Complete Newbie

[Arcticfox1977]

Will keep the 10% changes going. 1 thing is concerning me now. 1 fish is constantly at the top of the tank sooking air and constant poos. Does anyone have ideas what could be wrong?

 

[Mamashack]

Excessive poo can be a sign of stress altho these fish can poo for England or in your case Scotland! They get long strings of it, which can be a sign of being overfed. Does she look like she's gasping for air? Is the filter causing ripples at the surface of the water? What's the temp and pH? Sorry to ask a lot of questions but it's difficult to guess what's happening with what you've already mentioned. Might be an indication that you need to do bigger pwc more frequently.
The pH is ok and if the temp is ok too I think it definitely means bigger water changes ie 25-50% I think the fish-in cycle article suggests 50%, but check it out for yourself rather than taking my word for it.

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Its just constant sucking air, dont really know what a fish is like when its gasping.
Filter causing small ripples.
Temp 25oC.
Ph 7.6

 

[Mamashack]

Looks like bigger more frequent water changes then. Have you checked the fish-in cycliing article yet?

If you've lost the link - here it is: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/224306-fish-in-cycling/


Also found this thread which seems to echo what you are describing in one of the posts:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/410460-new-member-2-tanks-water-test-results/?hl=%2Bfish+%2Bgasping+%2Bat+%2Bsurface+%2Bin+%2Bfish-in+%2Bcycle#entry3454382

 

[Mamashack]

Just a note of advice if either the ammonia or nitrIte get to 0.25ppm do immediate largish water change - 50% if you can, if not then 25% more frequently according to more frequent test results. Ammonia at 0.25ppm is really on the limit of what fish can tolerate and will eventually burn their gills and lead to stress, disease and possible death. Don't want to be a harbinger of doom, but a 0.25ppm level left for any length of time at this stage will only going to get higher and cause some serious damage to your fish, if not death.
It might be worth asking the shop where you bought them if you can either have some mature gravel from one of their established tanks to kick-start the friendly bacteria in your tank OR return the fish and ask them to hold them until you've completed a fishless cycle.

 

[Mamashack]

I agree always better to be safe then sorry. Also, I would agree, especially for a toilet that if you put that 10-20 drops of regent in that 1g+ toilet bowl, it's really going to get diluted. Maybe someone should make a thread here for that kind of stuff. "Deactivating" it would baking soda is something interesting, however I would recommend someone calls API and sees what they have to say.

I've emailed API with a couple of questions yesterday including the safety of the reagents in the water system. Will post any replies I get

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Took out 40l this morning. Yellow fish looks back to normal. Swimming more and less at the top.

 

[RCA]

Took out 40l this morning. Yellow fish looks back to normal. Swimming more and less at the top.

 
Good news

Keep up the good work, it is worth it in the end.
 
Did you ever tell me what was the vacuum you were getting?
Has the Fluval U2 arrived yet?

 

[Arcticfox1977]

The vacuum is the gravel cleaner. It's the one you recommended. Filter still not arrived. Hopefully tomorrow.
Tested the water just before dinner again and ammonia was at 0.25. Did another big water change and the fish looks great. My wife can't believe the amount of work that's needed. She had fish about 20 yes ago and she said she did nothing like this. Her fish lasted for years.

 

[Mamashack]

Glad that your fish has responded well to the water changes! Many years ago fish probably weren't as well as they could be or didn't live as long as they could have. The life expectancy of well cared-for goldfish for instance is 12 years plus and in the right environment can exceed 20 years so the ones we used to get at the fair that maybe lived for 2-5 years in a fishbowl if we were lucky were really not achieving a good old fish age.Plus 20 years ago the science probably didn't exist as it does today or if it did it wasn't widely known.
We should give our fish a good and healthy environment to live in if we expect them to entertain and amuse us in a completely alien situation. 
Sorry I'll get off my soapbox now! lol
Keep up the good effort - you have 3 good reasons to make it work!

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Well 5 good reasons.
3 fish
2 young kids lol.

 

[Mamashack]

Absolutely! lol

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Checked my water this morning and levels are
PH 7.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

 

[Mamashack]

Excellent!! Are you keeping a log of your results and actions taken? It would help your recall when asking for advice and also you will be able to see what worked if a situation arises again. Not a necessity but good practice.

 

[Arcticfox1977]

Haven't made a log. Might start one.
Also going on those last results, should I do a water change even though there is no ammonia?