Help With Fish Tank

[thefishycouple]

Hey everyone,

About 5 weeks ago I purchased a 30 U.S. Gallon fish tank (36in x 12.5in x 17in) along with
-medium sized gravel (probably around 20lb of it)
-some big rocks and slates
-live plants (such as java ferns and Amazon swords)
-Penguin Bio-Wheel 200
-Turbo CO2 Bio System
-15in rock bubbler
-W-60 Stellar Air Pump
-Coral Life 65W Hood Lamp
-Thermometer and Underwater CO2 tester

On the first day, I set everything in there and filled the fish tank with 10G of Distilled water and the rest tap using Aqua safe on it. Also instead of using those blue carbon filters, I used a white filter material they sell at my local store since I heard live plants don't do very good with carbon.

Let it run for 5 weeks to cycle and before a trip to the fish store, I tested the water and everything seems fine, ph is around 6.8, water's soft, co2 level, nitrite, nitrate and ammonia levels. Temperature is around 80F. I added 2 clown loaches (besides liking them, I had a little problem with snails...). They seem to hate the place, they always sit one on top of the other on the corner, only moving when I tap on the glass.

I also have a 3G fish tank with a month old Mollie, a Pleco, and a Cory fish. My plan is to add those fishes to the 30G tank, so I first decided to add the pleco in and see how he does. He seems to be doing fine (sucks on rocks all day) but the loaches still look miserable.

It also seems that lots of green-brownish algae are growing all over the rocks, would that be because of the lighting, co2 system, or the fishes?

What should I do next? Add the other fishes and see how it goes? Water's not suitable in my tank? Change something in the tank? Anything to make the clowns happier? Any advices on what I should do next would be greatly appreciated, Thanks a lot.

Joe

 

[Kiwigirl]

Ok here is how I see it Clown Loaches are happier in groups of four.

Which brings you another problem they can grow up to a size of 12" you have 24" of fish in your 30g tank.
I'm sorry to tell you but you do not have the tank capacity to add another 2 clown loaches in order to cheer up your existing loaches.

The way I see it is you have two options that are best for the loaches.

1. Get a bigger tank to accomadate there need 55g at least.

2. Take them back to your Lfs re-home them.

Your 3g tank may also be overstocked. Moving the fish you have into the 30g after re-homing your loaches will take care of that.

Also what kind of pleco do you have???

What brand of test kits are you using???

What are your test levels.???

Algae is not uncommon in tanks but I have not yet researched algae problems.

Using co2 I assume you have a planted tank, how long are you leaving your lights on for???

 

[diademhill]

What was used to cycle the tank?

Letting it run doesn't get the bacterial colonies established

 

[thefishycouple]

Thanks for the replies guys,

Kiwigirl: I see what you’re saying, and agree with you, I guess I’ll try and take the fishes back to the LFS.
I would like to move the fishes from the 3G ASAP.
It seems I have a common Pleco, but not sure...very similar though
I use the Freshwater Master Test Kit by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals
All I know right now is that I have no nitrites, low nitrates, no ammonia, soft water, ph around 6.7-8 and temp is around 80F.
My tank isn’t as planted as I’d like it to be (I read that if you have a high wattage lamp and a co2 system, you should have a more planted fish tank to fight off bacteria growth, but don’t know if that’s my case) Right now I leave my lights on for around 5hrs, turn it off for one, and turn it back on for 5.

Diademhill: I did not use anything to cycle my tank, I only kept a close look at my nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia levels and once I reached zero nitrites I waited about 3 more weeks before adding fish. Also, my LFS told me I was doing the right thing by using plants and waiting, and that products, such as Cycle, are a waste of money.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[Ricky Savage]

that common pleco will outgrow that 30 gal tank in no time, they get to be 12-18inches, sometimes even more

 

[sparky_555]

clown loaches and common plecs need about 95 gallon minimum

EDIT: at full size

 

[thefishycouple]

I'll be looking for other fishes pretty soon,
but meanwhile, how do you think my set-up is? Everything's okay? Is the tank cycled all the way? What fishes would you guys recommend setting up in a 30G like that? By the way, I think I should be adding a lot of plants soon, what do you guys think?
Thanks

Joe

 

[Kiwigirl]

If you have even only one plant growing in your tank you need to keep your tank lights on for 8 to 12 hours per day, having a planted tank is always benificial to fish.

There is no reason why you can't get more plants, but I think you should take care of your stocking problems first.

 

[thefishycouple]

Like I said above, i leave my lights on for 10hrs...
Could someone help me out and tell me if my tank's okay and what it needs in order to grow a little successful?

Oh and by the way, I have already returned my two loaches and my pleco

 

[dwarfgourami]

Right, you have a 3 gallon and a 30 gallon. And having returned the loaches and the pleco, you now have a juvenile molly and a cory. Well, they should definitely live in the 30 gallon. Corys are schooling fish, so once the tank problems are sorted you should try to find him some companions of the same species; at least 2 of them.

The molly would also benefit from some friends, but I would wait until it is sexable. If it is a male, you could add a couple of females (if you can cope with the fry that is), or if it is a female- well, I'd go for females anyway.

The 3 gallon really has very limited options (not big enough for a grow-out tank for the molly). A betta would be fine in there, or you could keep some African dwarf frogs, or shrimps. Or you could keep it for a hospital tank.

 

[thefishycouple]

Will definitely add the Cory and the Molly to the 30 gallon tank once the tank is positively okay.
But how do I know the tank fine? Is my tank even fully cycled since I did not add any stuff to cycle it? My test results say the tank is okay; maybe my pH is a little low...
I'm really lost, will someone help me out on this subject,
Thanks
Joe

 

[diademhill]

Will definitely add the Cory and the Molly to the 30 gallon tank once the tank is positively okay.
But how do I know the tank fine? Is my tank even fully cycled since I did not add any stuff to cycle it? My test results say the tank is okay; maybe my pH is a little low...
I'm really lost, will someone help me out on this subject,
Thanks
Joe

Your tank hasn't yet started to cycle.

You need to feed the bacteria to get it established but you can give it a boost start with the media form the tiny tank.

Take about 5 gallons out of the thirty gallon tank.
Tip 3 gallons. Catch & bag the fish from the tiny tank. Put the filter media form the ikletank in the bigger tank's filter. Put the water from the ikle tank in the bigger tank. Put the gravel from the ikle tank in the bigger tank (in a stocking if it doesn't match) The rinse out the ikle tank with the spare water from the bigger tank & tip it in to the new tank.

This should have transfered all the bacteria the ikle tank had. Float the fish & release them after 15 minutes or so.

The tank will now support the fish you've moved in and in a couple of weeks you can start to consider adding more fish. As the tank only has bacteria for a few fish you have to add no more than about 50% of fish mass at each addition & do check & be prepared to do a water change if you see ammonia.
Cories are not good i new tanks so don't add any for a couple of months at least. Mollies are not a good choice for soft water.
Your soft water is ideal for many fish though. Just stick to species that stay under 3" when fully grown ad ask here rather than in store befoer you buy any.

I would suggest black neons as your next fish.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Ah, I missed the bit about the soft water.

 

[thefishycouple]

Thank you guys and hope to have better luck now..
Joe