Advice please??

[Lucy Corbettt]

Hi, I'm only 14, I'm absolutely animal crazy but I have never really owned fish until now. My sister had fish that are now mine as she has left home. She had them for 3 years, the first ones that she got were 3 black neon tetras and about 6 months later she got 4 guppies. In the last year she also got 6 neon tetras. Quite a lot of her fish died and now there is one of the black neon tetras and 3 of the normal neon tetras. She was never great at looking after them but I never realised how bad she was at looking after them until tonight. I'm a strong believer of researching before you buy any animal. She CLEARLY didn't. The only ornaments they have are an old ruin building and a weird stick thing and they have had those for 3 years. She only had gravel in the tank for a couple of months and for the rest of the time they have never had gravel. I've just done 5-6 hours of research as I only knew very basics before and they are now officially mine so I thought it would be best to make sure I at least knew a decent amount on them. The filter cartridge hasn't been changed in God knows how long and I think you are supposed to change the light which also hasn't been done, she never put the light on even for a couple of hours a day (I read that you are supposed to put a light on for at least 8 hours a day to kill bad bacteria). I really want to make them happier as they all seem so dull. I hate knowing what she has done to them for the past couple of years. I really want to improve their quality of life but I'm not sure how. The tank is 22 litres, which I don't think is big enough. I'm going to buy them some gravel, plants and other ornaments as soon as I can. Also a new cartridge for the filter (I think I'm supposed to leave a little bit of the old cartridge in for a few weeks but I'm not sure). Her thermometer also broke a few weeks ago, so i had to estimate the temperature. I just wanted to know if anyone had any suggestions, like tanks or a certain filter that works well. I was also thinking of adding a few guppies as there was guppies in the tank previously and I feel it would liven up the tank a bit, but I'm not sure if it would work (tank space etc). Also the black neon tetra is all alone it's not being fully left out but at times, I feel like it's being left out of the school. I really hate the state that my sister has left them in and I'm kind of stuck for what to do, so any advice would be greatly appreciated! Also I'm very sorry for how long this is but I just wanted to make sure I mentioned everything

 

[Lucy Corbettt]

They seem to be a lot happier now that they have been moved into my room and had the light on for a few hours. Here's some photos so you can see the situation (I would of done a video but it won't let me upload it). The filter seems to be working but the cartridge definitely needs to be changed as I cleaned most of the tank earlier and I opened up the filter to see inside and the cartridge looks disgusting.

 

[pov]

i cant really help at all ,, the tank looks a little cloudy kinda, I am pretty sure that the tetras are on the slightly acidic side where as guppies are on the slightly basic side , being fresh and tropical around 7 is really good … I see the heater is starting to stick out it is very important to keep enough water in the tank to or the heater will blow up in a matter of seconds you might get a minute...
I just thought I would give your post a bump... fresh water changes every week and being able to treat and test tank water is a real bonus I had quite a few failed fish tanks when I was young because I didn't do the normal things....

 

[DrRob]

OK, initial basics.

Don't worry about the light for now, it's purely cosmetic as far as the fish are concerned, but important if you have plants.

Don't buy a new filter cartridge, unless the one you have is literally disintegrating, and even then I'd think twice.

So, to start, get into the regular habit of changing some water, clean water will make the biggest difference to their lives. Not too hard on a small tank, but definitely needs doing. Take some out, fill with fresh (dechlorinated if you have chlorine in your supply) water. Your tank is already too small really, so keep it near the top, you might as well get as much water into it as its sensible to put in. The filter doesn't need to be making bubbles, just moving the surface water, which should also be quieter for your bedroom.

Small groups of tetras rarely shoal well, you need space and at least 6 to get that effect, which is one reason why they're not recommended for a tank of this size.

When you're doing the water change, use the discarded tank water to wash out the filter cartridge. Don't use tap water. Many filters can be left for a while in between cleans, but those small internals do tend to clog up fairly quickly.

Otherwise, well done for researching.

Oh, and welcome!

 

[Lucy Corbettt]

i cant really help at all ,, the tank looks a little cloudy kinda, I am pretty sure that the tetras are on the slightly acidic side where as guppies are on the slightly basic side , being fresh and tropical around 7 is really good … I see the heater is starting to stick out it is very important to keep enough water in the tank to or the heater will blow up in a matter of seconds you might get a minute...
I just thought I would give your post a bump... fresh water changes every week and being able to treat and test tank water is a real bonus I had quite a few failed fish tanks when I was young because I didn't do the normal things....

Thank you for the advice, sorry it took so long to reply I lost this website. I’ve already made some improvements to their tank and I’m looking for a suitable tank to buy that is bigger. Thank you!

 

[Lucy Corbettt]

OK, initial basics.

Don't worry about the light for now, it's purely cosmetic as far as the fish are concerned, but important if you have plants.

Don't buy a new filter cartridge, unless the one you have is literally disintegrating, and even then I'd think twice.

So, to start, get into the regular habit of changing some water, clean water will make the biggest difference to their lives. Not too hard on a small tank, but definitely needs doing. Take some out, fill with fresh (dechlorinated if you have chlorine in your supply) water. Your tank is already too small really, so keep it near the top, you might as well get as much water into it as its sensible to put in. The filter doesn't need to be making bubbles, just moving the surface water, which should also be quieter for your bedroom.

Small groups of tetras rarely shoal well, you need space and at least 6 to get that effect, which is one reason why they're not recommended for a tank of this size.

When you're doing the water change, use the discarded tank water to wash out the filter cartridge. Don't use tap water. Many filters can be left for a while in between cleans, but those small internals do tend to clog up fairly quickly.

Otherwise, well done for researching.

Oh, and welcome![/QUOTE

Thank you for the advice, sorry it took so long to reply I lost this website. I’ve already made some improvements to their tank and I’m looking for a suitable tank to buy that is bigger. Thank you so much for all the advice it’s been very helpful!