fish are not a good idea. Highly aggressive and not hardy. They are sensitive to things. Even the smallest things. I wouldnt put anymore fish in the tank until you figure out what you have. The thing thats stuck the the side Im going to assume to be a pleco. The bottom dwellers I would need to see pictures and probably the help of some other things. The feeders you bought will probably die, they are not hardy and cold water fish for the most part. But like I said, get some pictures. Dont put anymore fish into the tank until you figure out what you have and I wish you the best :-D

A few strains of angelfish may be sensitive to water conditions especially black ones however most angelfish are suited to beginners well enough provided their requirements are met. My advice here is to research further before you venture to this. Try to pick gold, zebra, marble or koi strains for a start. All are hardy enough. Either a lone angel or a group of 5 young angels is fine. Most strains will become sexually mature by 8-9 months and eventually pair up so you must prepare a spare tank in case they spawn. A 20g tall usually will suffice.

I would have to disagree on Angels being "highly" aggressive, I have seen them kept well with other smaller community fish like cardinal tetras and rummynose tetras as well. You just have to remember that they are cichlids and can be territorial, just my opinion.

Correct. Be careful though which fish you choose as they can become a menace to most specimens and even try to eat anything that will fit their mouths especially neon tetras.

 

[jm1212]

if you took out 80% of the water and then put new water in without monitoring the temp of the new water v. the temp of the old water, there is a chance that it can kill the fish.

 

[bluemeate]

i come home and out of no-where theres 9 small new fish in the tank.... cousin bought them w/o even telling me... ill get the names of them in a bit...

also the filter is a rena filstar xps
we have a thermometer and it is currently at 80deg
the tank is a little cloudy... although i dont really have any refrence on what is like really really cloudy and what is really really clear
I have a whisper40 airpump.... 40 meaning for a 40gal tank?

we have
API - stress zyme - biological filtration booster
kordon - amquel plus - removes nitate, nitrite, ammonia
kordon - novaqua plus - water conditioner with echinacea, vitamins and anti virus protection

what are some cheap/strong beginner plants?

 

[Lupin]

Tell your cousin not to buy anymore until we sort out your problems first.

 

[bluemeate]

apparently he paid 25 for a fish called 'sterling shark' its about 3 to 4 inches long... when he put it in it was all swimming around like crazy and they were all darting around and jamming at the lfs... well now hes just sitting there on the bottom of the tank just breathing....

he has a long bottle like nose, hes slender, a dark black or blue with a long yellow stripe... also he has kinda jagged fins on top

typing sterling shark in google came up with just jewlery???

the new fish added today are:
2 angels fish... 1 is a koi, the other is ??? (already had a set of those two which now makes 4)
2 clown loach... (dont these get big?)
3 ??? ( i cant believe these guys) small stripped fish... how descriptive... eh?
1 ??? apparently one of the most popular fish, 6 dollars, about 2-3in supposedly grows bigger, tall and thick, a dark grey or light black with like silver tints on the body and shiny bluish tints on the face


how much is an API master test kit?

 

[AshK]

Please quit buying fish until you discover your water parameters and identify the fish you have now. Not all fish are compatible with one another, as previously mentioned. Your fish could get eaten, harassed, killed, or die from the wrong water conditions. Before you spend 30 dollars on a fish you know nothing about, spend the 30 dollars on a test kit so we can better assist you.