New 25 Gallon Tank

[Cgjohnst]

I just picked up a new 25 gallon tank on Sunday. I've added Stress-coat and Stress-zyme as necessary, but I'm not sure where to go from here. I have 2 green cory's, 1 bristlenose pleco, 3 upside-down cats, and 6 guppies. I was thinking about getting like 6 more guppies and no idea from there. I had 10 neons, but they all died overnight. I'm not sure what happened with them. I'm thinking maybe some cherry barbs? I want a couple more types of active, peaceful community fish (specifically colorful ones). I'll only have the fish for about 4-5 more months, then I'll be moving and depending on how far I have to move I'll either give the fish away or bring them with me. What would go well with my current fish? I'd like to breed the guppies like I did back in high school, but I may not have much time to really grow that many. Maybe a couple dwarf gouramis?

 

[Gvilleguy]

Hi CG,

It sounds like you bought a new tank and put fish in right away without cycling the filter on the tank. You would think that you can just add fish and go, but in an uncycled tank, your fish are giving off ammonia as they eat and breathe, and as that ammonia builds up in the water, it is toxic to the fish and kills them.

If you would like to get your tank straight, and hopefully not lose more fish, you should consider starting an immediate fish-in cycle, the instructions for which can be found in the beginner's resource section. (link below in my signature) It will take some time, but eventually a helpful type of bacteria will start to grow on the sponges in your filter that will process the ammonia that the fish are giving off. Have a read through the nitrogen cycle threads if you would like a more detailed explanation of what is happening. To keep your fish alive you will need to conduct daily water changes to keep the levels of ammonia and nitrite as low as possible, so please read over the fish-in cycle instructions to get an idea of where to start.

Thanks!
GVG

 

[Gvilleguy]

Another area to evaluate would be your method for acclimating the fish from the fish store bags into the tank itself. A gradual transition is the best possible thing you can do to make it easier on the fish. I suppose the simplest method would be to float the bags in the tank, cut open the top, and use a chip clip to attach the bags to the side of your tank. Then every 15 minutes or so you scoop a little (mabye 1/4 cup) tank water into the bags. Wait 15, repeat. Do this for about an hour to an hour and a half, and then net the fish into your tank. Do not pour the fish store water into your tank, as that might introduce diseases into your tank environment.