Concerned About Fish

[DarrinLowe]

Hey,

Recently my girlfriend and I have started to keep fish.
We first started out with a Betta, which we kept in a 2.5 gallon bowl, and without much reading we figured he would be happier in a bigger tank.

We found a 35 gallon tank for 30 bucks on a local selling website (Kijiji) and set it up, we then learned that the tank was too big for a Betta, as he started laying on the bottom, and doing very little. We moved him back to the 2.5 gallon bowl, and we were left with a 35 gallon tank.

So, after that we decided to get more fish.

In our tank, we have a filter with the cloth/carbon rocks and a sponge thing filtering it. Along with a heater.

The tank is at a constant 75 (or whatever right in the middle of the green is), the PH is at 7.4 and it is salted to 1tbsp per 5 gallons.

In the tank, we have 2 Platy's(Female), 3 Molly's(2 Female 1 Male), a (2") Pleco, and a tropical catfish (I'm not sure of the exact species, as I do not have the recipt infront of me ATM)

(The fish are current numbers)

Previously,

We had 2 Platy's 3 Molly's and the Pleco.
One of the platy's had died, for unknown reasons. He wasnt eating, and was making minimal movement, so we suspected so.
During that time, and after, all the other fish have been active and healthy.

So we had returned our dead platy, and we picked up a new one, along with the catfish.

Since we have added the new Platy and the catfish to the tank, I have noticed some unusual behaviour with some of the fish.
Most notably, during the first 45 minutes of introducing the first platy, the new one and our old one began floating at the top (not sideways or anything) To a point where they were both in a corner, floating beside eachother.

Later on, I noticed that those 2 platy's were just sitting on the bottom. (They are both female, if this helps at all)
I also noticed the male Molly sitting at the bottom floating from side to side, (horizontally to the left, then to the right but not completely horizontal)

I am just curious if there is anything I should worry about, or what could be going on with my fish, (as I do not want them to die).
Or if they are just adjusting to the new fish, (which apparently causes a fluctuation in the PH)

I will be taking a water sample to PetSmart later on today, to see if it is a water problem.

Any suggestions?

I would also like to note, that we feed them freeze-dried bloodworms 5 days a week, shrimp medley once, and they fast for one day.
We also put an algae round in after lights out.

 

[Skins]

Hello and welcome to TFF,
How long has your aquarium been set up?
DO you have your own test kit? (if yes, can you post us your water stats ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and pH
Have you dechlorinated your tap water?

Skins.

 

[DarrinLowe]

Hello and welcome to TFF,
How long has your aquarium been set up?
DO you have your own test kit? (if yes, can you post us your water stats ammonia,nitrite,nitrate and pH
Have you dechlorinated your tap water?

Skins.

We have had the aquarium about a month.
No, we do not have a test kit. I do have a PH indicator in the tank that says it is at 7.4.

We did use conditioner on all the water we have used, and any water I have changed out.
I also put a few drops directly into the tank before going home last night.

 

[Skins]

Hello,
A tank only being setup for a month will not have built enough bacteria to brake down any ammonia/nitrite toxins in your water.
The fish staying near the waters surface and heavily breathing are signs of ammonia poisoning, sorry if that sounds blunt thats not my intentions.
For now can you do the following steps:
1) do a 75% water change(make sure tap water has been dechlorinated)
* when emptying water give your gravel/sand a good clean with a gravel vac
* try to match water temp with water thats left in the tank
* i would only use boiled water to mix with your cold tap water
2) i strongly recommend you buy your own test kit(Api freshwater master kit)
3) then have a good read of the links below in my signature(whats cycling, the nitrogen cycle & fish-in cycle)

Keep us all posted and let us know how things are going

Skins.

 

[the biffster]

sounds like your tank is
not cycled i will put a link up
for you to do some reading up on
it will help you out
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/141946-cycling-resource-center/

its a must read

 

[Athena]

I agree with what the others have posted - the tank is uncycled and you are in the process of a Fish-In Cycle, so regular (daily if necessary) water changes, regular testing of water - and do not overfeed.

Just like to add that feeding bloodworms every day is not a good idea really as they can cause constipation.

Your fish would be better off with a good quality flake food as their main food source, with the odd treat once or twice a week of either the freeze dried bloodworms/algae wafers or there are other things you can give, such as daphnia and brine shrimp (either frozen or dried). Occasionally offer them a tiny amount of squashed peas to help with their digestion (esp. when having fed bloodworms).

Regards, Athena

 

[guppy love]

I just want to add that catfish/plecos do not tolerate salt very well.

