Fresh-Water Newbie

[King]

i will get a master kit. i changed the filters the night i brought it home and filled it back up (i got it from a family already set up with fish), then i just did a 40-50% water changed and changed the filters again.

all the fish have done fine, water is clear, temp and PH are good. im learning everything so bare with me lol..

oh also i have been using conditioner with any new water i put in. i vacuumed the gravel tonight also.

 

[KittyKat]

Your priority should be to get nitrite well below 0.25 ppm. pH, KH and GH are irrelevant right now, don't worry about them. Clear water does not really indicate anything except that you do not have a bacterial or algae bloom.

What you should do, is also test your tap water, to find out if that comes with any nitrite in it already.

I recommend that you use a dechlorinator (water conditioner) which will deal with chlorine, chloramine and ammonia. This will slightly ease the burden on your fish.

The affects of ammonia and nitrite will be seen maybe 6 months to a few years down the line: they tend to be a weaker immune system and shorter life spans.

 

[This Old Spouse]

Actually, high ammonia and nitrite can result in DEATH very quickly! And a water conditioner really only takes care of chlorine effectively. It will help with the ammonia but won't eliminate it!

When you changed out the filter media, you took away all the nice bacteria that converts the ammonia and nitrite into nitrate and makes the water safe for your fish to live in. PLEASE click on the link below my sig photo, "New to Fishkeeping? Click here!" which will tell you all about it.

Unless you can get some mature media (ask the LFS or a friend with a tank if they could spare some) you'll be in a fish-in cycle. Daily large water changes, etc.

But please stop changing the filters!!! Keep us posted on your actions so we can help you help your fish.

 

[King]

should i put the one week used filters back in? they gotta be close to the top of the trash can, i could get them out if it would help. they were only used a short time though. i figured i would do a water change everyday for a while. i also will test my tap water. i use the correct amount of water conditioner every time i do changes. this test kit i have obviously sucks too, i will work on getting another.

the 11" pleco, 2 massive coy gold fish, and 2 big angels were in this tank for YEARS, untested water, no heater or thermo, and prob no water changes and they are all fine so its just hard to believe that the water being a little off is gonna "kill" everything in the tank lol.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

should i put the one week used filters back in? they gotta be close to the top of the trash can, i could get them out if it would help. they were only used a short time though. i figured i would do a water change everyday for a while. i also will test my tap water. i use the correct amount of water conditioner every time i do changes. this test kit i have obviously sucks too, i will work on getting another.

the 11" pleco, 2 massive coy gold fish, and 2 big angels were in this tank for YEARS, untested water, no heater or thermo, and prob no water changes and they are all fine so its just hard to believe that the water being a little off is gonna "kill" everything in the tank lol.

The fact that you removed the filter (which had virtually all the bacteria needed to keep the toxins at bay) means that the fact that they have been in that tank for years is a completely irrelevant fact. The filter media is now gone that had what you really needed to keep everything safe. Also, when the fish were in that tank at the beginning (while the original filter was cycling) the bioload of those fish was MUCH lower than it currently is. A full grown plec, 2 angels and 2 massive gold fish all create FAR more waste than they would when juveniles, not to mention the fact that there waste during those years has been building up and heterotrophic bacteria are turning much of that waste into ammonia as well.

You have removed the safety net from the system, so that is why you are dealing with issues now.

 

[This Old Spouse]

I suppose if these fish have been in those conditions for years, they had opportunity to get used to how bad it was. But now you've gone and put fresh water in there

so you're basically starting all over again. Don't dig out the old filters from the trash. The media is no longer viable. The only thing that would have done some good is keeping the very original filter media to cycle the tank. But you really are now starting with a fish-in cycle. No matter where they came from, it's now up to you to give them the best you can.

 

[King]

i am paying all of you thanks in advance for the help.

just did another "strip" test and still showing 1 nitrite, and 35-40 nitrate. all the other readings are good but these are still high.
plan to do another water change tonight of prob 50%.

 

[KittyKat]

the 11" pleco, 2 massive coy gold fish, and 2 big angels were in this tank for YEARS, untested water, no heater or thermo, and prob no water changes and they are all fine so its just hard to believe that the water being a little off is gonna "kill" everything in the tank lol.

Your problem is that the water is not a "little off", it is very toxic. What people have said above is true.

You have now killed 24 pets, please start listening instead of brushing off advice.

just did another "strip" test and still showing 1 nitrite, and 35-40 nitrate. all the other readings are good but these are still high.
plan to do another water change tonight of prob 50%.

Try to do a larger one if you can: 50% water change with 0 ppm nitrite will only bring it down to 0.5 ppm, which is still to high. Also, you probably have plenty of ammonia in there too, which needs to be lowered.

If no one has said yet, reduce feeding to once every three days, it will help with the ammonia and nitrite.

