Hello And Help

[Seal36]

When I used to pour my water in to quickly and get all the gunk up from the bottom of my tank I would just stick the net in and move it around and catch it all up I the net. I now pour my water in slower and don't get any gunk coming up. I was also told I could use a small jug, pour it over the back of my hand or onto a big ornament to disrupt the flow so that it does not disturb the substrate. I have not tried any off those 3 as I found pouring the water in slower makes sure that none of the gunk comes up from Tom

 

[Sharknado99]

Thank you
I bought a little jug today that should do the trick. Poor lil fishes..Hope they are ok after that trauma. 
 
These things can only be learnt from experience i guess

I have one more question...
 
APologies again for all these silly questions - 
 
I found a really nice rock at the beach which I would like to put into the tank. Of course I wanted to ask here first because it may have soaked up all the salt water etc and may kill or hurt my fishes. 
 
If i soak it in water conditioner and water for aabout a week, do you think it will be safe to put into the tank or should I not even attempt to do so? Its a really pretty rock with some hiding places for them, and I had them in mind when i found it at the beach  
But if i can't use it in the tank, so be it ...
 
What do you guys think? will I be taking too much of a risk introducing that into the tank after about a week of soaking?

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Can you get a picture of the rock? Some rocks aren't suitable, but some are.
 
Depending on the type of rock, if you pour boiling water over it and then soak it in a bleach solution (1 part bleach to 20 parts water) for a day, then soak it in some heavily dechlorinated water (3x recommended dose) for several days. That would be how I would treat it.

 

[Sharknado99]

Hi there
 
Thanks for that. I will take a picture of it shortly and post it up. I'm thinking it probably isn't work the risk though. Even after that treatment, who knows what parasites etc would survive it.  Not to mention any changes to the biochemistry.
 
 
 
Also, i have a red tailed shark and two platys. Considering I"m going to move the lil guy to a 200L tank in about 3-6 mths, do you think the tank is currently too full to introduce a pleco algae eater to my 70L tank.
The shark is still about an inch long. I got him when he was still a tiny bub.
 
Thanks
Regards
Sandra

 

[Blondielovesfish]

What species of pleco do you want to add?
 
It would be a good idea to move the red tailed shark, as he will quickly outgrow your tank

 

[Sharknado99]

Hi Leonie
Belated Merry Christmas and thank you for replying all my annoying questions. I really appreciate it.
 
I wanted to get an algae eater but ppl say to keep away from the chinese ones. I've seen some greyish looking ones that stick to the glass and usually at the bottom of the tank. I thought they were called plecos.
 
Yeah dont worry, I will definitely get another tank for the shark. He's a top priority. Do red tails grow quite quickly. I was thinking of getting a tank in about 6 mths time..I'm saving up for it and will have to cycle it for about a month before putting him in. Do you think thats waiting too long?
 
Thanks again...
I really need all the help i can get hahaha...
 
Much appreciated

Do your fishes get used to you doing water changes over the years? Mine are so scared and stick to the farthest side of the tank. I really dont want to stress them out every week like that but it has to be done. I'm hoping that they will eventually get used to it and not be so scared all the time... poor wee things

 

[Ninjouzata]

Can I ask why you want an algae eater? If it's to take care of algae that can usually be handled by figuring out why you're getting it & then fixing it.
 
Chinese algae eaters get aggressive as they age and stop eating algae, and start going after other fishes slime coats. At least from what I've heard, have not personally had one.
 
Plecos eat algae, though I think it depends on which one you get as different ones require different diets. They also make much more mess than what they clean.
 
Snails are great for eating algae, but am not sure which ones you can get there.
 
Your fish should hopefully get used to the water changes. When I first had mine they definitely didn't like it, but now will come right up to the siphon and am always worried they're going to get sucked up.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

Hi Leonie
Belated Merry Christmas and thank you for replying all my annoying questions. I really appreciate it.
 
I wanted to get an algae eater but ppl say to keep away from the chinese ones. I've seen some greyish looking ones that stick to the glass and usually at the bottom of the tank. I thought they were called plecos.
 
Yeah dont worry, I will definitely get another tank for the shark. He's a top priority. Do red tails grow quite quickly. I was thinking of getting a tank in about 6 mths time..I'm saving up for it and will have to cycle it for about a month before putting him in. Do you think thats waiting too long?
 
Thanks again...
I really need all the help i can get hahaha...
 
Much appreciated

Do your fishes get used to you doing water changes over the years? Mine are so scared and stick to the farthest side of the tank. I really dont want to stress them out every week like that but it has to be done. I'm hoping that they will eventually get used to it and not be so scared all the time... poor wee things

 
You're welcome

 
Definitely stay away from the chinese algae eaters, as NInj said, they become very aggressive as they age and many people have reported finding theirs stuck to the side of one of their fish, sucking the slime coat off them. Plus, they only eat algae while they're young.
 
