more fish newby questions

[altinure]

ok, i made a topic about how i'm having a smelly tank problem after only having the tank for two days. it's a minibowl 5 gallon.

i'm thinking of starting the tank over from scratch save the filter pad and filter, of course. tomorrow i'm going to the petstore. i'm going to buy:

a water testing kit
a gravel vaccuum
and possibly new gravel

right now i have a danio for cycling, but i'm not sure if she is doing too well. she doesn't look very healthy. she has really fast breathing (or is that normal?). i was thinking, should i pick up a platty to cycle with her in case she dies?

also, right now i have no heater (i was told the danio should be ok. i hope they were right) or an aerator for my tank. just a power filter. the filter doesn't really seem to make bubbles in the water, so i assume this could be a problem. which of these would be the most important to get first, or am i ok with neither for now?

thanks everyone.

 

[cmps]

ok, i made a topic about how i'm having a smelly tank problem after only having the tank for two days. it's a minibowl 5 gallon.

i'm thinking of starting the tank over from scratch save the filter pad and filter, of course. tomorrow i'm going to the petstore. i'm going to buy:

a water testing kit
a gravel vaccuum
and possibly new gravel

right now i have a danio for cycling, but i'm not sure if she is doing too well. she doesn't look very healthy. she has really fast breathing (or is that normal?). i was thinking, should i pick up a platty to cycle with her in case she dies?

also, right now i have no heater (i was told the danio should be ok. i hope they were right) or an aerator for my tank. just a power filter. the filter doesn't really seem to make bubbles in the water, so i assume this could be a problem. which of these would be the most important to get first, or am i ok with neither for now?

thanks everyone.

[snapback]903507[/snapback]​

when I started with my 5 gal. it had an undergravel filter and I had to keep changing the water every other day. I also had 2 goldfishes in it, and that did not help much, because they are very dirty...yuk
So, I went and got me a in tank filter and got rid of the undergravel filter and then, now I change water to once a week. I prefer the in-tank filter than undergravel...and thinly covered the bottom part with that gravel.

 

[altinure]

ok, i made a topic about how i'm having a smelly tank problem after only having the tank for two days. it's a minibowl 5 gallon.

i'm thinking of starting the tank over from scratch save the filter pad and filter, of course. tomorrow i'm going to the petstore. i'm going to buy:

a water testing kit
a gravel vaccuum
and possibly new gravel

right now i have a danio for cycling, but i'm not sure if she is doing too well. she doesn't look very healthy. she has really fast breathing (or is that normal?). i was thinking, should i pick up a platty to cycle with her in case she dies?

also, right now i have no heater (i was told the danio should be ok. i hope they were right) or an aerator for my tank. just a power filter. the filter doesn't really seem to make bubbles in the water, so i assume this could be a problem. which of these would be the most important to get first, or am i ok with neither for now?

thanks everyone.

[snapback]903507[/snapback]​

when I started with my 5 gal. it had an undergravel filter and I had to keep changing the water every other day. I also had 2 goldfishes in it, and that did not help much, because they are very dirty...yuk
So, I went and got me a in tank filter and got rid of the undergravel filter and then, now I change water to once a week. I prefer the in-tank filter than undergravel...and thinly covered the bottom part with that gravel.

[snapback]903516[/snapback]​

yes, i have a tank filter, but it doesn't really cause aeration in the water, so i'm not sure if the tank is getting oxygen.

 

[Tolak]

Bubbles from airstones or other air devices don't add O2 to the water from the bubbles, even though it makes sense they would. What they do is create surface motion, which helps with O2 transfer.

If you have a power filter that creates water flow, just drop the water level in the tank a little. This will create more surface motion, aiding in O2 transfer.

It depends on the water temp right now whether you need a heater or not. As long as the temp is in the upper 60's to mid 70's the danio should be ok. A bigger concern would be ammonia & nitrites, you may have to do daily water changes for a while to keep these under control. Cooler water is capable of holding more O2, but a warmer tank will cycle faster.

I would stick with the single zebra danio for now, they are as tough as they come. If it doesn't make it, the platy is more suited to a tank that size, make sure you have a male, or plan on getting another larger tank from the fry if you get a female.

If you don't like the look of the gravel, change it now, and hang some of the old gravel in the tank in a clean nylon to help transfer what little bacteria you may have after 2 days of cycling.

The gravel vac & test kit are a necessity, definitely get those.

Tolak

 

[dwarfgourami]

IMO a 5 gallon tank is far too small to be a permanent home for either a danio or a platy. Danios are fast swimmers who require plenty of room to move, at least 20 gallons I would say (and they do like to be in schools); platys are slower but like to explore, so need at least 10 gallons and some decorations or plants. Dabnios may be as tough as they come, but like all fish they do have specific needs of their own.

What you have there is an ideal betta tank; lots of bettas actually like the smaller tanks. Or an African dwarf frog tank.

Bubbles from airstones or other air devices don't add O2 to the water from the bubbles, even though it makes sense they would. What they do is create surface motion, which helps with O2 transfer.

If you have a power filter that creates water flow, just drop the water level in the tank a little. This will create more surface motion, aiding in O2 transfer.

It depends on the water temp right now whether you need a heater or not. As long as the temp is in the upper 60's to mid 70's the danio should be ok. A bigger concern would be ammonia & nitrites, you may have to do daily water changes for a while to keep these under control. Cooler water is capable of holding more O2, but a warmer tank will cycle faster.

I would stick with the single zebra danio for now, they are as tough as they come. If it doesn't make it, the platy is more suited to a tank that size, make sure you have a male, or plan on getting another larger tank from the fry if you get a female.

If you don't like the look of the gravel, change it now, and hang some of the old gravel in the tank in a clean nylon to help transfer what little bacteria you may have after 2 days of cycling.

The gravel vac & test kit are a necessity, definitely get those.

Tolak

[snapback]903533[/snapback]​

 

[altinure]

IMO a 5 gallon tank is far too small to be a permanent home for either a danio or a platy. Danios are fast swimmers who require plenty of room to move, at least 20 gallons I would say (and they do like to be in schools); platys are slower but like to explore, so need at least 10 gallons and some decorations or plants. Dabnios may be as tough as they come, but like all fish they do have specific needs of their own.

What you have there is an ideal betta tank; lots of bettas actually like the smaller tanks. Or an African dwarf frog tank.

Bubbles from airstones or other air devices don't add O2 to the water from the bubbles, even though it makes sense they would. What they do is create surface motion, which helps with O2 transfer.

If you have a power filter that creates water flow, just drop the water level in the tank a little. This will create more surface motion, aiding in O2 transfer.

It depends on the water temp right now whether you need a heater or not. As long as the temp is in the upper 60's to mid 70's the danio should be ok. A bigger concern would be ammonia & nitrites, you may have to do daily water changes for a while to keep these under control. Cooler water is capable of holding more O2, but a warmer tank will cycle faster.

I would stick with the single zebra danio for now, they are as tough as they come. If it doesn't make it, the platy is more suited to a tank that size, make sure you have a male, or plan on getting another larger tank from the fry if you get a female.

If you don't like the look of the gravel, change it now, and hang some of the old gravel in the tank in a clean nylon to help transfer what little bacteria you may have after 2 days of cycling.

The gravel vac & test kit are a necessity, definitely get those.

Tolak

[snapback]903533[/snapback]​

[snapback]903629[/snapback]​

i know the danio is too small, but they were out of plattys. i was told i could probably do a platty and a few tetras in this tank by other people on another fish forum.

i really don't want a betta. they're super boring.