Argh! Fish nightmare

[Jennops202]

Hiii,
So this is going to be a long post and I need so much advice. I’m a complete noob to this and was happy to take it slow with getting used to things with a Male beta.
a couple weeks ago my kids wanted fish, we obliged took them to pets at home (first mistake) and came home with a biorb(second mistake) so to cut it short got a couple fish in the biorb, they are doing well, but I wasn’t happy with the filtration so I sent my other half to get a better tank yesterday, I pointed to a 50 ltr tank (empty/clean). He decided he could get better for the price and he arrives back with a 50 and a 100 ltr........ filled with fish. Absolutely filthy. Not just a couple fish... a lot... clearly breeding like no tomorrow. (Other half said it was an old boy getting rid of the tanks so think he may not of been able to clean very well) Go to put The tanks on and and refil and pop goes the filter on the smaller tank. So 10pm Sunday night and I’ve got a tank filled with some tiny shrimp kind of things and what I think are some kind of tetra no filter or pump for it. Decided to transfer as many of these fish (a lot of babies) as we could to the other tank with breeding swordtails in so I could completely empty and clean down ready to start again (dirty was an understatement, the water was literally brown!) have a new filter/pump coming tomorrow for the smaller tank and everything seems to be getting along in the bigger tank for now (which I’m also going to need to empty and do a full clean/start again). I’m pretty sure even with both tanks up and running properly they are hugely over stocked. How can I go about getting rid of some fish? What do I leave in the tanks? About 6 big Male swordtails and 4 females 57 million fry! I don’t want them to be constantly breeding. Plus all these tiny shrimp things and some kind of tetra(I think)and a lot of fry From them. How to stop them breeding!?! Where the heck do I start.
Please be kind I did not ask to be in this situation but I’m going to work hard to try solve it all.
I think my first step is to get the empty tank started and set up so I can transfer some over and make a start on the big one? Maybe I dunno ‍♀

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Deep breaths, we can figure it out
Please don't go overboard with cleaning and starting over, scrubbing the tanks and getting rid of dirty filters, or washing them in tap water. The fish have likely adjusted to the terrible water conditions, and if you make the systems too clean, especially in an overstocked tank, you can make things a whole lot worse rather than better by killing all the beneficial bacteria that process the fish waste, and keep the water from becoming too toxic.
Stop cleaning the tanks for now, and if you have the filter media or any decorations that you haven't cleaned yet, put it back in with them. A large water change is the next step either way. Remove 50-80% of the water, then replace with water that is the same temperature as the tank water, and has been treated with water conditioner to bind chlorine and chlormines.

After the water change, please take and upload some pics for us, so we can see what we're dealing with, and ID the fish for you.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Hiii,
So this is going to be a long post and I need so much advice. I’m a complete noob to this and was happy to take it slow with getting used to things with a Male beta.
a couple weeks ago my kids wanted fish, we obliged took them to pets at home (first mistake) and came home with a biorb(second mistake) so to cut it short got a couple fish in the biorb, they are doing well, but I wasn’t happy with the filtration so I sent my other half to get a better tank yesterday, I pointed to a 50 ltr tank (empty/clean). He decided he could get better for the price and he arrives back with a 50 and a 100 ltr........ filled with fish. Absolutely filthy. Not just a couple fish... a lot... clearly breeding like no tomorrow. (Other half said it was an old boy getting rid of the tanks so think he may not of been able to clean very well) Go to put The tanks on and and refil and pop goes the filter on the smaller tank. So 10pm Sunday night and I’ve got a tank filled with some tiny shrimp kind of things and what I think are some kind of tetra no filter or pump for it. Decided to transfer as many of these fish (a lot of babies) as we could to the other tank with breeding swordtails in so I could completely empty and clean down ready to start again (dirty was an understatement, the water was literally brown!) have a new filter/pump coming tomorrow for the smaller tank and everything seems to be getting along in the bigger tank for now (which I’m also going to need to empty and do a full clean/start again). I’m pretty sure even with both tanks up and running properly they are hugely over stocked. How can I go about getting rid of some fish? What do I leave in the tanks? About 6 big Male swordtails and 4 females 57 million fry! I don’t want them to be constantly breeding. Plus all these tiny shrimp things and some kind of tetra(I think)and a lot of fry From them. How to stop them breeding!?! Where the f**k do I start.
Please be kind I did not ask to be in this situation but I’m going to work hard to try solve it all.
I think my first step is to get the empty tank started and set up so I can transfer some over and make a start on the big one? Maybe I dunno ‍♀

Hello and welcome to the forum!

