Any Advice Or Help Appreciated

[vix]

Unfortunately both the clowns are around this size already, infact theres only 2 fish in the tank well under that size, which are the guppy and what we thought was a bristlenose catfish, but arn't to sure looking at the photos on the site. Have tried to find out what it is by looking at the photos but not found anything yet. Will wait till the little man comes out of hiding and try and photograph him.

 

[vix]

Sorry to be such a pain, but this is rather addictive! Maybe i shouldn't have taken over after all lol.

Anyhow, we have decided we definately want a larger tank, to enable us to have a wider variety of fish. I think we will stick with small fish, and eventually maybe some medium sized ones. However this time we want to do things properly.

First of all i would like your opinions on what sort of size tank we should be looking for, we are not going to rush into anything so we are going have a good look around but would be nice for some kind of point in the right direction.

And secondly we really need to rehome the fish we have, before they die because of lack of space. Do you think any of the LFS would take them.

 

[Bullrock74]

Again many thanks, we are trying to rehome most of the fish, so that we can start afresh obviously we didn't research nor think what size the fish would grow to. Already thinking of buying a larger tank, but i think we need to learn to keep this one properly first. I will start doing my research with notebook handy.

I am rather upset we have to part with the clown loach as they are so funny to watch and they add character to the tank.

A larger tank is much much easier to take care of. Only 15 gallons leaves very little room for human error. This makes keeping a clean and healthy aquarium very difficult.

 

[Bullrock74]

Sorry to be such a pain, but this is rather addictive! Maybe i shouldn't have taken over after all lol.

Anyhow, we have decided we definately want a larger tank, to enable us to have a wider variety of fish. I think we will stick with small fish, and eventually maybe some medium sized ones. However this time we want to do things properly.

First of all i would like your opinions on what sort of size tank we should be looking for, we are not going to rush into anything so we are going have a good look around but would be nice for some kind of point in the right direction.

And secondly we really need to rehome the fish we have, before they die because of lack of space. Do you think any of the LFS would take them.

In my opinion, the footprint of the tank is more important than the total number of gallons in the tank. I have a 95 gallon quarter cylinder tank that is designed to sit in the corner of a room. It's dimensions are 36" on the two sides that are adjacent to the walls and the front of the tank is an arc connecting the two sides. Basically is shaped like a Trivial Pursuit game piece, or a piece of pie. But, if you don't want a corner tank, rectangular tanks are very popular. The length of the tank and the width of the tank are very important unless you never intend on getting large fish say 12" or longer. Also, the height of the tank is important if you intend keep angelfish or other thin, tall fish. Just remember to get the largest tank you can afford and have space for. You will thank yourself. Also, I highly recommend a power filter that has a bio wheel. They are fantastic at providing a home for the beneficial bacteria that keep your fish healthy.

 

[Kevdogg852000]

1. don't mix tropical fish and cold water fish such as goldfish and clown loaches
2. unless you have a ton of algae, 3 plecos will starve in a small tank without proper vegetation
3. No 100 % water changes, totally shocks the fish
4. acclimate your fish in the bag you bought them in for at leat 10-20 minutes, adding tank water to the bag every 5 minutes
5. Do not overfeed your fish
6. if you have an undergravel, you're vacuuming the gravel correct?


it would really help if we had your water specifications such as Ph, hardness, nitrate, ammonia, temp etc.
did the clown loaches beat the shark up?

It sounds like you guys got in over your head pretty quick.

 

[vix]

1. don't mix tropical fish and cold water fish such as goldfish and clown loaches
2. unless you have a ton of algae, 3 plecos will starve in a small tank without proper vegetation
3. No 100 % water changes, totally shocks the fish
4. acclimate your fish in the bag you bought them in for at leat 10-20 minutes, adding tank water to the bag every 5 minutes
5. Do not overfeed your fish
6. if you have an undergravel, you're vacuuming the gravel correct?


it would really help if we had your water specifications such as Ph, hardness, nitrate, ammonia, temp etc.
did the clown loaches beat the shark up?

It sounds like you guys got in over your head pretty quick.

We are rehoming all the fish that shouldn't be in the tank, we have been in touch with the LFS who have agreed to take the fish. Although the 3 plecs are too big to all be in this tank they have all grown very quickly and don't seem to be starving, the LFS are taking all 3.

We have now learnt that we don't do 100% water changes, but we were informed to do this by another shop, seems the shops don't know that much after all.

New fish are always floated in the bag for 20 minutes, the fish are fed every other day.

Vacuuming the gravel? is that with the pipe? if so yes the gravel is vaccumed.

Did the water tests yesterday, the results are as follows
PH - 7.0
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 160ppm

I am assuming the Nitrate is whats causing the problems.

Maybe we did get in over our heads, but we started off with a goldfish and was given the tropical by a friend.

We have now purchased a larger tank, so i am just trying to do a bit of research for where we start, if anyone has any advice, pointers or links to help it would be appreciated.

