What Next?

[Getifa]

I'm new into the hobby and have finally got my tank and some fish. The tank is now a week old and I got 10 fish. The dealer said I could have upto 25 fish in the tank.

So far I have:

2 Gourami's (Yellow, with slight stripes at the top.)
3 Cories
5 Red Eye Tetras.

I'm wondering what to go for next. I like Swordtails and Tiger Barbs. I was thinking of getting 1 male Swordtail and maybe some babes for him, But wasn't sure how many females I could get for him, without wearing the little guy out. My Dad told me that Tiger Barbs are nippers and that I shouldn't get them, But the dealer said they would be fine as long as I got them in big enough numbers. I'm not sure exactly how many would be enough. Any other suggestions? My tank is 24" - 18" - 12".

I'm not interested in breeding my fish, just keeping them alive at the moment will be enough of a victory.

Thanks

John

 

[60007]

I'm no expert, but from what you've said, you haven't cycled the tank, and you have 10 fish in there? I made the same mistake, but I had 2 fish in, even then I had to change my water by 50% everyday for the first 3 weeks, and this last week I've done it every other day now my cycle is complete.

So, I would say refrain from buying more fish until the cycling is complete, like you say, your biggest victory will be keeping you fish actually alive.

Also, from what you tell us, your dealer sounds like all he is intereseted in is a sale, I would probably believe your dad over this dealer, even though I have met neither, just this dealer sounds like he will literally do anything for a sale. Thats why this site is brilliant, these people aren't after a sale, we're after the best care for your fish

your tank is roughly 22 US gallons, and as the rule goes, 1 Inch per gallon, so from what I've understood, a 2 inch fish requires 2 gallons and a 1 inch fish requires 1 gallon. btw, these are the sizes of fully grown fish, not the size they are at the moment.

Browse the forum for "cycling tanks"

~60007

 

[Getifa]

I'm no expert, but from what you've said, you haven't cycled the tank, and you have 10 fish in there? I made the same mistake, but I had 2 fish in, even then I had to change my water by 50% everyday for the first 3 weeks, and this last week I've done it every other day now my cycle is complete.

So, I would say refrain from buying more fish until the cycling is complete, like you say, your biggest victory will be keeping you fish actually alive.

Also, from what you tell us, your dealer sounds like all he is intereseted in is a sale, I would probably believe your dad over this dealer, even though I have met neither, just this dealer sounds like he will literally do anything for a sale. Thats why this site is brilliant, these people aren't after a sale, we're after the best care for your fish

your tank is roughly 22 US gallons, and as the rule goes, 1 Inch per gallon, so from what I've understood, a 2 inch fish requires 2 gallons and a 1 inch fish requires 1 gallon. btw, these are the sizes of fully grown fish, not the size they are at the moment.

Browse the forum for "cycling tanks"

~60007

The dealer told me to take 2" of water out every 2 days and feed the fish every other day. To be honest, the dealer doesn't seem that nice a person. My Dad is just getting back into the hobby after about 10 years out, so wasn't sure who to take advice from. Thats why I thought I would ask here.

 

[60007]

The dealer told me to take 2" of water out every 2 days and feed the fish every other day. To be honest, the dealer doesn't seem that nice a person. My Dad is just getting back into the hobby after about 10 years out, so wasn't sure who to take advice from. Thats why I thought I would ask here.

the dealer is wrong, you need to get your ammonia and nitrite levels down, I don't know how high they are, but I imagine they'll be high. a big water change at least every other day for at least 4 weeks will help keep these down and protect the fishes gills, you need to get your filter bacteria growing so it can deal with the ammonia given off by the fish, in turn this is turned to nitrite and finally nitrate.

I was told to leave the tank for a week before adding fish from my local fish shop, but that wasn't right either, having looked it up on here I found out I had been given the wrong advice and I was told by people on here to change my water as often as I could, 50% at a time if possible. I've now finished my cycle with 2 deaths, a guppy from a bacteria infection, and a cherry shrimp from a nitrite spike.

You need to go out and get yourself an ammonia and nitrite testing kit, and then we can tell you what to do

 

[Getifa]

The dealer told me to take 2" of water out every 2 days and feed the fish every other day. To be honest, the dealer doesn't seem that nice a person. My Dad is just getting back into the hobby after about 10 years out, so wasn't sure who to take advice from. Thats why I thought I would ask here.

the dealer is wrong, you need to get your ammonia and nitrite levels down, I don't know how high they are, but I imagine they'll be high. a big water change at least every other day for at least 4 weeks will help keep these down and protect the fishes gills, you need to get your filter bacteria growing so it can deal with the ammonia given off by the fish, in turn this is turned to nitrite and finally nitrate.

I was told to leave the tank for a week before adding fish from my local fish shop, but that wasn't right either, having looked it up on here I found out I had been given the wrong advice and I was told by people on here to change my water as often as I could, 50% at a time if possible. I've now finished my cycle with 2 deaths, a guppy from a bacteria infection, and a cherry shrimp from a nitrite spike.

You need to go out and get yourself an ammonia and nitrite testing kit, and then we can tell you what to do

Ok, I will try to get one. Thanks.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, very good advice from 60007.

Welcome to the beginners section Getifa!

I agree that the mis-information from the dealer has made your situation fairly urgent, from the standpoint of your fish. As said, your first priority is to do some large (50 to 70% of the tank volume) water changes to immediately lower the potential toxins, then continue with at least 50% daily changes. You must use good technique: I recommend Prime or Amquel+ as high quality conditioners for fish-in cycling situations like this, but the important point is to be sure to condition the return water (1.5x the recommended dose would be good (in other words a little higher than the bottle says)) so that chlorine and chloramines will be removed and ammonia will be converted to ammonium. Also you need to roughly temperature match (your hand will be good enough for this) so that the large volume of water being changed will not be as much of a shock to the fish. Regardless though, its more important to dilute the toxins they are swimming in than to worry about any shocks.

Your second most urgent priority is to find a good liquid-reagent based test kit. Many of us like and use the API Freshwater Master Test Kit (the Salifert kits are also high quality and some also use the Nutrafin Mini-master test kits or I believe there may be some Tetra ones.) But the important point is that they be liquid based and not paper test strips. Once you get a kit, post up the results for both your tap and tank water and start up an aquarium notebook so you can make twice a day lines in it with your test results.

OK, with those two urgent things being handled, you have homework to do: read up on the Nitrogen Cycle, the Fishless Cycle and the Fish-In Cycle in our Beginners Resource Center and also begin reading other members threads here in the beginners section (which can be a fun way to learn!) Good luck and I'll hope to see you from time to time here in the beginner threads.

~~waterdrop~~