Got a BIG problem

[dx3162]

Ok guys here goes...im really a newbie and have educated myself A LOT in the last 6 weeks. I know I f'd up a lot and im not posting to be bashed, im just looking for any useful advice anyone can offer. One day on a wim, completely out of the blue I decided I wanted a fish tank, so I went to Petsmart and Petco, asked a few questions, now I know I got completely bogus answers and was very misled....but again I knew NOTHING. I had to work open to close the next day and told the guy that I wanted fish that I could put in that night. This ******* recommended that I buy some feeder goldfish (12 cents a pop I think), and not knowing any better I did. I know you are all saying, what an idiot, and I now realize what an idiot i was...but hindsight is always 20/20 right? Anyways the next day I started reading a little, and immediately took the goldfish out (I kept them alive in a bucket with an airstone for a couple weeks, until I found them a home, guess they were a good choice for hardiness) Anyway once they were out I decided to go with what were called "semi agressive" fish to me. I have since read up extensively on all my fish and know I definitely don't have the best tankmates...but I cant afford another tank YET, and im not about to start flushing. Anyway I really overcrowded my tank, I have a 29gal Topfin with a Topfin 30 filter...I ordered a Penguin 330 that should be here any day now, hopefully that will help me out of this dilemma.

In my 29g I currently have:
2 1'' Tiger Barbs (i know they can be agressive and like to nip, but mine are very docile and 'friendly')
1 Albino Tiger Barb (Slightly larger than the other tigers)
1 Rosy Barb (same size as albino)
3 2.5-3'' Tinfoil Barbs
2 2.5'' (top to bottom) Angelfish (we all make poor uneducated decisions dont we?)
2 Silver Dollars (about the size of actual silver dollars, maybe a tiny bit smaller)
1 Albino Channel Catfish (i know hes gonna get huge)
1 Iridescent Shark (Pangasius Catfish....another biggie)
4 1-1.5'' Gouramis
2 1.5'' Bala Sharks
And my last stupid purchase was a 4-5'' "Needlefish"....not exactly sure what he is...any suggestions? (He is suppose to eat only live guppies, I have yet to see him eat one, my tinfoils like them though)

Anyway my ammonia spiked really high in the beginning, big suprise right? Now my nitrites and nitrates are really high, and I cant get them to go down. Tried cycle, prime, and most recently AmQuel Plus...none have made any improvements. Any suggestions on something I can do? I have been doing 30-40% water changes every 4-6 days and vacuming my gravel at the same time...doesn't really seem to help much....I have fairly large gravel if that makes a difference. I have been maintaining a tank of 80-81, slightly higher sometimes. Im really sorry for the book and am open to any suggestions...im really stuck. One last thing, should I use extra media in the penguin like it allows, and if so what type?

Thank you all very much for reading and I appreciate any help. I know I ****ed up, now I just gotta get a good bandaid on it while I save for a bigger tank.

 

[White Whale]

A betta and a bare quart-sized bowl would have been sufficient if you are a newbie to the hobbie.

 

[Teelie]

Sounds like your tank is cycling though with so many fish it may be a prolonged one. Usually it takes about 4-6 weeks to cycle but this might go on as long a 3 months.

A few suggestions: Take some of the fish back if possible, especially the Channel Cat, ID Sharks, Silver Dollars and Angels. The Angels aren't known for making it through cycles very well. Unless your next purchase is a medium sized heated pond, none of those fish except the Angels should be kept in an aquarium. I think it's wrong they sell Channels, ID Sharks and some of these other monsters to people for aquariums when they are pond sized fish.

The minimum size for the Silver Dollars, who need to be in a group of 3 or more, and the Barbs who prefer 5 or more (all of them), will be something like a 150 gallon aquarium for the lot.

Fortunately none of your fish are big yet but yes, you way over did the stocking. It happens though. Almost no one can claim to have done it right the first time or done it without making bad mistakes. I started out with a 5 gallon tank and some fish that were gonna get big.

Now I know better and a lot more and so will you. It's a good thing you're trying instead of just flushing.

 

[confusedmanc]

hi,

i've been keeping fish now for several years and like you learned the hard way, only thing not mentioned so far is, be careful with the water changes, if you keep changing that amount of water, and taking out most of the nitrite and ammonia will mean it will take a heck of a lot longer to cycle your tank and expose the fish to the nasty stuff for a lot longer, in my opinion (and its only my opnion) the best bet would be to lay off the gravel vacing and reduce your water changes and try and rehouse a lot of fish!! most lfs will be happy to take them from you and atleast offer you somesort of store credit, just explain the bad advice you've been given and if they are decent shops they will be happy to help, good luck, and dont get too downhearted it can be very difficult to start especially with the advice you've been given.

 

[Teelie]

I knew I was forgetting something. Taking the water out takes out the ammonia to cycle the tank like he said. And like confusedmanc said, don't let it get you down, just look at it as a learning experience.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

to the forum.

I'm sorry, but I don't have the time or patience to sift through all of that. you should get more than adequate help from teh others or from the beginner's section if you post this there.

Join our school.

 

[cutechic]

Welcome to the forum, dx3162

First, I suggest doing daily water changes to lower your nitrites and nitrates. Yes, this will prolong the cycle, but it may also save your fish. Eventually your nitrites and nitrates will go down to 0.

Second, when your new filter arrives, I would run both in the tank for a week or two, so the second has a chance to build up some beneficial bacteria. Even so, your ammonia may rise after taking out the old filter. IF I were you I'd run both filters in the tank until you can take some fish back to the lfs, which brings me to my next point.

These are the fish I would return:
- tinfoil barbs
- angelfish
- silver dollars
- channel catfish
- iridescent shark
- bala sharks
- needlefish
- any "feeder guppies", if possible

This would leave you with the tiger barbs, albino tiger barb, rosy barb, and gouramis.

Don't worry, we all made mistakes when we were first starting out. The important thing is that you are now researching more and are trying to correct the problems.

 

[clutterydrawer]

I looked up "needlefish" and there's many different types but it seems he could get to about 50cm? one to rehouse i think! good luck sorting it out.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi dx3162

Welcome to the forum

I suggest that you follow cutechic's advice; it's what I would recommend too. Take your time and do lots of water changes. There is no advantage to be gained by getting a tank cycled quickly and losing your fish in the process.