Complete Newbie

[Guth]

my fish does everyone of that things you have mentioned, must be pregnant, kool!

 

[dzsigmond217]

Perhaps I'm wrong buuuuutt..a level of Nitrite of '1' in my test kit is high! When I had my nitrite at '1' my fish looked extremely miserable and other members on this forum told me to do a massive water change of 50% . I was also told that the water change should happen immediately because every minute my fish lived in that high nitrite they were being harmed. Then I was told to check the nitrites again in a couple of hours and if it was still above 0 do another water change of perhaps 40%. It worked for my tank very well and as soon as I did the water changes my fish 'perked' up and looked happy. If you have 6 neons and platies and other assorted tetras I would think in a 10 gallon tank you are already overstocked! I know they say 1" of fish per gallon and thats 9" already with 6 full grown neon tetras! Remember to consider the average full grown size of a fish.. not when you buy them as they may be very young! If you have an overstocked tank then you have to keep strict maintenance of it..i.e:frequent water changes and level checks to make sure the water condition is ok! Also are you using a water conditioner to dechlorinate the water?

 

[Guth]

i will do a water change just now then?

yes i use conditioner?

i only have 12 fish? and 6 are neons which are tiny tiny?

a converter says the tank is 10.99 gallons?

my nitrite chart goes up to 3? 1 is in the middle, how much water weill i change

 

[dzsigmond217]

i will do a water change just now then?

yes i use conditioner?

i only have 12 fish? and 6 are neons which are tiny tiny?

a converter says the tank is 10.99 gallons?

my nitrite chart goes up to 3? 1 is in the middle, how much water weill i change

I would do the water change immediately! I would do 50% now, check nitrite level in 4 hours and if its still above 0 do another water change of 40%. neon tetras grow up to an inch and a half..it looked like you had a couple of platies as well. If they are not dwarf platies they will grow to an average size of 2 - 2/12 inches each. Also I thought I saw some other tetra. The black widow & white skirt tetra, for example, grow to an average 2 1/2 inch as well. You have an 11 gallon tank. That would be 11" of fish to work with. The neons alone (in combination) is 9" That leaves you 2" of fish to work with. One platy alone is 2 1/2", marking you at your limit. That means you have 5 fish too many. You have to remember that tho your fish might be small now, they are going to grow larger as they mature! I wouldn't recommend an overstocked tank for a newbie because it would probably require a lot more water changes and strict observation of water conditions! Do you have the option to upgrade to a larger tank? I definitely would NOT get more fish! Also..although with the water changes today your nitrite level might show 0..that does not mean it's going to stay that way. You'll have to tests on the nitrite for the next couple of days and each time the nitrite is high you'll have to do a water change until you get a constant reading of zero!

 

[Guth]

oops. i have a holiday and stuff to pay the the moment so although i would love one very much i really cant afford to upgrade justnow, i thought i could keep lots of fishies lol, the pet shop must REALLY overstock their tanks!?

my tank looks really boring caus my fish just hide lol

 

[dzsigmond217]

oops. i have a holiday and stuff to pay the the moment so although i would love one very much i really cant afford to upgrade justnow, i thought i could keep lots of fishies lol, the pet shop must REALLY overstock their tanks!?

my tank looks really boring caus my fish just hide lol

The fish might be hiding because they feel like crap!
I wouldnt think you'd be all happy and running around if you were being poisoned!!
You can keep your fish..even tho you are overstocked. it just means that you will have to do water changes more frequently and check your levels more often. The reason that many LFS can keep more fish in their tanks (i've been told) is because they have super duper filtration systems that cost tons o money! Perhaps you can upgrade to a larger tank in the near future for when the fish are fully grown.

 

[Guth]

yea its on the agenda thanks alot for your help
the store i got my fish from has fluval1's in there tanks lol, theye are probly about 25 litre tanks, full of fish lol.

 

[vinylman]

If you really do want lots of fish, you soon will. Any male/female mix of Livebearers will lead to a new batch every month. It may seem great the first couple of times, but you'll eventually have to get a bigger tank, or find a shop that will take them for store credit once they're a sellable size.