Need some help?!

[streaker1271]

A couples of months ago, in October, my kids just had to have a fish. We got 3 fish. Not sure of the exact name of them but they look like swordtails with out the swordtail. Obviously we got a male and a female. (One, sorry to say, died.) Because the 2 fish have now turned into 10. I have babies in a various range of sizes. My question is I figure I need to clean the tank, it hasn't been cleaned since i put them in them a 10 gallon tank I have had for years. (I did clean it good and put all new stuff in it) What should I do about baby fish? I am worried that I will hurt them or kill/hurt the ones I dont see. The babies seem to be doing fine for now. They are eating well and everything. I also plan on getting a 29 gallon tank in the next few weeks. Should I just wait until then? I also have 2 live plants in with them along with a filter that I change once a month. Any suggestions for someone who really has no idea about any of this!! But I love the fish and already in head deep!!

 

[morleyz]

You probably just want to do a couple of water changes and some thorough gravel vacuuming. If you don't have one...get yourself a small gravel vacuum. You probably want to start slow on the water changes since it sounds like you haven't done a lot of them before...so I'd start with maybe a 10% change, wait a few days, 15%, etc....working your way up to around 20-25% weekly. Just try and get as much of solid waste was you can vacuumed up. As you "overstocking" condition grows, you might want to consider cleaning out the filter media more frequently. We'd be able to help more if you gave us some more specifics on your filter. This should keep your stock as healthy as you can hope for in a 10G. As you have already guessed, you're quickly outgrowing this tank.

Also, if I had to guess, it sounds like you probably have platys.

 

[streaker1271]

The filter I have is a Whisper 2-5. I don't know if it is big enough but it seems to do the job. I clean the filter about once a week and put a new filter in about once a month. I also clean the whole thing before I put the new filter into it. And have never done the vacuum deal. Is there anything in particular I should look for with one? Like I said I plan on getting the bigger tank in about 5 or 6 weeks. Or is it a one size fits all type of thing?

 

[val]

Welcome...

Streaker, to Aquaria Central, home of the most prolific fishkeepers on the internet

I would think the Whisper you have would be sufficient when you move up, to a 29g tank, I think you said... For ease of use and long-term peace of mind, many here would recommend that you get an AquaClear 200 for that same tank, but I like keeping your tank filter the same. Look around here at older posts and you'll see that one of the most important things keeping your fish safe and alive is the bacteria bed that is established over time, mostly in the filter cartridge of your filter. This is the "biological" filtration you'll see referenced. quick rule of thumb, don't wash that filter pad in chlorinated water, you'll kill the bacteria.

As for feeding your new brood, give them very crushed up flake food. You can also make your own liquid fry (what little baby fish are called) food. Take a clear glass jar and put some flakes of food into the bottom and add some water. Stir. Put into direct sunlight. After a couple of days, the water will turn cloudy, this cloudiness is infusoria, a great live food for fish fry. Add an ounce or two of that a day and you'll grow your platies/swords up. After a couple of weeks, you can discontinue because they'll start eating the flake directly...


Val

 

[pinballqueen]

Gravel vacs are pretty much one-size, as long as the drain hose is long enough....I've got one with about a 5 foot hose on it (it was designed for 55-100 gallons) and I use it on my 10 gal. just fine, it's just a little bit too big, so I have to work fast!

Overfiltering is better than underfiltering. Go with something designed for a tank 10-20 gallons more than what you'll be getting, if you can. It'll make worlds of difference in the cleanliness of your tank....I didn't think my tank was cloudy or dirty until I put supplemental filtration on it. It was so clear the next day you could read a small-print legal document through it from 4 feet away....(from one end of a 55 gallon to the other...). You'll be pleasantly surprised once you "filter the snot out of your water" what a difference it makes....

Whenever you set up your larger tank, put the old filter on it to jump-start the nitrogen cycle. (Read up on that, it's stuff you need to know...) Either that, or when you change the filter pad, put it into the tank (in the new filter, preferably).

I'll restate what has already been said: never, ever rinse your filter media in tap water. It defeats the purpose because it kills off the bacteria that digest ammonia and nitrites...use the water you get from that vacuuming job to rinse the filter pads, and don't worry too much about the filter itself. Just check to make sure the impeller is still clean and turns freely in the barrel (if you can even take a whisper apart that way, I can't remember). Unless you have some seriously messy fish or really overfeed, you shouldn't have too many problems with an overly-dirty filter casing...

We're a bunch of long-winded folks here, aren't we? (Oh, wait, maybe it's just me that's long-winded....never mind...)

Welcome to AC! Let us know if there's anything else you need...