My Bottom Feeder Died =(

[Kexmonster]

Hi, new to the forum!

I am also new to aquariums, so i'm going to give a little background information first. I have a ~5 gallon tank (I dont remember/know how much it is, but i filled in aprox. 5 gallon). I filled this tank with norwegian tap water, and conditioned it with Tetra AquaSafe. I let it be for 1 day before i put in fish (I know that this is way too soon, but it's been 1 week now, and the fish are doing fine).

At first I put in 4 Platties and 2 Ghostshrimp.
2 days later, i put in 1 bottom feeder (sewillia lineolata) and 2 medium big (i'd say there are 4 times bigger than my platties) yellow fish I dont remember the name of.
2 days after that i put in 3 neontetra.

This is too much fish, isnt it?

Anyway, 1,5 days after i put in my bottom feeder, it had died. I think that this is because there is not any algea in the aquarium yet? Because all the other fish are doing great. I did use TetraTabiMin, bottom-feeder-tablets (only once though). The problem was that the fish didnt care about the tablet. I even dropped it on top of him, to startle him so he would freaking move at all. And then he swam the opposite direction of the tablet. I replaced the tablets right next to the fish several times, and he wouldn't aknowledge it at all. The tablet dissolved without beeing touched. How do I get bottom feeders to eat their tablets?

Also, the yellow fish, which i do not know the name of (CLUMSY EXPLANATION COMING UP:they are yellow, have a long fin on both their back and belly, which normally is "folded back", but can be raised. They also have 2 "feelers", long thin fins(?) going from the belly where they gils are. These are normally laying alongside the body but sometimes they push them forward) are acting really weird. They are super-shy, and are always hiding, either behind the pump or under rocks and stuff. Is this normal? When i feed the fish, these guys doesn't react. I am using TetraMin Mini Granules. These sink to the bottom really quick, and since I dont sit and watch the aquarium for several hours after i feed the fish, I dont know whether they eat. Is there anything I can do about this? Switch to flake food maybe?

I apologize if this is hard to read/understand, but I have been up for 36 hours+, so my english vocabulary is decaying by the minute

 

[da7thson]

If this is a new Aquarium and you have only given it 1 day without fish in it, then the tank is not cycled and it is possible it has died from ammonium poisoning. Do a 50% water change as a minimum now and then I would surgest then you read the Beginners section around Fish in Cycle. A fish tank can take well over a month to cycle before you should put fish in it.

Good Luck

Andy

Fish in cycle link: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/224306-fish-in-cycling/

 

[Aqua Tom]

Your tank is not cycled & your fish are suffering from ammonia poisoning. You dont mention a filter, are you using one?

 

[the_lock_man]

Hello, mate, it looks to me like you've got a couple of problems going on there.

FIrstly, 5gallons is about 20l. That's a small tank, and yes I would say you have got too many fish in there.

But, I also think Andy is spot on, your filter is not mature enough to cope with the ammonia being produced by those fish. Have a read of the stuff that he suggested, then pop out and buy a liquid-based water test kit - you need to be able to test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

When you've done that, test for ammonia. I'm suspecting that it'll be pretty high. If you test for nitrite, and nitrate, you'll find that they're both pretty low - because you haven't got many bacteria in your filter yet. As time goes on, you'll see those levels going up and down.

What you have to do is to keep those levels of ammonia and nitrite as close to 0ppm as you possibly can. You do this by changing the water in your tank, remembering to use the AquaSafe every time. It might well be that you have to do very large water changes, in order to keep those levels down. Anything over 0ppm of those two chemicals is highly poisonous to your fish.

 

[Kexmonster]

Your tank is not cycled & your fish are suffering from ammonia poisoning. You dont mention a filter, are you using one?

I've got a Fluval U1 pump, and there is a filter there (white sponge-like thing) which the water filters through

Hello, mate, it looks to me like you've got a couple of problems going on there.

FIrstly, 5gallons is about 20l. That's a small tank, and yes I would say you have got too many fish in there.

But, I also think Andy is spot on, your filter is not mature enough to cope with the ammonia being produced by those fish. Have a read of the stuff that he suggested, then pop out and buy a liquid-based water test kit - you need to be able to test ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.

When you've done that, test for ammonia. I'm suspecting that it'll be pretty high. If you test for nitrite, and nitrate, you'll find that they're both pretty low - because you haven't got many bacteria in your filter yet. As time goes on, you'll see those levels going up and down.