We need pictures of all the fish/current tank setup.

Also, please include an organized list of all the stock you can see. (If you do not know what species of fish they are, we can identify them for you from the pictures)

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

The filter that popped, open it up and take the sponges/cartridges/whatever filter media is inside of it, and put it inside the tank. Since it's been off since 10pm last night, there's a chance the bacteria are dead already, but if it's still damp, there's a chance some might survive and help repopulate the bacterial colony. Don't, whatever you do, wash any of this stuff under the tap. Take a little water from one of the tanks and rinse the sponges/cartridges/filter media in that to remove the worst slimy/stinky stuff, but don't try to get it spotless, just get the worst gunk off then throw it in the tank.

Leave the inside glass alone too, along with any substrate, plants or decor. Beneficial bacteria grow on all those surfaces, and that's what we're trying to preserve. We can pretty the tanks up later, but doing it now could kill all the fish and inverts.

If you can get some fast growing live plants (from a store or online, don't take any from a pond, that's dangerous) that will help a lot. Elodea, hornwort, and especially any floating plants. Floaters and fast growing stem plants like these suck up the ammonia the fish produce, especially helpful when the tank is heavily overstocked.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

The filter that popped, open it up and take the sponges/cartridges/whatever filter media is inside of it, and put it inside the tank. Since it's been off since 10pm last night, there's a chance the bacteria are dead already, but if it's still damp, there's a chance some might survive and help repopulate the bacterial colony.

As long as it stayed in the filter (Which is in the tank) the bb survived. They need minimal oxygen movement.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

As long as it stayed in the filter (Which is in the tank) the bb survived. They need minimal oxygen movement.

Ah, true, I had a HOB filter in mind when I was typing, didn't think about an internal one.

 

[Jennops202]

Unfortunately I full on emptied the small tank last night just put everything in the bigger one. I was planning on transferring a ornament from the bigger tank and starting fresh and getting the water right in that small one before putting fish back into it. I have done about 40% water change this afternoon it is looking clearer now. Have attached some photos of the tank. Will have some basic test strips available later too x
Thank you all for not jumping on me and looking to help

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Oh that's good. It's not nearly as dangerously overstocked as I was picturing that it might be. And not worried about crashing the cycle anymore since the tank is good and grotty, lol.
You know what the swordtails are clearly. The small colourful fish that are breeding a lot are Endler's Livebearers. The smaller more colourful ones are males. Females are slightly larger and more plain.

I didn't see any tetra, would you be able to get a clearer photo of tetra please? Sorry, I know it's not easy taking photos of fish in a tank. Since the cycle crashing isn't a worry now, you can clean the front pane of glass. Use an algae magnet or a brand new, un-used sponge to clean the inside, then just use water paper towel to clean the water marks from the outside, and it'll be easier to get clearer photos. If you could do a rough head count of the larger fish, also helpful. Don't worry about counting the fry, lol.

 

[FishFinatic77]

As everyone else has said, preserving the beneficial bacteria is the most important thing right now. For stocking, I see sword tails and Endlers. They are both livebearers which is why there are so many fry.
As @AdoraBelle Dearheart said, you should get some plants that will eat up a lot of ammonia in the tank. Floating plants like frogbit are really good at this. You could also put a pothos clipping (if you have one) in the filter. That will help suck up nutrients too.
While you're at the fish store, you could ask if they would take some of your fish. If you don't want them to breed, then give away the females and keep the males.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

The shrimp are either ghost or amano shrimp, hard to tell which species from the photo, but they need slightly different care, so we'll need to figure it out later.

I wouldn't suggest keeping any of the swordtails, they're a pretty big fish and good swimmers, and would probably be better in a 30 or even 40 gallon. Some people might be okay with 2-3 males only in your larger tank, but personally I wouldn't.

