My 48 Litre Tropical Tank Diary

[tropic_john]

O.K, So I've decided that I have started a bit late on my Tank Diary but who cares?

So I will write about the fish since the day I got them on Friday:

Friday 15th May;

So, I've Just Bought My 2 Male & Female Rosey Barbs, 2 Male & Female Golden Mollies, 2 Male Fancy Guppies, 1 Male Petrol Blue/ Dark Magenta Veil Tail Fighting Fish, 1 Red Wag Platy with black blotches all over his body & finally my white/red and orange swordtail. Put them in the tank at home to float in their bags for 20 minutes before i put them into 2 bigger bags and added to pints of the tanks water. After 1 hour I added Both bags to the tank to let the fish begin their new lives in my tank. Decided to feed them the good old tried & tested Tetra Tropical Flakes. The R/Barbs are inseperable, as are the mollies. The guppies seem to have fun swimming through the plants in the tank nearly every minute of their life. The fighting fish is swimming at the bottom of the tank, however, sometimes likes to float on top of the plants of rocks. Also attempted to make a bubble nest Sadly I haven't yet bought a sponge filter cover or sock so his masterpiece was soon all over the tank.
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Saturday 16th May;
Went down to my LFS to buy 2 female guppies & some neons to find they had just sold !!!50!!! Neons to the guy before me and they had to wait for their next delivery before I could buy some neons . As for the guppies, I didn't bother, people were queing up to get the guppies [M&F] IMO Sad.
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Sunday 17th May;
Woke Up To see my beloved Fighting fish with WHITE SPOT I NEARLY BURST INTO TEARS. He Was the most stunning betta I'd had.
R.I.P Calzaghe. O.K He wasn't inthe big tropical tank in the sky yet but he had W.S On his head, finnage and the rear end of his body.
By the time I was home he was practically dead, so much for White Spot Treatment.
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Monday 18th May;
With my beloved betta flushed, I now had 8 possibly sick Fish, the day I also planned to take in my mates Male Dwarf Gourami [the bright stripy type]
Swordtail was a bit sluggish today, was last to feed had to feed him after the others because he was swimming against the flow of the filter again. LOL.
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Tuesday 19th May;
Went down the LFS to get a Gourami but decided not to. Also, I coudn't think of what to treat my fish with, bloodworms or adult brine shrimp. Swordtail showing signs of whitespot. Quarantined. Added some treatment to the tank filter and his tank. Hope he pulls through, he was the only tri-colour swordtail there, a ''one-off''. Looked into buying a gardeneri killifish, decided not to risk my mollies lives.
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So that is my diary now up to date until I do tommorows report.

John.

P.S Pictures will be added.

 

[flyhawk]

hey real quick
did you cycle
i couldnt tell
forgive me if you
did!

 

[tropic_john]

Oops, yes sorry, I did cycle my tank and had it about 1 1/2 weeks before I put any fish in. Sorry if i caused any confusion. Anyways, todays diary entry

Wednesday 20th May;

Sadly, my rare white red & tangarine orange swordtail fish was overworked and died today after being under so much stress from his whitespot, constant moving and not eating enough to satsify himself. Also, I bought some new fishfood, called ''Tropical Diet'' And I forget who it is made by...
Anyway my LFS had 200 fish brought in today... all marine , so, once the LFS has it capacity of 2000 trops in, I will purchase the top quality fish, and maybe just maybe, place a one-off order for a killifish if they can locate one, or even a freshwater mudskipper [just like a marine jawfish].
So, quite a rough 3 days, oh well, it never rains but it pours [but only occasionaly]

Update tommorow with pics [uploaded onto the topic by Friday.

John

 

[fry_forever!]

Interesting. I have a diary too, but it hasn't been updated in months! I TRY to keep track, but I'm just not very good with diaries! I seem to be having the same problem as you! My fish have whitespot, but more urgent: an internal parasite, and I'm waiting to get medicated food so I can treat them! However, I am not at all new to fishkeeping.

I just have a couple of suggestions for you:
1. Don't get any new fish until the disease is completely gone. (Though I shouldn't be talking... )
2. (Actually more of a question) Do you know the ich life cycle? It's really useful to know it if you want to get rid of it. <a href="http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml" target="_blank">http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/health/ich.shtml</a>
3. Quarantine any new fish you get in a separate tank for a couple weeks to insure that they are disease free.

Cheers!

P.S. This is the closest I'm getting to a diary! (Good job, by the way!)
My cute but sick guppy baby:

Platy or guppy? (He was born a guppy, but now looks like a platy...)

The sickly fish in my 20 gallon. (Though they may not look it...)

(Click on pics to make bigger.)

 

[tropic_john]

Hey Fry_Forever, thanks for your comments. I haven't read your link on Ich just yet will be sure to try it. I have put my 48 Litre tank in lockdown! No fish go in or out [unless they're being flushed] until all of my fish are disease free. will try & get my hands on a little tank at the weekend for any fry my mollies or rosey barbs have. As for the new fishfood I was trying out, it was called ''Gamma Improvit; Tropical Diet.'' And let me tell you, its a must have, the fish went crazy for it. Go onto aquaticsworlduk.com to buy some or go to 151-155 Radford RD in Coventry for it. Say John McD jnr. if you buy some.

