New 7g Tank

[Dutchie]

O'K........I purchased the tank AquaOne in Australia a fortnight ago.......together with a Swordtail, Angel, 1 Neon, Shark & 2 Guppies.
After only 3 days they had all died except for the Swordtail.

I went back to the pet store and they said it was unusual especially since my test results came out O'K........... dont even ask the figures as I won't know.

Swordtail is swimming nicely................so I added a dose of Multi Cure (just in case)

I do a 30% water change every second day over 6 days......(3 changes)..............and introduced a single Neon............so far so good.
I give a water sample to the petstore and they say everything is perfect..........

At this stage now I also introduced good 'live' bacteria into the tank. This was given to me by the store.........about 15ml........They also gave me a store credit. Guess they felt bit guilty as I
followed their guidelines exactly.

So all in all, yesterday, nearly 2 weeks after first getting the tank, I introduced Water Crystal salts/conditioner as well as Ager and an Oxy Shell..........I wait 4 hours and
introduce the remaining fish in my Signature.

Today, they all seem very happy (except that the Male Swordtail keeps nipping the belly of the female Swordtail) and I believe she is pregnant. Hence the reason for introducing a 2nd female.

I have now purchased the Aquarium Pharmaceutical Freshwater Master Kit and the results are as follows:

Ph 7.0
Ammonia 1.0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0

Is my ammonia too high and will it drop once the filter has cycled?

Lastely, how many fish can I have in my tank??
I have a small barrel, live plant growing from a hollow log, and a small boat for the Neons to hide in.

Thanks heaps in advance...........

 

[Nick Bramley]

ive got an 8g, the Aquaone UFO 350 and ive got 3 mollies 2 bronze cories a bristlenose plec and 2 amano shrimp.

from what ive been told you should never add fish strait into a new tank, i left my tank to cycle for six weeks before adding fish, i added good bacteria to start off the cycling, two capfuls to begin with then a cap a week to top it up ever since. keeps the nitrite down, works well a long with a water change of about 20% every fortnight.

putting a fish in a tank to start cycling is i think quite cruel as they have to survive very high nitrite and ammonia levels, its the equivalent of putting a human in a room partially filled with toxic gas

 

[Shaun]

Im affraid to say that your tank is overstocked. Alot of people go by the 1" of fish per gallon rule for a rough guide on stocking a tank so you could have 7" of fish at the most. Firstly you have 1 clown loach in your tank and they can reach 12" when adult so will need a much bigger tank than a 7 gallon and they also perfer to be in groups, i would say 3 minimum but preferably about 5 or 6. Next you have your 1 peppered cory and these also should be kept in groups rather than on their own.

Hope this helps,

Shaun

 

[catxx]

sorry to say to the original poster, your clown loach needs to go back, he needs to be in a group, will grow to 12", 7 gallons is way too small. they need 30 gallons+, and 100gallons+ when full grown.

i have 2 7g aquaones, they are pretty tiny.
in one i have a betta and 3 otos, although i feel bad having the otos in there, they need a bigger tank really
and in the other i have a breeding group of endlers, they fill the tank all on their own haha

Dutchie, i think you're fully stocked if you kept the neons, peppered catfish (cory?) and swordtails. HOWEVER, ideally the cory needs to be in a group of 3 or more, preferably over 6, and your tank is far too small for that. and the neons need to be in a group of 6 or more, which, considering they're pretty active little fish, would also be a push in your tank.

i think your bristlie, Nick, will be finding it cramped soon also, they may be a "small" plec, but a 5" long 1.5-2" wide fish is still pretty chunky for an 8g!! mollies will also get to about 3" to even 5" long (i've seen some HUGE mollies!), which would also be too big for a 8g.

 

[Dutchie]

Thanks for the replies............this is fantastic.......

I forgot to mention that i will eventually get a 28G tank that I have been eyeing out at the store...........but think that this won't happen for approx 12 months.

Now this may sound like a dumb question but I always assumed that if you have fish in a small tank, you will stunt their growth similar to bonzia (which i grow)?

Any advice welcome............

PS A second peppered catfish is coming.............store had run out and he was the last one.
PSS Are they good algae eaters? If not, what would you recommend?

 

[Shaun]

Hi Dutchie,

From my experience if you have a fish that has the potential of growing large and you kept it in a small tank you would stunt its growth but you would also reduce its life and therefore it wouldnt live aslong as it should do. IMO i dont think its right to stunt a fish's growth by having it in too small of a tank which means it wont live aslong.

As for the corydoras and whether they are good algae eaters i would say no. I have 6 in my tank and they do a goodjob in clearing up the leftover foods on the bottom which your other fish miss. They may eat a little algae but i just clean it off myself when i do a water change (once a week)

Ive heard that apple snails are good for cleaning algae off the glass of the tank, but i dont own one myself so double check first.

Shaun

 

[catxx]

keeping too many fish, or too large a fish in too small a tank will stunt it's growth, possibly cause abnormalities in growth, health problems brought on by stress, and if left, eventual death, painful death. not very nice.

corys aren't algae eaters, they prefer meaty foods i've found.
for now, with that many fish, i'd stick with an algae scraper! fish and snails that eat predominantly algae, also poop, A LOT, like constantly, and this would put a strain on your already strained bioload, which isn't a good plan.

 

[Dutchie]

Thanks for the feedback people.......really appreciated............

Good news is that I've convinced the wife into getting a large 46G tank but will not be ready for about 3 months............(need to save for it).......Jebo R3100.....
So I'm aiming to move the fish into the larger one and then take it from there........

cheers

 

[Miss Wiggle]

glad your getting a bigger tank you won't regret it

in the mean time though you still have an uncycled tank, now this doesn't nescessarily mean disaster, it just means you need careful management to make sure everyone comes through unscathed.

test your water for ammonia and nitrite every day, if you get any reading other than 0 you need to do a 10% water change, this may mean water changes every day for several weeks, maybe even a month or two. but you must be vigilant or you'll start to see major problems.

if your unsure what your readings mean just post back and we'll help you out.

when your getting the new tank post back and we'll go through the different methods of upgrading and keeping everything healthy and cycled, you've a few options but you've enough to think about now as it is!

 

[Dutchie]

Muchly appreciated........