Tank Filtration Media, Guppy Fry And General Help

[MarkW7]

This is my first time keeping fish.
 
I got my tank and fish at the start of May.
 
My tank is a Hidom H-235 which is a 15L acrylic tank.
I have four fish in it, 1 male guppy, 2 female guppys and an albino corydoras.
 
If you check on this link it gives some information about the tank:
http/www.howtothings.co.uk/thread-5502.html
 
As far as the filtration goes, it's all built in to a compartment at the back rather than anything hanging in the tank.
 
On the picture it says:
Sponge (White)
Carbon Sponge (Black)
Biochemical Sponge (Blue)
 
I don't know the exact name for the white sponge but I have replaced that with a: Juwel bioPad (Filter Floss) which looked the same as the one I took out.
 
The Black sponges I took out and washed in a jug of tank water then put them back in.
 
I haven't taken the blue sponges out yet, my main concern is that there is like a blue film on the water above the blue sponges, is this normal and do I wash these sponges the same way in some tank water?
 
How often do I need to replace these Black and Blue sponges and also is there a better way to filter the water?
 
Also about 2 weeks ago I found 15 guppy fry in the heater and filter section of the tank (heater wasn't on as temperature was OK at the time) so I went out and bought one of those plastic fry boxes from pets at home and put all 15 in to there. About 5 have died since then, 4 of them developed an almost needle like tail they were stuck at the bottom of the box and couldn't swim and were sort of wriggling along the floor and then 24 hours later they died.
 
I've also noticed some yellow substance (don't know what it is) has appeared on some of the gravel and a lot of the rock ornament that's in there.
 
I do a 2L water change every week but today I've done a 50% water change as after reading it may be due to water conditions however the water in the tank looks really clear.
 
Another question is what's the best way to clean the gravel? I have a siphon and when I'm doing a water change I'll suck the gravel up then let it drop and a load of poo and some bits of food will surface then I try and suck that out with the water.
 
It's been four months now and I've not run in to any real problems but after these fry have arrived I've noticed the yellow stuff and was also wondering why some of the fry lost their tails for a needle and then died and they don't seem to be growing very fast, maybe I'm just impatient.
 
I put one of the fry in the main tank yesterday to see if it would be OK as I've seen the guppy eats some of the babies before I could get them out and the next morning it was still a live but It was hiding in the gravel as the others were chasing it around but it must be too big for them to eat it, is this normal and will they still do that if I put all remaining 10 in the main tank or should I wait a few more weeks?
 
Can get pictures and stuff if it will help you see my set up.

 

[nic1]

Hello,

to the Fish forum.
 
First of all let me start by saying that the 15L is very small, its too small for anything, it can have a small group of shrimp, a trio of male guppy but thats it.
 
I will pick this up again, I just started but Ive just been called into work.... will finish when I get a cchance. Sorry

 

[nic1]

Corys are very sociable and like to be in groups of 6 or more and they like soft sand, I noticed that you said you had gravel? this can damage their barbels as they like to sift through the substrate looking for goodies in the sand, they also prefer a large surface area that they can explore, you'll probably run into a bit of trouble down the line if you choose to keep the cory in this tank, my corys measure about 7 cm (there abouts) your tank is 27 cm wide and 23cm depth which ony really gives him enough room for swimming across two times his body lenght which isnt really any life for anything.... a minimum of  40 Liters is ideal for a cory, which is about 3 times bigger that what you already have.
 
Guppys as you already have found out are livebearer fish which means they give birth to live fry as you already know. As I have already mentioned above, your tank is way to small to hold anything, you could of got away with a trio of male guppys, but its too late now so I can only suggest that you buy a bigger tank, or give the females back to the fish store, Live bearers can give birth to fry for up to 6 months with out the help of a male as they store the sperm! the fry will not do well in this tank, a range of complications can arise from any surviving.... but to be honest, not many will survive as you have found out.
 
Not great news at the moment im afraid.
 
Ok, now on to the filteration. I usually wash my filter pads in old tank water, I never use water straight from the tap as you can lose a good portion of the good bacteria that grows on them, and I have never replaced any of my filter pads in all the time that I have owned my current tanks, I have done in the past when they are on their last legs and falling apart from too much scrunching up when im wringing out the dirt.
 
