What a terrible start to new hobby...

G

GSM

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Dec 24, 2002
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Started with a new 15g tank, juwel filter, heater, fine gravel substrate, three live plants, and an airstone, plus a few decorations (stones etc..)

Cycled the tank, got the levels down, added a bala shark, let it run for a week or so, and I know the bala will grow, but I have a deal with my lfs to bring it back when its too big, evrything ok so far, no major hickups....

Right added a few more fish, two catfish, and three mollies, one female two male, right two days after adding the mollies, one male had fin fungus and died over night, so i took the other male to my lfs, tested my water everything still ok, but did a water change and added to fugus med my lfs gave me, some of his "own stuff"!?!? anyway, everything ok so far, or was it....

Got up one morning and removed one of my plants, the fern, it was looking quite bad, nothing to bad there, well my bala shark went beserk! flying all over the tank, really gasping for breath, but settled after an hour or so!

Right got up this morning, everyone is still there, but there seems to be an outbreak of ick, or white spot, marvelous!

So I havbe added some salt, gradually and increased the temp slowly to 80 and everything is ok so far, so its a trip down to the lfs tommorrow to see if i can get some cure for the ick, thats if the bala shark, the female molly and the catfish make it through the night!

Well what a start to this hey............!?!?!?:( :( :(
 
Wow, you said a mouth full there. You seem to be doing everything right and getting the right meds to now treat your outbreak of ich.

Well, hopefully the New Year will prove to be better for you and your fish.

Happy New Year anyway!
 
Thanks for that, hopefully my lfs will sort me out with the right meds!

Happy new year to you to!
 
Even if you have an LFS to give the bala shark too, its still not good to keep fish that like to swim around in a tank as small as 15 gallons. Those catfish may also get too big, if they aren't in the corydoras genus. Also, how long and how did you cycle the tank and what are the exact levesl? Perhaps different fish selection would alleviate many of your problems.
 
Temperatures!

A major cause of Ick is when doing water changes, people forget to check the water temperatures. Make sure the temperatures are the same. A 2 degree Celcius change is not good and stresses the fish. Inexpensive digital cooking thermometers work great for quick temp checks.
 
Well that sounds like what may have happened! I did a water chnage as suggested by the lfs sue to the fish dieing and then got ick! Whats funny is that one of the fish rubs itself on the plants, but the way it does it is so weird! its actually cool! if i can say that, but i zooms upto the plants and then changes direction just as it hits the plant, getting the relief i suppose its after!

But will hopefully sort it today!
 
Have to disagree. A two degree difference when changing say 20% of water will only result in a .4 degree change in water temperature. I don't think this will overly stress the fish. Do fish in the wild get ick everytime they swim past a mountain stream tributary into their river?

Mollies are not good fish for new tanks. They tend towards the delicate. Established, well run in tanks are best for them. They are not available in large numbers because they are easy fish, but because they breed like rabbits.
 
I think i have to agree with you there, people say that mollies are easy to keep, but infact the requiremtents of keeping mollies are very different to a community tank, so like you say there are loads around because they breed quickly!

Anyway, had something funny happen, i was medicating the tank with a whitespot cure, that is a funny green colour, and contains formalin, as i was adding it to the tank, one of the bala's jumped right out of the tank and into my shirt pocket, its a big pocket! but what a thing to happen! truley amazing!

Anyway, put it back in the tank and is doing ok now, and so are the others, everything seems to be going ok so far! fingers crossed....

:)
 
Temperatures Are Important

Originally posted by Faramir
Have to disagree. A two degree difference when changing say 20% of water will only result in a .4 degree change in water temperature. I don't think this will overly stress the fish. Do fish in the wild get ick everytime they swim past a mountain stream tributary into their river?
Click to expand...
And, I have to disagree. Using different temps of water for water changes is not good - at all. There are articles on temperature change and stress. Why take a chance with your fish and possibly kill them, when one can easily check and make sure the 'new' water you put in your tank is the same temperature as the existing tank water. It's not that hard to get a digital cooking (or similar) thermometer and check, at the tap, and tank, and make sure they are very close. (one article is in Dr. Foster Smith Aquarium Outfitters pg. 84)

Faramir, perhaps you are 'trickling' in new water to your tanks when doing water changes? This may work fine, given the time to do that. I think most do not have the time for that. Most likely, people 'pour in' the new water during the water change process.
Maybe your tap water and tank water are normally the same temps, or within a degree, which is good...

It has been proven that temperature changes of just a few degrees will cause an 'ich' outbreak. Ich can stay dormant until stress weakens a fish... Why take that chance?

As far as a mountain stream (very cold..) flowing into a (cold) river.. well, I think those native fish know what is normal to them, and do not purposely stress themselves out. Right now I'm trying to picture an aquarium emulating a mountain stream tributary flowing into a river.. I can't picture it.

Just my advice.. I'm no 'expert'. But with temps - I won't chance it! :)
 
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I'd never stir up the substrate, but glug glug glug I sure stir the debris right off the top of the substrate, up into the water for the filter to take up....

I just finished doing a 40% water change for some Black Ruby Barbs coming off a salt bender to cure their touch of fin rot (it did the trick). Cool water about 70o right into the tank glug glug glug. Of course they're not Licorice Gouramis or anything, but they like the cold water shower so much they're ready to swim up the stream into the 6-gallon jug.

A coldwater shower puts Corydoras in the breeding mood...

But saltwater fishes are very sensitive to temperature changes I read...

I guess the answer to everything is "it depends."
 
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