Can You Look At My 'stats Log' And Advise

[evelester]

Hi! I have been keeping an almost daily log of my tank, and wanted to know if someone could take a look at my 'stats' and such and advise what I should do now

thanks in advance!! I really wish I had done a fishless cycle, and I know better now, but, it is too late.. but do the latest test results mean that 'something' is happening in the cycle?

Fishy Journal

12.28.06 got tank
got 2 neon tetra, a sucker fish, a betta, 2 blue tetra and 2 guppies
12.30.06 got 2 more blue tetras and 2 more guppies
one guppie died as soon as we got home, fin damage
replaced with another guppie
did a 20% water change after water test showed high amonia - added amonia trapper
1.01.07 got a catfish
another guppy died as a result of childbirth complications, did not replace - down to 3 guppies
did a 25% water change
1.02.07 added a bubble wand - betta hated at first
1.03.07 beta doing better, might have fin rot, added some salt - will monitor
betta swimming more, but tail still looks funny, will get some fin rot treatment today
guppy number three is a female, she is developing a large gravid spot and seperating herself, seems healthy though
thinking about returning the catfish, research showed that he will not be happy or healthy in a 10 gallon - will exchange for supplies
getting water tested again tonight will record readings this time
Fish totals as of today : 5 neon tetras - 4 blue tetras - 3 guppies - 1 sucker - 1 beta - 1catfish to be returned
All look healthy (except beta tail), water less cloudy but still a little cloudy.
returned catfish
got a gravel siphon cleaner
ammonia and nitrite high, ph and nitrate good
did a 25% water change added aminia killer and used partial bottled water
1.04.06 not feeding today to get aminia and nitrite down
all fish seem happier with catfish away - betta much more active as well as sucker
water still a little cloudy but seems to be better
guppys gravid spot seems smaller but might just be lighting - no babies
found and removed old hidden alge pellet that had a lot of cloudy alge, might help levels?
did a 1.5 gallon water change using spring water
one of the guppies acting strangely, not swimming as much (orange tailed one)
a few of the neon tetras swimming funny (but lights were off- may have been resting - seem ok now)
temp staying at 75% even after water change
betta seems to be nipping at other fish. Will monitor
1.05.06 got test kit
ph is 7.6 - ammonia is 7.0-8.0 - nitrite is at .5 and nitrate is at .5 as well
did a one gallon water change with distilled water
added 2 tabs of ammonia clear tank buddies and ammonia went down to about 4.0
betta definitely has tail rot- will get meds tomorrow, still very slight
also noticed some little white stringy things, possibly Planaria - as per research it isnt harmful but means tank is dirty - too much feeding
fed once at about 3pm - will not feed again till Sunday
everyone acting healthy -- water less cloudy
tested again after water change --- ammonia 1.0 - nitrite at .25 - nitrate .5 (maybe lower) - PH at 7.5 (accidently used distilled water before read this is a no no)
1.06.07 found one guppy dead this morning, almost all tail gone, I think it happened after he died though - he has been acting a bit sickly.
sucker fish under bridge this morning, scared me, thought he was gone! LOL
added 2nd filter and removed carbon from both to treat tank for fin rot -- did a 20% water change - added stress zyme (treated fin problems with betta fix)
tested water - results -- amonia at 1.5 - nitrite at .25 - ph at 7.5 - nitrate still at 0
1.7.07 tested water
added carbon back to both filters
ammonia - 4.0 / nitrate 1ppm / ph 7.5 / nitrite .25
1.8.07 no water change - all fish look fine
no water change - all fish look fine
tested water
1.11.07 ammonia -4 / ph 7.5 / nitrite .25 / nitrate 1ppm
all fish look fine except firetailed guppy's tail looks a little frayed, but swimming fine otherwise, maybe he got a little nipped by betta, will keep watching
tested water - results -- amonia at 5 - nitrite at .5 - ph at 7.6 - nitrate at 3 (some changes, but not much)
doing another 2 gallong water change tonight, letting water site right now, using stress zyme in new water (using tap water…)
testing tap water - TAP WATER LEVELS -- all 0 except PH is at 7.0
water very clear now that 2nd filter is in
still only feeding once a day, all food eaten within about 2 minutes
will retest tank water after water change tonight


any suggestions besides doing regular water changes every day (i missed a few days, I was REALLY sick with the flu) but will be doing a 20% tonight, and 10 every day after today, as well as only feeding once a day)

