I Think I Was Given False Info- Can You Help?

[mattlee]

hello all. about a month ago i purchased a viaqua ar620 tank, heater, gravel, ornaments etc from a5 aquatics near nuneaton/ hinckley and was told i had everything needed to set up a tropical tank for my daughter. i was told to make sure that it was all working and then when happy fill with water and add some water treatment to rid any chlorine, which i did as instructed on the bottle. then i was told to run the tank for about a week without any fish, which i did. then on return to the aquatic shop a week later i was sold 3 x male dwarf gouramis and 5 x neon tetras and was told that this was a suitable amount to start off with. everything it seemed was fine until a coulpe of weeks later as instructed we went to get some new fish, with us we had 1 x gourami to return as he was bullying the other two and we were told to bring him back. we had a test done on the water the gourami was taken back in and found out that there were ammonia and nitrite detected and was advised not to buy more fish and to carry out regular water changes to reduce the levels found. this is what we did and purchased a test kit for each and some stress zyme to help the bacteria. since doing all of this i have since been told that i should have been adding ammonia to the tank before adding any fish to get the bacteria levels up. as this is my first tank i just trusted the aquatic place and did as they said, have i been told wrong? my tester kits now show high nitrite levels but low ammonia levels, will my fish be ok? i have lost all my neons as they all started breathing very fast and not swimming together but hiding under plants as individuals and i was told they may have neon tertra disease.... so i took them out just leaving me 2 x gouramis. also i have quite alot of brown algae forming everywhere.....

please can someone help me out and advise me what i should do to lower the nitrite levels and how to get rid of the algae......

i guess you musy get new people asking this type of question all the time but i just want my daughters tank up and running correctly and to be able to enjoy the fish without too many worries........ thanks, Matt.

 

[Jpmc™]

First of all, it's not your fault, you never heard about cycling.

Is the tank 620 litres? If so, that's great, you have lots of space, which is a good thing.
N
ow, have a look on this forum and around the internet, you should find an article on fish-in cycling. it's more dangerous than fishless, but, since that, you have no other choice, other than to take back the gouramis.

Now, the Neon Tetra problem.

Neon Tetras are VERY VERY sensitive fish, not suprised that they did die, because of no cycling.
They should be added around 2 weeks after cycling's been finished.

Now to the brown algae.
I am having a huge problem with it in my tank, no worries.
It usually happens on New tank setups because of the Phosphate and Carbon molecules. It is not harmful to your fish. In fact, my fish always nibble on it.

My best advice for this, is cutting down feeding a little bit, to about 1-2 times a day with treats every 3-7 days.
To get rid of it, you can use a very clean cloth (No soaps in it, or anything) and wipe it down. If you have the money, you can go to your LFS, or even Wal-Mart, and go buy an Algae Scrubber, they are pretty useful, they sell for around $10.

Hope I helped.

 

[always4lora]

The tank is 90 litres or there abouts , tbh if you can get rid of the fish you have back to the shop for credit or sell them to someone else.
The amonia and nitrite that is in the water is poisenous to the fish , a normal setup and cycled aquarium has 0.00 for both of the readins on this .

So here's what i'd do ;
Firstly make arangements to get the fish you have out of the tank as they most likely wont survive. (i know it may look crapola with no fish but so does dead fish)

secondly get a decent test kit not sure on the one you have but the API master test kit is the good un in my opiniion, costs about £25 from pets at home and is very accurate plus it lasts for ages. the test strips are not very accurate so best not waste money on them.

thirdly read up on the article on fishless cycling , sure someone will point you in the direction of the guide. (can take a month or so maybe less maybemore.


once the above is done and you waters good you can think about adding fish again, best thing to do is if you see something you like write the name of it down come on hear and the guys on here will advise you if its suitable for your tank




The local fish shops are shops at the end of the day and need to make money , if they sell you fish to an unclycled tank they'll die , you go buy more etc.


Oh think ive found the links

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=113861 <-------- read this one if you can get rid of the fish


http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=175355 <-- this one if you cant get rid of the fish although its hard work and more chance of dead fish.

 

[pauline]

hello all. about a month ago i purchased a viaqua ar620 tank, heater, gravel, ornaments etc from a5 aquatics near nuneaton/ hinckley and was told i had everything needed to set up a tropical tank for my daughter. i was told to make sure that it was all working and then when happy fill with water and add some water treatment to rid any chlorine, which i did as instructed on the bottle. then i was told to run the tank for about a week without any fish, which i did. then on return to the aquatic shop a week later i was sold 3 x male dwarf gouramis and 5 x neon tetras and was told that this was a suitable amount to start off with. everything it seemed was fine until a coulpe of weeks later as instructed we went to get some new fish, with us we had 1 x gourami to return as he was bullying the other two and we were told to bring him back. we had a test done on the water the gourami was taken back in and found out that there were ammonia and nitrite detected and was advised not to buy more fish and to carry out regular water changes to reduce the levels found. this is what we did and purchased a test kit for each and some stress zyme to help the bacteria. since doing all of this i have since been told that i should have been adding ammonia to the tank before adding any fish to get the bacteria levels up. as this is my first tank i just trusted the aquatic place and did as they said, have i been told wrong? my tester kits now show high nitrite levels but low ammonia levels, will my fish be ok? i have lost all my neons as they all started breathing very fast and not swimming together but hiding under plants as individuals and i was told they may have neon tertra disease.... so i took them out just leaving me 2 x gouramis. also i have quite alot of brown algae forming everywhere.....