Also a quick question, can you take out the heater form a tropical fish tank and let goldfish live in it. Just a random thought since its called Tropical Freshwater.

Anyway, I've just remembered, I'm going to Wales for the weekend so, if my pics aren't up by tonight they will be up on Monday or Tuesday guranteed

 

[fry_forever!]

Hey Fry_Forever, thanks for your comments. I haven't read your link on Ich just yet will be sure to try it. I have put my 48 Litre tank in lockdown! No fish go in or out [unless they're being flushed] until all of my fish are disease free. will try & get my hands on a little tank at the weekend for any fry my mollies or rosey barbs have. As for the new fishfood I was trying out, it was called ''Gamma Improvit; Tropical Diet.'' And let me tell you, its a must have, the fish went crazy for it. Go onto aquaticsworlduk.com to buy some or go to 151-155 Radford RD in Coventry for it. Say John McD jnr. if you buy some.

Also a quick question, can you take out the heater form a tropical fish tank and let goldfish live in it. Just a random thought since its called Tropical Freshwater.

Anyway, I've just remembered, I'm going to Wales for the weekend so, if my pics aren't up by tonight they will be up on Monday or Tuesday guranteed

Yeah, no problem! I will see about trying out that food.

I wouldn't take the heater out of the tank if I were you, because the temp will fluctuate quite a bit, (depending on where your tank is.) but I'm pretty sure rosies are a little sensitive to temp change. Plus, goldfish like their temp pretty low, and tropical fish like their temp pretty high, (that is, compared to goldfish.) so that would not work. Also, the goldfish may pick on any molly fry you may get, even if they are old enough to be in the main tank. Goldfish are even known to have eaten guppies. (fully grown.) So I wouldn't be surprised if they chomped on the growing molly fry. Another thing I might add; goldfish need bigger tanks than the one you have, so the option of keeping them with tropical fish is out. Sorry!

And just a side note, I don't think your rosies will have babies; it is very, very uncommon for them to breed in the average aquarium.

Have fun on your trip!
As for me, I'm getting an internal and bacterial medicated food so I can finally heal my fish from this dumb disease!
Bye!

 

[Geoff1991]

Oops, yes sorry, I did cycle my tank and had it about 1 1/2 weeks before I put any fish in. Sorry if i caused any confusion.

1 and a half weeks?

What did you do to cycle the tank?

 

[tropic_john]

Oops, yes sorry, I did cycle my tank and had it about 1 1/2 weeks before I put any fish in. Sorry if i caused any confusion.

1 and a half weeks?

What did you do to cycle the tank?

Well, first I filled up a bucket with normal water from a garden tap then added some Aqua-Safe [I think, I've thrown away the bottle now] as well as some Aqua-Safe Stress-Zyme which helps build up bacteria in the filter. Then I left the filter & heater running for 1 1/2 weeks before my Dad's mate from my LFS came round and tested our water. He said to leave it was fine so the next day I bought my fish. I must point out that I had some gravel, rocks and plants from a mature tank if that helps??

Also, my diary entrys;

Thursday 21st May;
So, I went to my tank this morning to find my golden mollie was attacking my guppies [poor things] So I took him back to my LFS. Apart from that the usual happened. I'm going to Wales tommorow so I've got my friend from the LFS to feed my fish. So I will update Friday-Saturdays diary on Sunday Morning.
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Friday 22nd May;
Usual happened. Did notice the female rosy was thickening up a bit. Not quite sure if she is at full size yet. What is the average size for rosy barbs [M&F if possible]
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Saturday 23rd May;
The red & black guppy looks slightly bloated about 3mm behind his last gill. The last golden mollie looked lonely [he was swimming up and down the glass]
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Sunday 24th May;
Woke up & went to the LFS to find they had their latest tropical livestock update so I bought 8 neon tetras. Also, I got another guppy, he is sky blue and silver with jet black eyes. Gorgeous guppy, could have a competition winner here
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Monday 25th May;
Found 2 of the neons at the back of the tank swimming up and down. The rest of the neons have settled in well. Also, my 3 fancy guppies have banded together [I thought they prefered not to be near other males?]
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Tuesday 26th May;
Added some more whitespot relief after the 2 Neons who were at the back of the tank developde whitespot [one more severe than the other]
Also, sorry I never updated my diary as I just couldn't get my laptop or the computer to work [It decided to work today]
Also, here is a list of all the fish in my tank right now:

2 Rosey Barbs [M&F]
3 Fancy Guppies [M&M&M]
1 Golden Mollie [I Think M]
1 Red Wag Platy [F]
8 Neons [N/A]

Wondering wether I could fit in 1 more fish of its own species, something that is bright, strange and quite abstract.

 

[Geoff1991]

I dont think your tanks properly cycled yet, sorry...

