help

[matmaster]

I need help now. I have a new tank. I just added fish to. I had four fish in it for two weeks and everything looked good. I checked the levels on test strips and it was in the ok spots. So I put 26 more fish in on Tursday (50 gallion tank) and two die Sat. I see some spots on two fish maybe? I don't know if I'm looking to hard? I checked my level and they are all high. Is there anything I can Try tonight??? I was told to add salt to my tank just a little Oh Its a fresh water tank

 

[BettaMomma]

Well, I'm not an expert on cycling so someone else will probably come along with better info.

But, my guess would be that adding that many fish at one time can cause some problems. You're going to have lots of waste all of a sudden and there will probably be some pretty major spikes coming up soon.

Is it possible for you to return any of those fish until you get further into your cycle?
Maybe that's not necessary but my guess is that any problems you have will be from adding that many fish at once.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

10-20% water changes.

lots and lots of small water changes.

you did good by adding just a few fish and monitoring the water quality. however, the 26 fish you put in afterwards... you've kinda overloaded your bacteria. welcome to the nitrogen cycle; hold onto your hat 'cause its a bumpy ride

the best thing you can do right now it a mild water change every day. your ammonia and nitrite will go sky-high if you don't. i'd try 10% changes to start with and only increase to 20% changes if you have more deaths. also, don't feed except once every two days. don't worry; very few fish will starve like that. reduced feeding will result in reduced waste and a more gentle cycle.

also, what kind of fish do you have? i don't know if you've heard, but the recommended stocking level is 1 inch of fish per 1 US gallon. that's adult inches of slim-bodied fish. so unless you've got a bunch of itty-bitty fish, your tank is overstocked. its not bad overstocked, but you really shouldn't buy any more. you really ought not replace any of the fish that die during the cycle...

if you can tell us what and how many fish you have, we can do a lot more to help you. plus, once you tell us here, you can copy the info to your profile for future reference!

 

[Torrean]

I did close to the same thing. I overstocked a 29 gallon after letting it sit for two days. I know what happens. first your ammonia will skyrocket, then go down, then your nitrite will skyrocket then go down, as this happens your nitrates will go up. All I can tell you is to perform religious water changes. If you can still take any of the fish back I would. Once you get the tank cycled add fish more slowly. like 5-7 inches per mini cycle. When you add a new fish you are essentially adding ammonia to the water. the bacteria need time to multiply to be able to cope with the problem. Let your ammonia and nitrite readings reach zero before you add any new fish.

 

[Blue Lobster]

I would recommend an additonal filter with some Zeolite (Bacterial) inserts immediatly. 26 fish in a 50 gallon is too many unless they are all tetras.

You are overstocked, there is nothing you can do except change water ALOT and add filters till you are at triple the tank rating. Or return some fish.

Increased filtration, it's your only hope to keeping these fish alive for long.

http/www.fishdoc.co.uk/water/zeolite.htm

 

[matmaster]

2 black mollys dead
6 neon tetras
5 tetra black phantom
2 cat fish ?? texas
2 angle fish
3 tetra neons
3 tetra cardinal neons
5 danio zebra
2 tetra black skirt
2 platy
2 cichlid ram german

I have started water changes anything else to save fish

 

[pica_nuttalli]

3 neon tetras
3 cardinal tetras
5 black phantom tetras
2 texas cat fish ??
2 angel fish
5 zebra danio
2 black skirt tetras
2 platy
2 german rams

is this what your stock currently looks like? except for the catfish (which i'm betting are channel cats; got any pictures?) you look to have an ok stocklist. the school sizes are a bit small, but thats not a giant issue... neons and cardinals are different species, by the way. the neons probably won't make it all the way through the cycle.

yeah, just lots and lots of water changes. remember, many small water changes will be better for your fish than a few big changes.

after this is all over with, then you can SLOWLY ( ) add more fish to replace any deadies. add more of these kinds so that you have proper sized schools for them:

cardinal tetras
black phantom tetras
black skirt tetras

only add more neons (or cardinals) if your originals survive; they're the angelfish's natural prey and more trouble than they're worth.

i bet you have a lovely tank! be sure to post some pictures of it in the Member's Aquariums forum!

 

[matmaster]

when I get this all done I will have to talk about the right numbers of stuff. Right now I have lost both cats, mollies, and one neon tetra. I have noticed some spots on the fish they look like air bubbles??? Is that ich


I have done three changes of 5 to 10 gallons. I bought a ten gallon tank and have it right above my main tank. The pet shop who sold me all 26 fish said to add Amquel plus it removes nitrate nitrite ammonia chlorine and chloramines. does that sound right.

I also have removed the carbon filters using just plain filters now???

One more thing should I leave my light on or off or 12 hours on 12 off???

 

[rdd1952]

Everyone has given good advice. As for the Amquel, it will probably only delay what you have to do. Generally, products like Ammo Lock, Amquel, etc. turn ammonia and nitrite into non toxic forms. That is good for the fish but unfortunately keeps your tank from ever cycling so when you stop using them, BAM, you are right back to where you are now.

I would return as many fish as you can. The neons and probably even the angels won't make it through the cycling anyway so may as well take them back and try to get your money back. I would also hunt another fish store. If that one sold you 26 fish at one time, they obviously don't care about anything except selling fish. They definitely should have told you that was too many at once. You said the pet store. Is it a true fish store or something like Petsmart, Petco or Walmart?

 

[Crab Paste]

Did the pet store who sold you all the fish in one go ask if your tank was cycled? One LFS I visit asks customers even if they purchase only a couple of fish. That's how it should be. Even in a cycled tank 26 is way too many to add all at once and will cause spikes. We think that it will be ok because the store says it is or gives bad advice, a lot of them just care about the money.

As for lighting, fish need at least 8 hours of darkness to sleep. If you don't have any plants then the lighting is more for you to see the fish than for the fish to see, as they have quite good vision in the dark. Of course too little light will cause brown algae, too much will cause green algae, but that's just the basics of lighting and I'm sure others will advise more on this. An automatic timer will help with the lighting and also give the fish some consistency.