Wayne86 said:
Hi new to the fishes ill cut to the chase I've brought a flual edge aquarium 23l also got a small heater to go with it about 5 days ago treated the water with tetra easy balance, api quick start, nutria fin cycle and nutria fin aqua + used the tetra 6 in 1 test that shows pH KH GH N02 N03 and Cl2 did the test everything came back normal with the temp reading constant 77/25 went out and brought my first fishes yday did as the shop assistant said leave in bag in water for 10 15 mins popped them in 6 neon tetras and 2 Bala sharks woke up this morning fed the fish a small pinch of flakes went to work I've come home from work to find 1 neon missing on further inspection it looks like its jumped out and got stuck on the top of the tank not my biggest consern but the water is very very milky in colour any help would be much appreciated oh and what would you say the max amount of fish would be to this size tank thanks Wayne
Hi welcome to the forum and the hobby. Unfortunately it sounds like your off to a very bad start, the way you have started the tank is not really safe to add fish. Its a bit gross but this is the truth - fish live in their toilet and this creates a chemical in the tank called ammonia which is highly toxic to fish (and a lot of other things) and in a fish tank the filter is a home to bacteria to process this to nitrite which is still harmful but then there is an other species of bacteria that turns the nitrite into nitrate which is reasonably harmless. This occurs in nature as well with this bacteria occuring in freshwater all over the world so that lakes and rivers can sustain life.
By adding fish straight in your adding fish poop and in turn ammonia before you have any bacteria in your filter so this is a pretty bad situation to be in but it is a situation lets say 80% of people get into with their first tank - I know I did.
This is the beginners resource section
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/
Have a read of the articles in there particularly the nitrogen cycle and the fish in cycle which will help you understand more what I covered above.
Next problem - the Bala Sharks...
http/www.seriouslyfish.com/species/balantiocheilos-melanopterus/ thats a fish that will grow to a massive size and its in just about the smallest tank available. While the store should never ever have sold it to you lesson number two for you right now is research your fish before you buy them. Unfortunately some shops will sell fish simply to sell them others will sell them through ignorance or lack of knowledge or simply in some large shops the person selling does not usually work on the fish section... You need to be prepared with knowledge when you go to the shop to avoid this situation. Again this is a situation a lot of people with their first tank get into - again happened to me when I started and it happens now and again - fish keeping is sometimes an impulsive hobby - ie your in a shop see something want it get it - and the temptation never goes lol.
First of all lets get you going with some kind of maintenance regieme in the tank to help you save as many fish in there as possible - simply put its daily water changes. Luckily this is just 23 liters so not too hard in a bigger tank this can be a night mare but I think this is manageable.
As for future stocking Your Neons are an okay fish for this tank but in this size tank the best idea is to go for tiny tiny fish like galaxy rasbora or ember tetras. Cherry Shrimp are always a good inhabitant for this tank and as a centre piece 2 male Platies are a good option.
Hope thats helped
Wills
