Glofish Tips And Advice

[krohner88]

My husband and I just bought a 5gal tank Saturday for our son and set it up. Sunday we added 1 live plant and 6 glofish. 1 blue, 1 purple, 1 orange, 1 pink and 2 neon green tetras. Sunday night, one of our green tetras died and the other one this morning. The 4 glo seem to be doing fine, I think. According to what I read online, we think the blue, purle and orange are females and the pink is a male. Ever since the 2 neon green tetras died, the orange, blue and purple hang out at the top of the tank in a group and the pink one hangs out at the bottom by itself. I don't know much about cycling and we definitely rushed into adding the fish. I know you're suppose to wait and get the tank established and to set the bag of fish in the tank to equalize the two waters. We let the bag sit in the tank for about 30 minutes and then added all 6 fish. The 4 fish left seem to be eating. What advice can I be given with the above information?

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Hi..you need a liquid based test kit, do a full water test (some fish and pet stores will test the water for you) then post the EXACT results on here.
Also, 5 gallons is probably too small for those fish and you should possiby look into getting a bigger home for them at some point.

Terry.

 

[krohner88]

What fish are good for a 5 gallon tank then?

 

[krohner88]

Thanks Terry! We do plan on getting a bigger tank and a test kit.

 

[Ruthy]

A betta is good in a 5gal

 

[cynic]

Deleted cos i'm dim and can't read....

 

[Curiosity101]

Ever since the 2 neon green tetras died, the orange, blue and purple hang out at the top of the tank in a group and the pink one hangs out at the bottom by itself.

The symptoms you are describing sound like ammonia poisoning. Have they also become less active, tend to gasp/breathe air/breathe rapidly? In the short term you need to be doing lots of large water changes if you want to give the fish a chance. I'm talking probably 1 90% water change today. Followed by 2 x 50% water changes every day until you have a chance to test the water and post up the results. I'd also recommend having a look at the links in my signature about cycling, particularly 'what is cycling' and 'fish in cycle'.

Neon tetra are often some of the first fish to go when there is ammonia in the water. Glofish are actually danios, and danios as a rule are pretty tough when it comes to ammonia poisoning. It tends to shorten their lifespan quite significantly but they often get through the fish-in cycling process. Hence why they're known as 'Hardy starter fish'... annoys me when shops use that. In this day and age with the understanding there is no need for any fish to be 'hardy' ie. put up with being poisoned for a few weeks.

I agree with taffy apple, glofish (being danios) are definitely too big and active for a 5gal. A betta is a great colourful interactive child friendly option. Another alternative would be male guppies, perhaps a couple of snails and some shrimp. However until you've got to grips with cycling I obviously wouldn't recommend anymore fish, if anything I'd be tempted to return the glofish.

 

[samorkel]

Ever since the 2 neon green tetras died, the orange, blue and purple hang out at the top of the tank in a group and the pink one hangs out at the bottom by itself.

The symptoms you are describing sound like ammonia poisoning. Have they also become less active, tend to gasp/breathe air/breathe rapidly? In the short term you need to be doing lots of large water changes if you want to give the fish a chance. I'm talking probably 1 90% water change today. Followed by 2 x 50% water changes every day until you have a chance to test the water and post up the results. I'd also recommend having a look at the links in my signature about cycling, particularly 'what is cycling' and 'fish in cycle'.

Neon tetra are often some of the first fish to go when there is ammonia in the water. Glofish are actually danios, and danios as a rule are pretty tough when it comes to ammonia poisoning. It tends to shorten their lifespan quite significantly but they often get through the fish-in cycling process. Hence why they're known as 'Hardy starter fish'... annoys me when shops use that. In this day and age with the understanding there is no need for any fish to be 'hardy' ie. put up with being poisoned for a few weeks.

I agree with taffy apple, glofish (being danios) are definitely too big and active for a 5gal. A betta is a great colourful interactive child friendly option. Another alternative would be male guppies, perhaps a couple of snails and some shrimp. However until you've got to grips with cycling I obviously wouldn't recommend anymore fish, if anything I'd be tempted to return the glofish.

