New Fish Panics

[lizjamie]

So after my fishless cycle completing I have now got 6 lemon tetras and 4 red nose tetras in my tank. Every one seems fine - no ammonia or nitrite spikes, but I just have a few new mother type twitters.

1. Feeding - so far have fed to them 4 soaked and crushed flakes in the evening only. is this enough?

2. Although have no ammonia or nitrite spikes i have no nitrate either! I have attributed this to the couple of new cheap plants I got when i bought the fish so they had something to hide in. Is this something I should worry about.

3. Red nose tetras today when turned on the light had gone a bit pale. I was a bit worried but their colour came back really quickly, were they just scared of the light? None of my stats seem out but I read that this is the first indication that fish are unhappy...

4. Since getting the red nose tetras I have become a little panicky that my water is too hard for them. I am in oxford and have pretty hard water I think, but i can't seem to find any info on the internet and what do i do if it does prove to be too hard! My ph also seems higher than optimal for them - about 8. I had presumed if they were happily in lfs water then all would be fine but should i be acting on this? Also lfs provides free RO water - would this improve the situation?

Sorry to bother everyone again but I really dont want a bunch of dead fish!

 

[rabbut]

Rummy nosed tetras (as they are called round me) will loose their colour in small groups and also arround the time lights go on. They should get their colour in 30mis If they don't I'd up the shoal numbers as they are probibly feeling a bit insecure
The RO could help, but I wouldn't think about moving the pH without first finding the KH anf GH of the water If you lower the pH without knowing these, you may get some large pH swings
Remeber a fish will adapt to a stable pH outside their ideal range better than the will adapt to a pH in their ideal range that keeps fluctuating.

I feed mine as much as they can eat within two minuites. You want them to rush to the food when it is added. If they don't, cut back a little of feeding

 

[lizjamie]

Thank you for such a rapid response!

Do you knwo where I can find out the kH and gH of the water or is it a case of buying more test kits?

Eeek: I definitely have 1 rednose looking a little sicky, a bit paler than the rest and has been caught sitting in the plants rather than swimming around with the rest. As a whole they don't seem to all stick together now (or at least in their species) as much as they did when i first got them but these being my first tropicals i don't really know what is normal....

 

[rabbut]

Yes, you will need a GH and KH test kit if you are going to play with water chemistory

That Rummynose doesn't sound right, but the symptoms are rather non-specific, so I can't realy say what you need to do Keep an eye on it and see if anything happens

All the best
Rabbut