The fish you're referring to most likely are plecos, however there are many species and you need to research which one you want before going out and buying one, you don't want to come home with a common pleco which can reach over one foot when full grown.
The ones I recommend you look into buying are either bristlenose or clown. You could also look into otocinclus, which are excellent algae eaters, however they need to be kept in a school of at least 6.
I agree with Ninj that snails can be great algae eaters too! My mystery snails do an excellent job at keeping the algae at bay.
 
The shark should be fine until you upgrade it, I'm not sure how quickly they grow as I have never personally kept one sorry.
 
Your fish should eventually get used it, something I do, is I always wait to feed my fish after a water change, I find that they become less stressed as they recognise that a water change means food.
 
EDIT: Realised I didn't answer all your questions.

 

[Sharknado99]

Can I ask why you want an algae eater? If it's to take care of algae that can usually be handled by figuring out why you're getting it & then fixing it.
 
Chinese algae eaters get aggressive as they age and stop eating algae, and start going after other fishes slime coats. At least from what I've heard, have not personally had one.
 
Plecos eat algae, though I think it depends on which one you get as different ones require different diets. They also make much more mess than what they clean.
 
Snails are great for eating algae, but am not sure which ones you can get there.
 
Your fish should hopefully get used to the water changes. When I first had mine they definitely didn't like it, but now will come right up to the siphon and am always worried they're going to get sucked up.

 
 
Hi Ninj & Leonie.. The algae in my tank isn't out of control but I thought it might be nice to have a fish that does eats up some of that stuff at the bottom. You see i haven't really gotten used to feeding them the right amount yet and theres still some stuff sitting at the bottom. Putting a net in there and trying to fish out some of the food just stresses them out so much. The shark and the snail usually clear that up in a couple of hours but i thought it wouldn't hurt having an additional one...esp since in the last few days I haven't seen the snails at all. I have no idea whether they are still alive or just inside one of the hiding places.
I just wanted some more information on whether it would be fine to get another bottom feeder and you've convinced me that the shark and the snails are probably enough.
 
Thanks

 
I am also looking forward to the time when my fish won't be so stressed out when I do water changes. I feel so sorry for them lol...
 
I hope you all have a wonderful new years
All the best to you, your families and your fishies

 

[Sharknado99]

HELP!!!
 
All was going okay in my tank until I tested it yesterday and saw that the bad nitrate has spiked up significantly.
 
I'm not sure what happened.  The ammonia levels are also up a tiny amount. Doing API master kit testing, it came out slighly orangey instead of the yellow which says (0).
 
I had done the whole cycling thing before adding the fish but unfortunately, after one month of having the fish, I washed the filter in tap water. I didnt realise that this effectively kills off the good bacteria. Is my tank going through another cycle process now..What can I do...??
I'm going to do a large water change today. 
 
Also, I live in NZ so the access to some of the products you guys in UK etc dont exist on our shelves.
 
Any help with regards to this would be great..I'm really worried
 
Thanks

 

[Ninjouzata]

Can you post your exact water parameters? (pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate)
Nitrate is completely normal and fine to have in your tank, it is nitrite that is toxic.

 

[Sharknado99]

Oh sorry..its nitrite.. 
The bad stuff...not the stuff that increases algae...Sorry for getting this mixed up...
 
I only have the API master kit with the colour chart..so theres no exact measurement..but I would say that the readings are:
 
PH: 7.6
Ammonia :between 0 & 0.25ppm
NITRITE: between 0.50-1ppm 
NITRATE: about 2.5ppm
 
 

 

[Gruntle]

I'd say your tank is now cycling, sorry. The good news is unless you washed every component in the filter (bio balls, pads, ceramics etc) you might have a fair quantity of bacteria still alive.
 
Plenty of monitoring, plenty of water changes.
 
I found that using Seachem Prime (water treatment) appears to neutralise nitrites fairly quickly, but it's a fairly expensive way of doing it, as the nitrites just keep climbing until the tank cycles properly. I don't know enough to know whether this is just changing what the test kit said, but my fish appeared to appreciate the Prime fairly quickly. For the record, I went through a $35 bottle of Prime in about a week. Must work out how to do that cheaply, as 5ml doses the whole 200l tank, yet a small splash in each bucket of water quickly adds up to far more than is needed, yet I didn't want to put untreated water into the tank.

 

[Blondielovesfish]

If you had a spike in nitrite, you probably also had a spike in ammonia.
Just keep monitoring your levels, at your pH nitrite isn't that bad, but ammonia is.

 

[Sharknado99]

Thanks guys ...I'll keep monitoring it. I have no problem doing water changes daily but my poor fish are so stressed out by it I was hoping to save them the pain of it.
 
Unfortunately I did wash EVERYTHING in tap water...I had watched some videos beforehand (before joining this forum) and it showed the ppl everything in the filter but no mention of cleaning them in tank water. It looked like tap water and well, I just didnt think about it...
 
The water is looking a bit cloudy too so I might do a massive water change today when I get home from work.
I think i have heard of that Prime product. I'll check the stores to see if they have it.
 
Thanks again...