 

[DarrinLowe]

Hey,

We took a sample of our water into PetSmart, and from what we saw and matched up, all the numbers were good. Nitrate or nitrite was at .5 Chlorine was at 0, everything was within the okay range.

The only thing that was a little on the high end was the alkalinity. (Which comes naturally with my cities tap water)

I did look at the strip personally, and noticed that the PH seemed a little higher.(Was more easily matched to the 8)

But in terms of ammonia, and the other harmful ones they were all at minimum levels.

Do you think it is the food?

Last night I noticed our male molly floating vertically at the bottom. (Standing up almost)

We will start to switch to flakes, or something less filling.

 

[Skins]

Hello,
A tank only being setup for a month will not have built enough bacteria to brake down any ammonia/nitrite toxins in your water.
The fish staying near the waters surface and heavily breathing are signs of ammonia poisoning, sorry if that sounds blunt thats not my intentions.
For now can you do the following steps:
1) do a 75% water change(make sure tap water has been dechlorinated)
* when emptying water give your gravel/sand a good clean with a gravel vac
* try to match water temp with water thats left in the tank
* i would only use boiled water to mix with your cold tap water
2) i strongly recommend you buy your own test kit(Api freshwater master kit)
3) then have a good read of the links below in my signature(whats cycling, the nitrogen cycle & fish-in cycle)

Keep us all posted and let us know how things are going

Skins.

I still recomend you do the above

 

[Athena]

hello again - ok, so your LFS tested your water using the test strips? I think you'll find that those strips are not very accurate. Liquid test kits are a better means of testing your water. Not sure what type of strips they used but a lot of them don't even do ammonia readings on there.

How often have you been doing water changes since putting the fish in?

Also, you need to be sure whether that .5 reading was for nitrate or nitrite as there is a huge difference between the two and although a .5 nitrate reading is ok, if it's nitrite then that's not so good.

Anyway, yes, it's a good idea to give them a more varied diet, as mentioned before. When they get constipated it can cause a swimbladder disorder. Do any of the fish look a bit bloated at all? If so, try feeding them some squashed up pea (chop or crush into teensy-weensy pieces). But don't allow uneaten pea to remain in the water for too long otherwise that will up your ammonia once it starts to rot.

Don't worry, lots of newbies experience these problems due to being so badly informed at the start (or lack of any information being given). Give it a couple of months and your tank should be a bit more stabilised by then. For now, just keep up with regular water changes, don't add any more fish just yet and give them a good, varied diet.

Also, you might want to do a bit of research into what Guppy Love mentioned about salt not being good for plecs. I've never kept plecs so have no knowledge of their needs. But if they don't tolerate salt then that could make it ill.

How's your betta doing now?

Athena

 

[the biffster]

test strips there not accurate
at all it needs to be tested
with a liquid test kit to get
true readings i would buy your
own test kit a liquid one as
i don't believe test strips work


API fresh water master test kit
is what most of us use or tetra laborett.

 

[DarrinLowe]

Okay, I will head out and purchase one of these test kits as soon as possible.
After I have done so, I will post the readings on here.

 

[DarrinLowe]

I wanted to add that our Betta seems to be doing pretty good.

He has regained his color since moving him from the tank into his bowl, and he seems to be pretty happy with eating.
He does lay on the bottom, and seems to struggle staying horizontal. Going vertical to eat and having to constantly swim upwards to stay up.

We did very slightly salt his water to prevent infections or anything. Should we continue to do so with water changes?

One of our platys has seemed pregnant for quite some time now, and all of today she disappeared into our house. She hadnt come out all day so we were concerned something happened, so we picked up the house and found she was still alive. (Not entirely out of the water, but quite a bit)

Now that she is out she seems alot skinnier and more active, but there is no sign of any frys. The house does have quite a few small enclosed spaces but most of them were drained while searching for our fish. Do you think they were eaten? We caught her in our bigger net after getting her out of the house, and tried to personally feed her but she seemed very uninterested.

 

[Athena]

Hi - yes, if the platy had fry they could well have been eaten up very quickly. Sometimes you may find an odd fry days later hidden somewhere amongst plants.

Athena

 

[DarrinLowe]

Well,

Now I am truly concerned.
I did not have any money to go out and get that kit, but I brought some with me today and I am going to go get it on my lunch break.

Another of our Platy's died today. (The one who was lost in the house)

If it is ammonia poisioning, (Most likely from what you've all told me) How do I go about removing it?

Water changes? Or is there some sort of treatment I must follow?

I feel pretty dumb, that I did not prevent this.