Am i doing ok?

[TESS]

I have just become an aquarium owner, i set up my 40 litre tank on christmas day and made sure the gravel was clean and filters and heater was working ok.I then brought my fish on 28th dec (8 Red platies), i added a bacteria solution recomended by the fish man, then i added my live plants and a plastic cave (washed it with water and shook it dry).After sitting the bag of fish in the water for 15 mins i let them into the tank, they all seem happy and its day 2 now .I looked at them this morning and noticed 1 had a tiny white bubble/spot on his/her lip, she/he does tend to go to the top of the tank more than the others, but seems normal otherwise. I went to the shop today and brought a testing kit, dechlorine thingy (for the water change), more gravel stones to bed the plants in more and some aquarium salt.
I done my test and the results were:
ph- 7.5
ammonia-0ppm
nitrite-0.25mg/l
nitrate-40ppm
According to what i have read this is all ok apart from the nitrite which i read can be helped by adding aquarium salt to the tank, i actually brought the salt for my fish with the funny lip, i also read that the aquarium salt was good for killing parasites.I added 2 teaspoons of salt to my tank of 40 liters, the fish seem to like it although they did think it was food (are platies normaly this greedy?) and i also keep opening the tank top to let mre oxygen circulate because i read that fish with parasites or disease go up for more oxygen more often.
I worry about the oxygen for my fish, i have 4 live plants in there and there is about a 2 inch gap from the suface to the top of the tank, i brought some oxygen tablets which i will give 2 every 2 days.
I am going to buy a bucket and tube and gravel tube for cleaning my tank 50% water change next sunday, i will then add my gravel stones for the plants i also wash my hand with plenty of water before touching the aquarium water (although ive only touched it once before).
In about 2 weeks time i am going to buy 2 suka fish for cleaning the tank and a week after that i plan to buy a pair of small fish and that will be that for my tank.
40 litre tank
8 red platies
2 suka fish
2 other fish
Does that sound ok?
Does anyone know which fish (small) i could buy as a pair that will go in my tank?
Does all that i have describe above sound ok from someone who knows, i would be most gratefull if you could reply just so that i know im on the right track (Or not), thankyou for reading.Bye for now

 

[jflowers]

First off, wait to add more fish, at least till its cycled (what do I mean by that? check the pinned posts, its not what you have been told). 8 Platies are too much to put in to cycle the tank, three or at the most four, then add gradually at maybe two a week. Follow the pinned posts, it will save you time and dead fish.

Jon

 

[lady_tanksalot]

ok first wooooooow slow down

lets get the tank cycled first.

you seem to have read plenty, thats good, but ckeck out the pinned topics on cycling in the beginners questions first. you need to make sure that the waters stable before you add any more fish (8 is quite a lot to add to an uncycled tank)

you shouldn't really be thinking of adding fish on a time scale eg
in 2 weeks adding two suckers, just keep your eyes on the water peramitors before you decide when to add any more.

good luck with your new hooby, it's a great past time to get into, even my ten year old is hooked

 

[jflowers]

ok first wooooooow slow down

lets get the tank cycled first.

Did I not make this clear? Thought I had

Jon

 

[lady_tanksalot]

maybe you did jon, maybe i just type slow

 

[jflowers]

Sorry, just touchy tonight hehe.

Jon

 

[TESS]

Thankyou for your responses, i checked the water again today everything is the same but the ammonia has gone up a slight bit.I will do a 10% water change tommorow and add decholrine thingy which also has stress reducer for my fish. Fish are fine and dandy but i noticed tiny white spots on the one with the funny lip so i will add a white spot solution so it does'nt get any worse. I dont like to put chemicals in with my fish but it seems necersary on this occasion. bye for now

 

[ioNightShade]

ok first wooooooow slow down

lets get the tank cycled first.

Did I not make this clear? Thought I had

Jon

Now I can see why there are very few responses to a lot of threads. Probably because people are scared to make a comment after someone else has.

I, for one, would like several opinions from as many different people as possible, even if it is the exact same thing.

God forbid you check out the "Members aquariums and fish pictures" thread. It's repetition at its finest. Cool. Looks good. Very nice. Cool. Looks great. Cool.

With your "system," we'd only need one response.

