Aquarium Help

[Calamity Jane]

I recently got a 40 gallon (might be a 55, I'm not sure) aquarium from a friend. I got it all set up, bought a filter system, air bubbler thingies, and some fish. I transfered the two fish I already had out of the 10 gallon and into the big one, added the new fish, and everything went great.

That was day one.

Day two, one of the sharks (a new fish) was still alive, but staying at the bottom and not moving much.

Day four, shark was dead.

Day six, second shark not doing well, same as first shark.

Day seven, second shark dead.

Day ten, black more (i think that's what it's called... fat black fish with bulgy eyes) staying at bottom of tank except for feedings, hiding behind a rock most of the time.

Day twelve, black fishie dead and calico goldfish is staying at the bottom of the tank.

Day fifteen, goldfish is dead.

Obviously, I'm doing something wrong. The two fish that I've had forever are fine, so far. One is a tinfoil barb, I have no idea what the other one is, he's just a silver fish with a red stripe down his side. They are apparently completely unaffected by whatever wiped out the other fish.

I want to repopulate the aquarium, but I don't want to continue buying fish that are going to die within a couple of weeks.

Any ideas? The water is clear, the filter gets changed when it looks like it needs it, I feed them the recommended food in the recommended quantities, I treat the water before I add any. I can't think of anything else to do, except maybe not buy fish at walmart.

 

[Problem Child]

Starfish is an aquarium expert. Seriously, you should pm her, but she'll probably see this anyway.

 

[sabbathstorm]

Did you use the water treatment? You might have used too much or too little. I'm just guessing, been a while since I had fish. Then again, maybe one of the fish was sick. I'm sure someone here can help you a lot more than me.

 

[tnguy04]

couple of things

test teh PH, nitrate levels, and amonia levels. You can usually take a sample of the water to a local pet store (one that sells fish mind you) and they can test it for you, or you can buy a test kit and do it yourself. That is where I would start. Usually when you set up a new aquarium you need to let it sit a minimum of around 10 days while treating and testing the water to get the correct Ph etc... I am not expert, but that is my 2 cents worth of knowledge...my fish have been alive for some time now

 

[missy2]

Probably a PH or temperature problem.Need to get the water right for the type of fish and THEN introduce them to the tank.
Local pet store should have test strips for the water.

 

[Guest]

It takes quite a while to set up an aquarium. Depending on the fish, an aquatic habitat can take a few weeks to develop. Some folks make the mistake of cleaning the aquarium too often. A partial water change is better. You may need to check out the pH of your water. There are chemical additives such as stress coat that helps the fish's transition to the new home. Often, it's best to keep the fish in it's bag, floating in the aquarium, for a while. This also helps with the transition.
Hmm. Oh and temp. Do you have a heater?
There's a lot to consider with aquariums of that size. Fishy is the expert. Petsmart.com usually has great Q&A' sections, as well. Good luck!

 

[Calamity Jane]

I used the water treatment stuff... a little more than it called for on the bottle, but I didn't think you could really over do it. And the old fish are still alive. I hadn't thought of checking the Ph and all that, I'll do that as soon as I can get a test kit.

tnguy... that av just totally freaks me out. It freaked me out when Plasticman had it and it freaks me out now. Jut thought I'd let you know.

PC, I thought she was, I'll PM her.

 

[unclej]

what they all said plus the possibility that the new fish you brought in had ick or some other problem that killed all the rest..

 

[Calamity Jane]

It takes quite a while to set up an aquarium. Depending on the fish, an aquatic habitat can take a few weeks to develop. Some folks make the mistake of cleaning the aquarium too often. A partial water change is better. You may need to check out the pH of your water. There are chemical additives such as stress coat that helps the fish's transition to the new home. Often, it's best to keep the fish in it's bag, floating in the aquarium, for a while. This also helps with the transition.
Hmm. Oh and temp. Do you have a heater?
There's a lot to consider with aquariums of that size. Fishy is the expert. Petsmart.com usually has great Q&A' sections, as well. Good luck!

lol... I almost never clean my tanks. The 10 gallon was in serious need when I transferred them over. I usually just add water when it's lost due to evaporation, and actually empty and clean once ever two or three months.

