New Tank Question

[winterpeg]

I set up a new tank for my daughters two weeks ago. I started with guppies(my fault since we were in a rush when we got them) and they died. I put in 3 zebra danio and those 3 have died, I got one more zebra danio and he is the only one in the tank. He has not been eating so I tested the ammonia last night and got a reading around somewhere between 1 and 2PPM, I also did a 25% water change last night and after that my reading was about the same as before or a little less. What is the best step to take from here. Should I get some chemicals to get rid of the ammonia or let natures take it course and let the nitrates build up. Should I put any more fish in there or see if I can get the one fish to survive. My tank size is 5 gallons.

 

[FishBlast]

90% water changes, monitor ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (PH too if possible), do not get any more fish, they will die. Make sure ammonia and nitrite are 0 daily by doing the 90% water changes.

Also, get a bigger tank or keep endlers after doing a fishless cycle by following the instructions here: Fishless cycling

 

[winterpeg]

How often should I be doing the water changes

 

[FishBlast]

How often should I be doing the water changes

Test kit will tell.
If ammonia or nitrite is NOT 0, then that requires a water change.
Once they are both 0, leave it that way and test next day. When one of those two shows a greater value than 0, again 90% water change.
Make sure you are using liquid test, strips will get affected when they dry out and results will be inaccurate.

Also that last danio might die, he sounds like his gills have been damaged.
If he dies, do fishless cycle and preferably in a bigger tank, as I've had a 5 gallon before and it severely limited the number of fish I could have. I was pushing it over the limit with the 3 fish I've had in there. Lucky they survived thanks to the advice the people on this forum have given me.

Oh yeah, one last tip: You need a filter in order to cycle a tank. So I hope you have one.

 

[winterpeg]

I just went in and did a water change and the danio had died. I did a 90% water change and turned the heater and filter back on. Should I wait until the ammonia is back to zero before adding another fish. I also took the oppurtuniy and did a good vacuum of the gravel.

I would love to get a 20 or 30 gallon tank but we are limited in space and our daughter wanted some fish and someone gave us a 5 gallon tank. I'm fine with her only having 2 or 3 fish, this will also give me a chance to see if I like keeping fish before spending a bunch of money on larger equipment.

 

[FishBlast]

I just went in and did a water change and the danio had died. I did a 90% water change and turned the heater and filter back on. Should I wait until the ammonia is back to zero before adding another fish.

Do not add another fish!
Do a fishless cycle by getting the following:
Pure ammonia (or in worst case throw a lot of fish food in the tank to produce ammonia over time but this slows things down too much).
Liquid test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH.
PH should be above 6.5 for this to work properly, ideal would be 7-8 PH.
Drop ammonia into the tank till it's 4ppm on the test, make sure the filter is running at all times and is NEVER stopped. Heater set to at least 24C.
Wait till the day ammonia goes to 0, then re-dose 4 ppm. Nitrite should be showing up.
Keep dosing ammonia back to 4ppm when it hits 0, also make sure the nitrites are going down eventually.
Do not do water changes during fishless cycling until both ammonia and nitrite get to 0 in less than 12 hours for a week.

Barely then you can get fish, but get at least a 10 gallon, ideally a 20 gallon, and that should keep the fish safe once the filter is cycled.

The filter must never be cleaned with non-dechlorinated tap water or be in a tank that hasn't been treated with dechlorinator and must never be left to dry. Always keep under water / full of water.

And another thing, this whole process lasts over a month, sometimes 2 months. Whether you do it with fish or without fish, same period of waiting, only that with fish you will see them die most likely if you are not quick enough to take action.

 

[FishBlast]

If you really want to keep a 5 gallon, you could get a betta fish, they don't swim much and breathe air mostly. But this still requires a cycled filter. And you cannot get more than 1 betta for 5 gallons. They like to stay alone and there are few species who might enjoy company (Betta Imbellis for example). The most aggressive is the crowntail but it also looks awesome and likes to be alone.

