Hello, I'm new.

[A CHICK]

Hello. I have had my 2 gallon tank for a couple of weeks. I have 4 Neon and 2 Black Neon Tetras and I just added 2 Pepper Corydoras to the tank tonight. Here are a few pictures of my tank and fish...

 

[FloridaFishGuy]

It looks pretty nice there. Im also getting a new aquarium but i think i might make a plywood/acrylic one just cuz i like projects to work on.

 

[Kossy]

Hey welcome to this active forum Have FUn!!!!!

 

[William]

Hi you are seriously overstocked for a 2 gallon tank I really recommend you get a new tank to house your fish. In addition you need a heater for all those fish but I see none. Welcome to the forum but I really recommend you buy a new tank maybe up to 10 gallons.

 

[jungo]

hi i am jungo just what to say hi

 

[A CHICK]

Hi all... thank you for the welcomes.

As far as my tank being overstocked. I now know that. I got the tank all up and running and let it run for a couple of days (which was all the instructions said you had to do before you added fish). So then I added in 10 neons. 8 neon and 2 black neon tetras. I later found out the inch per gallon rule, but by then it was too late.

I also had cleaned some parts with a cloth that apparently had had soap on it at some point... because my tank started to foam bubbles and the fish weren't looking too good. I tried getting info on the net on what to do and I did a ton of water changes and added vinegar to the water and all kinds of stuff and it wasn't working. So eventually I had to dump the whole tank and clean EVERYTHING (with new clothes that I bought, just for the fish tank, that will NEVER see soap). So after everything was clean, I put in new tap water, with some stuff that takes out the clorine and I put the fish back in. I am amazed that any of them lived through that, but they all did.

I also did not know anything about amonia or checking PH and by the time I found all this out, I had lost 4 neon tetras. It took a lot of PH down... but I finally got the PH levels to where they should be and I put in a couple of Peppered Corys to help keep the bottom clean (plus they are just the coolest looking little guys). So everyone seems to be doing good now.

I definitely don't need a heater. My problem is actually keeping the temperature of the water DOWN, so I don't cook the little guys. I had a 15 Watt light in there and that heats the water up within an hour, so I couldn't even keep their light on very long, so I changed it and put a 71/2 watt in. That seems to work a lot better, but doesn't light the tank up as well, Oh well...

One day I left the blinds open, thinking they might like some real sunlight... but when I got home from work and checked the temp, it was WAY too high and they were swimming funny. So I did a water change with some cold water and dropped some ice cubes in to try to get the temperature down. And gradually it came back down... so now the blinds stay closed.

It is definitely a lot harder than I thought it would be. I thought you just set it up, put the fish in and feed them. My boyfriend says I look like a concerned mother, watching over them. And he couldn't believe that I stayed up all night (during the soap incident) trying to save them all. Oh well... lots to learn.

So now I check the temperature frequently, especially if I have their light on. I check the PH daily and correct it as needed. So is there anything else that I need to keep an eye on? What about amonia and stuff?

I feed them once a day. I drop flake food in the top. How much should I give them? What temperature and PH do you recommend that I keep the tank at? Anything else I need or should know???

Thank you.

 

[A CHICK]

The pictures that I posted yesterday where just taken yesterday and I think the fish are looking pretty good. They have their colours back and are swimming around. I will try to get some better pictures that are not so blurry and post them on next time. I like the Neon Tetras, because they have such nice colours and I really like the Peppered Corys because they are so active. They are cute to watch.

 

[Alien Anna]

I recommend strongly that you don't use pH Down - fish can cope fine with whatever pH they normally live with and messing about with pH is generally a great way to kill them. I know people who breed corys, angelfish and even tetras at our local pH 8.5.

You are potentially over-stocked but for the moment you need to get that tank cycled and leave the pH alone!!!

Don't do any massive water changes or whatever, just let it drift upward naturally. In the meantime, follow the link in my sig to get that tank safely cycled. If your fish died I would suggest it was ammonia or nitrite poisoning that killed them, nothing to do with the pH. After all, what was the pH of the shop water when you bought them? I'd bet a pound to a penny they don't modify it.

What pH adjusters do do is fill your tank with phosphates, which is fertiliser for algae. They also cause pH to fluctuate, which is much worse than the "wrong" pH sticking where it is.

Read my article and any questions, come back to us.