please can someone help me out and advise me what i should do to lower the nitrite levels and how to get rid of the algae......

i guess you musy get new people asking this type of question all the time but i just want my daughters tank up and running correctly and to be able to enjoy the fish without too many worries........ thanks, Matt.

hi matt ive been in your situation as well and its very upsetting.i didnt cycle my tank either but theres hope for you as this is a very usefull place to be! firstly what are your readings today? what test kit do you have? nitrite and ammonia are very dangerous to fish and need to be kept at 0 all the time.this can only be acheived by doing large waetr changes several times a day to keep your fish alive. i had to do this for 2 weeks but it saved my fish. the other option is to take the fish back to the shop and do a fishless cycle? not what you want to hear i know but it may prove easier for you and the fish.
im not sure about the algae but think we need to save the fish first and deal with that later. hope this helps.im also still learning. P

 

[mattlee]

First of all, it's not your fault, you never heard about cycling.

Is the tank 620 litres? If so, that's great, you have lots of space, which is a good thing.
N
ow, have a look on this forum and around the internet, you should find an article on fish-in cycling. it's more dangerous than fishless, but, since that, you have no other choice, other than to take back the gouramis.

Now, the Neon Tetra problem.

Neon Tetras are VERY VERY sensitive fish, not suprised that they did die, because of no cycling.
They should be added around 2 weeks after cycling's been finished.

Now to the brown algae.
I am having a huge problem with it in my tank, no worries.
It usually happens on New tank setups because of the Phosphate and Carbon molecules. It is not harmful to your fish. In fact, my fish always nibble on it.

My best advice for this, is cutting down feeding a little bit, to about 1-2 times a day with treats every 3-7 days.


thanks for your reply, i think the tank is 90 litres, its 24 inches wide x 14 deep x 17 high. its not massive but its all we have room for..... i have been told that the amount of fish is 1cm of fish for 1 litre of water, is this correct? not that im ready for any more fish yet but it would br nice to know when planning what fish to add.... i will check out the fish-in cycle, cheers. Matt
To get rid of it, you can use a very clean cloth (No soaps in it, or anything) and wipe it down. If you have the money, you can go to your LFS, or even Wal-Mart, and go buy an Algae Scrubber, they are pretty useful, they sell for around $10.

Hope I helped.

 

[always4lora]

Oh and the neon tetra's they wont last long as they generally need a fully matured tank , 1year+ would be ideal . Not sure on Neon tetra disease sounds likes [Mod Edit] to me .More that they are pretty sensitive to water quality. The algae i wouldnt wurry about.

arrggghh 1cm per 1 litre is a scary rule. 1 inch per gallon is a rough rule but its not always that simple , like said just ask on here first.

 

[mattlee]

hello all. about a month ago i purchased a viaqua ar620 tank, heater, gravel, ornaments etc from a5 aquatics near nuneaton/ hinckley and was told i had everything needed to set up a tropical tank for my daughter. i was told to make sure that it was all working and then when happy fill with water and add some water treatment to rid any chlorine, which i did as instructed on the bottle. then i was told to run the tank for about a week without any fish, which i did. then on return to the aquatic shop a week later i was sold 3 x male dwarf gouramis and 5 x neon tetras and was told that this was a suitable amount to start off with. everything it seemed was fine until a coulpe of weeks later as instructed we went to get some new fish, with us we had 1 x gourami to return as he was bullying the other two and we were told to bring him back. we had a test done on the water the gourami was taken back in and found out that there were ammonia and nitrite detected and was advised not to buy more fish and to carry out regular water changes to reduce the levels found. this is what we did and purchased a test kit for each and some stress zyme to help the bacteria. since doing all of this i have since been told that i should have been adding ammonia to the tank before adding any fish to get the bacteria levels up. as this is my first tank i just trusted the aquatic place and did as they said, have i been told wrong? my tester kits now show high nitrite levels but low ammonia levels, will my fish be ok? i have lost all my neons as they all started breathing very fast and not swimming together but hiding under plants as individuals and i was told they may have neon tertra disease.... so i took them out just leaving me 2 x gouramis. also i have quite alot of brown algae forming everywhere.....

please can someone help me out and advise me what i should do to lower the nitrite levels and how to get rid of the algae......

i guess you musy get new people asking this type of question all the time but i just want my daughters tank up and running correctly and to be able to enjoy the fish without too many worries........ thanks, Matt.

hi matt ive been in your situation as well and its very upsetting.i didnt cycle my tank either but theres hope for you as this is a very usefull place to be! firstly what are your readings today? what test kit do you have? nitrite and ammonia are very dangerous to fish and need to be kept at 0 all the time.this can only be acheived by doing large waetr changes several times a day to keep your fish alive. i had to do this for 2 weeks but it saved my fish. the other option is to take the fish back to the shop and do a fishless cycle? not what you want to hear i know but it may prove easier for you and the fish.
im not sure about the algae but think we need to save the fish first and deal with that later. hope this helps.im also still learning. P

hi, my test kits are api. 5mm of water and several drops of solution added for the results. today my results were - ammonia - very light green/yellow colour, which according to the chart included is almost 0 - nitrite - very purple in colour, may even be as high as 5 on the chart...... its quite hard to judge the exact colour compared to the chart but it looks like 5 to me.....