If you get a 10 gallon, it would allow you to keep a few guppies there, very colourful tiny fish and watching them form a colony is nice too (but they have babies too often) or could get endlers instead, similar to the guppies.
Zebra danios need 20 gallon or more with 4 foot length, so those fish are not recommended.

Few pics from google images:
Guppy variations.

Endlers

Bettas:

Halfmoon betta

Crowntail

 

[TomShootsPhoto]

With a 5 gallon you could do some shrimp, and one betta. No other fish are suitable for such small tank.

Click on beginners resource center in my signature, and read over everything, ESPECIALLY cycling. Cycle the tank, then add fish.

Good luck!

 

[winterpeg]

So I changed the water and the ammonia level has come down to roughly .5, I did another 50% water change to help lower it some more. I also tested the nitrites which were at zero, how long into the cycling does it take to get readings of nitrites.

 

[FishBlast]

So I changed the water and the ammonia level has come down to roughly .5, I did another 50% water change to help lower it some more. I also tested the nitrites which were at zero, how long into the cycling does it take to get readings of nitrites.

Why are you changing the water? You need to be adding ammonia and not changing water if there are no fish in there...

Between 1 and 2 weeks normally the nitrites should be appearing after the ammonia is reduced BY THE BACTERIA, do not change water.
What is your temperature and PH in the tank now? The bacteria for the filter like a temp around 24-27 C I think, and PH of 7.5 or higher. But if it's not as high no problem as long as it's stable. Do not modify it.

Nitrite reduction should take 4 weeks or sometimes more, depending on your temp and PH and how good you feed the bacteria. Also check Nitrates. They should be rising at some point.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Hi winterpeg welcome to the forum! Sorry to hear you've been having a rough time with your tank but you're in good hands here

Now that you dont have any fish you have a nice clean slate to work from. You do have some options with a 5 gallon tank but they are limited. I'm sure your daughters would love a male betta as they like to interact with people and have beautiful colours with long fins, i am biased though! You could also get some shrimp and they are really cute and fun to watch even though they are small. If you like the sound of this i reccomend you do a little reading up to see what you think.
You'll also want to do a fishless cycle of your tank. it is a little time comsuming but it is much safer in the long run and you wont have the problems youve experienced so far. You'll need to buy a bottle of household ammonia, i'm not sure where you live but in the UK you can get it at homebase or boots. You'll also need a water test kit as someone else mentioned. You can read this thread for a nice, step by step explanation of how the cycle works. Fishless Cycling
I hope things get a bit better for you now. everyone here is more than happy to answer your questions even if you think they are small things

Edit: wow that was full of typos, i'm useless on this ipad haha!

 

[FishBlast]

Yep, male betta would be awesome. So many colors to pick from.
I wish I could have one too but they don't get along well with most fish. -.-

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Betta Fish Compatability It's surprising how many fish they can live with actually, maybe if you want to use your old tank one day check this thread out. Winterpeg there are some options for a 5g tank on this thread too, check it out!

 

[FishBlast]

Betta Fish Compatability It's surprising how many fish they can live with actually, maybe if you want to use your old tank one day check this thread out. Winterpeg there are some options for a 5g tank on this thread too, check it out!

They're not 100% compatible with swordtails and I could see my female competing with a betta male to death, and I don't want to see my hoplo without eyes or with a shredded dorsal fin like I saw another one of mine. Ok, I had a betta pack of 4 back then so they probably teamed up against that hoplo, but still... I dread the idea.

Yeah I could use my old 5 gal tank for a nice betta but only when I'll get a second filter or I'd get a bigger one for main tank and use this one + a piece of media in that one. Meanwhile, my mom occupied my old stand with her flower vase. LOL. But at least I have my little buddies in my room. X)

 

[winterpeg]

I was considering continuing with a fish in cycle. I may look into a betta, I got one from a wedding and he lived in a bowl for 5 months without me doing anything for him, i know he probably didn't like me for it.