 

[King]

only feed every 3 days? wow. that seems as stressful as bad water lol. im not "shrugging off" advice, i got a test kit and been monitoring it and did my water change last night, which i plan to have to do for like another week straight. kinda harsh to say i KILLED 24 PETS lol. and if you want to be a smart #16##### dont post on my threads. im doing the best i can, im not a fish geek like you.

 

[fluttermoth]

only feed every 3 days? wow. that seems as stressful as bad water lol. im not "shrugging off" advice, i got a test kit and been monitoring it and did my water change last night, which i plan to have to do for like another week straight. kinda harsh to say i KILLED 24 PETS lol. and if you want to be a smart #16##### dont post on my threads. im doing the best i can,

It's perfectly alright not to feed fish for a week if needs be. Bad water will kill them.

KittyKat is giving you very good advice, which you should follow if you don't want to kill anymore fish.

im not a fish geek like you.

Then maybe you shouldn't be keeping fish

 

[This Old Spouse]

She's right in advising to feed only every 3 days until things settle down a bit. They will survive just fine. Honest. KK was a bit harsh, but if you hang around and read these posts month after month, you'll probably start to understand how hard it is to see these things happen.

Please do large water changes every day, then test your water with the liquid test kit that you're getting. Don't worry too much about the nitrates. They're okay for now. But your ammonia and nitrites need to be at 0. Two best ways to do this is a) what's been suggested in changing water every day, and b) find someone with some mature filter media that they can donate to you. This would help you immensely.

I started on this forum a few months ago, and I've learned more than I could with years of classroom schooling! These folks know what they're doing, and give the best advice they have. I'd have a lot more dead fish if I hadn't paid attention.

Keep us posted, and good luck.

 

[King]

and what am i doing? TESTING THE WATER AND DOING MY WATER CHANGES TO GET IT STRAIGHT... i guess you guys knew exactly what to do from the start? MOST people dont even test or mess with their water, i know lots of people/families that have aquariums and they have fish that live YEARS. im learning and working with this so calm down fish nazis lol.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I'm sorry, but the best you can is to do exactly what the folks here have told you. 1ppm nitrite is toxic, much in the same way that carbon monoxide is toxic to humans. Doing a 50% water change is NOT sufficient to lower that value to a suitable level. You need to take as much water out of the tank as you possibly can... just to the point that the fish are able to swim upright. Then refill it with temp matched, dechlorinated water. Then, do it again... immediately. If you do that AND you lower your feeding AND you continue to monitor your test results AND you do a water change every time you see the ammonia or nitrite value at anything other than zero, THEN your fish may actually survive this cycle.


Kitty Kat is not trying to be rude, but she is trying to open your eyes to the seriousness of your situation. When you were advised that neons in the same tank as these other fish was a bad idea, and you laughed it off saying that they weren't paying them any mind... and only a matter of a day or so later, they were all eaten. Perhaps it is the continual placement of "lol" in so many of your posts that has upset Kitty Kat. She is an excellent resource on this board, one of the most knowledgable folks that comes to this section of the forum. You really should be taking her advice far more to heart and rapidly changing the things that you are doing if you really care about your fish. If you don't then you should probably just rehome them all now before anything worse happens.


Planning to do a 50% water change every day for a week with such a LARGE bioload as you have in your tank indicates how much you still have to learn. A typical fish in cycle takes WEEKS and that is with a very small bioload by comparison. Your fish are currently in peril. This is the same as leaving your dog or cat in a smoke filled room, or allowing them to have a little antifreeze in their water bowl. The fish are slowly being poisoned by the water in their tank. You need to act, and you need to act quickly and swiftly. Doing an arbitrary 50% water change might seem like a good idea to you, but it isn't sufficient to alleviate the current situation. Nor is planning to do a 50% water change every day going to be enough. It may turn out that way soon, but not yet. Right now your fish are struggling to breathe and you need to fix the problem. I don't know if anyone can change your mind about how serious this situation is, but it really is dire!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

and what am i doing? TESTING THE WATER AND DOING MY WATER CHANGES TO GET IT STRAIGHT... i guess you guys knew exactly what to do from the start? MOST people dont even test or mess with their water, i know lots of people/families that have aquariums and they have fish that live YEARS. im learning and working with this so calm down fish nazis lol.

We all start in different situations. For myself, I researched and researched and researched before I even bought a tank. Not everyone has that luxury. It's different for everyone, but when you are given advice and you dismiss it, it can be very frustrating. You were advised not to get more neons, and yet you did and now they've been eaten. You've been advised to increase the size and frequency of your water changes. 50% daily is not enough right now.

The issue is not that you didn't know; the issue is that you have now been told and are still acting contrary to what is best for your pets. Instead of posting on here right now, you should be doing two massive water changes on your tank to bring your nitrite levels down to a safe level.

 

[King]

im also working on re-homing the gold fish into a more suitable environment. they are huge and beautiful but i dont need them, i plan to keep them alive and happy