Need Urgent Advice....

[shahrezsyed]

well......i have had a 45 gallon tank for a year now...at first i didnt know anything about fishkeeping.....i actually kept 6 goldfishes,8 angelfish,12 zebra danios and 2 silver dollars in it.....when i joines tff and learned everything about fishkeeping and just panicked....and....after evrything ive been through, the tank's still a disaster.
it has 2 silver dollar fish and 2 parrot cichlids.i dont have a test kit. it has 2 small sponge filters and an undergravel filter. the tank hasnt been cleaned and no wc has been performed since like 2-3 months...!!!
im relocating all the fish to a friend who owns a public aquarium.
now i want to know which filter i should use for a 45 gallon tank(no powerfilters are availible in pakistan and i cannot afford a canister filter!!)
and is the following combination of fish ok for a 45 gallon
3 pairs of angelfish
1 pair german blue ram
1 some plecostomus
6 zebra danios(will be kept in the tank for 4 months for it to mature before the other fish..
the tank will be planted with easy plants like anubias nana ,java moss and java fern...
shahrez

 

[toshapetriji]

If you have been unable to carry out any maintenance for 2 or 3 months I would consider giving up the hobby, it´s not fair on the fish.

 

[furry catfish]

If you have been unable to carry out any maintenance for 2 or 3 months I would consider giving up the hobby, it´s not fair on the fish.

I wouldn't go that far,I used to forget about water changes to but I got into this forum and now I do them every week.but he's right about it being cruel,If I were you I would give the fish back to wherever you got them from and get a great looking tropical community tank full of small tetras,corys,a pleco and some friendly american chichlids.any way good luck


chris

 

[Wills]

Have to say I kind of agree with above if you cant do water changes regularly I would either give up or make a bigger commitment and get on with it.

That said in a 46g tank I would do:

2 Angel fish - Arguably you could do 3 but I would just do 2 that way if they pair up there is not an odd one and also if the 2 dont get on there is enough room for them to stay away from each other.
4 Bolivian rams - as German Blues need a much higher temperature than most other fish
1 Small Plec like a brislenose or a small L number plec, if you have access to these not sure how much the east gets imported.
15 Zebra Danio - its a decent size tank and it can handle a big school - when you said you would put these in to cycle the tank that is what is known as a fish in cycle which means daily water changes to keep them alive in the tank.

Just a few thoughts though - could you not buy an internal power filter off the net from the UAE or China and get it shipped to you? Also to make sure your tank is cycled why not get some mature media from your friend with the public aquarium? That would save a lot of trouble of a fish in cycle.

Wills

 

[indigoj]

I kind of agree, the first thing to address is whether you are capable of maintaining a tank at all and why the waterchanges have not been done for so long? Can you commit to at least 20% weekly water changes? If not then I'd say wait until you can or you will never have the nice colourful, healthy, active tank you want.

If you can maintain the waterchanges then filtraton is your next issue if you can only get sponge or undergravel filters then I would stay away from big messy fish like plecs and stick with light stocking in general - A pair of Rams or a Pair of Angels (or other similar fish up to about 5"), Corys and a couple of groups of schooling fish.

I do think you need to do some research and give this a lot of thought before jumping in again.

 

[jjkremp]

If you have been unable to carry out any maintenance for 2 or 3 months I would consider giving up the hobby, it´s not fair on the fish.

I wouldn't go that far,I used to forget about water changes to but I got into this forum and now I do them every week.but he's right about it being cruel,If I were you I would give the fish back to wherever you got them from and get a great looking tropical community tank full of small tetras,corys,a pleco and some friendly american chichlids.any way good luck


chris

ya all need to re read his WHOLE post again and lets help instead for put down or say quits...

 

[shahrezsyed]

well.....its not that i didnt know about fishkeeping...i just didnt have the budget...rabbut,seffie and the other old members know that.
+ im not quitting ;p
and i just did a 70% water change.
now from now on, im gonna clean the substate and do a 50%wc weekly.
i had a sudden change of plans due to some personal reason..
i am now having..
a really big internal filter with 2 large sponges,1 wet dry trickle filter,and an undergravel filter with 3 lifters(its not gonna do much due to the parrot cichlids digging up everything but something is better than everything.
and the stocking is
a pair of parrot cichlids,a pair of silver dollars,3 unknown catfish(they're pink with no differential fins they have a single fin all along the length of their body.
im guessing this much filtration will be enough or no.......ive been fishkeeping for 3 years successfully now..i wasnt able to maintain this tank due to personal reasons which i donot want to disclose.
the only problem ive had till now is stocking problems i just dont know how to stock an aquarium without asking a ton of questions...
shahrze

 

[shahrezsyed]

instead of helping me most of you are just making me feel bad...
again.......you can ask all the old members....im not cruel to fish like.
i just didnt have access to this tank due to some reasons.
i mean i have 3 other large reef tanks whitch are thriving for 2 years

 

[indigoj]

Ok, if you are now able to look after this tank then great. No-one wants you to feel bad and we all have personal stuff going on now and then just the way you worded it was as if you'd just not bothered.

