I'm new here but not to tropical fish

[charliemusicfan]

I'm glad to be here. I've had a 20 gallon tank for 30 years but never had much luck with it until recently. I cleaned the tank monthly as instructed, added Stress Coat & Stress Zyme but I never had a single fish live for a whole year. I almost gave up until I searched the web and found that the "NEW" suggested cleaning interval is weekly, or at the most 2 weeks, so I try to do that, and mostly I succeed. I add 2 to 3 gallons of water straight from the tap and then add the chemicals with every change. I also stopped using aquarium salt as most places on the web suggest. I was told the salt is why my catfish started gasping for air after a couple of months at the top of the tank and then died. Now I haven't had a fish die in over a year. I currently have 3 black tetras, 2 white ones, 3 serpae tetras, one red eye tetra who lost his partner quite a while back and 1 scissortail rasbora who is also alone, for 10 total fish. Since I'm new here do you have anything to suggest that I could do to keep things going well? I'm thinking of adding neon tetras but I'm told I need 5 or 6 of them for schooling purposes, but that would make too many fish in my tank. Thank you.

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Hello and welcome along! Don't be shy about posting us some photos of your tank, we love admiring each others work

My sprout of wisdom to you is weekly 50% water changes, treat the new water with dechlorinator before it goes into the tank or add your dechlorinator to the tank before adding new water. Make sure the new water is around the same temp as the water in the tank.

 

[Naughts]

Yes, neon tetras need a shoal but so do all your other fish. The serpaes in particular could become very problematic with insufficient numbers as they are prone to nipping. Rather than neons, get more of your current species, especially the Serpaes. Are the black tetras and white tetras named Phantom tetra or skirt tetra / Gymnocorymbus ternetzi or Hyphessobrycon megalopterus?

 

[Sparx]

Welcome along

I agree with @Naughts get more of your current fish, I’d say definitely more scissortails. They are a schooling fish and the one you have alone is probably feeling pretty stressed, they are timid enough as it is. I know this from experience, I too have scissortails - started with 4 and unfortunately 3 died over time and I was down to one for a while. When they had more in at my LFS I bought some more, but my one had been on his own for a good month or so. When I put the bag in the tank to acclimate, I could literally see his excitement to get back with his own kind. It was actually a really wholesome moment

 

[jaylach]

First thing is to quit using Stress Coat. It has the addition of Aloe which can clog and seriously affect the gills of fish.

 

[emeraldking]

Well, welcome to TFF...

 

[charliemusicfan]

Are the black tetras and white tetras named Phantom tetra or skirt tetra / Gymnocorymbus ternetzi or Hyphessobrycon megalopterus?

Skirt tetras

 

[Essjay]

To summarise what has been said so far:

Water conditioner should be added either to a bucket of new water before it goes in the tank, or if filling with a hose, water conditioner should be added first, then water.

10 to 15 % is a very small amount to change. A 20 gallon tank needs at least a 10 gallon weekly water change.

All the fish you have are shoaling fish which need a group of at least 10 of their own kind.




Unfortunately, you list 4 species of fish but 20 gallons is not big enough for 40+ fish. I would not another species of fish but add more of the fish you already have. If any of the fish are old, it's OK to leave those in the numbers they are, but recently bought fish need a bigger group. Both serpae and skirt tetras(black and white are the same species) are known fin nippers and the usual advice is to keep them in a group of at least 12 in the hope they'll keep their nipping within their own species. You mention getting neon tetras - I would not keep them with these notorious fin nippers.


Stress coat is a water conditioner/dechlorinator which, as jaylach said, contains aloe vera. When the bottle runs out I suggest changing to something else. If you are on mains water, it depends on whether your water provider uses chlorine or chloramine. With chlorine, the best water conditioner is API Tap Water Conditioner. For chloramine, it's Seachem Prime. (Chloramine is chlorine and ammonia joined together. All water conditioners split it into chlorine and ammonia and remove the chlorine. Prime detoxifies ammonia for 24 hours, by which time the filter bacteria will have 'eaten' it)
Stress Zyme is not needed, save your money. A mature tank already has all the bacteria it needs.

 

[Colin_T]

Before you add any more fish, please provide a bit more info on your tank maintenance.

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

You can also ask the water company if you have chlorine or chloramine in the tap water. They get treated slightly differently to each other.

What sort of filter is on the aquarium?
How often do you clean the filter and how do you clean it?

Do you have test kits to test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH?
If yes, what are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH levels of the aquarium and tap water?

Do you gravel clean the substrate when you do a water change?
Do you have buckets and hoses specifically for the aquarium?

Can you post a picture showing the entire aquarium?