I left the bags in the tank for two hours before dumping in the fish, and I used the slime coat stuff with each fishie i added. I don't have a heater, was told I didn't need one with the fish I was getting. Maybe I need one after all.

I'll check out Petsmart.com, thanks.

 

[Guest]

I found a good article for you, PCG. http://www.petsmart.com/articles/article_104.shtml

 

[Starfish]

The LAST thing you want to do to a newly set up aquarium is add fish to it without seeding the water with benificial bacteria.

You can do this three ways....

Get 'dirty' filters from an old tank or fill the tank with about 1/3 freash water, and then 2/3 water from an already established tank. The other is to buy 'liquid benificials', however the quality of the product could be nill because of a million and one reasons, such as temperature fluctuations during shipping, storing, etc.



Well, I can tell you this for a fact.
Your fish died from Nitrite toxicity. Nitrate is not a problem for fish unless there are no plants to use it up.

This problem you have is due to the fact that there are no bacteria in a new tank that convert Nitrite (toxic) to Nitrate (relatively harmless).
You must establish a healthy level of bacteria or else your fish will die.

Nitrate is the form of Nitrogen that plants can utilize. Without plants in the aquarium, then Nitrate will enevitably revert to the toxic Nitrite again and kill your fish anyway. That is why people who try to keep fish with no plants FAIL AT IT MISERABLY.

Besides, having plants in your tank oxygenate it, and they also can reduce the occurance of fungal rots and ick.

Ph will only effect the fish advertantly if it is extream. If the water came from the tap, then your Ph will most likely be around 6 or 7, or harmless. However, there are exceptions, Ph actually effects plant growth more than it does fish health. However, once you start adding nitrite to the equation, Ph can become a problem if your nitrogen cycle isn't established.

Temperature would only be a problem if it fell below 60 degrees or was above 95 degrees.


AND WHAT MAY I ASK are you doing putting a Goldfish in a warm tank?

Goldfish need to be kept at tempuratures between the range of 55 and 65 degrees.

Eventually, the heat of the tank will kill a goldfish or at the very least make it's color drop, health drop and it's vigor drop.

 

[Calamity Jane]

The LAST thing you want to do to a newly set up aquarium is add fish to it without seeding the water with benificial bacteria.

You can do this three ways....

Get 'dirty' filters from an old tank or fill the tank with about 1/3 freash water, and then 2/3 water from an already established tank. The other is to buy 'liquid benificials', however the quality of the product could be nill because of a million and one reasons, such as temperature fluctuations during shipping, storing, etc.



Well, I can tell you this for a fact.
Your fish died from Nitrite toxicity. Nitrate is not a problem for fish unless there are no plants to use it up.

This problem you have is due to the fact that there are no bacteria in a new tank that convert Nitrite (toxic) to Nitrate (relatively harmless).
You must establish a healthy level of bacteria or else your fish will die.

Nitrate is the form of Nitrogen that plants can utilize. Without plants in the aquarium, then Nitrate will enevitably revert to the toxic Nitrite again and kill your fish anyway. That is why people who try to keep fish with no plants FAIL AT IT MISERABLY.

Ok, so what kind of plants do I use? Does it matter? Mom always had mother in law's tongue in her tank because it gave it a cool architectural look. My sis uses pothos. Is there any specific plant, or will anything green and non-toxic work?

Besides, having plants in your tank oxygenate it, and they also can reduce the occurance of fungal rots and ick.

Ph will only effect the fish advertantly if it is extream. If the water came from the tap, then your Ph will most likely be around 6 or 7, or harmless. However, there are exceptions, Ph actually effects plant growth more than it does fish health. However, once you start adding nitrite to the equation, Ph can become a problem if your nitrogen cycle isn't established.

Temperature would only be a problem if it fell below 60 degrees or was above 95 degrees.


AND WHAT MAY I ASK are you doing putting a Goldfish in a warm tank?

Goldfish need to be kept at tempuratures between the range of 55 and 65 degrees.

The tank isn't warm. There's no heater, and the water isn't any warmer than 65 on a good day.

Eventually, the heat of the tank will kill a goldfish or at the very least make it's color drop, health drop and it's vigor drop.

