F A O Erised
- Thread starter bettas
- Start date
lb05
Fish Fanatic
Bettas u should post this in the "emergencies" section for a better response..
Plus read this.
http
/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdcolumn.htm
http
/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/hdcolumn.htmPlease, don't by any more fish until you've revised some of the topics in sylvias signature above.
So sorry to hear that. 
little guy.
little guy.
Erised
Cheer up, the worst is yet to come. ~ P. Johnson
I'm really sorry to hear that Bettas I got back to your PM as soon as I read it, sorry to hear I was too late.
I got back to your PM as soon as I read it, sorry to hear I was too late.Don't get another one in a few weeks. No matter how difficult you may find it to believe this - you don't have room for it. It died now because of that and your next one will die as well.
I'm going to explain cycling to you because you obviously aren't taking the time to look it up yourself.
Simply put:
Fish produce waste. This waste contains ammonia. Ammonia is deadly. It poisons fish. It's like you living in your own pee. The good thing is that there are good bacteria that eat this ammonia and produce nitrIte instead. NitrIte is still poisonous and will also kill your fish. Luckily, there are some more good bacteria that take this nitrIte and make it into nitrAte. NitrAte is a lot less poisonous and won't kill your fish as long as you do a water change every week to keep it low.
The above process is called a 'cycle' and it takes about 6 weeks for the good bacteria to grow if you do it with fish in the tank. If you had returned your fish and done a fishless cycle (link in my signature), it could have taken as little as 2 weeks.
As your fish grow, they will also produce more ammonia. That's why it is important that you don't add any more fish. You don't have room for them.
The good bacteria grow in your filter and in the tank's gravel. They take a while to grow and chlorine (found in tap water) kills them. That's why it's so important to use a de-chlorinator/water conditioner BEFORE putting water into your tank. De-chlorinator/water conditioner acts instantly. You don't need to wait for it. This is important because it means you can do as many water changes as you need to and not worry about getting chlorine in the tank (which also kills fish besides the bacteria).
Because you are cycling with fish, you need to do a water change EVERY DAY. Sometimes, if a fish looks sick, you'll need to do more than one every day. For this reason, it's very important tp have de-chlorinator/water conditioner ready to use. That way you can do a water change whenever you need.
After about 2 months, your tank should finaly be safe for fish. Then you can reduce water changes to just one every week. A tank is only safe for fish when ammonia and nitrIte are at 0. Anything above 0 is poisonous. NitrAtes are safe when they are below 40. To measure how high your ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte is, you can buy a test kit from your local fish store. Ask them for one that is 'liquid-based' - not the test strips. The box that comes with them will tell you how to use them. It is a very good idea to buy a test kit so you know when the tank is safe or when you need to do another water change.
As for adding new fish, you can NEVER do that in this tank. It's not large enough and you already have too many fish. Once they all grow to their full sizes and are producing more ammonia, you'll have even more problems. So you can't get any more unless a significant number of the fish you have now die or are returned to the fish shop. Stick to what you have and concentrate on keeping them alive. Once your tank is stable, try to buy them a bigger tank that they will live in happily permanently.
Good luck!
I'm going to explain cycling to you because you obviously aren't taking the time to look it up yourself.
Simply put:
Fish produce waste. This waste contains ammonia. Ammonia is deadly. It poisons fish. It's like you living in your own pee. The good thing is that there are good bacteria that eat this ammonia and produce nitrIte instead. NitrIte is still poisonous and will also kill your fish. Luckily, there are some more good bacteria that take this nitrIte and make it into nitrAte. NitrAte is a lot less poisonous and won't kill your fish as long as you do a water change every week to keep it low.
The above process is called a 'cycle' and it takes about 6 weeks for the good bacteria to grow if you do it with fish in the tank. If you had returned your fish and done a fishless cycle (link in my signature), it could have taken as little as 2 weeks.
As your fish grow, they will also produce more ammonia. That's why it is important that you don't add any more fish. You don't have room for them.
The good bacteria grow in your filter and in the tank's gravel. They take a while to grow and chlorine (found in tap water) kills them. That's why it's so important to use a de-chlorinator/water conditioner BEFORE putting water into your tank. De-chlorinator/water conditioner acts instantly. You don't need to wait for it. This is important because it means you can do as many water changes as you need to and not worry about getting chlorine in the tank (which also kills fish besides the bacteria).
Because you are cycling with fish, you need to do a water change EVERY DAY. Sometimes, if a fish looks sick, you'll need to do more than one every day. For this reason, it's very important tp have de-chlorinator/water conditioner ready to use. That way you can do a water change whenever you need.
After about 2 months, your tank should finaly be safe for fish. Then you can reduce water changes to just one every week. A tank is only safe for fish when ammonia and nitrIte are at 0. Anything above 0 is poisonous. NitrAtes are safe when they are below 40. To measure how high your ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte is, you can buy a test kit from your local fish store. Ask them for one that is 'liquid-based' - not the test strips. The box that comes with them will tell you how to use them. It is a very good idea to buy a test kit so you know when the tank is safe or when you need to do another water change.
As for adding new fish, you can NEVER do that in this tank. It's not large enough and you already have too many fish. Once they all grow to their full sizes and are producing more ammonia, you'll have even more problems. So you can't get any more unless a significant number of the fish you have now die or are returned to the fish shop. Stick to what you have and concentrate on keeping them alive. Once your tank is stable, try to buy them a bigger tank that they will live in happily permanently.
Good luck!
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