I am concerned about the stocking - "and the stocking is
a pair of parrot cichlids,a pair of silver dollars,3 unknown catfish(they're pink with no differential fins they have a single fin all along the length of their body." - I thought these were being rehomed and you were starting from scratch?

I'd say definitely rehome the silver dollars as they need a bigger group you don't have room for.

As for the catfish, they sound like clarias or something similar, can you get a pic? If they are clarias you need to rehome all of them too as they get very large and can be aggressive.

 

[OldMan47]

I remember you well from earlier times shahrezsyed and do not think you have been neglecting your fish. We each have things that interfere with our ability to look after our fish from time to time. It is one reason that I always encourage people to keep their stocking light. That way, when you can't deal with the fish, they can survive in good condition.

With no power filters available and no canister filter possible, that leaves us with the undergravel filter which is a poor choice when you have fish that dig. Other possibilities are the internals such as the Fluval 4+ or a similar filter that contains a nice pair of sponge filters and a pump to circulate flow effectively. Other options are pure sponge filters like this one

They can be used with an air lift tube as is typical for a sponge filter or with a power head like this one that fits on top of the lift tube to give a very nice flow.

The tapered inlet fitting fits right into the lift tube to give excellent circulation.
Other options include things run by an air pump. That would include the sponge filter and lots of different design box filters, also called corner filters. They are basically plastic boxes that you fill with the media of your choice and then use an air driven lift tube to move water through them.

 

[Curiosity101]

Or if you were to look on Ebay you could get filters that would easily cover your tank for (at the very very very most), 4,140 Pakistan Rupees (£30 in GBP).

You could order a couple from hong kong as they do delivery everywhere.

 

[shahrezsyed]

ok then, ill rehome the silver dollars. and the catfish are'nt clarias.they're pink and their maximum length is 5-6" if they get bigger. i'll rehome them.
@ oldman 47
i do have a powerful powerhead attached to two large sponges and they work perfectly. i just like extra filtration to be on the safe side.
so does this mean a wet dry trickle filter and this internal filter will be fine for the fish.
what should i get in place of the silver dollars?
shahrez

 

[shahrezsyed]

@curiosity 101
i know i can do that but this is actually my moms tank. i cant do anything on it without her permission.
and my real problem is that she always feels the tank looks empty then i tell her that the fish are gonna grow!!
so the only thing i can think of now is increasing the filtration.
and i know all of you are gonna tell me its not your tank and its not your fault.
its just that im just trying to rescue the tank because i feel bad for the fish.if it was my tank i would've rehomed every fish,ordered an aquaclear 200,and would've gone with the stocking i asked about in the first post.
all my other tanks are fine......................................ok i think this thread should be closed whats the use of it if i cant do anything to the tank other than improve filtration.
shahrez

 

[Tolak]

Increase water change frequency & amount. To make this easier buy or build a python, there are other ways that work as well, depending on where your water source & drain are located. If you are stuck with an overstocked situation, as it seems you are, remove the substrate if possible. If mom is against removing the substrate, minimize it, the less the better.

You can overstock a tank pretty heavily as long as the species are compatible, and not too territorial. The biggest issue is cleanliness, you need a clean tank with clean water.

Substrate takes time, with a couple of hoses, a powerhead & a faucet adapter you can change water while you are doing most anything else within eyesight of the tank. I have a couple of tanks outside the fishroom where I do this all the time. There are a lot of tricks for making water changes easier.

OM47 is on the money with sponge & box filters, I run these on all but one of my tanks, they get the job done cheaper than any filter. Couple them with plenty of water changes & you can keep a really overstocked tank running with minimum problems.

 

[shahrezsyed]

tanks tolak...
so this stocking with 50%wc 2 times a week,a wet dry tricle filter filled with ceramic rings and bioballs,2 medium sized sponges attaches to a powerful powerhead, and an undergravel filter, with thorough gravel cleaning every week be fine. cuz im ok with it. i actually enjoy it...thanks tolak as always for the last 2 years you have helped a lot with clear cut answers...