I Got My 10-gallon Sorority Tank! Update Page 2

[ReMz]

... even in a fully cycled tank, you do not want to add fish that fast. this is not a 'fully cycled' tank (although I had not realized that the filter media was that old).

Adding too many fish too fast increases the bioload in the tank too quickly for the bacteria to keep up. Generally, you want to add new fish very slowly so the bacteria cultures grow accordingly. As a result, ammonia builds up pretty quickly.

You'll want to be keeping up with those 20% daily water changes. Certainly do not slack on this or ammonia and nitrite levels will become very harmful. Just for reference, I do nearly a 50% water change weekly on my tank with 1 betta and 2 very small otos. Once the tank is fully cycled/adjusted, you can go down to weekly water changes. 50% would probably be fine at that point. I actually overkill water changes on my betta tank because it only takes 1 minute to almost fully change the water when i'm using my python.

pull all of the females out, redecorate, and re acclimate them to the tank. let the 2 new females loose in the tank first. Wait a minute or two, and release the others. You want to add the most aggressive female last.

make sure you have all females too! post pics for I.D. if you are unsure.

 

[little_mermaid]

... even in a fully cycled tank, you do not want to add fish that fast. this is not a 'fully cycled' tank (although I had not realized that the filter media was that old).

Adding too many fish too fast increases the bioload in the tank too quickly for the bacteria to keep up. Generally, you want to add new fish very slowly so the bacteria cultures grow accordingly. As a result, ammonia builds up pretty quickly.

You'll want to be keeping up with those 20% daily water changes. Certainly do not slack on this or ammonia and nitrite levels will become very harmful. Just for reference, I do nearly a 50% water change weekly on my tank with 1 betta and 2 very small otos. Once the tank is fully cycled/adjusted, you can go down to weekly water changes. 50% would probably be fine at that point. I actually overkill water changes on my betta tank because it only takes 1 minute to almost fully change the water when i'm using my python.

pull all of the females out, redecorate, and re acclimate them to the tank. let the 2 new females loose in the tank first. Wait a minute or two, and release the others. You want to add the most aggressive female last.

make sure you have all females too! post pics for I.D. if you are unsure.

So should I do 50% water changes everyday? Would that be better? I would rather be safe than sorry! Ughh I don't want anything to happen to them! And yeah, I'll get pics tomorrow...I am concerned about the two new fish...they keep zip-zapping across the tank and making the other Betta gals feisty...I hope they all calm down soon!

 

[ReMz]

... even in a fully cycled tank, you do not want to add fish that fast. this is not a 'fully cycled' tank (although I had not realized that the filter media was that old).

Adding too many fish too fast increases the bioload in the tank too quickly for the bacteria to keep up. Generally, you want to add new fish very slowly so the bacteria cultures grow accordingly. As a result, ammonia builds up pretty quickly.

You'll want to be keeping up with those 20% daily water changes. Certainly do not slack on this or ammonia and nitrite levels will become very harmful. Just for reference, I do nearly a 50% water change weekly on my tank with 1 betta and 2 very small otos. Once the tank is fully cycled/adjusted, you can go down to weekly water changes. 50% would probably be fine at that point. I actually overkill water changes on my betta tank because it only takes 1 minute to almost fully change the water when i'm using my python.

pull all of the females out, redecorate, and re acclimate them to the tank. let the 2 new females loose in the tank first. Wait a minute or two, and release the others. You want to add the most aggressive female last.

make sure you have all females too! post pics for I.D. if you are unsure.

So should I do 50% water changes everyday? Would that be better? I would rather be safe than sorry! Ughh I don't want anything to happen to them! And yeah, I'll get pics tomorrow...I am concerned about the two new fish...they keep zip-zapping across the tank and making the other Betta gals feisty...I hope they all calm down soon!

upon introduction, that is pretty normal behavior.... but don't expect all to be well for very long.

50% daily is a bit much and will probably start to cause some stress. stick to 20-25% daily. ideally, you would be monitoring chemical levels with your own kit until you see ammonia and nitrite start to fall.

Just watch them closely... if you start seeing some really aggressive behavior and 1 or 2 of the bettas are getting attacked (not chased, attacked), you'll want to pull all of the females and add them as i described.

Keep us updated with everything that is going on in this tank. Even if you don't think it is a big deal, let us know. At least a couple different 'experts' will be able to pop in here and keep an eye on things.

