First Tropical Fish Tank, Need Some Help And Advice

[Dzambhala]

Hello,
 
I'm hoping you can help me...
 
On Friday I won an auction on ebay for an 80 x 30cm fish tank with heater and a Fluval 4 filter (not sure what type of filter pad it has, as I can only find info on the Fluval 4 Plus).
 
It also came with a stand, light and 9 fish!
 
I gave it all a good clean, except the filter which I left as is. (The original water was near black, they had been neglected for some time I think)
 
I've had the water tested today and apart from a little ammonia, it is fine. They said to test it again in a few days and see if the ammonia levels have changed, but it was so low that it should be fine.
 
Now, I've never had an aquarium before, so I need a little help in two main aspects. One, i'm not sure how the filter should be working, how many bubbles, should it be fully emerged in water etc. I've posted a video on youtube and would be greatly for your thoughts.
 
[YouTubeShort]http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af-RRkw-rgY[/YouTubeShort]
 
Secondly, I'm not sure what type of fish I have. The original owners were not very helpful in that regard.
 
I know I have a Swordtail, a Plec (who is very shy) and an Angel Fish who seems pretty relaxed.
 
I've recorded another youtube video and hope you could tell me what type of fish I have. If not i'll upload some photos to make it easier.
 
[YouTubeShort]http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zt0PvU0BmhA[/YouTubeShort]
 
 
Thank you so much in advance!!!
 
 
 
 

 

[ncguppy830]

have you cycled your tank ammonia is always good at zero i advise fishless cycling, i see an opline gourami, i beleive a bala which if it is needs to be rehomed, maybe platies or just some female swordtails

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi, Dzambhala, welcome to the forum.
 
First of all, any ammonia at all is a worry; there need only be a trace of it to adversely affect your fish, so I would do a large (at least 50%) water change, ASAP, as we don't know how high it actually is. If you get the shop to test the water for you again, get them to write down the actual numbers for you, although I would recommend you invest in a decent set of test kits (that's liquid or tablet based, not the paper strips), at the very least for ammonia and nitrite, which are both highly toxic; pH and nitrAte are not so important.
 
Your filter is working perfectly. They are designed to be completely submerged, and you don't need bubbles, as long as the filter is making ripples on the water surface, which your is doing very nicely
 
A to your fish, I can see swordtails, pearl gouramis (not opaline), scissortail rasboras (not bala/silver sharks, thank goodness; sorry you were wrong on both counts there, ncguppy!), possibly mollies or platies (although they could be female swordtails; they look similar and livebearers aren't my forte) and the angel.
 
If you could persuade your plec out into the open and get a pic of him. that would be useful as he might well be too large for your tank; some plec species (and there are hundreds!) get to a foot long, or even two!

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Welcome to the forum.

I agree with fluttermoth on the fish.
Not sure on the live bearers though, I recommend that you google "mollies" "platy" and "female swordtail" and see which fish pictures look the most like your fish.

I recommend that you get a test kit that measures ammonia, nitrite and pH. Make sure to get liquid kits as the test strips are hard to read.
You may have to do a fish in cycle which is why you need to be able to test.

There is also is the risk of your tank getting old tank syndrome which is where the water hasn't been changed for awhile and they fish then go into shock when the water is changed.

 

[ncguppy830]

Hi, Dzambhala, welcome to the forum.
 
First of all, any ammonia at all is a worry; there need only be a trace of it to adversely affect your fish, so I would do a large (at least 50%) water change, ASAP, as we don't know how high it actually is. If you get the shop to test the water for you again, get them to write down the actual numbers for you, although I would recommend you invest in a decent set of test kits (that's liquid or tablet based, not the paper strips), at the very least for ammonia and nitrite, which are both highly toxic; pH and nitrAte are not so important.
 
Your filter is working perfectly. They are designed to be completely submerged, and you don't need bubbles, as long as the filter is making ripples on the water surface, which your is doing very nicely

 
A to your fish, I can see swordtails, pearl gouramis (not opaline), scissortail rasboras (not bala/silver sharks, thank goodness; sorry you were wrong on both counts there, ncguppy!), possibly mollies or platies (although they could be female swordtails; they look similar and livebearers aren't my forte) and the angel.
 
If you could persuade your plec out into the open and get a pic of him. that would be useful as he might well be too large for your tank; some plec species (and there are hundreds!) get to a foot long, or even two!

wow 2 misses gotta get my id skills workin  maybe some pics of an individual fish

 

[kevingrods]

def have some mollies in there.. those are the fish with the mouths facing upwards.  they eat alot~!

 

[Dzambhala]

Firstly, Thank You everyone! I'm very impressed with the fast response and help i've received on the forum so far! 
 
FlutterMoth, you were right on both counts, its definitely a Scissortail and Pearl Gouramis, Also thank you for putting my mind at ease with regards to the filter, its reassuring to know that it is working as it should.
 
It was a sad morning, the Swordtail was dead when I came into the room. To be honest, as soon as I put the fish back in the tank it always hovered near the heater and didn't really bother with any other fish, or swimming, just hovering really.
 
In a panic I bought an Ammonia test kit by API. After having JUST done the test I believe that there is no Ammonia in the water, if there is it must be just under 0.25, unless i'm colour blind...
 
I also bought a 6-in-1 paper test (Yes, I know you and after looking around the forum, others have said stay away from it, but I thought it better to have a rough idea of the quality of water than none at all.) - I couldn't afford the full liquid test kit today, but will think about that later.
 
The test shows:
 
Nitrite (N02) - 0
Nitrate (N03) - 25
General Hardness (GH) - 16
Carbonate Hardness (KH) - 6
pH: -  7.6 (but after a few more minutes it turned darker, I think it could be 8)
Chlorine(Cl2) - 0
 
What do you think? I'm not exactly sure what the pH should be but I thought it should be around 7? So i'm thinking of getting a PH solution. Also the Hardness may be a bit high as its on the high end of'ok' according to the card...
 
Thanks again

Oh and this is Jeff, the plec and my favorite fish

 

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Don't worry about the pH, its best to not mess with it as it can have nasty side effects.
As long as the fish were bought locally they should be fine in your pH