Another newbie!

[Great Lakes]

My red tail shark lives with some community fish splendidly. However, he hates Rainbows, Gouramis, and bettas. He seems to be just fine until he thinks someone is a prettier red than him.. :laugh:

 

[Feargal]

I had a RTB Shark in a previous community setup and that got along fine with everything, including a gourami! He used to play around with my Clown loaches mostly (great fun ) but never displayed any aggressivenes toward any of the fish.

The other fish in the tank were:

Neon tetra's
Lemon tetra's
Zebra Danio's
Dwarf Gourami
Leopard Cory's
Clown loaches
Clown Plec

I would have to say that, besides the Clown loaches, he was the main attraction. A right show off!

I do hear a lot of people saying these fish are aggressive but I for one intend to have one in my new setup.

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Hi all,

Went to my LFS to check my water and hopefully get a few more fish.

My ammonia levels are fine, however my nirtrite was quite high and the lfs advised me not to purchase any more fish until the nitrite levels are down.

He advised to me to do a 25% water change and add some anti-chlorinater and some live bacteria to the fresh water.

Is this sound advice?

Is it possible that I am feeding my fish too much and this is causing the high Nitrite levels?

Thanks! :cry:

 

[Tatya]

You'll need to add dechlorinator to any tap water you add to a tank. If you've got high nitrites then no more fish is definitely good advice.

Your tank will be cycling. Sounds like its got through the first phase if your Ammonia is back to zero, but the nitrite will now peak and then fall as the bacteria cultures develop. Wait until the cycle has completed before adding more fish.

You could add bottled bacteria but most people (myself included! ) seem to consider it to be a waste of money. If you already have some though I doubt it will do any harm.

How much do you feed your fish? Overfeeding won't be causing the nitrite reading, but it will increse the waste in the tank and lead to much higher ammonia and nitrite peaks during the cycle.

Are the fish showing signs of stress (gasping at the surface? any other odd behaviour?)? If your fish are fine I'd not do the water change as it would prolong the cycle.

If the fish are showing any signs of distress, then do a water change. Don't touch the gravel while doing it though. Personally I'd only do about 10%, but the others may advise more. Do you have any information as to the actual level of the nitrite reading?

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Hi,

The water colour was a darkish purple for the Nirtite (Is that any help)

Anyway, I've done a water change about 2 buckets worth, and  I noticed quite a lot of debris was disturbed when I carefully added the new water in (by debris I mean excrement, food, etc)  What is the best way to take it out could I use a standard kitchen sieve?  Or is there a special implement for this?

Also the only fish that appears to be 'gasping' at the surface is my Betta Splendis although I have been informed that this is normal behaviour for them as they need to breath air every so often.

Thanks.  TTFN

 

[Dragonslair]

If there is uneaten foodstuffs being disturbed then the answer is YES to overfeeding. The best way to clean the bottom is to invest in a gravel cleaner. It works on the Archimedes principal, very much like your loo cistern. Do you have live plants, and if you do is there algae on them, I would be surprised if you said no. Uneaten fish food will cause high phosphates. Usually live plants can cope with small amounts, but too much will encourage algae. As for your Betta, yes it is quite natural for it to breathe atmospheric air. It has a set of special breathing apparatus in it head to convert atmospheric air to liquified air. Purple for Nitrite. On the scale it shaows about 1 or 2. This is very high. You can lower it by several means-water changes is about the safest, but you can also purchase Nitra zorb, to lower it. Again find the cause and you have the solution.

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Hi DS

What do you define as safe? I've already done one 25% water change earlier, is that sufficient or will I need to do another one in the next few days?

Also the 'Nitra Zorb' stuff, is that safe for the fish or will it have an adverse effect on them?

I haven't got any real plants, just plastic ones so Algae doesn't appear to be present.

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Hi,

Just came back from work and noticed one of my neon tetra's is no more. He is an ex-tetra.

Before I went to work one of them (Not sure if it's the same one) was opening and closing his mouth constantly and his gills were moving quite quickly.

Some of the other neons seem to be quite lethargic at the moment as welll.

All is not well.

Help needed :grumpy:

 

[pete]

Your fish are suffering from the effects of lack of oxygen.

Add an airpump and airstone A.S.A.P and do the usual water tests etc and report back the results if you would please

Hope this helps ...

pete

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the quick response.

I already have a filter fitted, do I need both an airstone AND an air pump, and is it possible to over-do the oxygen?

Also, the earliest I can get them is Friday morning, would it be too late to fit them on Friday night or is it better I fit them straight after buying them?

Also any particular brand/size etc.

My tank is 24 inches by 12 wide by 15 high.

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Hi Pete,

Thanks for the quick response.

I already have a filter fitted, do I need both an airstone AND an air pump, and is it possible to over-do the oxygen?

Also, the earliest I can get them is Friday morning, would it be too late to fit them on Friday night or is it better I fit them straight after buying them?

Also any particular brand/size etc.

p.s. is there a test you can do for oxygen?

My tank is 24 inches by 12 wide by 15 high.

 

[pete]

OK an airpump (interpet ap1) or similar will do just nicely in that size tank and a 6" airstone will be about the right size too, expect to pay around £10 for the airpump and £3 for the airstone approx.

I dont think that you can overdo oxygen in your tank due to the relatively high stocking level for that size tank, however i obviously wouldnt use 4 airpumps and 4 foot long airstones as this would be a bit overkill imo lmao :laugh: :laugh:

You say you have a filter...............what kind is it? air fed, internal power filter, external power filter or under gravel??

If it is "air fed" and you already have an airpump you could tap into the air supply and run an airstone from that removing the need for an extra air pump .

Also as a short term measure until you can get an air pump try to get some oxygen tablets which cost about 50 pence a packet and add these until the arrival of the air pump etc, however you should only use these as a short term measure :what:

Again i hope this advice helps and good luck

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

my filter is an AQUAEL INTERNAL FILTER (fan-1)

 

[pete]

Your filter is way too small for that size tank, may i suggest that you at least get another AquaEL Fan 1 or get a Fluval 2 or 3 plus internal filter as these are much better than the one you have (not that im knocking your set-up you understand).

I have an AquaEL Fan 1 myself but i will only run a 18x10x10 maximium tank size on it as i dont trust it for larger tanks.

They are a very good filter in thier own right but IMHO not a patch on the Fluval or Ehiem internal power filters :what: .

Keep me posted

 

[Thomas A. Anderson]

Would it be sufficient if I kept my present filter and added another airstone and air pump.

Or replace it with a more suitable filter,

Sorry for the 20 questions