Things should work out.... but you are in the most critical stages right now trying to get the tank fully cycled and "keeping the peace" with your females. Once everything settles, you will have a happy tank with little maintenance

 

[little_mermaid]

... even in a fully cycled tank, you do not want to add fish that fast. this is not a 'fully cycled' tank (although I had not realized that the filter media was that old).

Adding too many fish too fast increases the bioload in the tank too quickly for the bacteria to keep up. Generally, you want to add new fish very slowly so the bacteria cultures grow accordingly. As a result, ammonia builds up pretty quickly.

You'll want to be keeping up with those 20% daily water changes. Certainly do not slack on this or ammonia and nitrite levels will become very harmful. Just for reference, I do nearly a 50% water change weekly on my tank with 1 betta and 2 very small otos. Once the tank is fully cycled/adjusted, you can go down to weekly water changes. 50% would probably be fine at that point. I actually overkill water changes on my betta tank because it only takes 1 minute to almost fully change the water when i'm using my python.

pull all of the females out, redecorate, and re acclimate them to the tank. let the 2 new females loose in the tank first. Wait a minute or two, and release the others. You want to add the most aggressive female last.

make sure you have all females too! post pics for I.D. if you are unsure.

So should I do 50% water changes everyday? Would that be better? I would rather be safe than sorry! Ughh I don't want anything to happen to them! And yeah, I'll get pics tomorrow...I am concerned about the two new fish...they keep zip-zapping across the tank and making the other Betta gals feisty...I hope they all calm down soon!

upon introduction, that is pretty normal behavior.... but don't expect all to be well for very long.

50% daily is a bit much and will probably start to cause some stress. stick to 20-25% daily. ideally, you would be monitoring chemical levels with your own kit until you see ammonia and nitrite start to fall.

Just watch them closely... if you start seeing some really aggressive behavior and 1 or 2 of the bettas are getting attacked (not chased, attacked), you'll want to pull all of the females and add them as i described.

Keep us updated with everything that is going on in this tank. Even if you don't think it is a big deal, let us know. At least a couple different 'experts' will be able to pop in here and keep an eye on things.

Things should work out.... but you are in the most critical stages right now trying to get the tank fully cycled and "keeping the peace" with your females. Once everything settles, you will have a happy tank with little maintenance

Thanks so much ReMz...I'll definitely keep ya'll updated!

BTW here's a picture of my tank...I know, it's still pretty bare, but hopefully it will be okay until I get some more plants:

 

[ReMz]

haha. such a chick tank....

you'll want to break up the 'line of sight' as much as possible. consider placing a large ornament in the middle. (A nice piece of natural driftwood works well for this). Higher plants and some caves will help too.

Then you'll want to add a weight set in there.... a big screen tv with an xbox.... a punching bag.... might make things not so *ugggg* feminine

 

[little_mermaid]

haha. such a chick tank....

you'll want to break up the 'line of sight' as much as possible. consider placing a large ornament in the middle. (A nice piece of natural driftwood works well for this). Higher plants and some caves will help too.

Then you'll want to add a weight set in there.... a big screen tv with an xbox.... a punching bag.... might make things not so *ugggg* feminine

hehe I was telling my roomie tonight that I love having fish 'cause it's like playing with a doll house! Except the dolls are alive (in a non-scary way of cours!) LOL

& yeah I know I want to get a big castle for the center! My parents are going to throw a fit when they see my credit card expenses

Here's pics of the gals:

Top Right: Dolly & Reba (Reba seems to be Dolly's sidekick)
Top Left: Patsy (she's taken to Dolly too)
Bottom Left: Brodie
Bottom Right: Kaci (she's either bloated or she's got a weird shape)

Will upload and take more pics later!

 

[snowflake311]

You picked out some pretty fish. I like the colors. Are they all getting along well? Have you figured out who the queen is yet? Because their will be a leader of the pack soon ass they set up a pecking order.

 

[little_mermaid]

You picked out some pretty fish. I like the colors. Are they all getting along well? Have you figured out who the queen is yet? Because their will be a leader of the pack soon ass they set up a pecking order.

Thank you! Oh and Dolly is definitely the Queen...I knew that even before I put her in the tank! She bosses everyone around, but it's funny, 'cause the other gals (well at least Reba and Patsy so far), like to follow her around...even though Dolly likes to bug 'em! And I am still watching the new gals (Kaci and Brodie) that got added today...they look like they are starting to fit in a little better, but we'll see.

