I Tried But Failed

[prettyfishes4me]

For my birthday i got a 20 gallon tank, and i decided that i wanted "pretty fish" so i went with 5 candy platys + 1 black mystery snail (aka Herman) and a week later 6 neon tetras. In my tank i have one decoration and 4 fake plants, because i heard that real plants are harder to care for. With in days my neons began to die-- and i have no idea why. This is my first tank and i have enjoyed it very much thus far. After 1 month i am down to 1 neon and 2 platys and Herman. i feed them twice a day, just a pinch and i try to keep the water level full and the temp around 70-72. i also have put in the reccommended amount of aquarium salt.

i do have some questions other than i need help!!
-how often do i need to clean the tank?
-what if i want to get other fish, i was thinking aome fancy male guppies, tequila sunrise guppies, restock my candy platys and neons?
-how often should i check the pH? and what should it be?
-is my snail enough algea eating power?
-i have two air things in the top back corners + a bubble bar in the gravel in the back + bubbles coming out of my landscape decoration. is this enough air or too much (i like the look the bubbles give)? also all the air flow gives rise to quicker evaporation, right? so is that why i have to add a gallon to the tank almost every other day?

thanks for any help!!! and if you need more detail i will glad to provide it because i love my fish tank and i want it to survive!

 

[Alexis]

Did you get a filter and cycle the tank, ETC... first? You shouldn't really put fish straight in a tank before it's been cycled and stuff.

 

[prettyfishes4me]

Did you get a filter and cycle the tank, ETC... first? You shouldn't really put fish straight in a tank before it's been cycled and stuff.

yea i got the tank one day and filled it up and hooked up the air and water filtration and let it run overnight then we went the day or so after and got the platys. i also bought some Start Right to fix the tap water.

 

[cleekdaFish]

to early to get the fish , the tank wasnt cycled....atleast give it a week b4 putting the fish in , and only put a few in at a time ,per week ,and the fish that u have now they will probably die too cuz they,ve been exposed to ammonia and watnot,. Best thing to do is start over...check for ammonia and nitrate level and if its both 0 add a few(like 2 or 3 fish)

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi and welcome!

First of all you want to check out the pinned topics on cycling at the top of this forum; these will explain what has gone wrong with your tank. Basically, the fish have been poisoned by ammonia and nitrItes (not nitrAtes, cleekdafish) produced by their waste. Eventually, beneficial bacteria will be growing that deal with these, but until the bacteria colony is strong enough you need to keep off buying more fish and maybe diluting the toxins in the water. So you need to stock up on dehclorinator and a liquid test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. Test for ammonia and nitrites every day and do a partial water change of 25% whenever either goes over 0.5 ppm. If the reading is high, change up to 50% of the water (don't forget to dechlorinate). When you can go without water changes for a week and see no readings, your tank is cycled for the number of fish you have. At this stage, you can add a couple more, keep a careful eye on water stats, after a couple of weeks with no readings add some more. Patience is the clue to good fishkeeping.

If you do not have high nitrite readings, I would leave off adding salt. The platies don't need it, and neons aren't actually adapted to cope with it. It can still be used in an emergency situation to help fish cope with high nitrites, even for fish that aren't that able to cope with it (just like we might sometimes have to take medicine that isn't that good for us).

about your questions

-how often do i need to clean the tank?

for the time being, do water changes as above and do not clean out the filter media. Once the tank is cycled, a weekly gravel vad+ 20-25% water change is standard maintenance for a community tank. At this stage you may also want to sometimes clean out your filter sponges (or whatever is inside the filter) by swishing it gently in OLD TANK water (not tap water, as that will kill your beneficial bacteria). Don't do all the filter media every week if it is divisible- if you have several sponges, do one each so as to get them all done within the month

-what if i want to get other fish, i was thinking aome fancy male guppies, tequila sunrise guppies, restock my candy platys and neons?

eventually you will get there. Things to remember are: neons are schooling fish so are happiest in groups of at least 6-8. Platies and guppies share a common livebearer trait: the males are totally sex-fixated. This means you can keep either all females (the peaceful option, though in guppies possibly less colour-ful- I've got some very pretty ones though atm), or a mixed group of 2-3 females per male (you will get fry!!!) or at least 5 males to spread aggression.

-how often should i check the pH? and what should it be?

ph doesn't have to be checked that often, as long as you do regular water changes it shouldn't crash. It is advisable not to try to adjust it, as the chemicals can make it fluctuate, which in itself is a more dangerous situation than being too high or too low.

-is my snail enough algea eating power?

you can count on having to do some algae cleaning yourself regardless of what "algae eaters" you keep- Mother Nature did not have the convenience of the aquarist in mind when she designed the fish family
At all costs keep clear of the Chinese Algae Eater- they grow aggressive and horrible in old age. Also, no common or sailfin plecs unless you have a very big tank. Amano shrimps are quite good at algae eating and are fun to watch, but don't get shrimps until the tank is really settled and no more water problems.

-i have two air things in the top back corners + a bubble bar in the gravel in the back + bubbles coming out of my landscape decoration. is this enough air or too much (i like the look the bubbles give)? also all the air flow gives rise to quicker evaporation, right? so is that why i have to add a gallon to the tank almost every other day?

If you like the bubbles and the fish aren't being tossed around, it's probably not a problem.

Best of luck with the fish tank!

 

[voo]

Neon's aren't a good fish for a new tank, they do better in a mature tank so it's best to wait 3+ months until you add them.

Platties are good to start with, a good hardy fish. The tank is probably cycled for the amount of fish you have now. Check first with a test kit (liquid are better than strip versions), and make sure ammonia and nitrite are 0.

If they are, you can probably add 1-2 fish a week, probably best to give it a bit longer, so that the bacteria can build up in the filter to cope with the ammonia they are producing. Again, keep checking the ammonia and nitrites. Ammonia will go up first, then a while later the nitrites, and the nitrites tend to be the one that takes longest to go down.

I'd get a couple more platties, then later get a few more. Dont try adding loads at once as they'll most likely die.

a single snail wont be able to cope with all the algae you'll be getting, so when you've finishing adding the fish, think of maybe getting some shrimp or ottos (which do best in groups of 3+, and stay quite small)