Need Fast Advice

[eka]

Hello there,

I have got a little problem. i recycled my tank after misteriuos desiese from wich died my oscar and placy.after i bought 6 black phantom tetras...they were happy living pets for 2 weeks. then i bought 6 flame tetras, i was a bit on a hurry buying so was dong everything fast.after introducing them for 20 min i let them in(without adding shop water in my tank) in the evening i turn the light on in a tank to c hows things. and i notice that all flame tetras got broken fins, 2 of them in a really bad condition. i could say these 2 def had fin rot, on others u could c damage too but i am not sure their fins are regrowing or rotting more. well 1 from really bad condition disapear today, cant find it anywhere, another seems to be happy, eating flowing with others and doent bother about anything(disapeared one was hiding all the time till it disapear ). flames are 3 days in a tank now, it doesnt seems its getting worse, and black phantoms doesnt have any symptoms, just gouramis got a bit nipped tails, but i think flames or phantoms a bit nippy. so i got confused are they healing or is it destroying fins more? as the tank recycled i am a little bit concerned about adding medicine in a tank as it may cause more damage. should i wait and c is the symptoms get worse or should i add medicine straight away? they seems eat very well, very active, and exploring every corner. i checked my water amonia 0 ph 7 nitrate 5 nitrite 0,1< i add general tonic yesterday. my tank is 200litres and underwater filter. any help would be very nice.

 

[KittyKat]

How did you cycle? It looks like it's still finishing off! Yes, you have two sets of nipping tetras.

First, finish cycling the filter (hurrying here won't help) if it is not actually cycled; second, get those tetra numbers up to 10-15 each.. the nipping should stop after that.

Yes, some medicines will kill the filter.. I recommend eSHa 2000 as effective and never having cause me any problems with newly cycled filters.

 

[eka]

after my oscar and placy died i clened my tank totaly with strong salt concetrate, filter placed in very hot water. done loads of washing and rinsing, then put tap water + added chlorine killer, then added stress zyne dual action and nutrafin cycle and was folowing all instructions. my tank was cycling for about a month. tested water regulary and keeping temperature same. then bought 6 tetras as shop recomended as they are easy going with new tanks. and both species of tetras seems swiming along together, time to time nipping each other and regrouping(they got 2 group mixed flames with phantoms, sometimes they got together sometimes they got apart). i am scared to add medicine yet coz sycle is still not strong enough i think, so its probably kill good bacteria and can call more desieses. and i am not sure are fins and tails regrowing or is it rotting. as they swim so fast around that i cant c clearly between fin gaps wich is damaged(on oscar was easier to c cos he got better fins )should i wait and c for getting worse or getting better?

 

[KittyKat]

What were the instructions? The steps you named do not do anything towards cycling. I say your filter does not look cycled because there will not be any ammonia or nitrite reading in an aquarium which is cycled.

Once a filter is cycled, it is cycled, it's not a half-way sort of thing, after the process is complete.

 

[eka]

well i added cycle bacteria. i know it seems impossible, how come bacteria stayed alive in a bottle? but it really worked. and all tests showed results,added plants witch didn't die. then added fishes and they still alive. they seemed to be happy. so i think my tank condition is not so bad. i added fin rot medicine today, as aquatic shop keeper said its not harmful(not even to good bacteria) just add more oxygen. well so far so no deaths. oh yea, i found disappeared fish, it was dead inside the rock i knew it gonna die coz its condition was really awful). another one still alive, back to colour, very active and always hungry. so hope its gets better. bought 3 more plants with hope to stop flame tetras nipping others. maby my tank is not fully cycled but i think it is at the moment. dont judge too much i am new, so i do mistakes.

 

[KittyKat]

But you can't test whether it was, or was not effective without adding ammonia. Otherwise, you're just retesting tap water

Plants don't die from ammonia or nitrite, they actually grow better with ammonia in the water because it's a source of "food" for them.

I'm not judging, just trying to make you aware of your situation.

 

[Mowbz]

But you can't test whether it was, or was not affective without adding ammonia. Otherwise, you're just retesting tap water

Plants don't die from ammonia or nitrite, they actually grow better with ammonia in the water because it's a source of "food" for them.

I'm not judging, just trying to make you aware of your situation.

+1 KittyKay is right. Not judging, just trying to save your fish.

The "beneficial bacteria" you were sold to "cycle" your tank sits in bottles for potentially months during transit, storage, shelf time etc. I, along with others, dont see how any "beneficial bacteria" would survive this.

I would hold fire on doing anything until you've had a good read of the Beginners Section. Everything you need to save the tank is there, along with more people full of advice....


