Dead Balla gourmi and Clown Loach

Newbie101balla said:
the lady at the store said that i can add 2-3 fish every week as long as i bring in my water samples and they test them every week before do you think it would be ok if i did that and if my levels are perfect and i'm maintaining my tank very well i dont think i should have any diseases i think the reason that i got ick in the first place was because i added fish quicked then 2-3 a week and i was cleaning my tank wrong

Don't always believe what you're told at a store, specifically retailers. I happen to be one of the more educated people who works in a fish retailer, (petsmart) but I don't claim to know everything either. It has been my (and many other's) experience that most employees in pet stores, especially large chains, don't know a whole lot about the animals in their care. Did you mention to this person that you'd recently had several serious issues with your tank? I personally feel that it would be best to disregard what you heard from the people at the store and wait before introducing any more fish. This may be just my opinion, but you would be best served letting your fish take some time to fully regain their strength before messing with them too much. (they may look fine, but appearances can be deceiving... they can't yell out "I'm in pain!" like we can)
 
gatotsu77 said:
you would be best served letting your fish take some time to fully regain their strength before messing with them too much. (they may look fine, but appearances can be deceiving... they can't yell out "I'm in pain!" like we can)
I totally agree with that statement. In this hobby, you have to have patience. I know, it's hard, I've overstocked, too. But it will be much better for your fish and for you. First, let your fish recover fully from their previous issues. Then stock SLOWLY, like 1 possibly 2 small fish a week. Otherwise, you may end up with problems again and have to do water changes once or twice a day to keep up with the new bioload. Your good bacteria need to catch up with the new fish waste, which could take a couple weeks and send you into a mini-cycle. It's always a possibilty when adding anything new.
 
yea I told the lady about all of my issues and she seemed really knowledgeable about everything this was at kahoots which i'm pretty sure shouldent be considered as a large chain corperation theres only about 10 out there from what i know. She seemed really smart and i dont think she would try to get me to buy fish just so she could make money or something because i'v seen her tell other people to wait including myself in certain situations she said to just add about 2 a week but i'll probally wait like 10 days or so.
 
Newbie101balla said:
yea I told the lady about all of my issues and she seemed really knowledgeable about everything this was at kahoots which i'm pretty sure shouldent be considered as a large chain corperation theres only about 10 out there from what i know. She seemed really smart and i dont think she would try to get me to buy fish just so she could make money or something because i'v seen her tell other people to wait including myself in certain situations she said to just add about 2 a week but i'll probally wait like 10 days or so.
great! everybody is going to have slightly different opinions on everything, so it's best to get more than one viewpoint, and make a decision that makes sense to you. with fish and aquariums, though, it's always best to err on the side of caution. doing anything too drastic or quickly is very likely to upset the delicate balance in your fish tank.

good luck! let us know if you have any more questions.
 
yea i guess so i actually do have one more question i was planning on getting a 2.5 g or a 5 g for my gf cuz she is sick and i think it would really cheer her up wut kind of fish should i put in there that are colerful and is there anyway where i can give her the fish in the tank so she dosent have to stare at a empty tank for a few days? i was thinking i could just take some water from my tank out and put it into hers but i dont know how i would be able to present it all as a present type of thing lol i know this isint a forum on relationships but any ideas would help
 
probably a betta. they're colorful, active, and fun! i'd say rather than using just water from your tank, use some water and gravel. most of the good bacteria that is responsible for cycling is present in the gravel (and other high surface area things like filter sponges).

even with that, though, you're still going to have to cycle the tank, it just shouldn't take as long as a whole new cycle. that means you'll have to change the water very often, or else the ammonia and nitrite will tear up the betta's fins. with that small a tank, frequent water changes are still recommended after the tank is cycled, because less water means faster buildup of byproducts.

hope that helps! you're welcome to start a new thread about this topic, too, so that more people will see it and give you their input :)
 
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