 

[pauline]

well you got the best test kit matt so now you need to get the nitrires down so that means doing a large water change not forgetting the dechlorinator of course, then retest in an hour or so . if its still high then another water change. i take it you still got your fish? you need to get your nitrites as low as possible and the ammonia at 0 too. test again before bed if you can then first thing in the morning.keep doing the testin and water changes as needed. its a long shot but i managed it with neons in but it was very hard work! dont give up and good luck. any more questions just ask. P

 

[mattlee]

well you got the best test kit matt so now you need to get the nitrires down so that means doing a large water change not forgetting the dechlorinator of course, then retest in an hour or so . if its still high then another water change. i take it you still got your fish? you need to get your nitrites as low as possible and the ammonia at 0 too. test again before bed if you can then first thing in the morning.keep doing the testin and water changes as needed. its a long shot but i managed it with neons in but it was very hard work! dont give up and good luck. any more questions just ask. P

thanks pauline, ill go test it now. matt

 

[arobinson1984]

Yes, just keep on doing large water changes (around 50-60%) with dechlorinated water, wait an hour and then test again, if the levels are still high then you can do another water change, wait an hour, test again etc etc.

You need to do as many water changes as necessary to keep the ammonia and nitrIte levels below 0.25ppm. The nitrites are extremely high at the moment if they are 5ppm.

Over the next 1-3 weeks you should get to a stage where you'll find that your ammonia and nitrIte levels don't raise and stay constantly at 0, keep checking these for a week and if they both stay at 0 for that week then you can consider the tank cycled, then its a matter of doing weekly water changes to keep the nitrAte levels down to a healthy level (<40ppm)

Andy

 

[rabbut]

With Nitrites at 5ppm, you will be doing permanent long-term damage to the fishes central nervous system. You are aiming for a reading below 0.25. At a rate of 50% water changes, you'll need 5 water changes, taking 5 hours. The fish may well be dead by then. Cut the messing about and get to business with one large 90% plus (basically leave just enough water to cover the fish) water change and go from there You may find that daunting, but it uses less water and your time fixing the issue If you roughly temperature match the new water, and use a good de-chlorinator before or during the re-fill you will not have any issues with a water change of this size

The calculation that it will take 5 water changes to get your nitrite down to 0.25 assumes that nitrite will not continue to rise between water changes. This is a false assumption, and you'd likely need more water changes to get down to the target level.

When you have a Nitrite spike, I'd actually recommend adding Aquarium Salt to the water. It reduces this chemicals toxicity to the fish, helping them out. It's something for the short-term only though, as salt is damaging over the long-term Use the salt at a dose of 1 table spoon per 10 liters

All the best
Rabbut

 

[Platygirl11]

They fed you the same bogus info. that they first told me. I had one fish die, and then I discovered that ammonia existed. Thanks to the people on this forum, I have healthy fish!
Cycling. You should get your money back for the remaining fish, then fishless cycle. I'm not an expert on it, but I'm sure plenty of others are.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, agree with rabbut and andy about the water changes here. -wd-

 

[mattlee]

With Nitrites at 5ppm, you will be doing permanent long-term damage to the fishes central nervous system. You are aiming for a reading below 0.25. At a rate of 50% water changes, you'll need 5 water changes, taking 5 hours. The fish may well be dead by then. Cut the messing about and get to business with one large 90% plus (basically leave just enough water to cover the fish) water change and go from there You may find that daunting, but it uses less water and your time fixing the issue If you roughly temperature match the new water, and use a good de-chlorinator before or during the re-fill you will not have any issues with a water change of this size

The calculation that it will take 5 water changes to get your nitrite down to 0.25 assumes that nitrite will not continue to rise between water changes. This is a false assumption, and you'd likely need more water changes to get down to the target level.

When you have a Nitrite spike, I'd actually recommend adding Aquarium Salt to the water. It reduces this chemicals toxicity to the fish, helping them out. It's something for the short-term only though, as salt is damaging over the long-term Use the salt at a dose of 1 table spoon per 10 liters

All the best
Rabbut

many thanks rabbut, ill give it a try asap. i was told to only feed the fish once every 2 days to keep the waste levels down, is this correct or do i feed them everyday? Matt

 

[rabbut]

Cutting back on feeding, even to as little as one feed every 3-4 days, would be a very good move at this stage IMO

All the best
Rabbut