Newbie

[jeff_okeeffe]

I set up my first 2 foot tank last weekend and it currently contains 10 neon tetras, 2 red wagtail platys, 2 blue neon male guppies and 4 female guppies. Any suggestions or comments about my current setup would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Callum]

so you mean you added all the fish at once the stocking looks fine but you should really of built up the stocking over a month or two not all at once. what are your water stats right now?

 

[Betta5]

well i would have waited for about 6 months for the neons (some are touchy) Otherwise seems fine. Yes if it was all at once you may get an amoina(sp) spike

 

[Nerwign]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861

Check this thread over. If you did not cycle your tank in some fashion, you're in for trouble. Out in nature, fish have thousands or millions of gallons of water to swim around in and there are entire ecosystems at work to keep things going. Taking water from your tap, putting it in a glass container and adding a bunch of fish won't reproduce that. Fish poop is toxic to fish, and the filter won't get rid of all the toxins. The filter takes big particles out of the water, but to break down the toxic elements of the poop (amonia) you need bacteria to be growing in your gravel/sand and in your filter. This takes time to set up. You can cycle your tank with fish or without fish (the post above tells you how to do it without fish). Doing it with fish is harmful and stressful to the fish and I would recomend against it.

Once your tank is properly cycled you can add all your fish right away (the tetras will do better if you buy them 6+ months later).

Let us know if you cycled your tank. If not, you're going to have to work really hard to keep your fish alive for the cycling.

-Nerwign

 

[jeff_okeeffe]

I did not cycle the tank, so what do u recommend to try and keep my fish alive?

 

[Tolak]

You'll have to do daily water changes of at least 25% to keep the ammonia & nitrite levels down somewhat. Try to get some mature gravel from your lfs, or check out this link to see if there is a member near you; http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=150631

Here's a chart to help you understand how cycling goes;

Stocking that many fish in an uncycled tank means you may lose some. Platys & guppys are more hardy than neons. The more you keep up on water changes, the better success you will have at this point. Don't forget dechlorinator, Prime is one of the best products out there. It would be wise to pick up a water test kit, the liquid ones are much more accurate than the strips.

 

[Callum]

bear in mind these days due to interbreeding guppies arnt very hardy really

 

[mark.w.jones]

Dont panic too much thou. Everyone makes mistakes. Follow the advice above and hopefully in a month or so you'll have a cycled tank and filter. Fingers crossed you dont lose any fish.

In the meantime, read all the pinned articles at the top of this and the tropical chit chat forum. Theyre a gold mine of experience and will teach you loads more than a book or your lfs ever will.