 

[ReMz]

haha. such a chick tank....

you'll want to break up the 'line of sight' as much as possible. consider placing a large ornament in the middle. (A nice piece of natural driftwood works well for this). Higher plants and some caves will help too.

Then you'll want to add a weight set in there.... a big screen tv with an xbox.... a punching bag.... might make things not so *ugggg* feminine

hehe I was telling my roomie tonight that I love having fish 'cause it's like playing with a doll house! Except the dolls are alive (in a non-scary way of cours!) LOL

& yeah I know I want to get a big castle for the center! My parents are going to throw a fit when they see my credit card expenses

Here's pics of the gals:

Top Right: Dolly & Reba (Reba seems to be Dolly's sidekick)
Top Left: Patsy (she's taken to Dolly too)
Bottom Left: Brodie
Bottom Right: Kaci (she's either bloated or she's got a weird shape)

Will upload and take more pics later!

lol. not creepy at all....

thank god the only purchase i ever put on my parents credit card was due to the investment being over my credit limit........... my dad was moderately impressed to see that i was giving him double his "involuntary" investment while i was messing around with investments

although i no longer have access to credit cards of parentals........ i guess that was my hint

 

[little_mermaid]

lol. not creepy at all....

thank god the only purchase i ever put on my parents credit card was due to the investment being over my credit limit........... my dad was moderately impressed to see that i was giving him double his "involuntary" investment while i was messing around with investments

although i no longer have access to credit cards of parentals........ i guess that was my hint

Yeah I just need to watch it...I am going to try to find an affordable center piece for the gals then some plants...then I gotta stop for now. I need to get a job aSAP!

& um Update...this is not good at all...but both my new gals have some torn fins Is this normal? Does this happen? When will my gals chill out? Will they chill out? What are signs that I need to look for that if it's not going to work out? How many hours/days do I give them?

 

[ReMz]

remove, redecorate, rehome. introduce the new girls first.

there will be "quarreling"... but they should sort themselves out temporarily. the torn fins will heal.

... working is for college kids that aren't manipulative enough (j/k)

 

[little_mermaid]

remove, redecorate, rehome. introduce the new girls first.

there will be "quarreling"... but they should sort themselves out temporarily. the torn fins will heal.

... working is for college kids that aren't manipulative enough (j/k)

Yeah I am going to do that this evening...

This morning I woke to all of my gals with torn/ripped fins! Though in a way it made me feel better 'cause I thought it was just Dolly picking on all of them. I am assuming this is normal behavior? Today they all seem to be getting along better. But I am so sad to see their beautiful tails and fins torn! How long does it take for them to grow back?

 

[ThePiggy]

My female, Darla, had a chunk taken out of her tail from when I spawned her. It's about 50% grown back now and it's been about a month since it's happened. One of my females in my sorority tank has a split in her tail from being bullied, and it healed up in about 2-3 days. Splits heal much faster than chunks bitten out. Just make sure you keep the water EXTRA clean and fresh. I've heard of a few different things you can add to the water to stimulate healing, but I'm not sure what they are called. Maybe someone who knows will post what they are for you.

 

[little_mermaid]

My female, Darla, had a chunk taken out of her tail from when I spawned her. It's about 50% grown back now and it's been about a month since it's happened. One of my females in my sorority tank has a split in her tail from being bullied, and it healed up in about 2-3 days. Splits heal much faster than chunks bitten out. Just make sure you keep the water EXTRA clean and fresh. I've heard of a few different things you can add to the water to stimulate healing, but I'm not sure what they are called. Maybe someone who knows will post what they are for you.

Oh really? Yeah a lot of them are split...like Dolly's for instance. Tonight I am going to do the 20-25% water change and then I am going to follow ReMz instructions...I just hope they learn to like each other...or should I say, tolerate each other!

 

[little_mermaid]

UPDATE:

I bought a fry net tonight to put Dolly aka Miss Piggy in during feeding time, and I am happy to report that all my babies are eating! Yay! It was funny/cute 'cause the little ones were wondering what the heck the net was and why Dolly was in it! Also some of the pellets got stuck to the filter, but Patsy figured out how to pluck 'em off LOL too cute and smart! I am still sad/upset about the ripped/torn/split fins, but I know that in time they will grow back. I am just glad that all of them seem to be getting along much better for the most part! Hopefully only things get better and better!