 

[ElectricMayhem]

The nitrate is high and can hurt the fish, would pay to do a water change to get it down. Sounds like things are on track now. Have fun with the new tank!

 

[vix]

Is the nitrate high because there are no plants in the tank?

Would really appreciate some help and advice with the new tank. I am hoping to have a variety of fish as the tank is fairly tall.

We are hoping to start the fishless cycle tomorrow, if i can find some ammonia.

Complete novice here trying to learn

 

[ElectricMayhem]

Nitrates are basically the end of the line of the nitrogen cycle, and can only be removed by water changes. When you do a water change make sure you vac the gravel to remove poo, as this breaks down contributing to the ammonia, and therefore nitrite and nitrate. As for plants, I'm not sure! But I'm sure someone with more plant-y experience can help

 

[Bullrock74]

1. don't mix tropical fish and cold water fish such as goldfish and clown loaches
2. unless you have a ton of algae, 3 plecos will starve in a small tank without proper vegetation
3. No 100 % water changes, totally shocks the fish
4. acclimate your fish in the bag you bought them in for at leat 10-20 minutes, adding tank water to the bag every 5 minutes
5. Do not overfeed your fish
6. if you have an undergravel, you're vacuuming the gravel correct?


it would really help if we had your water specifications such as Ph, hardness, nitrate, ammonia, temp etc.
did the clown loaches beat the shark up?

It sounds like you guys got in over your head pretty quick.

We are rehoming all the fish that shouldn't be in the tank, we have been in touch with the LFS who have agreed to take the fish. Although the 3 plecs are too big to all be in this tank they have all grown very quickly and don't seem to be starving, the LFS are taking all 3.

We have now learnt that we don't do 100% water changes, but we were informed to do this by another shop, seems the shops don't know that much after all.

New fish are always floated in the bag for 20 minutes, the fish are fed every other day.

Vacuuming the gravel? is that with the pipe? if so yes the gravel is vaccumed.

Did the water tests yesterday, the results are as follows
PH - 7.0
Ammonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 160ppm

I am assuming the Nitrate is whats causing the problems.

Maybe we did get in over our heads, but we started off with a goldfish and was given the tropical by a friend.

We have now purchased a larger tank, so i am just trying to do a bit of research for where we start, if anyone has any advice, pointers or links to help it would be appreciated.

That level of nitrates is very high...do you have city water or well water? Water changes will not help very much if the water you put back in the tank has very high levels of nitrates. I would suggest testing the water that comes from your sink. Hopefully, the level of nitrates is less than 50 ppm. I have city water and the level of nitrates is about 50 ppm which means I have to do frequent water changes. Getting plants would certainly reduce the amount of nitrates in the tank, but they can make keeping an aquarium even more difficult for beginners.

 

[vix]

I have just tested the tap water for nitrate it is 0ppm which i am pleased about. What sort of water changing regime do we need to be doing for this tank please. We can get some plants tomorrow, but i would really like to get these levels down as i am thinking of keeping 4 of the fish for the new tank, it would be nice for them to go in healthy.

 

[Bullrock74]

I have just tested the tap water for nitrate it is 0ppm which i am pleased about. What sort of water changing regime do we need to be doing for this tank please. We can get some plants tomorrow, but i would really like to get these levels down as i am thinking of keeping 4 of the fish for the new tank, it would be nice for them to go in healthy.

Steps to take if there are fish or other animals in the tank:

That is very good news about your tap water. If it were me, I would forget the plants for now, you can always add them later. I would do a 30% water change every day until the nitrates are under control say 50 parts per million. Also, make sure you vaccuum the gravel while draining the water out of the tank. A Python gravel cleaner is a lifesaver since it connects to your sink and keeps you from having to haul a bucket around, but any gravel vaccuum will work. Be sure not to overfeed the fish during the daily water changes. I saw earlier where you said you feed every other day. I would continue doing so.


Steps to take if there are NO fish or any other animals in the tank:

That is very good news about your tap water. If it were me, I would forget the plants for now, you can always add them later. I would take all of the gravel out of the aquarium except for about two handsful. The gravel remaining in the tank will still have the beneficial bacteria needed to keep the water clean and healthy for your fish (plus there are some in your filter most likely). I would do a 100% water change, but make sure to use a dechlorinator that can remove chlorine and chloramines before putting tap water back in the tank. I would thoroughly wash the removed gravel in a sink with hot water, but no cleaners of any kind. Then put the clean gravel back in the aquarium. When you restock the tank with fish, put only one or maybe two fish in there at first. The cleaned gravel needs to time to acquire bacteria from the two handsful of gravel you didn't clean. Then, test the water in the tank every couple of days to see if the nitrates are staying low. Just remember to vaccuum the gravel every time you do a water change. For small tanks a bucket works just fine for water changes, but for larger tanks you should get a Python gravel vaccuum since they connect directly to your faucet...believe me you will thank yourself.