My Fish Tank Smells .... Bad

[sinistr]

i just started my fist aquarium and i have a 10gallon tank with 2 red bellied pacu and like 10 gold fishes and its been like 2 days and now the water smells and my mom is getting mad from the smell.
Can any one help me get rid of the smell?
Do i need to clean the tank get new water?....... but its only been 2 days
-im feeding them fish flakes
-i have a filter... i guess it works ok...


can any one help.... any help would be appreciated...
thanks

-sinistr

 

[craynerd]

Quite a few fish! I`m only a nooby but maybe you should do a water change and buy a small filter!?

I`m sure someone else will pipe up and post a more respectible answer soon!

 

[jpedersen024]

wow. you are WAY WAY WAY overstocked for what you have. And Pacus are definitely not suitable for anything even close to that small...

You need to find new homes for all of your fish, except maybe 2 goldfish. And then read read read everything that you can around here before you start looking into more fish.

Your tank smells because it is overloaded. And goldfish are very dirty fish, which doesn't help.

 

[wendywc]

My guess for the smell would be excess waste and ammonia. Test your water. If it is ammonia, I would use ammo-chips.

Neither pacu or goldfish should be in a 10 gallon; maybe you can trade the fish for supplies and other more suitable fish for your setup.

 

[phlawed]

Quite a few fish! I`m only a nooby but maybe you should do a water change and buy a small filter!?

I`m sure someone else will pipe up and post a more respectible answer soon!

first, adding fish to an uncycled tank is not good. Adding that many to a 10g REALLY NOT GOOD!
read pinned post on fishless cycling for more info

I would have to say in the few days you will be experiencing some loss of fish due to disease or stress. Make sure there are none dead. Dead fish smell second check for food droppings around the tank. Fish food left open or droppings accidentally dropped around the tank can spoil and smell rotten. I would recomend doing 10-15% water changes daily for the next week or so to keep the water fresh and possibly save a few fish lives.

Lastly, welcome to the forums. There is loads of info you can look at and lots of people willing to help. If you lose some fish dont get flustered. We have all been there at some point. This is a hobby and everyone learns from mistakes. Do think of your fish as pets and not simply "fish" Its also a good idea to research all your fish at least 1-2 weeks before purchase to see what type of envorment they prefer and such. Also, dont rush things. Some fish can live for many years if kept properly. Take and slow and enjoy watching them grow and mature.

Once agian welcome to the forums and hope we can all help you
Justin

 

[catxx]

here is the potential size of a red bellied pacu:

(<3 google)

their general full size is 100cm (39 inches).

goldfish can potentially reach 20 inches.

definately rehome all but maybe 2 goldfish (who will still need upgrading to a larger tank in the future)

 

[@ombomb]

NONE of those fish should be in a tank that size, rehome them ALL ASAP!!!

 

[riverman444]

Yeesh......poor fish. I agree with everybody. You have WAY too many fish in that tank. 2 Goldfish is about the most you would want in there.

The smell is more than likely from fish waste and ammonia.

If you don't want the fish to die, I would recommend giving them back or letting a friend (with a bigger tank) take them until you can get a more suitable home for them. Pacu get big!

 

[sinistr]

well i guess ill test the water and get rid of the gold fishes and just keep the pacu
thanks for all the help

the 2 pacu are like 1.5in big do u think that the 10 gallon is good enough?

 

[riverman444]

Not for long

 

[@ombomb]

well i guess ill test the water and get rid of the gold fishes and just keep the pacu
thanks for all the help

the 2 pacu are like 1.5in big do u think that the 10 gallon is good enough?

Take ALL the fish back, a pacu will comfortably grow nearly twice as long as a 10G!

 

[pokagon55]

well i guess ill test the water and get rid of the gold fishes and just keep the pacu
thanks for all the help

the 2 pacu are like 1.5in big do u think that the 10 gallon is good enough?

Take ALL the fish back, a pacu will comfortably grow nearly twice as long as a 10G!

Take them fish back and get something like white cloud minows or tetra's or guppy's or plattie's....something small and slimmed bodied.

 

[sinistr]

yea so i gave away the gold fishes and kept the 2 pacu in the same 10g tank until i get my 30 gallon tank which would be in a week.

 

[wendywc]

Step in the right direction, congrats. If the tank still stinks, gravel vac and do a partial water change.

 

[Iron Man]

Glad to hear that...good for you!

As a long time keeper of goldfish, I was mortified reading you had 10 in a 10 gallon....with pacus!! I wouldn't subject 1 goldfish to that...much less 2 of them!

Most of us have started out wrong until we learn what to do. Its just a matter of reading and learning.

Once you know the basics of biological filtration the rest will come as common sense.