Having first fish in about 2 hours

[Markos84uk]

Hi everyone,

I think i'm just a panic head, but i dont want it to go wrong....
We are getting our first fish in a couple of hours and I'm worried...

We have had the tank set up for three weeks, the aquatic plants we put in, some are very weak and some of the leaves have gone brown or see-through, will this be ok with the fish? We haven't changed the water since we put it in, so I was going to do a 25% water change before we go.

I also have the testing kit for Nitrite and Ammonia, and everything is ok I think. Although I am going to check it agian now. There are some brown bits developing in the tank that have settled on the leaves and want to know is this ok? Will a bottomfeeder clear this up?

And lastly, I am not sure exactly what to do on Water changes... the new water I put in, do I dechlorinate it to the ratio of water I am putting in, or account for the WHOLE tank?

I hope someone can give me some pointers, we were thinking of putting 2 or 3 molies in, and a bottomfeeder to start with.

Mark
UK

 

[BIGMAC]

Hi,well any dead or rotting plant leafs should be removed,you say you have tested your water what are the readings you get? Amonia should be 0,nitrite should be 0,and nitrAte should show some kind of a reading?I think the brown bits you mention may just be alge is the tank in direct sun light? When adding new water dechlorinate the amount of water you add not the whole tank.
Sue

 

[Ferris]

I wouldn't worry about the plants too much, they always have a hard time in a cycling tank. If any of the plants are too far gone, I would replace them.

I would reccommend Platies or Danios for first fish as they are very hardy and adaptable to varying water conditions. Also any of the Coryodoras catfish species would be ideal in your tank size. Be careful with the bottom feeders you buy as most prefer to be in groups of 3 or more and many of them would quickly outgrow your tank. Do not buy a Plec, all fish shops sell them and they are wonderful creatures but very quickly grow to a foot long, which is way too big for your tank.

Hope this helps and enjoy your fish

 

[Markos84uk]

Thankyou to you both, I will replace a couple of the plants then, just to make sure.

I'll let you know how we get on with them

Cheers
Mark

 

[smithrc]

if your still looking for a cool algae eating fish - look no further than a bristle nose get to about 5-6 inches - we've got a pair in our 2ft x1x1 (12uk gals)

 

[endparenthesis]

And lastly, I am not sure exactly what to do on Water changes... the new water I put in, do I dechlorinate it to the ratio of water I am putting in, or account for the WHOLE tank?

You should put the water in another container and treat it and let it sit overnight or longer.

 

[Sky042]

You've had it running for 3 weeks with no fish. Did you do anything else to cycle the tank?

 

[heresmike]

And lastly, I am not sure exactly what to do on Water changes... the new water I put in, do I dechlorinate it to the ratio of water I am putting in, or account for the WHOLE tank?

You should put the water in another container and treat it and let it sit overnight or longer.

I agree that you should treat it with a dechlorinator, but I've never let the water sit overnight. IMO, there is no need to do that.

 

[pendragon]

Markos84uk:

I suppose you already have your fish by now, but - no offense - unless there's info you didn't mention (for instance, you cycled fishlessly) I don't think you have a good grasp of the basics of fishkeeping. It sounds like you have bits and pieces of information, but are missing some of the most important parts. You know you need to have a grip on your water parameters, and that is good, but the fact that you are testing for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate while having no fish and didn't mention cycling makes me say "Ruh roh". You really need to spend a few hours (or days) educating yourself before you fall into the mistakes that most beginners do.

Item numero uno and vastly most important: you desperatley need to understand the nitrogen cycle, and what happens to the aquarium environment when you add fish, and why. Your fishes' lives will likely depend on your ability to get them through the cycling of the tank. I strongly encourage you to spend some time with this excellent FAQ, but pay special attention to the section on the Nitrogen Cycle. Also, if you have access to them, spend some time with a book on the basics of fishkeeping. Your local library probably has some, and most of them are enjoyable, easy reading. If you are going to commit to keeping fish, it is worth your time (and your fishes' lives) to learn as much as you can. Your enjoyment and success with the hobby is directly related to how well you educate yourself.

Your plants are not doing well because they've had no nitrogen "food source". If they aren't too far gone, they may perk up after a couple of weeks of having fish present. You may lose them, though. Also, have you taken into consideration the light requirements for the plants you have? A few plants do well in low light, but most require light levels *far* beyond what is provided by off-the-shelf aquarium hood lighting.

pendragon!

 

[Markos84uk]

Hi Pendragon and every1

No offense taken, you're right... I didnt mention fishless cycling. However, this was one of the first things I started. (The tank also came with a chemical called "Cycle" which also helps the process.)

Also, the plants I have found out, were bad from the start. The shop I first bought the tank from is not very good. But I didnt know this til I went to another fish shop and saw an amazing difference. (This is where I got the fish from)

I am completeley new to fishkeeping and I do understand the boilogical cycling process although not COMPLETELEY indepth. I have bought a couple of useful books, so I know the facts about different fish.

But I didnt state this in my first post, as I have mentioned this throughout other posts on the forum, so it may have bored other people who read it.. again.

By the way, I had... 4 mollies and a loach (mollies- a dalmatian, silver, black and a balloon) Seem to be doing ok for now, although the silver mollie is a bit of a bully

Thanks for the replies and any more useful stuff would be good

Mark

 

[pendragon]

Another good article on cycling is here - which I forgot to mention.

Markos84uk, did you add ammonia to the tank during the cycling process, or did you just add the Cycle supplement? Cycle is a bacteria starter (of dubious reputation, but I digress); it does not cycle the tank itself, the bacteria still require a food source (ammonia) to begin colonization. If you've not been adding ammonia, your tank is still uncycled, and you're starting at ground zero cycling with fish. That will elevate greatly your need to be diligent in monitoring your water parameters and chagning water as necessary to keep the toxin parameters within the safe zones. Mollies are generally pretty hardy and stand a fair chance of making it through the toxin spikes that are part of cycling; I have far more concern for your loach. In addition (I don't mean to keep being a rain cloud here ), almost all loaches are social, and tend to not do so well by themselves. However, you should not add more until the tank is 100% completely beyond-a-doubt cycled, else you may risk losing them, too.

pendragon!

 

[Markos84uk]

Hi again, this is almost as quick as a chat room

I agree about not adding more fish. I didnt want to put that many in but my mrs wanted just ONE more

The fish store recommended just 1 loach because they grow quite large, but also aggresive to it own kind he said.

I did add some fish food after a couple of days of having the tank, the ammonia was quite high then i tested again and all went to zero a couple of days ago. The fish store also said the other bottle I had with the tank would do the same as adding fish food, but would keep the water stable (or something??)

We're not getting too attatched to the fish incase something bad does happen but at the moment it seems ok. BTW, we have an aquatic light on for 12 hrs per day on a timer as recommended by the books I have, and the temperature does not fluctuate by more than .25C. They really do seem happy at the moment....

Mark