Help!!! Foggy water and Gasping fish!!

[swammy]

Ok, ok....this is my first post...so please excuse me if it doesn't look all proper. Anyways....the real reason I'm here. About 2 weeks ago, I bought a 29 gallon tank. I have decorated with white rocks, a slew of plastic plants, and a somewhat impressive(to me) underwater sunken ship theme. Fish included for now are 2 platties, 1 red tinfoil barb, 2 guppies, 2 tetras, a frog, and a black ghost knife. 1 week into the tank's life...i did nearly a 75% water change...because there was all kinds of fish poo on the bottom. I thought maybe this was the best way to rid of it. Plus, the water was turning green. Now...I wake up yesterday morning...a day after i did a 10% change...and the water was foggy as all hell, and my fish were up at the top looking like they were 'gasping' for air. Even my ghost knife (who normally likes to hide in the cave) was up top acting strange. I immediately did a 50% change, and have done 2 since then (since I heard that the best medicine for fish is fresh water as opposed to 'chemical dumping'). I still have cloudy water, and I am worried that I am missing something in my new hobby. I THINK I've got all my bases covered...but please let me know what this could be, and how to stop it.

Here is all the information that I think could possibly help:
29 gallon tank
I use the proper recommended amounts of stress coat when doing my water changes
I did use ammo-lock...but decided against it after learning about the good bacteria
My water used to smell like cat pee for the first week
food put into my aquarium : Shrimp pellets, blood worms, frog&tadpole bites, and fish flakes.

Please help me.....I want to be a good aquarist!!!!

 

[Loupe]

Did you cycle at all? Get a test kit and see how much amonia you have and nitrite.

 

[swammy]

yes, i cycled for 2 days

 

[swammy]

2 ppm ammonia
0 ppm nitrite

ammonia is a little high...but i'm scared to add too many chemicals to the tank....

 

[Captain Canuck]

In that case, you haven't really cycled the tank yet. The cat pee smell was ammonia.
Will your LFS take the fish back temporarily until the tank is cycled?
Can you get filter material from an established tank?

Here is a link to an article on "New Tank Syndrome", it will probably answer all your questions and provide you with some options on how to proceed.
http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?sh...showtopic=10099

Good luck, hope it helps.

 

[babyfish]

Hiya and welcome
It can take up to 6 weeks to cycle a tank, best thing you can do at the moment is cut down drastically on feeding for a start, don't feed at all for at least 5 days thenfeed very sparingly once a day until your water readings are at 0 for nitrite and ammonia, nitrate is best kept as low as you can get it, live plants will help this.
Do small 10% water changes twice a week and don't clean your filter until the tank has matured.
When you clean your filter use tank water so you don't kill the bacteria

 

[Bettaman]

Two Days is just enough time to get the water at the right temperature, you need to do a 50% water change straight away as you have overloaded the filter, this will help the fish and stop them dying make sure you add stress coat and it is the same temperature as the old water, it will take about three weeks to mature your system but not you have to watch your feeding i would only feed every other day at the moment and any uneaten food left after half an hour take it out, it will not harm this fish, as they will also find any uneaten food, test your water every third day, and if ammonia is very high do a small 10% water change after about a week your ammonia should have gone and you may start getting nitrite readings
this is the next stage,not as bad as ammonia but still lethal in large amounts, get these both to nil and you can start enjoying your fish and doing regular once a week water changes and cleaning will keep it a healthy tank.........I suggest you get a good book on fish keeping and read,read,read, it..............

 

[sunbot]

hi m8

 

[lucky62]

2 DAYS IS NOT LONG ENOUGH FOR CYCLING A TANK , The cloudy water usually indicates a bateria blume , fish gasping could mean high levels of amonia[ their gills are burning] . I would do 30% water changes each day [ maybe even 2 times ], and buy something to help remove some of the amonia as well[ ammo chips] ., cuntinue daily water changes until levels fall into a safe range . Cut back on feeding

 

[swammy]

Damn you people are awesome. I leave for a few hours....come back...and my topic is full of responses. Thank you all for your feedback.

Thank you bettaman....I actually did go out and buy a fish book for dummies (that's me). The first thing written in the book was "If you are new to fish, you are probably overfeeding them". Well....come to find out, i was WAyyyyyyyyyyyyy overfeeding them. When they say a small pinch, they're not lying. The book recommended about a decent sized flake per mouth. It also said that it is much better to underfeed than to overfeed, as fish don't normally starve for approx. 2 weeks. As for the cycling....yes, i'm very guilty...I beg for forgiveness. This being my first tank, i was extremely excited to see the tank all set up and running. The little boy inside of me got too excited, and I ran to the store to buy some fish. Now I am regretting that decision...now that i read the book (after the fact).

So I guess the best thing for me to do right now is water changes, as many people have already stated. You people are great, and this is a great library of knowledge. I appreciate the timely feedback. And lastly, please don't hate me for being foolish. If it makes you all feel better, I haven't killed any fish yet. I'm trying to be a good owner. Wish me luck!!!

 

[lucky62]

You shouldn't feel bad , this is how I learned . I couldn't tell you how many fish have died do to lack of knowledge on my part. Of all the things I have learned , water changes are a huge key to my current success in fish keeping , next being a quarentine system , like I said above about fish dieing . learn about a fish before take it home .It's been awhile since I've had to cycle a tank , and sometimes my fish do go a week or 2 before they get fed . I do this to make them forage for food , like wild fish and they make do with out eating each other . Let us know how your fish are doing , hang in there ...........try and be patient , I know how hard that can be . Buy several books if you can . Some may conflict the others on some levels but basically give good info . Good luck to you .

 

[G_Sharky]

Keep on doing water changes but you shouldn't change more than 30% a day or you might stress out your fish. Also i would get bio-spira or nutrafin cycle to advance the beneficial bacteria growth....Goodluck and I hope you don't have any casualties due to the cycle..

 

[Koujiro]

Are you using treated water for the water changes .. it may be your tap water is killing your friendly bateria!
Godd luck mate.. I am new too..
Kouji

 

[swammy]

Ok, ok...thx again for the advice. I just have ONE LAST QUESTION. I know I ask a lot. umm.....if I stop feeding my fish, should I stop feeding my frog? The only reason I ask is that I can't feed my frog without feeding my black striped tetra. The tetra is a hungry little piggy, and he eats EVERYTHING I put in the tank. If I put the recommended 4 pellets a day in the tank for the frog, I'm afraid the tetra will eat them, and end up starving the frog. I just don't know if the frog can survive as long as my fish. I'm betting yes, cuz the bastard is already fat as is (my fault, i think). If i should be quarantining my aquatic frog in order for him to be able to eat...I can do this. I don't have 2 tanks, but I have a 2.5 gallon water jug i chopped the top off of (for when my platties give birth). This may be a little 'ghetto', so lemme know if this will do the job. Ok...so maybe i snuck a few more than just one question in there. Don't feel TOO pressured to answer. You guys(and girls) have been of great help and comfort so far. Thanks a million.

 

[lucky62]

I've never kept frogs , I have seen aquatic frogs kept in small tanks of maybe 5 gal or a little less . You can probably seperate him like this . When goes back with fish he may eventually eat some of the smaller ones . good luck