Endlers could do very well in either of those tanks, if you're in a hardwater area, but as you've seen, they can produce a lot of fry! There are ways to handle that if you have a LFS willing to take fry, but it's up to you whether you want to keep any of these fish or not. Nothing wrong with finding new homes for them and setting the tanks up the way you want them. Big chain stores like PetsAtHome usually won't take fish from the general public, but smaller, privately owned stores are often willing. You could also list them and the shrimp on Gumtree, reddit or FB.

Doesn't matter that you've cleaned the smaller tank now, you can take some substrate, decor and things from the grody tank to help jumpstart the cycle in the smaller one. Did you say that the big tank doesn't have a filter? Go ahead and set up the smaller one how you would like it. Also no need to thank us for not beating you up! This happens sometimes when people buy tanks from other people that come with fish. Not your fault the tank was neglected.

Here's the best video I've ever found for explaining the nitrogen cycle

This is what we're referring to when talking about the beneficial bacteria, and doing water changes. Anyone with a tank needs to understand what the nitrogen cycle is, and what to do when things get out of wack, but it's especially important to know when setting up a new tank, or one that has been cleaned out.

 

[Jennops202]

This is how new I am to it I thought the grey more plain Endlers were some sort of terta

Head count is approx
5 big Male swordtails
6 female swordtails (varying sizes)
6742 fry lol

Im struggling to count the endlers livebearers. I have just noticed tho the males seem to be really going for some of the females. (Is this normal) I’d say there is at 8-10 females and12-14 males excluding the fry.
Am I also right in saying 95% of the female fish look pregnant

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Read up on how to cycle your tank here.

I suggest getting as much Anancharis as you possibly can. This plant cycles your tank much faster than without.

You seem to have a lot of swordtails, Harliguen Rasboras, guppies, and other live bearers.

What is your pH, GH, and KH? You can find this information out by going to your local water providers website or by calling them. We need actual numbers. (Ex. ppm)

I am asking because the fish you have in there should not be placed together. I know its not your fault, but we need to look at the bigger picture.

 

[Jennops202]

So I did some reading on the nitrogen cycle which lead me to where I am, wanting a bigger better tank than the Orb with decent filters. Plan was to get the water sorted and move my couple of fish from the orb in first.
So are the fish in the tank not compatible then? There’s seems to be a commotion going on at the moment. But it seems to be the same species. All the Male swordies look to be picking on the smallest one. And the live bearer males harassing the females.
Got a better picture of the shrimp.
Amazon man just turned up with the test strips so I can gauge water quality in a mo x

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

This is how new I am to it I thought the grey more plain Endlers were some sort of terta

Head count is approx
5 big Male swordtails
6 female swordtails (varying sizes)
6742 fry lol

Im struggling to count the endlers livebearers. I have just noticed tho the males seem to be really going for some of the females. (Is this normal) I’d say there is at 8-10 females and12-14 males excluding the fry.
Am I also right in saying 95% of the female fish look pregnant

Yes, it's normal for male Endlers to constantly be chasing females.. but it's also important that females outnumber males, or the males can chase a female relentlessly and stress her out and exhaust her so much, she dies. Having more males than females is not good news for the females. If you can get that smaller tank set up as soon as possible and put the males in there, that would help. I suggest separating the males since they're easier to identify, and if you miss one or two males and they stay in with the females, no problem, since the harrassment is dispersed between all the females. But if you accidentally leave a female in with 12-14 males, she's gonna be in big trouble.

Yes, the females are likely to all be gravid. They tend to get knocked up right after birthing a batch of fry,and keep churning out more.

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Read up on how to cycle your tank here.

I suggest getting as much Anancharis as you possibly can. This plant cycles your tank much faster than without.

You seem to have a lot of swordtails, Harliguen Rasboras, guppies, and other live bearers.

What is your pH, GH, and KH? You can find this information out by going to your local water providers website or by calling them. We need actual numbers. (Ex. ppm)

I am asking because the fish you have in there should not be placed together. I know its not your fault, but we need to look at the bigger picture.

Where are you seeing harlequins and anything other than endlers and swordtails?
Some of the female Endlers might actually be female guppies, or hybrids, but looking more like Endlers size wise to me, or they'd be much bigger than the male Endlers in those photos, and those are definitely Endlers.

Endlers and swordtails are both hardwater fish, so they're compatible tank mates, but we do need to know the info from your water company website to see if your water is in the best range for them.
Does that mean you'd like to keep some of the swordtail and endler adults, and just try to prevent breeding?