Argh! Fish nightmare

[seangee]

That's a lot better. Both the tank and the tests. Keep up with the daily changes until the nitrates in the tank are the same as those in the tap.
You don't need to wait for the second tank to cycle. If you are well prepared you can do this in a few hours

• Have your washed sand ready (I would only use sand - soil does not add any benefit)
• Make sure the two tanks are the same temperature
• Move your filter and any decorations you want to keep into the other tank - turn the filter back on
• Move the fish into the other tank
• Drain the tank, remove the gravel and clean the glass. Don't use any chemicals.
• Add sand, add some water, add plants and fill the tank. Remember to use de-chlorinated water.
• Put back your ornaments you want to save and turn on the heater.
• Once the temp is the same as the other tank move the filter and fish back

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

So the ladies went to a new home yesterday and tank has calmed a lot, one did decide to part with a lot of fry before she went tho! Lol
Latest tests have much better results, they have been coming down each day

Will be getting some plants Saturday to replace some of the skanky messy ones in the tank.
will attach latest water test, what should I do regarding water changes now? Continue with the big daily changes or lessen it?
I do want to change the gravel for soil and sand eventually in the tank, would I be better waiting till smaller tank is cycled so I can move the fish and completely drain in to do?

Gotta say, you got some tanks that were in a hell of mess, and you had a lot of info to take in. You've done an amazing job! Those fish are so much better off now, after clearly being neglected for so long. I just had to hand it to you for that, I know it's a lot of work and time, and you deserve credit for that. Which fish are you going to keep for yourselves? The male swords and guppies, then just use the smaller tank as a grow out tank for now for the fry? I see that @seangee has already answered your questions perfectly, I just wanted to give you well-earned kudos and ask about your plans for the tanks. Would love to see updates as it progresses!

 

[ClownLurch]

Well done @Jennops202 Ive not been on here long enough to know if they do end of year polls but if they do you’ll be in the running.

 

[Jennops202]

I was thinking about rehoming some of the Endlers, and putting the swordtails and Male Endlers into my smaller tank when it’s ready. I’m really fancying dwarf gourami/ platys and guppys. I am a bit concerned about ph of my water for the gourami tho as all my readings have been over 7.5 so far but I want to test with a proper liquid kit For better accuracy. I know u can alter ph but it all sounds a bit expensive and complicated for me being new to it.
thank you very much for all your help, it’s been stressful but glad these fish are now in much better conditions I’m sure I’ll be around to bug you all with questions and pictures of what this turns into lol I think I have the bug! X

 

[ClownLurch]

I’ve not been on here long but I’ve noticed just about everyone advising against Dwarf Gourami at the moment. There’s some DG disease going around and none are living long enough to draw their pensions.

 

[Jennops202]

I’d love discus too but I’m novice I need hardy easier fish for now x

 

[FishFinatic77]

Honey gouramis are really cute, and not too hard to care for. If you do change your ph, you might want to try one of them.

 

[Essjay]

It's not the pH that matters but the hardness. As long as the GH is within the range for any given species, the pH can be outside their quoted range, as long as it's not way outside.

GH can be altered by mixing tap and RO water to lower it, or adding something like Rift Lake salts to harden it.

 

[Jennops202]

Hey thoughts I’d update u all,

a few months back we had (well it’s the only explanation I can think of!) an ammonia spike and lost some Endlers. Water parameters are absolutely spot on now tho. Do weekly changes about 50%.
have added some Corydoras because they are fun little fish and not much else was suitable for my harder water!
finally got round to changing the horrible gravel today. ( water a little bit murky even tho I spent 17 hours washing the sand.)
I am also good at killing plants so I’ve found out! Attached some pics to see the difference! Seriously have the bug and planning my next tank that I can start from scratch and stock/decorate to my liking

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Hey thoughts I’d update u all,

a few months back we had (well it’s the only explanation I can think of!) an ammonia spike and lost some Endlers. Water parameters are absolutely spot on now tho. Do weekly changes about 50%.
have added some Corydoras because they are fun little fish and not much else was suitable for my harder water!
finally got round to changing the horrible gravel today. ( water a little bit murky even tho I spent 17 hours washing the sand.)
I am also good at killing plants so I’ve found out! Attached some pics to see the difference! Seriously have the bug and planning my next tank that I can start from scratch and stock/decorate to my liking

Tank looks lovely! Happy you guys got the bug and are enjoying your tank, and you're on top of water parameters now

Just a quick warning though, switching all of the substrate might well lead to what we call a mini cycle. This isn't a terrible thing, so long as you're aware that it might happen, and can keep on top of testing and water changes. What happens is that a lot of your beneficial bacteria can be living on the substrate, and removing all of that substrate at once means it takes a few days - a week or so for the beneficial bacteria remaining in your filter and elsewhere in the tank to reproduce enough to make up for the ones lost from the old substrate. Until they've grown back enough, it's very possible for ammonia and/or nitrites to rise, since there isn't any many bacteria to deal with them as there was before. Your tank had grown the right amount of bacteria to handle the bioload, and now there aren't enough bacteria to handle the tanks bioload.

So for now, only feed very lightly, if at all. Adult fish can go for a few days without food, but at least only feed half of what you'd usually feed. Less food in means less ammonia being produced. Test the tank water daily. If ammonia or nitrites go above zero, do a water change, 75% ideally. You might be doing those daily changes for a week or so, while the bacteria colonies grow again.

I had to set up a 'new' clean tank for shrimp recently, in an emergency. I used an established filter, and the bioload was low, but with new clean sand, clean tank, clean plants.. I had nitrites reading at 0.25ppm daily for four days, and needed to water change daily for four days while the bacteria grew and spread around the tank to handle the bioload. Now it only took four days for my tank to catch up, but it's also heavily planted, and plants consume ammonia, so that helped. It's possible it might take a little longer with a less planted tank, no way to know. Only way to know is to keep testing and changing as needed, until your ammonia and nitrites remain at zero for a few days in a row. Then you can return to your usual weekly changes

 

[Jennops202]

Hi,
Hope your well
Yeah I’d an inclination this would be the case so we were prepared to be testing and changing daily. No biggie really we actually enjoy doing the maintenance ect.
While I’ve got your attention we got food recommended by lfs but I feel it’s boring (just some micro granules for tropical fish) I want to vary diet a bit more. What will these fishy enjoy? X

 

[FishFinatic77]

Bug Bites tropical formula is good. New Life Spectrum, Omega One, and Hikari are good brands too. I would get the pellets since that's better for the fish.
You could also give them some frozen food like bloodworms, daphnia, or brineshrimp.