My poor tank is a disaster, need help ASAP

[SunnyBethy]

Okay, kick me in the pants because Im a new fish owner, unfortunately, when I started out I knew NOTHING about fish keeping. And I didnt realize how much work it was, or can be.

I have a 4 gallon tank,which Ive had for almost 6 months, with an in tank filter. Just a waterfall filter with a cartrage & carbon in it. I have gravel & plastic plants. Now, I have NEVER Been able to get the water to calm down. And my poor fish, my poor poor fish, just disappear one by one. I didnt get the chance to cycle the tank cuz the fish were sprung on me (anyone with kids might understand that)

The 2 corys I have left have finrot, assumably from water stress. And are going downhill rapidly.
My stats are:

nitrates 20ppm
Nitrites 0
Waterhardness: 150ppm
Alkalinity: 120
pH between 7.8 and 8.0

Ive been trying to get the ph down, because it totally went alkaline outta nowhere. Im so at a loss at what to do. Ive been doing 20% water changes every 2 days. I feel awful for my fish. I got some flack from another forum because I am apparently "deliberately torturing" my fish. Which is TOTALLY untrue. Im trying to get it right, ya know? And Im havin a rough time at it. I do really enjoy keeping fish (for more than 2 weeks) and I would REALLY like to get this whole thing functioning. We were all beginners once. I dont know if my cories can be saved. Any advice, or advice for future fish endevors would be GREATLY appriciated.

 

[mattbeau]

welcome to the forum,

ok good start with the stats,

a good indicator is that your nitrates are comming around which means the second set of bacteria is working, and having 0 nitrites is also good, whats your ammonia level, this would give us a pretty good indicator if the tank is cycled, unless your completely changing he water every week

I think I have the same filter, the pad fits horizontally runs through to a bio wheel and is dropped back into the water. I use this or my puffer tank and it does a prett good job


I wouldnt dink around with the PH, having a fluctuating PH is far worse then having either a slightly higher acidic or alkalei (SP?) water

Coryadoras are extremely hardy? what type do you have? if unsure check here http/www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/mall3.htm

I would advice against tonic salt as its bad for catfish, and so are a lot of meds

make sure you use the same source of water be it tap, Avion, or from the garden hose, keeping a stable source helps to keep water fluctiations down which IS stressfull to the fish, and before you put the new water into the tank make sure to use a declorinator, like Novaqua+ (there are other brands though)

what do you feed your corys? they will do ok on flakes but, but shrimp pellets and vegies is really good for them

good luck and I'm sure someone else will be around to help you, as far as treating the fin rot.

 

[SunnyBethy]

Thank you so much from responding. Glad to hear my stats are lookin okay. My Amonia is between 0-.25, so its not mega high or anything. Ive read that gravel can harbour alot of icky bacteria, but of course the stress from the ph fluctuations I had must have lowered their immune system and caused the fin rot. (??)Its pretty bad on one of them now. His dorcel fin is nearly gone, and its moving down his body. I feel awful. I feed them algae tabs and the occasional veggie or shrimp pellet.

I used some Ph down, cuz it was really high a couple days ago. Which Im sure caused the death of a 3rd one. I have always been told corys are hardy fish. I had 3 peppered and 2 emerald corys. Now I just have the 2 emeralds. People have alot of mixed opinions, ya know? I was told to add salt, now I shouldnt add salt, its kinda frustrating sometimes. So thanks again for your reply. I will keep lookin out for some advice on the fin rot.

 

[mattbeau]

Dont worry there alot of people that have been doing this stuff for years, I personally have never had fin-rot nor treated it, so I dont want to reccomend anything.

But I have had Ich once and it wiped out alot of fish within days, this was due to my water quality, possibly from medicating and overstocking. we have all made mistakes when we first started. but we learn from our mistakes.

ammonia is bad at any level it should be zero, which means your tank is still cycling.

once you reach zero nitrites and zero ammonia and notice that the nitrate is climing then your tank is completely cycled for your current bio-load. this usually takes a few weeks to happen. Nitrate is "ok" for freshwater fish up to a point, the weekly watr changes are for removing the nitrate, adding plants can also help keep the nitrate down a little.

Basically enviromental quality has a direct affect on a fish's stress and stress has an adverse affect on a fishes ability to protect itself from disease.

also 4 gallons seams awfly small for 5 corys as cories can grow up to 2-3 inches in some cases, peppered's will grow to about 2.5 inches. 5 cories at 2.5=12.5 in. of fish

the general guidline is 1 inch per gallon, this is :
1. to ensure adequite oxygen in the water
2. help keep the bio-load down over a period of time

there is a substantial amount of info in the pinned topics here, the begginer and the catfish area. Also running a search in these areas should help get you the answer your looking for

Finally happy fish are healthier fish

 

[SunnyBethy]

I agree, 5 corys was alot, but like I said in my first post they were sprung on me, and I knew very little about corys. I do now. But unfortuntately, they both died in the night. So its a moot point.

I would, however, like to keep my tank running so it can finish its cycle, and hopefully balance out in the near future. I would like to start a new and much larger tank, but start fishless and do it right. I really enjoy keeping my tank...even though I havent had much luck. And use the gravel & stuff from this tank once its done cycling to help kick start a new one.

