Help For My Sons Fishtank Please

[cazzianne]

Hi everyone... we are from Australia and am after some help with some issues my son is having with his fish tank. For his 8th birthday in January he had saved all his pocket money as he has wanted a fish tank for ages - we thought they would be a good 'starter' pet for him and easy to care for...boy how I was wrong!! So far he has had the tank 6 weeks and have lost about 6 fish in total all dying within a few days of eachother. He lost a molly, a sucking catfish, a silver shark, 2 neon tetras and an angel fish. Please forgive my ignorance and lack of knowledge but the following is what we have done so far:
We started off with a small tank which is 21 litres (I think about 5.5 gallons) and decided to get tropical fish
We started with 5 fish in total
We have a heater which keeps the temp around 26-28celcius and the filter is set up correctly
He put rocks and a couple of ornaments and plastic plants which were all washed before being put in the tank
The tank was filled and left to cycle for a few days before we put fish in it
We put the recommended dose of water conditioner in the tank and regularly test the pH which sits around 7.4
We bought a syphon and clean out the waste and replace 20% of the water weekly with tap water
They get fed 2-3 times a day according to the recommendation on the pack of food

My questions are:
My test kit only checks pH should I be testing for other things?
Do we need live plants?
Do I need to add water conditioner each time I replace 20% of the water - if so do I work out the dose based on how much I replaced?
Does the water I replace need to be brought to the correct temp before I add it to the tank?
Are there certain species of fish hardier than others for kids to care for?

I remember having fish when I was a kid but never realised how difficult it seems to keep them alive! He puts so much effort into looking after them and it's devastating for him when they die. I've tried asking pet shop staff but they don't seem to have any idea other than selling you more fish to make money. I don't want to buy anymore fish until we have the tank sorted for him so any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Hello & welcome to the forum. Your fish are dying from new tank syndrome, basicly they are beeing poisoned by their own waste. Dont feel too downheartened we can fix this with some patience & attention to detail.

Here are some answers to your questions.

1. You need to be testing for Ammonia, NitrIte, Nitrate & pH. Your best bet is a liquid based master test kit such as the API Kit.

2. Live plants are not needed for healthy fish but do make the tank look nice & the fish feel more at home.

3. You definitely need to be treating any water that you put in the tank as the chlorine is not good for your filter or your fish. I use Seachem Prime.

4. It is always best practice to temp match your replacement water so as not to shock the fish.

5. There are definitely some fish that are hardier than others but that is not realy your problem.


Your filter needs to be "Matured" so that it can proccess any nasty toxins for you. This is called "Cycling".
Here is some reccomended reading.

The Nitrogen Cycle

What is Cycling

Fish-in Cycling

fishless Cycling


Hope this helps.


Tom

 

[CletePurcel]

My questions are:
My test kit only checks pH should I be testing for other things?
Do we need live plants?
Do I need to add water conditioner each time I replace 20% of the water - if so do I work out the dose based on how much I replaced?
Does the water I replace need to be brought to the correct temp before I add it to the tank?
Are there certain species of fish hardier than others for kids to care for?

You should read the sticky link on fishless and fish-in cycling. Just running a tank a few days before putting fish in is not enough. Your tank probably isn't cycled and that is what is killing the fish.

Look here:
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/

You should get a liquid test kit that at least does ammonia and nitrite. You can buy master kits that test most things and these are expensive but save you grief in the long run.

You don't need live plants.

You add water conditioner to the tap water before you put the water in the tank and it should be around the same temperature. Just add enough to cover what you replace. It doesn't matter if you add a bit too much conditioner.

Some fish handle uncycled tanks better (platies, cherry barbs and danios for example) but it is better to cycle the tank without fish first so they don't suffer. The link tells you how to do it.

I made these mistakes at the beginning as well and the shops often give you terrible advice. There are lots of people on this forum that helped get me started and I'm sure they will chime in with more advice. They know a lot more than I do. Best of luck.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree with Tom and Clete,

It is a very peculiar thing that there are all these people with tanks and all these shops selling setups and fish and plants and yet there is a whole rather complicated thing going on with the filter and the water that is key and yet can completely get missed if you are new to the hobby. In fact there's a certain argument that it is -because- its a bit complicated to understand that it falls by the wayside.

They've provided lots of good starter information up there and its like lots of other procedures, once you get past it you will look back and find it pretty easy. It's called "cycling" for short, after the Nitrogen Cycle of environmental science.

Trying to think back when my son was eight, I can't remember just how much attention span there would be for an environmental cycle involving chemicals you can't "see." But you have a huge advantage in that your son has wanted fish for a long time and is paying close attention to all this. If you work it out carefully it could turn in to a fascinating thing for him. Operating the test kits with test tubes and reagents can feel a bit like chemistry.

Good luck and let us know how you're doing and what you're questions are after reading the introductory materials.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[karin]

I just want to restate it clearly. After you have the cycling done and you start your 20% weekly water change maintenance, you need to use the dechlorinating conditioning solution but you don't have to be exact with it. I tend to dose the full amount for the tank when I do a water change and I also use Seachem Prime. But you could also treat just the water going into the tank and use less than the dose for the full tank. That is one less thing you have to worry about.

Try to get your son into the challenge of setting up a healthy tank.

One thing also, do you know anyone with a tank that is up and running for 6 months or more? If so, see if they will give you some of their filter material. They can usually give you 25% of their material (cutting up a sponge or some of the ceramic thingys) to help establish the bacterial colonies you need.

If you add fish, just get into the habit of doing your daily test for ammonia and nitrite and then a water change if the test levels are above zero. 5.5 gallons should be pretty easy to manage but get your son doing this!

Good luck and ask your questions here.