The blue film above the filter pads is a bit of a cause for concern, I would give these a bit more of a clean than usual or I would replace it...I have never heard of any filter media giving off colour stains in to the water.
 
The yellow substance on the gravel and rocks... how did you cycle your tank? I think that you may have a problem with your nitrogen cycle, as you are also clearly over stocked then I am thinking that your ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels are all off the scale, do you have a water testing kit? do you know your water parameters?
You have to do a much larger water change than 2L a week, the water may look clear but looks arent everything! make sure you clean the bottom of the tank really well, also you must add water condtioners if you dont already, 50% a week is a good start, carry on doing this every week.
 
The fact that you have noticed the problems after the fry arrived is evidence that your stocking levels and stock are totally wrong for this tank. The fry will probably be stunted and wont be very healthy..... its not that your impaitent, the growth rate of the fry will be very slow if levels in the tank are wrong.
 
I have also read somewhere that parent livebarers will eat their young when there isnt enough space for everyone, its just natures of keeping everything under control in an unnatural environment.
 
I do like the look of these little tanks, but i personally would only keep it as a little aquacaping project with tiny intertwined bits of redmoor and moss, maybe two amano shrimp... or a betta

 

[NickAu]

Some people will disagree with me.
 
 
I think 15 Lt tank is too small for a betta, I have mine in a 2 foot 70 Lt planted tank, My betta is very active she's constantly exploring her plants, and chasing shrimp, eating shrimp, staring at the Kuhli Loaches, Showing the Rasboras and her reflection in the glass who's boss, and if she's not doing that she's lounging around on the big Crystalwort (Riccia fluitans) floating mat.

 

[nic1]

I also agree with more space the better for any fish, it was just an example

 

[fish48]

 
 

 

 
I have also read somewhere that parent livebarers will eat their young when there isnt enough space for everyone, its just natures way of keeping everything under control in an unnatural environment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
nic1
 

The above is not entirely true.  guppy's see there fry as food when you have a Over crowded tank the adults would need to be kept well fed.  it's very unlikely that Lvebarers understand space in there environment. however some will eat there fry and others leave them alone after 48 hours the fry are usually strong enough to escape the adults. once the adults get used to seeing tiny five swimming around with them in the aquarium they tend to leave them alone. 
 

 

[MarkW7]

Thanks for the welcome and detailed reponse.
 
I did suspect that the stocking levels were now too high, I originally aimed for three fish so 1 small fish per 5L of water. We were going to go for 1 male guppy, 1 female and something else then the fella in the pet store said you need atleast 2 females per male and ideally more like 3 females per male as the males are needy so we ended up with 3 guppys and then saw the cory and thought that It might help keep the tank clean and eat any bits that fall to the bottom.
 
Do any pet shops take in Fry, especially guppy as I'm assuming they are quite common?
 
I've started doing a 2L water change per day, starting today to try and keep the levels to a sensible level. How would I go about cleaning the bottom of the tank, just by moving the gravel around and sucking up and debris?
 
What sort of water condtioners would i benefit from using?
 
I have witnessed a female guppy in this same eat the fry when they were not seperated and all of the guppys chased another fry round until it was scared to death and was lay at the side of the tank hidden in some gravel so i put it back in the seperate fry box.
 
I feed the fish twice a day, enough they can eat in a few minutes and use flakes.
 
I was looking at larger tanks but I really like the look of these nano tanks with seperate compartments for filters an such, are there any larger tanks similar to this?

 

[nic1]

Hey, yeah that's what I basically do, stick the syphon hose down into the gravel and jiggle it about. When I do water changes I always take the water from the bottom of the aquarium, where most dirt builds up.

The fish store guy was right with the ratio, but not with the tank size, if he knew the size then he gave you bad advice.... if he didn't he was right

I think that it can't help to ask if the store would take the fry, some do, some Dont... if not you could advertise them online, or keepyhemfor when you get a bigger tank (if that's soon). I'm not too sure about other tanks with the hidden filters, but you can get an external filter so that the pipes are only present in the tank, you can hide them with plants quite easily.

Twice a day feeding is quite a lot. Once a day would be OK, the more you feed them the more waste they produce the larger water change you have to do! I feed mine every other day and they are all perfectly healthy and fat

Also, any dechlorinator will do..... as long as its a fish product. I even use the one from wilko sometimes. Aquaria do one that I use also.

Sorry about any spelling errors, I'm on my tiny phone.