So the 411 on my tank is 0 fish, but I have a few little snails hanging around. What should I do? SHould I clean it out and start the cycling over? Or leave it to do its thing?

Anyways, my apologies to anyone who thinks new fish keepers suck. But hey, my cat is adopted, so is my hamster Cozmo. And I always donate to the humain society. Thanks for your replys! Much appriciated.

 

[jollysue]

Have you had your tank running with fish in it for 6 months? You didn't mention, do you have a heater? What temperature do you keep it.

There must be a source of ammonia (usually fish waste) to keep the tank's good bacteria alive. Some people will keep feeder fish in a tank to keep it healthy. Many of us kept a few goldies to practice on. I still have one out of four or five. I killed the rest. I liked some of them. My survivor goldie is ready to graduate to a pond, and my local fish store has gladly offered to place him for me. Another way is to add soapless ammonia.

 

[SunnyBethy]

Yeah, I had fish in it from the very start. It went like this..

For my sons birthday, my neighbour took it upon herself to give my son one of those cheap nasty Sponge Bob tanks and a bag of 5 cories. Out of nowhere. Ive had fish before, when I was like...12. I dont remember having any of the problems I had with these ones.

So me in my ignorance, popped the cories in the tank and all was well...until I learned....cories are TROPICAL FISH! They need warmer water! Then they started dying, and I freaked out, went to the pet store and bought a small 4 gallon tank package with the filter, light hood, etc, in a bid to save my cories. I got a heater, thermometer, test kits, everything to try and keep the tank stable. And it just never came around. And one by one they just died. I ended up with 2 potbellied mollies, and they died as well. Then 3 days ago, the light broke in the hood. Its all one unit so I have to buy a whole new hood for the tank. SOOO, needless to say, I havent had a good run. BUT, like I said, I really want to try again from scratch, armed with knowledge this time.

Sorry about your goldfish. It just never occured to me to get goldfish. I dont have any like, independant pet shops around here. So I get my fish from petco, which is probably not a good idea. In each tank, for every 2 living ones, there were like, 3 dead ones stuck to the filter or something. Its awful really. And they know as much about fish as they know about nuclear science. Not good for new fish owners like myself.

I do have snails in there, and I feed them once a week. Usually a piece of cucumber or frozen peas. Im sure they would keep the amonia levels up a bit. And alot has settled into the gravel as well, cuz you can never fully clean that stuff. Would adding plants along the line help with the cycling? Should I clean the whole tank out and start over? Just not sure what to do at the moment.

Thanks for your reply!

 

[SunnyBethy]

Sorry about the little guy in the party hat...I make smilies out of habit on the keyboard, and I guess they come out here as little guys in party hats lol!

 

[@ombomb]

What are you planning to keep in there when you do get it stable?

 

[rdd1952]

If you've had the tank for 6 months, it should be cycled but you do still have some ammonia so I guess it's not. Keep doing the water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite under .5 until you are completely cycled and they are 0.

As for the pH, what is the pH of your tap water? Most all fish can adjust and live very comfortably in what you have. The main thing is that it's stable which it won't be if you are using chemicals. Swings in pH are probably one of the most stressful things on a fish since they are exponential. A change of .1 is actually equal to 10. I would suggest that yo quit using the pH adjusters and if you do want to lower it, use peat in the filter or add a very small piece driftwood. Unfortunately, small tanks are much more difficult to keep steady.

I would also suggest changing to sand instead of gravel. Corys prefer sand as they use their barbels to find food. Gravel is usually rough and can damage their barbels and cause problems. Sand is also much easier to clean as the waste stays on the top making it easy to vacuum up.

Lastly, welcome to the forum.

 

[SunnyBethy]

Hi and thanks for the warm welcome!

I dont think I will be adding to this tank, because like rdd1952 said, small tanks are difficult to keep stablized. If I do, I will probably just get a couple feeder fish or rosy red minnows. When, of course, the tank is cycled and under control. My plan is to add some of the gravel & stuff to a new tank to help it cycle faster. We are moving in 2 weeks and I will have more than enough room for a large tank.

My tap water stats are:

0 nitrate
0 nitrite
150 water hardness
180 total alkalinity
7.8 pH


Just wish it could stay that way! lol

 

[Angel Lady]

Hi SunnyBethy and welcome to the forum. If you are going to be moving next week you how long will these fish have to stay without power??I was just wondering where you are already having trouble this will add to it...I hope everything goes ok with the move and all..

 

[SunnyBethy]

I dont have any fish. And since the tank isnt stablized, and wont be for a while, I wont be adding any soon. So, no worries about fish with no power

Im just gunna take the tank with me and keep it running for a while. And see what happens. THanks for all your help everyone. I know the outcome seriously sucked, but it was a lesson learned and something I wont repeat.

 

[fatboybaby]

hello and sorry to hear about all your corys.

i too am a newbie and the advice on here is the best i have seen.

it seems like all new fishkeepers underestimate the difficulty of keeping fish and make mistakes to begin with, but places like this can really help you get on the right track.

so keep going and hopefully soon we'll both have wonderful tanks to rival some of the more experienced people on here!

 

[jollysue]

Yeah! Hi! Welcome!

Sorry you had some intolerance. Some folks have issues. There are also some non judgemental , knowledgeable folk who will help you find your way.


I guess you might also consider a betta for the 4 gal.