General Fish Questions! *newbie

[rybrows]

Hi
New to the fish scene. Wanted to get some as my 18month old daughter is obsessed with them, so bought a tropical fish set up. (70litre tank)

We done a fish less cycle for a week, took a water sample to the local fish store and said the water was perfect. So bought some fish;
5x Glowlight Danio
3x albino Cory catfish
2x Blue dwarfs Gourami
4x Guppies (2 of the females are pregnant!)

(I added the 7 plants and 2 moss balls couple days before adding the fish by the way...)

4 days into it, fish seem happy and everything's going good.

I originally wanted to know how long I had to wait before adding fish, with mixed results. Now I hear you have to test the water before adding new fish? What am I looking for when I do this? And how often should I be testing the water?

My nearest LFS is 30miles away to buy a water testing kit, while I'm up there would it do any harm in buying a small shoal of tetras to add to my tank to make the journey more worthwhile or is that being stupid?

I'm sure I had more questions I just can't remember, I'll add them as I go! Thanks in advance

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I hate to tell you this, but while everything seems fine right now, a storm is coming. That's basically a fully stocked tank. And fully stocking a new tank that hasn't been cycled (cultivated a colony of bacteria to deal with fish waste, ammonia) is just asking for a disaster.


Test kits: you will NEED an ammonia test kit and a nitrite test kit. It would be a good idea to get a nitrate one as well.


Ammonia and nitrite should ALWAYS be zero, always always always. These are the things that can kill your fish. Ammonia is naturally produced by the fish through its gills, as well as produced by the poo as it breaks down, and excess food too.


When going through the cycling process we suggest doing it without fish and adding small amounts of ammonia to cultivate the bacteria you need. But even in a fish in scenario the recommendation is always to add fish slowly.


The very first thing I'd do, since you have no test kit is a 75% water change with temp matched, water. The levels of ammonia (no nitrite at this stage yet, I believe as the ammonia bacs haven't developed enough to show it yet) are creeping ever higher and endangering your fish. Next, while at the shop, ask for some of their filter media. This will be covered in the bacs you need and can jump start the process to shorten the span of time you will be forced to do water changes to keep the fish safe.

Bring a sample of your water with you for them to test and PLEASE ask for the specific values for the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. The kH would also be helpful, but is not necessary to know at this point.

Rather than buying more fish, your tank is pretty much full anyway, look into either Dr. Tim's "one and only" or Tetra SafeStart. In conjunction with the filter media from the shop, this will boost the bacteria in the tank and help your fish deal with the toxic levels that are building up. There are many other brands that claim to do the same thing, but honestly don't have the right bacteria to help your tank for the long term. Failing all that, a very quick option would be to grab some zeolite, like Seachem Purigen, which is pricey but will help you greatly with getting the ammonia and nitrite in a tolerable level. Adding this to the filter as the LAST thing that the water touches in the filter will let your bacteria have the first shot at the ammonia and whatever they can't handle with be dealt with chemically by the zeolite. This is "rechargeable" when it gets full, but having two to swap for each other is a better plan, IMHO.


So to recap:
Top priority, test kit for toxins
Next priority, mature filter media.
Next priority, bacteria from SafeStart or one and only.
Finally, zeolite like Purigen- if the first two aren't options. Although, they may not have Purigen, many stores don't and it must be bought online - but it's cheaper there than in the store.

 

[rybrows]

Hi
Thanks for the information, appreciate it.

So should I go to the shop and buy a tester kit for the toxins, then I can do testing on a daily/every other day method and check for myself? Would this be better then just taking in a tester to the shop today?

Then I could post results here to have a look?

Sorry for sounding dumb too but we did add aqua care water conditioner into the tank when we set it up originally, will this make a difference I did forget to mention that in the post.
What is this mature filter media? I'm not sure what you mean. (Was kind of relying my old man helping out when he has time but he isn't around at moment so need all help I can get)

Thank you

 

[eaglesaquarium]

No problem.
 
 
1 - I was suggesting they test the water AND you buy the test kit.  There's really no reason for you to BUY a pH test, but it is important information to have (although it will be mainly static in your tank).  So, it was a matter of redundancy as well as the extra information of the pH.  But absolutely, post your results here.  We'd love to help you.
 
2 - mature filter media is ANY stuff that is sitting in the filter.  This comes in many forms: sponges, floss, ceramics, etc.  The ceramics or bioballs would be most beneficial, as they are great homes for the bacteria.
 