 

[Starfish]

Anything will do... Anacharis, Anubias, Lysmachia, Hygrophyla, Java, Crypts... anything that is available to you.

About temp... get a heater and no more goldfish.
The other fish need it to be about 80 or they'll die.

Try Jungle brand Benificial bacteria additive if you can't get dirty filter bags, though if you ask at your pet store, they should have them.

Remove any charcoal filters and use only a biofilter bag with nothing added to it.

Charcoal is another 'only temporary' solution to Nitrite problems.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Anything will do... Anacharis, Anubias, Lysmachia, Hygrophyla, Java, Crypts... anything that is available to you.

About temp... get a heater and no more goldfish.
The other fish need it to be about 80 or they'll die.

Try Jungle brand Benificial bacteria additive if you can't get dirty filter bags, though if you ask at your pet store, they should have them.

Remove any charcoal filters and use only a biofilter bag with nothing added to it.

Charcoal is another 'only temporary' solution to Nitrite problems.

Ok, what's a biofilter bag, and can I use it with my current filter system? It came with charcoal bags.

I'll get the heater tonight, and no more goldfish. Any suggestions what kind of fish to get? I don't want anything that's going to kill my tinfoil barb. When I was a kid, we always had oscars and barbs together, but now, I hear they'll kill each other.

 

[Starfish]

Stay away from anything in the Chiclid family. Angel fish, Oscars, and Chiclids are all carnivorous.
I recommend tetras, gouramis, sissortails, white cloud minnows, cory cats, rams, barbs, mollys and guppies.


I biobag is a simple bag that you can add filtration media to. They come in a variety of sizes so finding one for you filter shouldn't be a problem. They are replacement bags in other words.
However, don't add anything to them that would otherwise prevent the benificials from making a home out of the bag.

The bag acts as a media for the bacteria to set up shop on. They can colonize easier that way.

I haven't changed my filter bag in over 7 months. They don't seem to get dirty. They bacteria just love to eat the fish waste.

I basically went for a sustainable environment with my tanks though. I did this by using a deep substrate gravel... more than 5 inches deep to promote the plants to root. I have a dual filter and a powerhead and no air bubbler in my 55. I have a big assed wet/dry filter for my 75 gallon.


What ever filter you have, they have to make replacement bags that don't have crap in them yet.

 

[Calamity Jane]

Stay away from anything in the Chiclid family. Angel fish, Oscars, and Chiclids are all carnivorous.
I recommend tetras, gouramis, sissortails, white cloud minnows, cory cats, rams, barbs, mollys and guppies.


I biobag is a simple bag that you can add filtration media to. They come in a variety of sizes so finding one for you filter shouldn't be a problem. They are replacement bags in other words.
However, don't add anything to them that would otherwise prevent the benificials from making a home out of the bag.

The bag acts as a media for the bacteria to set up shop on. They can colonize easier that way.

I haven't changed my filter bag in over 7 months. They don't seem to get dirty. They bacteria just love to eat the fish waste.

Forgive my denseness please. My filter uses bags that I have to fill with charcoal. Just using these bags, empty, will work? There's also a sponge thing in the filter pump... will that alone do the trick?

I basically went for a sustainable environment with my tanks though. I did this by using a deep substrate gravel... more than 5 inches deep to promote the plants to root. I have a dual filter and a powerhead and no air bubbler in my 55. I have a big assed wet/dry filter for my 75 gallon.

5"??? That's a lot of gravel. I still have a few bags waiting to go into the tank. Can I just rinse them and put them in now? I think I may have enough to reach 4-5" depth.


What ever filter you have, they have to make replacement bags that don't have crap in them yet.

 

[Starfish]

You're not dense.

Yes, that is it. Just don't put charcoal in them. The extra sponge on your air pump will help too.

You can use that or less gravel. I was just giving you a tad on what I do.

I slope the gravel to the front of the tank so you cannot tell there is that much in there. You see only a few inches in front, but in the middle to the back it gets deeper.

I have to run, I hope this helps. I'll be back in a few hours.

 

[freescorfr]

What a thread! I love it.

