I got new fish! Questions

[cowgirluntamed]

just try filtering the well water to remove ammonia and whatever else the carbon can remove.

don't put the nerite snail in with other fish because microsporidian is highly contagious. I have no idea if the snails tolerate salt but you can wash it with soapy water, rinse well, and then put it in a plastic bucket with some water from another tank while you treat the glolights. Snails close their operculum when stressed and this will allow you to wash it without harming the animal inside.

You could also leave the snail in the tank and it should close the operculum and stay shut up in its home while there is salt in the water.

Thanks Colin. I looked at that fish and I can't tell if it's muscle or not. Possibly. Doesn't exactly appear to be pale like it just lost some color due to stress. It did not eat this morning and is in the same spot nose down.

I will try to get stuff set up today. My filter media isn't coming until tomorrow. I just hope I can beat this. Now, whether I lose all these fish or not.....do I just treat this tank like you said before and drain/gravel vac, or should I leave salt in it for a while before trying to quarantine new fish?

I'm no authority on snails but my understanding is nerites will only breed in brackish water.

I'm gonna go bang my head on a wall......I knew that..............Hopefully it will be fine.....lol.

 

[Colin_T]

If all the glolights die, I would wash the filter and gravel clean the substrate, then add so much salt it cant dissolve. Leave it super saturated in salt for a few days then drain and refill a couple of times. Allow it to dry then set it up and start again.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

If all the glolights die, I would wash the filter and gravel clean the substrate, then add so much salt it cant dissolve. Leave it super saturated in salt for a few days then drain and refill a couple of times. Allow it to dry then set it up and start again.

Would that much salt harm my anubias plants though? or would these plants just be a total loss? They happen to be my favorite plants that I've ever had.....lol. a couple of my first. I'd hate to lose them but would rather not lose fish more either.

 

[Colin_T]

yes that level of salt will kill the plants and everything else in the tank, including the filter bacteria. That is the point of super saturating the water with salt, to make sure there is nothing left alive to possibly infect any new fish that get put in the tank after it is set back up.

If you want to keep the Anubias you can take them out and soak them in bleach for a few minutes, then rinse under fresh water before soaking again for a couple more minutes. Then rinse well and put in a clean bucket of fresh water and change the water each day for a week. Then put them in a tank.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

yes that level of salt will kill the plants and everything else in the tank, including the filter bacteria. That is the point of super saturating the water with salt, to make sure there is nothing left alive to possibly infect any new fish that get put in the tank after it is set back up.

If you want to keep the Anubias you can take them out and soak them in bleach for a few minutes, then rinse under fresh water before soaking again for a couple more minutes. Then rinse well and put in a clean bucket of fresh water and change the water each day for a week. Then put them in a tank.

Awesome! I do want to save those plants so that's good.

I did just buy some rock salt to be able to recharge the ammonia neutralizer stuff. How much salt do I use to make the brine solution? And can I reuse the brine solution each time or do I need to remake it?

 

[Colin_T]

no idea how much salt you need to make the salt water, I use a hydrometer or natural seawater. Maybe do a googly search and see how much salt is needed to make sea water.

not sure about re-using the salt water after recharging the ammogon/ zeolite. I chuck the salt water after using it once, but you could re-using it several times and see how many uses you get before it stops absorbing the ammonia from the freshwater.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

@Colin_T

So I found I lost another harlequin rasbora.....all the cories in the tank seem fine. Could this be the same thing getting them? I used the same net when I put them in the tanks. And I've used the same plant tweezers to get dead fish out.....should I put salt in there too? Same amount or would it be different since there are cories?

With the harlequins I haven't ever noticed any swimming or color difference....they just have seemed to die.....no cory losses at all though.

 

[Colin_T]

If you want to try salt in the Corydoras tank only use 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons). Do not go over that dose rate for cories.

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Have you got carbon in the tanks?
If not perhaps add some carbon to the glolight and harlequin tanks and see if it helps. If there is a problem with the water supply it could be poisoning the fish.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

If you want to try salt in the Corydoras tank only use 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres (5 gallons). Do not go over that dose rate for cories.

---------------------
Have you got carbon in the tanks?
If not perhaps add some carbon to the glolight and harlequin tanks and see if it helps. If there is a problem with the water supply it could be poisoning the fish.

I don't have carbon in the tanks. I just run sponge filters so no place to put it. I will be prefiltering the water from now on before water changes though, so should help with that part.

I would like to start the salt treatment after another water change (with prefiltered water) and get more water going in case I see signs of distress with that much salt.