Touchy, tonight, as well,



JT

 

[NinjaSmurf]

From what you said I don't imagine why you'd need oxygen tablets (not to mention how one gets oxygen into tablet form ). Agree with the cycle thing

Second, what exactly kind of 'sucka' fish are you thinking about getting? If it's any sort of pleco you should be warned that most of them get rather large and are great at pooping up a tank. And although I can't remember which is which, there is a fish that is sold as an algae eating fish but grows big and attacks other fish, so be warned. Find out exactly what type of 'sucka' fish you are interested in is, then decide whether or not it's good for your tank. That way you don't end up with a pleco that's going to get about two feet long....

 

[TESS]

Im not sure what type of suka im after realy,but i will wait for my tank to cycle properly before i get them, i will ask the fish dealer which ones to have. I havent put anymore oxygen tablets in because someone eles told me i dont realy need them, so for now they stay in the bag .

 

[sylvia]

Wait a minute.

Read the link in my signature.

8 platies in a 10 gallon means you are already over-stocked. You can't add more fish. At the most you could keep 6 platies. You can probably manage the 8 as well but don't add anything else. It appears everyone is over-looking your tank's size.

Remember also that platies breed like rabbits. You can become over-stocked very quickly even if you start out with just a few. You also should have at least 2 females for every male. I would suggest you take back a few and add more fish only after your tank has cycled.

A couple of male platies to cycle the tank is all you realy should have right now.

When you say 'sucka' I suppose you mean a pleco or something? If that's what you're talking about. It's out of the question. Most plecos get way to big and those that are actualy suitable size-wise for a small tank need to be in groups or are much too fragile for the unstable environment in a 10 gallon.

About cycling. read the link in my signature. It'll tell you pretty much everything about it if I remember correctly and will also explain that you have added too many fish too quickly and that you can expect a lethal ammonia spike, followed by a drop and then nitrIte spike followed by a drop and nitrAte spike which you will from then on control by doing weekly water changes as your tank has then cycled. This can take over a month if you cycle with fish, which is what you are doing. Ask your LFS for some of their gravel or old filter media to speed the cycle up.

The bacteria product thing you say you added probably won't have any effect so be aware of this.

You don't need oxygen tablets.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

That's a ten gallon? Wow, I really need to learn the whole conversion thingy...

 

[TESS]

Its not tiny,are you saying its to small?, ive posted pictures on the picture part of the forum you can have a look if you like.My boyfriend brought me the tank for xmas are knowing that i realy wanted tropical fish, i will up grade to a larger tank within the year .

 

[sylvia]

It's not very small (I mean 2 gallons is VERY small). 10 gallons is an ok size to start with but realy if you think of the fish and compare their environment in the wild to what you are providing them it is quite small. Granted we can't give 8 platies a swimming pool to call their own but you should think of the size thing in eprspective. Anyhow, there's a guideline called the 'inch epr gallon rule' (though the rule part is misleading). What it basicaly states is that for every one US gallon you can have one inch of adult fish. Platies get to 1.5 - 2 inches so 10 gallons is too small (according to this guideline) for 8. If you also take into account their habit of breeding and multiplying constantly, the need for a cycle and the space taken up by decor, your available space for the 8 platies is quite small - probably smaller than would be best for the fish. You should also consider that waste builds up quicker in small volumes, water parameters fluctuate more easily, as does temperature and the environment is generaly less stable.

 

[TESS]

I thought 10 us gallons was 38 liters, mines 40 so that should make up for the decor.My fish did not come from the wild they were probably breed in captivity,granted they will probably never lose their wild side but compared to the tank they were in in the shop, there was 50 platys in it so my tank seemed big.They are all very happy they follow me everywere and even the cats (the cats is in danger of being eaten,greedy buggers ).The tempreture in my tank and the water is pretty stable, i test every day and also water change 10%.A 150-200 litre tank is on the horizon hopefully this summer, i saw one in the shop £150 for a 200 litre silver with stand bargin!, (donations are excepted ,only joking).I used to live in a bed sit for 2 years so i know what its like to want space,my fishes time will come and they will have a mansion before the reach full adult size and the small tank will be a fish hospital.I except your concern for my fishes welfare as their welfare is my priority, i love all animals and fish and despise crulety, its good to know that there is someone out there like me who is concerned about the welfare of animals and fish .