+ 1

I would say return the fish and do a fishless cycle first perhaps with a bigger tank which would leave your stocking options more open, or return the fish and do a fishless cycle and later add a betta, they have nice colours and can be very interesting for small aquariums.

 

[krohner88]

Thanks guys for all your help. We want to stay with the glofish because we like their activeness. We're looking at bigger tanks like a 10 gallon, hopefully within the next two weeks. The only reason why we got the 5 gallon was because the employee at Petsmart said we would be fine. Until we buy a testing kit should we go ahead and start performing water changes now? When I go home from work today, I fed them and about 5 minutes later they start swimming around. The blue one mostly chased the other three around. Every once in a while the orange and pink would hide together in the bottom corner. Not to mention, I think the water is starting to look a little bit cloudy. That doesn't seem good. I hope they make it!

 

[Curiosity101]

Water changes ASAP will be a good idea for sure until you can test. 5 relatively young glo fish should get through safely on 2 50% water changes a day for a couple of days (after a large 90% ish change).

Although I'd not feed them anymore if I were you. I'm guessing it'll only be a couple of days until you can get the water tested/buy a test kit? If so they're better off without the food than them eating and adding to the ammonia problem.

Also... personally I wouldn't keep them in anything shorter than a 2 foot long tank. Normally around 15gal. So if you have the space to upgrade to something bigger then I really would recommend 15gal or more. But the 2ft long is the important bit.
It will also give you a greater choice of tank mates in the future once it's cycled.

Oh and don't feel bad about the getting tricked by petsmart. Obviously you've learnt the hard way that you need to independantly research any pet before you buy. But it happens, you're not the first and definitely wont be the last.

 

[McCool]

Thanks guys for all your help. We want to stay with the glofish because we like their activated. We're looking at bigger tanks like a 10 gallon, hopefully within the next two weeks. The only reason why we got the 5 gallon was because the employee at Petsmart said we would be fine. Until we buy a testing kit should we go ahead and start performing water changes now? When I go home from work today, I fed them and about 5 minutes later they start swimming around. The blue one mostly chased the other three around. Every once in a while the orange and pink would hide together in the bottom corner. Not to mention, I think the water is starting to look a little bit cloudy. That doesn't seem good. I hope they make it!

Yes, start doing water changes immediately. I would assume the cloudy water is a bacteria bloom. If you aren't going to take them back, start doing daily 50% water changes, and when you get you're water tested, post the readings here! I would also purchase a ammonia and nitrate test kit so you can keep up with the water quality!

 

[Tolak]

A 15 long is a good size tank, though a 20 long might be easier to come by, being a more common tank. If you can find someone local to donate some mature media it will help move the cycle along much quicker. Large water changes are your friend right now, that really is a small tank for some very active fish.

 

[krohner88]

So how do I go about water changing? take 50% out, treat the new 50% and let it sit for a day and then add to the tank? Leave fish in or transfer to a bowl for the mean time? Or treat the new water and when ready to add to the tank, then take 50% of the old water out? Never done this before.

 

[Tolak]

Dechlorinator works nearly instantly. Unplug the heater & filter, remove half the water. Temperature match the replacement water, by feel is fine, and add dechlorinator. Add the dechlorinated water to the tank.

 

[Curiosity101]

I'd recommend more than a 50% today (or two 50% changes straight after eachother).

But pretty much remove the water (lets say 50%). Pour it away. Refil bucket with roughly same temp fresh water, add appropriate amount of tap water conditioner. Maybe give it a quick stir to make sure it's mixed. Then put fresh water into the tank, I use a 1.2l Pimms jug lol. For the record it came free with a bottle of pimms but has never held anything other that fishwater

Edit: Tolak beat me to it and remembered to tell you to switch your equipment off. The amount of heaters I blew in my first couple of years, you'd have thought I'd remember to mention it to people...