All the best...

 

[eka]

thanks it was helpful i red it all again. yea it seems i done mistakes, and big ones. well the good news is the second in bad condicion fish seems to be better, she join group again eating,swiming everything fine to her. another problem apeared, as i was really woried about finrot wich i brought with fishes i treat it, seems fins geting back,as this was just on flame tetras. but now my 2 gouramis(wich was friendly and a bit shy) start fighting with each other,nip each others tale and body. and today after work i found phantom tetras killing flame tetra, she was alive but they just atacked her without stoping(she was ok in morning, no sick symptoms nothing at all). i was thinking flamy was pregnant as she was a bit fatter but not bloated, and u could c through her body a lil. today i check my water amonia got a bit higher(0.1) ph 7 nitrite 0 nitrate 10(this is low i gues coz tank still in cycling position). i got confused now. from what should i start again?

 

[Louiseness]

It's possible that the meds you used could have affected your filter perhaps, hence the small spike.

Just keep checking your levels and changing water every day and hopefully you'll see an improvement. As for the fish, if they're fighting then there's not much else you can do except try to rehome some, sorry

 

[eka]

thats really wierd that phantoms not even got fin rot from flame, not die any of them. flames is like bad luck circle. first i bought sick ones. second 1 died from finrot. third another was killed without being sick(maby got weak,or old, or smth as phantoms dont touch anyone else at all) fourth the survived one from bad condition finrot looks like zomby, a bit deformed, it was like this when i bough it(hope it gets better) fifth gourami got agresive to each other and others. sixth i am scared that all fishes might die...

 

[KittyKat]

Most common gouramis are aggressive, which species are yours?

Yes, many tetra species are aggressive in small numbers.

Your best bet is to now wait it out, then slowly increase school sizes to at least 10 per species. In the mean time, give them some places to hide: add 10 bunches of undemanding stem plants and some undemanding floating plants with big roots like water lettuce (http/www.tropica.com/plants/difficulty/easy.aspx).

 

[eka]

thats really wierd that phantoms not even got fin rot from flame, not die any of them. flames is like bad luck circle. first i bought sick ones. second 1 died from finrot. third another was killed without being sick(maby got weak,or old, or smth as phantoms dont touch anyone else at all) fourth the survived one from bad condition finrot looks like zomby, a bit deformed, it was like this when i bough it(hope it gets better) fifth gourami got agresive to each other and others. sixth i am scared that all fishes might die...

 

[eka]

got dwarf ones. they said its couple but i think its males, as they absolutely same in everything. gonna buy more plants thats for sure. question. do i plant them in the gravel?(my gravel is medium stones,as sand and smaller gravel dificult to clean with vacum)if yes how to vacum then plants going to be dig out again.or should i leave plants in pots as they sell? my friend leaving it in them she said they still grow. i think 1 gourami is atacking coz he marked his teritory(broken vase decor where he hides) another one was with him all the time but now he is hiding somewhere else(i think in a big rock, coz cant find him anywhere), got 6 phantoms(all alive) 4 flames(of 6, 2 died) not sure about them as they are nippy and i am scared that it will nipp all the fishes(as they did to gouramis, there tales are nipped) a baby guppy(got into my purchase by acsident) 2 baloon molly(my friend gave me as they were bullied by others). if to buy female gourami maby fights finish or it will even get worse?

 

[KittyKat]

If you're really going for keeping the plants alive, take all weights and pots off of them, then plant each stalk about 5cm apart, 1-2" into the gravel.. they will come out a few times until you get the hang of it and they root properly. Some plants, like Anubias and Java fern, have rhizomes, which will rot if buried in gravel, so these need to be attached to wood or stones with cotton or nylon string (or rubberbands or a specific type superglue - search if you want to know which one it is).

When one vacuums, one does not do the bit where the plants are.. any crap there should not cause a problem. The plants will not grow as well with weights and pots as they would without.

If you want to keep dwarf gouramis, first figure out how to sex them (do NOT trust the shop on this, they're your fish, you need to know everything about them *before* you buy them), then return one of the males and swap for two females. Dwarf gouramis are aggressive, males more so: two males will probably kill each other eventually.

 

[eka]

hi again, i bough more plants for fishes to keep safe and stop fighting. it did work really well. i do water changes 10%-15% every second day to take amonia away after medicine. today i checked water and my amonia is 0 but nitrites got high its 0.8 maby a bit more. is it because cycling tank? or plants? should i do 50% water change as i red it is very dangerous. nitrate lvl is about 30 maby 40(hard to match coulour a lil). help please over here