3 - the 'water conditioner' is likely just a dechlorinator and nothing more.  So, no it won't do anything to help your cycle.

 

[rybrows]

Just managed to pick up a king British tester kit which seems to test for what's asked, I'll put the results up when I get home

 

[rybrows]

Right I've done these test and these are the results~

Ammonia - 0mg/l
Nitrate - 25mg/l
Nitrite - 0.5mg/l
GH - 125mg/l
KH - 100mg/l
PH - 7.5

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Well, the ammonia sitting at zero is good (although I am surprised to see that), especially with that number of fish.  The bad news is that nitrite is on the rise.  Nitrite MUST be zero for the fish to survive.
 
 
Nitrite is a dangerous chemical in the tank because it passes through the fish's gills into their hemoglobin and displaces oxygen, so the fish suffocates.  This is similar to how Carbon Monoxide is a toxin to humans.  It blocks the ability of the fish to uptake oxygen from the water.  Signs of problems are GASPING, fast mouth and gill movement, hanging near the surface...
 
 
Good news is that there is a fairly simple solution to help deal with this besides just water changes, although they are definitely a great option.
 
Aquarium salt can be used by the aquarist to allow the fish to breathe easier.  Ultimately, the salt will end up in the hemoglobin and not allow the hemoglobin to accept the nitrite, and then the fish can breathe, even with the nitrite present. 
 
The bad news is that cories can be sensitive to salt.  The salt needs to be a 'chlorine' based salt.  Regular aquarium salt is a great option, and should be dosed at approximately 1/8 teaspoon should be small enough a dose to allow the cories to be fine, while enough to help with the nitrite.  Add this AFTER having done a 75% water change to bring the nitrite back down.
 
 
What plants do you have in the tank?

 

[rybrows]

Thank you for your help.

I didn't get the names of the plants when bought, just picked from a few tanks on display, 1 had a tag on and is 'echinodorus bleheri' and have 1 of those.

I have had a quick look on another aquatic site to recognise the remaining ones, and I have found that I have;
1x Cabomba,
2x hygrophilia angustifolia,
1x rotala magenta,
2x Marimo moss balls,

And 2 unidentified plants which all look similar to the hygrophilias.

Just to be on the safe side I nipped into a small local pet shop and they actually supplied "safe water - filter aid" I purchased that just I case I need it with shops been obviously shut tomorrow for New Year's Day.

I got a hold of some API Aquarium Salt, didn't mention wether it was chlorine based or not?

So really my next step is to take out 75% of the water. (Never had to do a water change before) so obviously take old water out, replace with water similar in temperature with the water conditioner added, replace water then add the salt?)

Thanks again.

 

[rybrows]

Also, the Safe water filter aid, should I avoid using that for now or use it?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Cabomba and hygrophilia are very good at soaking up excess nutrients (like ammonia and nitrite) so they can only help you.
 
The big issue is to watch for 'melt' or dying leaves.  Remove them immediately as they will also increase ammonia in the water. 
 
API Aquarium salt is perfect. 
 
Yes, remove the old water and then replace with temp matched (within a degree or two) and then dechlorinate.  Add the salt to the last batch of water you add to the tank, and be sure that its dissolved before adding it to the tank, and add it kind of slowly to the tank to make sure it dissipates through out the entire tank.
 
 
Keep an eye on the nitrites and ammonia.  They will keep trying to creep up on you.  Ammonia is far less toxic than the nitrite.  If the ammonia rises over 1ppm, then you'd want to do a water change, lower than that and its really not going to be at dangerous levels.  However, if the nitrite starts to jump up again to 0.50ppm or higher, and the fish are showing signs of stress... another water change is in order... and be sure to replace the salt taken out.  So, a 50% water change would remove half the salt you are adding, so you'd want to add half of the dose you are adding right now.

I doubt that the filter aid will actually do anything to help you.

 

[rybrows]

Thank you. I will test it everyday and keep checking, so really it could be a water change every day for X amount of time?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yup...
 
Eventually the number of water changes will drop off and the size will drop, and you will go a full week without needing a water change.  Then you are cycled.  Wait another week for the bacteria to settle in, and then you can add more fish.

 

[rybrows]

Great. One last thing is salt, 1/8 teaspoon is that for the full tank, or per gallon etc?
Got the water out ready do the rest now

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Total...

 

[rybrows]

Can't thank you enough. Your help was priceless!
I'll let you know in the coming days how it goes!