I'm a pond man myself. It's all about life - primordial basic life. I've learned a lot about life from water, water full of bugs.

I'm not an expert like you two. I'm in awe.

 

[Guest]

SeaStar, my queen

*swoon*
Damn. I love a smart woman with nice tits.

 

[Calamity Jane]

What a thread! I love it.

I'm a pond man myself. It's all about life - primordial basic life. I've learned a lot about life from water, water full of bugs.

I'm not an expert like you two. I'm in awe.

lol! If I was an expert, my fishies wouldn't be dyin, free.

My mom just put in a pond and a creek in her back yard. Should be pretty cool, she's gettin all Feng Shui with it.

I've got a pond... full of catfish and bullfrogs. I've got a guy coming out tomorrow to tell me if it needs moved, or if i need another one. We've got some serious erosion issues out in the pasture. I'm hoping I need a newer, deeper one so I can stock it and not have to go far in order to sit outside and fish.

 

[freescorfr]

lol! If I was an expert, my fishies wouldn't be dyin, free.

My mom just put in a pond and a creek in her back yard. Should be pretty cool, she's gettin all Feng Shui with it.

I've got a pond... full of catfish and bullfrogs. I've got a guy coming out tomorrow to tell me if it needs moved, or if i need another one. We've got some serious erosion issues out in the pasture. I'm hoping I need a newer, deeper one so I can stock it and not have to go far in order to sit outside and fish.

PCG I hope you can get a big pond. Ours is small and everyone said I was nuts getting the kids to dig it right outside our living room french doors. It is true that the farmer next door, our mayor, walked backwards into it one night, but is now regarded as brilliant positioning.
People said, you'll have mosquitoes! Yes we've got mosquitoes, but we've got really fat bats now as well. They eat 2,000 each a night, I was told.
Sounds as though your mum's is in the right place too. (I'm sure she's lovely - so don't link this thought with fat old bats, please).

 

[Calamity Jane]

PCG I hope you can get a big pond. Ours is small and everyone said I was nuts getting the kids to dig it right outside our living room french doors. It is true that the farmer next door, our mayor, walked backwards into it one night, but is now regarded as brilliant positioning.
People said, you'll have mosquitoes! Yes we've got mosquitoes, but we've got really fat bats now as well. They eat 2,000 each a night, I was told.
Sounds as though your mum's is in the right place too. (I'm sure she's lovely - so don't link this thought with fat old bats, please).

Out here, you're not supposed to do anything other than an ornamental pond by yourself. That's part of the problem, the previous owners of the house dug the pond themselves, didn't build it properly, put it in the wrong spot, and now it's silted in, full of cattails, and everytime it rains, we lose another chunk of the dam, and another chunk of pasture. IF we need a new one, the water conservation people will fund half the project, and the Army Corps of Engineers will build the pond. All I have to do is watch, and then fill it with fish.

We have lots of fat bats too... and not one of 'em looks like my mom.

 

[WaxNWane]

Starfish is right on - pretty much all of it.

You have to let your bacteria cycle establish before adding the fish. It's rule 1 of setting up an aquarium - never set up the tank and add the fish at the same time. Spikes your nitrites and the fish have no chance. You'll wind up killing your fish more often than not.

(BTW - rule 2 is DON'T OVERFEED)

And when you're picking out fish, stick with local fish stores, unless you've established a good history with a chain store (petsmart, petco, etc). The local stores can usually give you a better background on which fish do well together. I have had good luck with the occasional Petsmart fish, but you'll usually get better advice from a specialist. Anyway, fish are usually sort of lumped together as aggressive, semi-aggressive, and docile. Tetras, mollies, cories, guppies - all docile & usually easy to care for.

Always check the tank you're about to buy a fish from - make sure everything in the tank seems to be swimming well and in good condition (alert, good fins, no discoloration).

And cleaning the tank really isn't that much of a chore - I clean mine once every 2-4 weeks. Takes about 20 minutes. Get a gravel vaccuum siphon and a bucket and take out about 25% of the water while using the vaccuum to clean a good section of the gravel. Get an algae glove or scrubber and run it over the inside of the glass, and clean out your filter. Keeps the gravel clean and the water healthy and odorless.