 

[dwarfgourami]

Ok, you're going to need to do bigger water changes- an ammonia reading of 5 ppm is serious. I would do 50 % a day. No need to use distilled water, just make sure it's dechlorinated.

Also, what exactly is the sucker? Is it a Chinese Algae Eater? Or a pleco? Would you be able to identify it from an online site or post us a pic?

I imagine you are still overstocked: a 10 gallon tank is about enough to house 5 neons and 5 male guppies, no more. Female guppies being larger than males, I'd say a couple of females and 5 neons.

 

[evelester]

i will do 50% instead of 20% tonight, thanks!

as for the 'sucker' he hides all the time, so a picture would be hard, but i could pick him out online, i will look to find a site with pics, if you have some handy let me know..

as for the overstocking, we are working on that, we have a second 10 gallong we are currently doing a fishless cycle on right now, and will be rehoming some of the fish from this tank to that, then in a few months We are getting a 55 gallon, then will keep one of the 10 gallons as a 'species' tank of some sort.. not decided what yet, and the other 10 gallon as a hospital/breeding tank. So that issue should be gone soon.

I will try to id the sucker now, thanks again! (does it seem like the cycle is taking place at all? do the readings show any progress -- like the nitrite going up, LOL, I just want to see change. You know?)

thanks again! off to look for pics of a sucker

 

[evelester]

ok, i got some 'decent' pics of my sucker fish, any ideas of what he is?

i think he is a pleco (thats what the LFS called him, but i have since learned that about half thier fish are mis named, they are a horrible store, i do not trust of buy fish from them anymore!) if he is a pleco, he will be going right to the 55 gallon in about 2 months, i do not want to stunt his growth

im still working on getting a better one, this pic is horrible

 

[dwarfgourami]

Oh, so it's not just my glasses I'd say he looks like one of the larger plecs, there are lots of different ones of different sizes. A better picture would help, post it in the catfish forum to catch the real experts.

Well, your tank certainly seems to be cycling- nitrites are up, and there is even a small nitrate cycle. So things are moving in the right direction. It's mainly a question of keeping the tank safe while this is happening- so frequent water changes. And the plec will need a bigger tank sooner rather than later- as you may have noticed they are major poop machines and he will be contributing to the water stats problems. I cannot guarantee that even a 55 gallon will be enough when he's grown up, that depends on the species.

 

[TigerIssey]

Guppies with betta isnot a good idea, the betta may mistake guppies for another betta male and fight. You may be better keeping the betta on its own in the 10g when you rearrange.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah you need to sort the stocking out, get the betta it's own tank or return it to the store.

actually the plec looks like it could almost be a royal from that pic! how much did you pay for it? basically if it's anything other than a BN it's gonna get too big for your tank so needs re-homing.

Those ammonia levels are hideously high, plecs are incredibly messy fish, you need extra filtration to cope with them, I suspect the plec in an uncycled tank is causing the massive water quality problems and subsequent deaths. I would take him back to the store now.

Then do much bigger water changes until your levels have stabilised.

Also just a little tip, if your gonna post a series of water stats, try and keep the ph, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in the same order throughout, it's really hard to follow as it is!

 

[dwarfgourami]

actually the plec looks like it could almost be a royal from that pic!

I was just wondering that. Not a BN anyway, the head and body shape looks wrong and the pattern.

I'd say you can't keep a BN in a 10 gallon, either, once it's grown; the only possible plecs (apart from otos) might be bulldog plecs.