New Here And Having A Lot Of Problems

[scottiedogluvr]

I'm new here and I'm having a lot of problems setting up my tank.  I have a lot of questions.  LOL
I was given a 5 gallon GLOFISH aquarium for Christmas.
I set it up according to the instructions that came with the tank.
I have a whisper bio filter, small heater and air stone.  I'm using gravel and fake plants.
I know it's a small aquarium, but I wanted a small one for my desk.
Well, I set everything up....put all of the chemicals in the water, etc.
I let the aquarium sit for about 2 days.  I know now I should have let the tank cycle.  
I bought 5 Tetra Glofish...I know that's way too many fish for a small tank like mine.  How many fish is okay for a 5 gallon tank?
After about 4 days all of the fish got ICK and all of them ended up dying  I bought my fish at PetSmart.  I will NOT do that again.  I'm going  to go to a fish store to buy my fish.
I did buy test strips and it appeared that the water was okay.  Now I know the test strips are NOT accurate.
I plan on investing in a good test kit!
I spent a small fortune on everything needed and I don't want to give up.
I've read it takes about a month for the tank to cycle.  There's already bacteria in the tank left from the fish that were in there.  Will this help cycle the tank??
I've also read that the ICK will die on it's own over a few weeks....if it doesn't have a host to grow on.  Is this true?
Right now the tank is running...filter, heater and airstone.  How long before I can add fish again?  
Should I be testing the water during the cycling time?  Do I need to do any water changes?  How will I know when the tank has cycled?
What's the best stuff to add to the tank for getting rid of the chlorine,etc? Our house has a water filtration system.
I know I will have to do water changes more often because my tank is so small.  That's okay.  
What about adding aquarium salt to the tank?  Is this a good idea?
Any other ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Debbie
 
 
 

 

[lrhodes]

I'm not the best cycling instructor... so I will let someone else answer all that.
But I am not a supporter of aquarium salt! I guess its really an opinion. And certain fish react differently to the salt... but I'd much rather have a salt free tank....
And yes, your tank should be ICK free after being fishless for a little while.
Oh, and welcome to the forum!
Sorry you're having a hard time....
But there are lits of people with great advice on here.

 

[Lillefishy]

Have a read of this http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

 

[fluttermoth]

Hello, Debbie, welcome to the forum

I'm sorry you've had so many problems with your little tank. I'll try and answer all your questions; do please post back if I've missed anything, or if things aren't clear to you!

I don't think where you bought your fish would have been the issue. Fish in uncycled tanks often fall prey to diseases like ich, not because they're poor stock, but because of the poor water quality.

You should really do a fishless cycle, using household janitor's ammonia solution. 'Cycling' a tank means growing colony of good bacteria inside the filter. You need to add ammonia, which replicates the ammonia that will later be produced by the fish, or the bacteria won't have any food. You may well have some bacteria left which would make your tank cycle faster, but until you add some ammonia and can test properly, there's no way of knowing for sure.

If you have a look in the 'Cycling your Tank' subforum, you'll find full, detailed, instructions on how to fishlessly cycle. You don't need to do any water changes at the moment; you just need some ammonia and a set of decent test kits.

Any pet shop dechlorinator will do the job. Some are more concentrated, so turn out to be better value in the long run. you should find out exactly what the filtration system you have on your household supply is, as some of them produce water that's not suitable for fish.

The ich will definitely die off with no fish as hosts, so it shouldn't reoccur when you restock. a tank of that size is only suitable for four or five very small fish (and that's small, adult size; a lot of fish are small when you buy them, because they're younng), or perhaps one slightly larger fish, like a Siamese fighter.

In general you don't add salt to freshwater tanks.

 

[scottiedogluvr]

Thanks for all of the advice.
 
I bought an API test kit today.
 
The results are....
 
Ph 7.6
 
Ammonia 0.50
 
Nitrate 5.0
 
Nitrite 2.0
 
Obviously the tank hasn't cycled yet.
 
I haven't added any ammonia yet.

 

[allydawn17]

That tank is too small for golfish, try a betta! They are very hardy fish and will do better in a 5 gallon than the glofish, but of course not until the tank is cycled. Good luck!

 

[ag-au]

Freshwater fish don't need any salt in the aquarium. It seems to me when people would tell me to use aquarium salt with certain species it was because the species was prone to sickness. At petsmart they told me to use aquarium salt with Mollies. Mollies are freshwater not brackish. Only brackish water type fish should have aquarium salt in them. Also, aquarium salt is different than table salt. Aquarium salt is used to tread adema (or swelling) and certain doses can kill bacteria or kill the tiny white planeria worms.

 

[lrhodes]

Freshwater fish don't need any salt in the aquarium. It seems to me when people would tell me to use aquarium salt with certain species it was because the species was prone to sickness. At petsmart they told me to use aquarium salt with Mollies. Mollies are freshwater not brackish. Only brackish water type fish should have aquarium salt in them. Also, aquarium salt is different than table salt. Aquarium salt is used to tread adema (or swelling) and certain doses can kill bacteria or kill the tiny white planeria worms.

Actually mollies can be brackish or freshwater.

 

[ag-au]

 

Freshwater fish don't need any salt in the aquarium. It seems to me when people would tell me to use aquarium salt with certain species it was because the species was prone to sickness. At petsmart they told me to use aquarium salt with Mollies. Mollies are freshwater not brackish. Only brackish water type fish should have aquarium salt in them. Also, aquarium salt is different than table salt. Aquarium salt is used to tread adema (or swelling) and certain doses can kill bacteria or kill the tiny white planeria worms.

Actually mollies can be brackish or freshwater.
 

They are found in brackish water but their primary habitat is freshwater streams.

 

[lrhodes]

I just know if you want a peaceful brackish tank, mollies are very often suggested.

 

[b3cca]

quote "I haven't added any ammonia yet."
 
WOAH !! You have fish in this tank -- Do not add any other Ammonia ever with fish in the tank -- the fish in that tank are your source of ammonia.  Adding ammonia is for FISHLESS cycling only.

Oh they died sorry -- I missed that part ignore my last comments  

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Mollies can be kept in tanks from fresh all the way up to full marine.  They are a tremendously amazing little fish. 

Mollies really only can't thrive in 'soft' water.  If there is a lot of minerals in the water, whether it is salt or fresh, they will thrive.
 
A few months ago we had a fish of the month that was a full MARINE molly.

Photo courtesy of 'ech0o'.

 

[scottiedogluvr]

I'm still cycling the tank.  I haven't added any fish yet.  Someone mentioned that Glofish are too small for a 5 gallon tank.  I don't know what type of fish I'm going to add yet.  The Mollies are pretty though.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Mollies are lovely, but aren't suitable for a 5 gallon.

 

[scottiedogluvr]

What is suitable for a 5 gallon tank?