What you have to do is to keep those levels of ammonia and nitrite as close to 0ppm as you possibly can. You do this by changing the water in your tank, remembering to use the AquaSafe every time. It might well be that you have to do very large water changes, in order to keep those levels down. Anything over 0ppm of those two chemicals is highly poisonous to your fish.

I will get one of these kits

You are all saying ammonia poisoning, but all the other 9 fish and 2 shrimp I have are doing fine. Are Sewillia Lineolata significantly sensitive to ammonia compared to other fish, like platties and neontetra? Will do a water change right now

EDIT: Thanks for the replys btw! Nice forum this

 

[the_lock_man]

Ammonia burns gills and internal organs of the fish. It's rather like smoking in humans, each person's health suffers differently - an asthma sufferer would react badly to a single cigarette, whereas someone with stronger lungs, it would take time to show the damage. But the damage is stll being done.

Hillstream loaches (of which your Sewillia is a type) do need particularly good water quality, although strangely enough, so do shrimps. I am quite surprised they haven't shown a problem thus far, tbh.

 

[KISSfn]

From a google search on your loach that passed - "Since they need stable water conditions and feed on biofilm this fish should never be added to immature set-ups".

 

[Kexmonster]

Thanks for all the replys! I've changed the water now, and i should do this 2 times a week the first month, yes? I'll be sure to wait before i get a new loach. I've always though of aquariums as sort of boring, but when you set up one yourself it's a lot of fun

 

[the_lock_man]

You need to be testing water daily, and potentially changing water daily as well, if your test show that ammonia and/or nitrite are over 0.25ppm.

It's a lot of work, I won't pretend it's not, but it gets easier as your bacteria colonies grow.

 

[Juggler75]

Your yellow fish aren't fighters are they?

 

[the_lock_man]

Your yellow fish aren't fighters are they?

SOunded more like GOuramis to me, but a positive ID on these would be helpful - post up a photo, please, Mr Monster!

 

[Juggler75]

SOunded more like GOuramis to me, but a positive ID on these would be helpful - post up a photo, please, Mr Monster!

More likely, only just half read the decription.

 

[Kexmonster]

Your yellow fish aren't fighters are they?

SOunded more like GOuramis to me, but a positive ID on these would be helpful - post up a photo, please, Mr Monster!

It's Gouramis alright Picture

 

[Kexmonster]

So, i got some new loaches/bottom feeders. The reciept says they are "Otocinclus". I got 2 of them, and they seem to be getting along well.
For the last couple of days I have seen some sort of dirt on my plants. It looked a lot like rust, all over the leaves. Today it's gone. Is it possible that these new fish have eaten all this up?

I've also seen some snails, but i have no idea how many there are, since they are exatly the size of the gravel in my tank. I've read about putting a leaf of lettuce in a salt shaker, and leaving over the night. Wont the fish eat the lettuce? Why will the snails eat the lettuce and not stay with the plants in the tank?

Again, my 2 Gouramis are REALLY shy. I seldom see them leave the corner of my tank, and they never even react to feeding. Although, they do like nipping on the plants. Do they survive on plants exclusively?

On another note, one of my platties is pregnant

 

[the_lock_man]

So, i got some new loaches/bottom feeders. The reciept says they are "Otocinclus". I got 2 of them, and they seem to be getting along well.
For the last couple of days I have seen some sort of dirt on my plants. It looked a lot like rust, all over the leaves. Today it's gone. Is it possible that these new fish have eaten all this up?

I've also seen some snails, but i have no idea how many there are, since they are exatly the size of the gravel in my tank. I've read about putting a leaf of lettuce in a salt shaker, and leaving over the night. Wont the fish eat the lettuce? Why will the snails eat the lettuce and not stay with the plants in the tank?

Again, my 2 Gouramis are REALLY shy. I seldom see them leave the corner of my tank, and they never even react to feeding. Although, they do like nipping on the plants. Do they survive on plants exclusively?

On another note, one of my platties is pregnant

Otos need algae to survive, so if you have no algae in your tank, be sure to feed plenty of veggies. And they are a type of catfish, rather than a loach.

I have always assumed that lettuce is more nutritious than aquatic plants, so that's why the snails go for it.

I hope that the platy fry get eaten (I know that sounds callous, sorry), but you've already got a small tank - adding 30+ platies from a fry drop every month is going to make the aquarium look more like a sardine tin very quickly. Seriously, have a think about what you are going to do if any fry survive.