he is who I got the idea/purchasing info etc. the fish were fine for a month. the tank was fine, then the hungry filter thing. THey are cool fish! For the most part easy to take care. I just hope the ammonia damage isn't permanent.
Emergency spinning fish
- Thread starter FisheyLisa
- Start date
Okay, well, here I go. Firstly, any leftover food is too much. Never feed fish more than they can eat. I actually feed them only what they can devour within about 30 seconds twice per day and I also fast them one day a week. Some people only feed every other day. With the deep gravel you mention, I am just imagining all of this accumulated uneaten food decomposing and producing your ammonia problem. Start cutting way back on feeding. Uneaten food won't lead to a problem right away, but after time as it begins to, well, rot; it will pollute your tank. Maybe this explain the month of them being fine. Also, it never hurts to call your water company to see if they've added anything new to the water.
As for the pH, wow. I don't have that problem. My water is hard and alkaline. You might get some advice under a separate post for that, but I cannot give much advice. Baking soda will help, but it's not permanent. I have heard crushed coral does well, you might investigate or ask about it specifically.
On to the damage ammonia can do. The damage is lasting. The fish may make a "full" recovery in that they act normal and swim normal and eat well and breed, but it likely has shortened their lifespan somewhat. Don't beat yourself up over it, because it's already happened and there isn't much getting angry can do, other than serve as a motivation to be more vigilant.
So to sum up, it happens, think about feeding a lot less (I constantly live in the fear that I am underfeeding my fish and none have starved yet!), and also consider really turning that substrate over to deep clean it. Good luck!
As for the pH, wow. I don't have that problem. My water is hard and alkaline. You might get some advice under a separate post for that, but I cannot give much advice. Baking soda will help, but it's not permanent. I have heard crushed coral does well, you might investigate or ask about it specifically.
On to the damage ammonia can do. The damage is lasting. The fish may make a "full" recovery in that they act normal and swim normal and eat well and breed, but it likely has shortened their lifespan somewhat. Don't beat yourself up over it, because it's already happened and there isn't much getting angry can do, other than serve as a motivation to be more vigilant.
So to sum up, it happens, think about feeding a lot less (I constantly live in the fear that I am underfeeding my fish and none have starved yet!), and also consider really turning that substrate over to deep clean it. Good luck!
tricksterpup
It's SPRING!!! BUNNIE RABBITS
Lisa,
In my tanks, I use either small sponge filters or a small whisper power filter that fits inside the tank. In my first tank, I used a penplax disposable bubble filter. This filter worked great, I did partial water changes twice a week and I kept Malyasian Trumpet snails with them. These snails helped to eat any extra food. I fed my guys lightly once a day or every other day.
And yes, I have read stories about breeders just keeping them in Gallon Pickle jars and having them breed nicely for them. But I think still a 100% is still a little extreme. I would have done daily 10-15% water changes, but that would be me being anal on this. I had a friend who kept his in a betta jar with some Java moss in the bottom of the tank and they did well for about a year. They did not breed for him though.
I think once these guys start righting themselves, I would pick up a sponge filter and give that a try, along with some pond snails or some MT snails to help eat any and all extra food that falls to the bottom of the tank.
I hope this has helped. I have kept my colony going in a small tank 5 gallon with 20 fish for about 2 years, with regular fry. I only use small filters and found that the pen plax on my 2.5 gallon tank gave me the best results, I kept about 12 fish regularly in this tank. I gave away a large portion of my fry and fish and now I only have the 5 going. I plan on getting more this spring and trying my hand at keeping them in outdoor whiskey barrels filled with water plants along with some other live bearers.
In my tanks, I use either small sponge filters or a small whisper power filter that fits inside the tank. In my first tank, I used a penplax disposable bubble filter. This filter worked great, I did partial water changes twice a week and I kept Malyasian Trumpet snails with them. These snails helped to eat any extra food. I fed my guys lightly once a day or every other day.
And yes, I have read stories about breeders just keeping them in Gallon Pickle jars and having them breed nicely for them. But I think still a 100% is still a little extreme. I would have done daily 10-15% water changes, but that would be me being anal on this. I had a friend who kept his in a betta jar with some Java moss in the bottom of the tank and they did well for about a year. They did not breed for him though.
I think once these guys start righting themselves, I would pick up a sponge filter and give that a try, along with some pond snails or some MT snails to help eat any and all extra food that falls to the bottom of the tank.
I hope this has helped. I have kept my colony going in a small tank 5 gallon with 20 fish for about 2 years, with regular fry. I only use small filters and found that the pen plax on my 2.5 gallon tank gave me the best results, I kept about 12 fish regularly in this tank. I gave away a large portion of my fry and fish and now I only have the 5 going. I plan on getting more this spring and trying my hand at keeping them in outdoor whiskey barrels filled with water plants along with some other live bearers.
