New 29 gallon tank

[Funny Pie]

Hey, i've been looking for a good fish forum to talk about this type of stuff since I cant find decent for sure answers at other places. Nice to meet you all.

I've always wanted a tank, so I thought getting a fresh water tank would be the easiest. About 5 days ago, I bought a 29 gallon tank from Petco ( it was made by All-Glass-Aquariums) it came with a whiper filter/pump, a heater and the cover and lights. I cleaned 35 pounds of gravel, then filled the tank like it told me, then I put 2 different types of plant and rooted it into the gravel. I put the solution that would clean the water and let it cycle for 48 hours. The water was at 79 degrees etc. I put 5 neon tetras in the water with the plants and everything was going well. Then about 3 days later I put 2 guppies in and 2 more neon tetras that i bought. Everything is going well, the tank is getting dirtied up like its supposed to so it can be better for other fish. K the questions I have are:

1.The water smells really bad/funny, but just like I get a wiff of it when I open the panel. I tried to find the source of the smell and it seemed to be coming from a bio bag in the whisper filter. Is that a bad thing or is that just normal after 5 days?

2.One of my plants is starting to die, lil brances of it are coming off slowly and i can see other parts browning, how do i stop this? I put in this fertilizer i bought from a tropical fish store around my area (Mark's Tropical Fish store, around Studio City, CA)

3. My fish at first were just moving around the tank slowly (neon tetras) and since i added the guppies everything had been more active. The guppies chase each other around the tank which is playful i think and the neons dont travel as a group as much as they did, only when i come near the tank do they get into a group(is that bad that they seperate sometimes?)

anyways, as i've said I just started this and i want to start off a nice tank so i can add and design it later, cause its always been my dream to have one of these. Any help would be appreciated

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

(don't know what the second message was all about).

Your first job now is to read the pinned topics at the top about cycling your tank.

Unfortunately, the fish you have chosen are a little sensitive to start off a tank with, so you're going to need to be very careful with them.

Your second job is to buy a kit for water testing (a master kit of liquid tests is best)
and post us the water stats for ammonia and nitrites.

You will need to test the water on a regular basis (every day for the first few weeks) and be prepared, if either goes over 0.5 (it almost certainly will), to dilute it with partial water changes (20% or so) of dechlorinated water. Some people will say frequent water changes delay the cycle, others say this is a myth; in any case, running an uninterrupted cycle with those fish is quite likely to result in mass deaths, so I wouldn't risk it.

Ask in the plant forum about the plants.

What sex are your guppies? If they are males, you need to watch out for aggression (bits torn out of fins, signs that one is hiding away all the time, not getting to eat etc.). If you have one male and one female, again you want to watch it, as this is not an ideal situation: males are so highly sexed that you really need two females for a reasonable division of labour. Two females should be ok.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask lots of questions.

 

[Funny Pie]

Oh I need a test kit for a Fresh Water tank? Lol never knew it was that important. But i will pick those up asap next time i go to the fish store which will be pretty soon, and as for the plants im not sure of the name but ill also know that when i go back to the store. How do i find out what sex the guppies are? And when you say dechlorinated water do you mean putting tap water in then putting that dechlorifying solution?

 

[rdd1952]

When you get your test kits, make sure you get the liquid ones such as the Master Test Kit from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. THey are a little more work than the strips but much more accurate and will last a lot longer too.

Dechlorinator is the same dechloriying products you are talking about. I use Stress Coat but there are several out there. Make sure it also removes chloramine too as most water companies also add that and it will not evaporate fromt he water like chlorine will.

As dwarfgourami mentioned, neons aren't very hardy and need very good water conditins. You will probably lose some during the cycling process. Don't get any more fish until you have the ammonia and nitrite at 0 for at least a week. They will probably both be up when you test for the first time.

As for sexing the guppies, I don't have any guppies but from what I have read, I believe males are generally smaller in size but brighter in color. You can find more information in the Livebearers section.

Edit: Corrected error where I said neons are very hardy when it should have said AREN'T.

 

[Funny Pie]

When you get your test kits, make sure you get the liquid ones such as the Master Test Kit from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. THey are a little more work than the strips but much more accurate and will last a lot longer too.

Dechlorinator is the same dechloriying products you are talking about. I use Stress Coat but there are several out there. Make sure it also removes chloramine too as most water companies also add that and it will not evaporate fromt he water like chlorine will.

As dwarfgourami mentioned, neons are very hardy and need very good water conditins. You will probably lose some during the cycling process. Don't get any more fish until you have the ammonia and nitrite at 0 for at least a week. They will probably both be up when you test for the first time.

As for sexing the guppies, I don't have any guppies but from what I have read, I believe males are generally smaller in size but brighter in color. You can find more information in the Livebearers section.

[snapback]900622[/snapback]​

yea i figured after all this going on with the plants dying and everything and the tank smelling im gonna hold off on the fish for now. Um i just noticed i found a lil i guess.. snail? crawling on the window but i never bought any type of snail... never

 

[SnowyzMom]

A properly cycled and up and running fish tank will never smell at all. There is smell associated with the process of cycling a tank, getting the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels sorted out...getting all those beneficial bacteria growing happily. There are 2 ways to start up a tank, one using fish that often get weakened or die by the process, the other is a fishless cycling set up, mentioned in the permanently pinned topics in this forum. Excellent idea by the way, you don't have the trauma of your first fish dying on you or getting sick.

Just about any time you buy a live plant you seem to get the "gift" of a snail or snails along with it. Snails...you either love them or hate them. I'm waging continual war with the ones that get into my pump and get macerated in there and plug it up.

It all sounds very complicated at first, to get the tanks up and running but please don't give up. It's easier than it seems...I ought to know, I managed to do it !! Just go one step at a time and before you know it you will be very happy with your new tank of fishy friends.

 

[Funny Pie]

A properly cycled and up and running fish tank will never smell at all. There is smell associated with the process of cycling a tank, getting the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels sorted out...getting all those beneficial bacteria growing happily. There are 2 ways to start up a tank, one using fish that often get weakened or die by the process, the other is a fishless cycling set up, mentioned in the permanently pinned topics in this forum. Excellent idea by the way, you don't have the trauma of your first fish dying on you or getting sick.

Just about any time you buy a live plant you seem to get the "gift" of a snail or snails along with it. Snails...you either love them or hate them. I'm waging continual war with the ones that get into my pump and get macerated in there and plug it up.

It all sounds very complicated at first, to get the tanks up and running but please don't give up. It's easier than it seems...I ought to know, I managed to do it !! Just go one step at a time and before you know it you will be very happy with your new tank of fishy friends.

[snapback]901040[/snapback]​

haha so thats wehre the snails came from... im taking the one out now. I went to my local fish store and i had my water tested. Amona, nitrite and nitrate were all perfect levels. So i realized the smell was from my dying plants. I got this tank before i started school at the light was on 14 hours a day, but then as soon as i started school the plants started dying cause i'd leave the light off when i was at school... stupid me so now i gotat go buy some more lol