4 Out Of 5 Fish Died :(

[parrot_2]

the two shops in my area that i use wont sell me fish unless i take water in to get it checked.

Which is pretty useless, if the tank isn't cycled you're likely to be taking in a sample of tap water, and if that contained ammonia or nitrite I'd be pretty worried.

Agreed. I could take plain tap water in and it would test perfectly but is useless for fish. They have no way of knowing whether a tank is cycled or not simply by testing a water sample unless they also ask a lot of questions.

Hi, at my local fish shop the salesman says that you have to change your water once a week and 25 percent, this seems alittle extreme to me or is this what everyone else does? i have been changing the water like he suggested and the fish seem fine but I just thought it seemed harsh on the fish. sorry for jumping on to the post. anyone enlighten me with their knowledge?

 

[Lynda B]

I do a 25 - 50% water change every weekend.

 

[loachman]

Thank you for that. Was reading up on fish all night lol.

What about Dwarf Gouramis and Loaches?

Botine loaches will not work well in a 15 gallon. They're best kept in groups of 3+ and the smallest get to be around 4 inches. They also like fairly good water quality.

 

[loachman]

the two shops in my area that i use wont sell me fish unless i take water in to get it checked.

Which is pretty useless, if the tank isn't cycled you're likely to be taking in a sample of tap water, and if that contained ammonia or nitrite I'd be pretty worried.

Agreed. I could take plain tap water in and it would test perfectly but is useless for fish. They have no way of knowing whether a tank is cycled or not simply by testing a water sample unless they also ask a lot of questions.

Hi, at my local fish shop the salesman says that you have to change your water once a week and 25 percent, this seems alittle extreme to me or is this what everyone else does? i have been changing the water like he suggested and the fish seem fine but I just thought it seemed harsh on the fish. sorry for jumping on to the post. anyone enlighten me with their knowledge?

No, you need to do a good 25% each week. A few days over (7-12 days) is okay if you understock and don't overfeed, but you must do frequent water changes regardless.

Nitrate and other wastes build up in the tank and the only way to remove them is to do water changes. If you don't, wastes (from household cleaners, fish wastes, rotting food, minerals that never will evaporate, etc,) build up in the tank and will kill the fish.

 

[rdd1952]

I don't usually do 25%. More like about 15%. How much really depends on the fish load you have. The two main purposes of water changes are to lower nitrates and to remove impurities. If your tank is lightly stocked, the nitrates aren't likely to get too high in a week. If you have a heavily planted tank, you may not have any nitrates at all. Water changes help to balance the impurities out. As water evaporates, only the water leaves the tank. All the minerals, salt and other impurities are left behind to making water changes helps keep them from building up. That's why it isn't good to simply top off a tank after water eveporates.

 

[parrot_2]

I don't usually do 25%. More like about 15%. How much really depends on the fish load you have. The two main purposes of water changes are to lower nitrates and to remove impurities. If your tank is lightly stocked, the nitrates aren't likely to get too high in a week. If you have a heavily planted tank, you may not have any nitrates at all. Water changes help to balance the impurities out. As water evaporates, only the water leaves the tank. All the minerals, salt and other impurities are left behind to making water changes helps keep them from building up. That's why it isn't good to simply top off a tank after water eveporates.

Thanks for the feedback, this forum is very friendly