Starting from scratch

[David]

Well I think I'm gonna start again. What with all the fish deaths I have had and all the trauma I have gone through, mostly because of petco (their clown loaches introduced ick into my tank), I am gonna start my tank again. I'm buying Charlie his own 2 gallon tank since I love him and can't bear to part with him, the platies are getting their own 10 gallon because the female is pregnant and there will be babies, and the discus and clown loaches are going back to LFS.

Now with regards to my tank. It is already cycled, but I am planning on doing a 100% water change to get rid of any and all disease. I will be keeping the filter media, since I have no intention of cycling again, but I wonder if this will affect my future fish. Also I need some suggestions for fish for this tank. Something hardy please, I need a tad more experience before I return to keeping fish like discus and clown loaches.

So far my ideas are:
1. A gourami tank, mix of pearl/opaline, kissing, moonlight, blue or dwarf gouramis. If I decide to go with this, which ones should I get (I know I can't get each type) and how many of each?

2. Gouramis and angels (2-3 pearl gouramis and 3-4 angels)

3. Community of tiger barbs, cories, zebra/leopard danios, platies, RTBS or rainbow/ruby shark, and maybe 2-3 pictus cats or a pleco.

4. A pair of Electric Blue Jack Dempseys/several convicts

5. An oscar (not sure about this as I have heard they need aroudn 55 gallons). What is the minimum footprint for an oscar?

Well those are my ideas please tell me which one seems best to you and add any suggestions you may have. Best of luck to all of you, and may you do better with your fish than I have so far.

 

[Aquascaper]

I'm not sure if just doing a 100% water change will totally remove any disease, parasites, etc from your tank
Was it just Ich that your tank has suffered from or has there been other things? If it has just been Ich then a 100% water change, good wipe clean of any ornaments & plants followed by a week or two where you have no fish but keep the bacteria in your filter going by adding ammonia and the water temp really high. This will give any Ich that is incubating time to re-emerge and die off.
What substrate are you using? Are you keeping that or changing it?

I can't comment on what to put in the tank as I haven't kept a lot of the fish you've mentioned

HTH

 

[David]

I'm not sure if just doing a 100% water change will totally remove any disease, parasites, etc from your tank
Was it just Ich that your tank has suffered from or has there been other things? If it has just been Ich then a 100% water change, good wipe clean of any ornaments & plants followed by a week or two where you have no fish but keep the bacteria in your filter going by adding ammonia and the water temp really high. This will give any Ich that is incubating time to re-emerge and die off.
What substrate are you using? Are you keeping that or changing it?

I can't comment on what to put in the tank as I haven't kept a lot of the fish you've mentioned

HTH

Well I've had ich and a couple of my fish died from injuries and unknown causes. I'm planning on keeping the substrate (it's fine gravel). I'll follow your advice for the ich, thanks.

 

[Dwarfs]

If all the fish died, then the ich would eventually just die off, without having any hosts to live off of

 

[gaya]

Hey,

I would turn the temp up super high as well (into the 90'sF) and not add any fish for at least two weaks. I think you made some lovely possible selections for a new tank. I love gourami's but the two I have, have been beating the heck out of each other. If you choose a gourami tank post how they are getting along. I bet they do better in large numbers. My angels seem pretty tough but you should get at least four because they tend to pick on each other.

Don't get an Oscar unless you are committed. I was at a small LFS today and this guy had a 75g full of huge Oscars that people were giving to him because they got too big so he's taking care of them. But they are all crammed in there. I saw a pleco that was just huge! as well.

Good luck

 

[David]

If all the fish died, then the ich would eventually just die off, without having any hosts to live off of

The thing is though, all the fish won't die, because I have an incredibly tough little betta called Charlie who is impervious to any disease, and the platies have already had ich and are now immune. The clown loaches are going back to store and the discus too, even though I don't really want to part with it (I like it very much, but no other accomodations and I do not want to keep such a gorgeous fish in cramped/uncomfortable conditions). I a going to do a full water change and rinse the gravel too. So are there any suggestions on which selection I should get? I am leaning toward option 2, 3 or 5. Gouramis are great, but I like a little variety, and I'm worried about aggression. I like the thought of an oscar, but if it can't fit, it can't fit. I think I will go for the community. The JDs are a bit too expensive for me, and like I said, I like variety so the convicts wouldn't work well either. I will probably go out this weekend and get a 2 gallon for Charlie and a 10 gallon for my platy pair who are soon to be parents. If I end up doing the community some of the babies are going back into the 46 gallon. I will then begin teh long and arduous process of cleansing the tank. Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

PS If anyone lives in my area and wants a very pretty 4" blue discus pm me and we can make arrangements. I really want it to go to a good home, so you must have some experience with dicus.

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

Taking the Discus back was probably hard but I think it was best.

 

[David]

Taking the Discus back was probably hard but I think it was best.

Well I haven't taken it back yet. If nobody wants it I will.

 

[gaya]

canarsie11,
I agree that David has had a bit of temper in the forum but he is only... what, 16? So he's a kid, a teen, and not to excuse him because he's a teen but I have a 19yr old brother who is just starting to pull out of his 5yr attitude problem thank the gods. When I was that age I learned the way as well.

not to sound like a broken record...quarantine, quarantine, quarantine.

 

[semper fi]

i have split off the rude and offensive remarks. if david and carnasie have a problem you need to keep it in private messages. if this doesn't stay on topic, without any additional fighting amongst yourselves, i will close it.

 

[David]

Anyway, back to the topic at hand. Does anyone have any more suggestions or input?

 

[canarsie11]

Have fun starting from scratch. I suggest you do alot more reading before setting up. Maybe invest in a python, maybe if water changes were easier for you to do, you will do more,and have better success.

Did you have live plants in discus tank, if not add a few of them, help against disease.

I say you should just purchase new gravel, unless you are determined to clean it very well (excellent even)

Just recycle all together, you dont want anything existing from previous tank

 

[David]

Yes I do have plants. Which of my suggestions do you think is best. I really do not want to recycle, as it will take another month or so and result in more fish deaths. I will simply remove all fish, and all the remaining ick bacteria will die in 24 hours due to lack of fish hosts to attach to. I will then remove all water (keeping filter media wet) remove plants, rinse gravel with dechlorinated tapwater, then fill the tank back up with dechlorinated water. I will then replace the plants, and wait several days before buying more fish (first testing water before doing anything else). Charlie will get his own 2 gallon. The platies will get a 10 gallon, and when my female gives birth some of the babies will go into the 46 (supposing I decide to do the community setup, which is most probable). The rest will be sold to LFS. The platies will stay in their 10 gallon and the fry will be in a breeding trap there until they get bigger.

 

[David]

Okay here goes. I've decided to go for the planted community, since i already have the plants. This is what I want.

4 zebra danios
4 platies (the fry of my soon to be parents)
8 tiger barbs
1 rainbow shark
4 peppered cories
3 pictus catfish

I've heard that pictus get 6" and are very carnivorous, so will they eat any of the others? If so I will scrap them. Any other comments about this selection?

 

[Melfice]

Good luck David. I hope your restart goes well indeed

Here is a link for info on the catfish

Pictus Catfish