Newbie

[RDG]

Hey everyone, i'm a newbie to keeping any sort of fish
been wanting a tropical fish tank for a while, so done a fair bit of reading up on the subject
decided to get a tank about 3 weeks ago, an aquael 60x30x30, got all the equipment included
set everything up, and did a fishless cycle.
been doing water tests since setting up, the amonia and nitrate levels dropped to safe levels on monday
went to the local pet store, bought a few plants and got 8 neon tetra,
didnt realise these little guys aren't the best fish to put in a new setup untill i'd done some reading on here,
but their doing great, looking better than they were looking in the shop and seem fine.
Thinking about getting some guppies on saturday, was thinking about adding some fresh water shrimp next week and not sure what else to get then.
Any help or suggestions on other fish to add, advice with maintanence and anything else would be much appreciated.
thanks everyone
Dai

 

[KittyKat]

You seem to be on the right track! I think with the neons, guppies (also not the hardiest fish) and shrimp, you should be at a good place to stop for now

I must say, with good stock, I have never had problems adding neons to a new (planted) set-up.. maybe you'll be as lucky as I am.

 

[lilfishie]

i too have never had problems with neons in a new setup, great to see you got a nice size group too

 

[RDG]

hey guys, thanks for the reply's
I spoke too soon yesterday, came home from work to find 3 of the neons had died,
did a water change immediately this morning (around 25%)
checked amonia, nitrite and nitrate levels, all on 0
any advice on the matter? is it just because the neons are very sensitive or could there be another reason?
only thing i could find wrong was the ph was slightly low, around 5.5 i think. think i've read that bicarb will sort this out, is this true? if so how much should i add to adjust the ph to the right level,
thanks

 

[waterdrop]

Hi RDG and wecome to TFF! I keep neons and find that I fall on the side of any number of members who have found that a bit better average of success comes from introducing neons to a tank that has matured a few months beyond a good fishless cycle, but it's only a thing of averages and doesn't mean one can't often do ok with them in a young tank. Neons do prefer water that is quite soft and acid but I don't think you should try bicarb, as that changes the mineral content of the water very quickly and so is recommended as a tool for fishless cycling more than for when fish are in. Once fish are in it is better to minimize additives of most types and try to work with the tap water you already have.

I think in your case it's possible there are much more basic beginner items that should be at least checked on: Are you using paper strip testing perhaps? Most of us prefer to use a good liquid-reagent based test kit and like the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. Perhaps you could describe your fishless cycle (number of days, brand of simple ammonia used to provide the NH3 concentration, that sort of thing.) (Often we do this over in the new freshwater tank section rather than the Welcome subforum.) You may currently be in a fish-in cycling situation and just not have the proper means to detect it. There is a write-up about dealing with this type of situation in our Beginners Resource Center in the freshwater beginners subforum.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[RDG]

I have been using the paper strips
I set the tank up, i added sachets that came with the tank in the starter kit, left everything running for a week, did a water change, and left for another week. didnt add any amonia into the tank during this, amonia levels stayed pretty high without adding anything, think it was around 4ppm. untill they dropped to 0, did another water change and added the neons. Dont think i quite did enough research before adding the fish. only joined here after they had been in for 5 days. my misteak. Have i added them too soon? Sorry for all this, still new to the site and still trying to find my way around to the correct threads.

 

[KittyKat]

only thing i could find wrong was the ph was slightly low, around 5.5 i think. think i've read that bicarb will sort this out, is this true? if so how much should i add to adjust the ph to the right level

5.5 is perfect for neons, in my experience. I've kept them in 5.0 - 7.0 with good results.

+1 bicarbonate of soda is for fish-less tanks only. It is generally not worth trying anything on with the pH, it will almost always jump back to whatever it settles at.

What was it at last time you tested, before it dropped to 5.5?

 

[RDG]

to be honest i havent kept track of the ph that well, few things i red said that the other 3 were the ones to keep my eye on. hadn't noticed if there was a drop, just noticed that it was low compaired to what has been recomended, and seems to be only thing that isn't as it should be.

 

[KittyKat]

Are the neons feeding ok?

The other three are the important ones for how safe the water is for fish to go in, but pH fluctuations can be quite harmful to fish. How did you acclimatise them?

 

[FishAreFriendsNotFood10]

 

[RDG]

Are the neons feeding ok?

The other three are the important ones for how safe the water is for fish to go in, but pH fluctuations can be quite harmful to fish. How did you acclimatise them?

yeah they fed no problem, brought them home in the bag, put the bag in the tank for half an hour to adjust to temp, added a little of the tank water, and kept adding a little bit of tank water every hour or so untill the bag was full, then let them go in the tank. they have been fine up untill yesterday. showed no signs of being unwell. I'm a bit stumped