 

[minxfishy]

The tank was never cycled, leaving it to sit with some water in does nothing, regardless of what a fish stores tells you. Take alook thru the links in my signature to see about fish in cycling (which you are now doing), fishless cycling.

And please stop flushing your fish, it causes untold pain to the fish, plus risks putting diseases into the water system.

 

[tropic_john]

The tank was never cycled, leaving it to sit with some water in does nothing, regardless of what a fish stores tells you. Take alook thru the links in my signature to see about fish in cycling (which you are now doing), fishless cycling.

And please stop flushing your fish, it causes untold pain to the fish, plus risks putting diseases into the water system.

O.K; No.1 I've spoken to my LFS Contact, and he has showed me another bottle of the stuff I used, and it contains ammonia to help kick start the cycling process, we also added some stress-zyme directly onto the filter media to make the process even quicker. No.2 We used matured gravel, plants & rock so, I know that helped the cycle speed up. Also, The fish I flush are dead [cease to live] and anyone knows not to flush a live fish, trust me I've learnt my lesson. A friend of mine asked me to come round his the other day and he asked me to get his net and flush a dead mudskipper [I think thats its name] and wow! it suddenly came to life as I entered his bathroom So yeah, because I'm classed as a newb on here and have only managed my first tank, I'm not some sort of fool who doesn't know his fish. However, I have taken in the idea of in-fish cycling which I've never had any of my friends do [as far as I know]
Also, I'm hiding a secret that no-one on this forum can find out about so yeah, thats being kept quite but boy, believe me you would be suprised if you found out.

 

[Geoff1991]

You may kick-start the cycling process But there's nothing to keep the cycling process going. Nothing for the bacteria to feed on.

I suggest you read up on cycling in the beginners resource centre.

Edit: Not only that, youre over stocked

 

[minxfishy]

The tank was never cycled, leaving it to sit with some water in does nothing, regardless of what a fish stores tells you. Take alook thru the links in my signature to see about fish in cycling (which you are now doing), fishless cycling.

And please stop flushing your fish, it causes untold pain to the fish, plus risks putting diseases into the water system.

O.K; No.1 I've spoken to my LFS Contact, and he has showed me another bottle of the stuff I used, and it contains ammonia to help kick start the cycling process, we also added some stress-zyme directly onto the filter media to make the process even quicker. No.2 We used matured gravel, plants & rock so, I know that helped the cycle speed up. Also, The fish I flush are dead [cease to live] and anyone knows not to flush a live fish, trust me I've learnt my lesson. A friend of mine asked me to come round his the other day and he asked me to get his net and flush a dead mudskipper [I think thats its name] and wow! it suddenly came to life as I entered his bathroom So yeah, because I'm classed as a newb on here and have only managed my first tank, I'm not some sort of fool who doesn't know his fish. However, I have taken in the idea of in-fish cycling which I've never had any of my friends do [as far as I know]
Also, I'm hiding a secret that no-one on this forum can find out about so yeah, thats being kept quite but boy, believe me you would be suprised if you found out.

The bottle of stuff is useless at best, the mature gravel etc doesnt contain anything useful either, filter media is where bacteria live, not in the gravel (unless your using a UGF). Regardless of if they are dead, you still risk putting something into the water supply or into the local streams/rivers. Wrap them in a bag, tissue whatever and bin them.

You need a test kit, liquid based, strips are no good and you need to be testing your water daily and dealing with ammonia and nitrIte which is undoubtedly killing your fish and causing the other problems you are having - FACT.

I dont care about your secret *you realise you sound ridiculous saying that* or who you think you are, my only concern is the fish. You are doing a fish in cycle and you need to sort the water quality out, stop adding more fish, the tank is overstocked as it is and only creating more ammonia for your fish to live in - unhappily too.

 

[JenCliBee]

Also, I'm hiding a secret that no-one on this forum can find out about so yeah, thats being kept quite but boy, believe me you would be suprised if you found out.

That made me chuckle , weird comes to mind lol

 

[Spishkey]

Also, I'm hiding a secret that no-one on this forum can find out about so yeah, thats being kept quite but boy, believe me you would be suprised if you found out.

That made me chuckle , weird comes to mind lol

weird or very immature (was going to put young but i know of many young fishkeepers on here who do a grand job, so i'll stick with immature)

how very sad.


my i ask you john, do you know what cycling actually is? do you know how it works? if not then it would be a good idea to read up on it, then you will see why we dont believe your tank is cycled, not in just over a week.

also you should know neons like mature set ups, and shouldn't really be added to tanks up for less than 6 months.

are you doing daily water changes? (seeing as your tank is still cycling you really should change 30-50% daily to dilute the ammonia and nitrites in your tank.

your problem so far is ....you have an uncycled tank, you added all your fish at once (bad move), you know have an over stocked uncycled tank with an ich outbreak, yet you still wish to add more fish?

wait. get your tank sorted first. ask your so called friends from the lfs to donate some mature filter media to you. put it in your filter. this willhelp with cycling your tank. do some water changes and get yourself a liquid test kit to test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. get yourself some GOOD whitespot treatment (are you 100% sure its whitespot?)