Tiger Barbs And Rosy Barbs

[jhf18]

Hi

I have set up a 60L globe fish tank, I have got 2 artifical plants and 1 real one. I completed a week of fishless cycling and my water came out ok just a little hard. I purchased yesterday 4 tiger barbs and 2 rosy barbs, they all seemed to get on fine yesterday swimming around the whole tank. The tiger barbs are small about 25mm and the rosy barbs are about 50mm. Today when i got up one of my tiger barbs was dead at the bottom of the tank and all the fish seem to be staying near the bottom and are not swimming round very much.

I dont know if something is wrong or not and if so what action i should take to correct it.

Any suggestions/advise?

Thanks

James

 

[lilfishie]

first cycling takes more than a week, what are you stats? ammonia? nitrate? nitrite? pH? if you don't have a test kit take a sample to your LFS and get them to write down the results, ammonia is very very danerous to fish

 

[jhf18]

first cycling takes more than a week, what are you stats? ammonia? nitrate? nitrite? pH? if you don't have a test kit take a sample to your LFS and get them to write down the results, ammonia is very very danerous to fish

Here are the results:

NO3 - 10
NO2 - 0
GH - >16
KH - 20
PH - 7.2

I dont really understand what they mean, its from a tetra test 5 in 1 strips

Also i have got my heater set up at 25deg C

 

[celaeno]

what happened to the ammonia reading? also, you should get the api master liquid test kit.

 

[timmystood]

Hiya James and welcome to the world of fish-keeping! I'm sorry to hear your having the first hurdle to cross already!

Not sure if your familiar with the reasons behind testing for Ammonia etc. but in short.. Fish produce waste which breaks down and releases Ammonia, Ammonia then breaks down into Nitrite and eventually it turns into Nitrate. However, help is at hand, because in your filter grows little 'friendly bacteria' that feed on the ammonia and nitrites and to a lesser extent the nitrates.
It's good to see you have a test kit but unfortunatley none of the 5 in 1 test strips contain an ammonia test. Which is vital when you have first set up a tank.

I would guess that what has happened is you have added the fish, they have produced waste and at the moment there are not enough of the good bacteria living in your filter to eat away at the toxic substances, ammonia etc.

The best course of action to take is to not feed today or tommorow. This gives time for the bacteria to grow and multiply. Then, when you do feed, keep it very light. Once a day, about 2 flakes a fish (don't worry if one doesn't get any).
Leave it another 2 weeks or so then you can go about adding a few more! Worth investing in an Ammonia test kit aswell and letting us know the results!

Hope that helps mate
Tim

 

[jhf18]

Thanks Tim I will get a test kit tomorrow to check for ammonia.

Do i need to change any of the water or just keep the same?

I hope it works out

James

 

[marcan]

You should do water change on a frequent basis to make sure the ammonia level doesn't go to high.

25% water change every 3-4 days would help your fish.

Good luck

 

[timmystood]

Thanks Tim I will get a test kit tomorrow to check for ammonia.

Do i need to change any of the water or just keep the same?

I hope it works out

James

No worries pal

I would probably do a 30-40% water change just to make sure the water is all ok. Just make sure to use water treatment on the fresh water before it goes in the tank. You'll soon be an expert at doing water changes but the first two or three can be confusing! You'll soon get a routine going! You'll probably be needing to do one a week for the first two months or so (or at least until the tank is fully stocked) After that you can go onto doing bi-weekly water changes providing your water tests are all ok!

Let us know what your ammonia test kit says tommorow!
TIM

 

[jhf18]

hi

Right i have checked my ammonia reading and it is 0.25, the nitrate and nitrite readings are the same as are the other readings, I did a 25% water change tonight and now one of me tiger barbs is sitting at the top of the tank, in sleeping position (nose down).

any suggestions?

James

 

[timmystood]

OK. It could well be that they didn't travel to well. Barbs are notorious for being poor travelers. Do you have an air pump running in the tank, or does the filter put oxygen into the water? Could be lack of oxygen but doubtful.

Keep up with the tests and water changes and fingers crossed things will get better soon for ya.

 

[jhf18]

I have only got the standard filter that came with the tank, i am not sure if it puts oxygen in or not. How do you do your water changes, I brought a gravel vac and syphend half the water out and the poured it back in from a bucket into the tank using a jug. I tried to syphen it back in but it wouldnt work.

 

[timmystood]

That sounds about right for a water change. Just throw the old water down the drain and treat some fresh water in a bucket then pop it back in the tank!

 

[jhf18]

The Tiger barb that was sitting at the top of the tank died yesterday afternoon . And now another one is up there. I checked my water levels and the ammonia reading has risen to 0.50 but the other readings are the same as before.

Is there anything i can do to save my fish?

 

[vinylman]

Doubtful; ammonia will at least cause permanent gill damage to fish. Unfortunately a week is nowhere near long enough to cycle any tank, fishless or otherwise. The best thing to do for now is to read as many threads here as you can - please don't make the same mistake twice. 60 ltr isn't really big enough for lively/bolshie fish like Tiger Barbs, they need lots of swimming space. Good luck, please keep reading.