New Tank Help

[newbie_zak]

Hi, I'm new here so please forgive me for probably having all the info I should. I live in the US...Georgia to be exact. I tried to find a local fish store (I've heard they give better advice and have better fish) but there really doesn't seem to be one here and I ended up at a chain store. Anyway I bought a 10 gal tank that comes with a little power filter you hang on the back and I believe the cartriges you put in it have carbon in them. Two days ago (Fri night) I bought 3 fish to start my tank...a penguin fish, a swordtail and I don't know what the third is (my reciept says either mixed molly or mixed platy) but it's black and white colored. Yesterday I noticed what looks to me (after much internet searching) a fungus on my penguin fish. It's on the body right near its pelvic fin (i think, closest to head on belly of fish)and it has that white tuft look. I had the guy at the store test my water...he said the ph was fine, the ammonia was around 4 or 6 I think and nitrites were 0. My tank is only 2 days old. I did about a 10-15% water change and then dosed with Pima fix. I took the cartriges out of my filter b/c it said to remove carbon if possible. So, am I doing OK or am I totally screwing this all up? I've spent around $130 buying all this stuff and I want my tank to be successful but I seems I've managed to have issues within 48 hrs of being a fish keeper. Please help...Thanks!

 

[jojouk]

Do you know anything about cycling the tank? Ammonia should be zero...

 

[dh058977]

Ammonia at 4 or 6?! You need to work to get that down to 0 as quickly as possible! Anything above 0 is not good for your fish.
unfortunately you are currently doing a fish in cycle, something that not a lot of people here would recommend you do.
Have a read in the beginners section to read about fishless and fish in cycles.

Get yourself a liquid testing kit as soon as you can. More experienced long term members will be able to offer more in depth advice but I would suggest regular large water changes and try to get some pictures of your penguin tetra so we can diagnose the issue.

 

[dh058977]

Im also not sure why you would only buy one Tetra? Tetras are schooling fish and would do much better in a group.

 

[newbie_zak]

Ammonia at 4 or 6?! You need to work to get that down to 0 as quickly as possible! Anything above 0 is not good for your fish.
unfortunately you are currently doing a fish in cycle, something that not a lot of people here would recommend you do.
Have a read in the beginners section to read about fishless and fish in cycles.

Get yourself a liquid testing kit as soon as you can. More experienced long term members will be able to offer more in depth advice but I would suggest regular large water changes and try to get some pictures of your penguin tetra so we can diagnose the issue.

I know - I've heard that is really high ammonia so I'm going to do water changes everyday (and I'm using a gravel vac to get the water out so I'm hoping that will help) and I'm going to try and do them before dosing everyday so I don't mess up the meds but will taking out all that water not give the fish enough medicine?

unfortunately I don't have a digital camera so I can't get any pics for you all, which I know will make help with diagnosis almost impossible but I spent a few hours yesterday looking up fish diseases and descriptions. I used the site firsttankguide.net to get a lot of info before buying a tank and spoke with the guy in the store to validate a lot of what I read on that site. I didn't read anything there about fishless cycles but he does say not to use chemicals to cycle the tank.

 

[newbie_zak]

Im also not sure why you would only buy one Tetra? Tetras are schooling fish and would do much better in a group.

they only had the one and I didn't know that when i bought it...when looking into diseases I read that fact and I'm honestly not sure what to do...my tank is too small to support the number of them that were recommened online (6 at least) so I can either kill it or keep it I guess. any suggestions?

And to the person who asked what I know about cycling...yes, I am aware the goal is to have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites but all the info I got before getting a tank led me to believe I need fish to start cycling so I'm going to have high ammonia for a little bit. I'm trying to do frequent water changes. I'm also going to go read what you all have on fishless cycling...

 

[dh058977]

When you say 'does say not to use chemicals to cycle the tank' did you at least use something to dechlorinate your water?

 

[newbie_zak]

When you say 'does say not to use chemicals to cycle the tank' did you at least use something to dechlorinate your water?

yes, I bought a 10 gal tank kit and it came with something to declorinate the water. I also bought a heater...I don't think I mentioned that before....my water is around 80 deg which is what the fish store guy told me to do but reading stuff on here you all seem to have it a bit lower no?

The site I read said not to use cycling products- that they are really unstable I guess. It said don't use chemicals to remove ammonia or a bacteria booster. It said something like 'will take between 2 days and eight months to cycle when using bacteria booster'. It recommened using only a few fish and frequent water changes to get a bio filter going. the fish store guy said bascially the same thing. He said to get a bio filter going you need fish to start poo-ing in your tank

I just read the bit on here about fishless cycling...but I don't remember reading about how long it said it would take. The other site said it takes about 6 to 8 weeks...I guess either way I should really get a water test kit.

 

[HayzH]

you are not doing a fishLESS cycle..you are doing a fish-IN cycle..you need to do water changes sometimes up to 3 a day to keep the Ammonia at 0..then when the Nitrites start to grow..you need to keep that reading at zero too...anything over 0 will slowly kill your fish.
It only took 2 days to kill my 3 mollies with "only" 0.50ppm of Ammonia. (due to advice at LFS)

 

[newbie_zak]

you are not doing a fishLESS cycle..you are doing a fish-IN cycle..you need to do water changes sometimes up to 3 a day to keep the Ammonia at 0..then when the Nitrites start to grow..you need to keep that reading at zero too...anything over 0 will slowly kill your fish.
It only took 2 days to kill my 3 mollies with "only" 0.50ppm of Ammonia. (due to advice at LFS)

I know I'm doing a fish in cycle...previously I wasn't even aware I could do a fishless cycle! Ugh, so I should do water changes more than once a day...I really am doubting the people at that fish store because that guy told me I should change the water (10%) every two weeks or so. And he also said I could add more fish in about 2 weeks and nothing I've read seems to think that is good. It all says to cycle completely before adding any more fish (I know the fishless cycle is looking better and better belive me, I wish I fould this site before...I only found it when trying to diagnose my fish)

And I know my ammonia level is high but I only had the fish...maybe 24 hrs before I noticed the fuzzy spot and now that I'm watching him real close I think he may have fin rot because one fin is a lot smaller than the one on the other side (fin by gills)...Could this all be my fault or do you think I got a bad fish from the store?

I swear, I'm not a complete moron just new to fish keeping...I've asked "professionals" at my local chain store (don't have actual local small store or any store that only does fish) and done some research online... I will do at least two water changes a day now while cycling.

Should I just give up on the penguin fish? I feel really bad and don't want to kill it, I don't want it to die because of me either...When talking to different guy (at the same store where I bought the fish) when I went in today for testing and fish meds he said he wouldn't have even sold me anything from that one tank (where the penguin fish came from) he said it's ammonia was "higher then he'd ever seen" when it tested it. To be clear: he is talking about the ammonina in the tank in the fish store where I bought this fish. I don't think it looked sick the day I got it but it is the first fish i've ever owned and I remember it's belly having a little tiny bulge but thinking maybe that's just how this fish looks.

Also, I feel like my fish are constantly looking for food. The two little ones (not the penguin) seem to spend a lot of time um...idk how to describe it...sucking on the walls of the tank and decorations. Normally I'd say that algae-eaters do this but I'm fairly sure (90%) that none of fish are algae eaters...but when I feed them (only a tiny bit to see if they eat it 'cause I don't want to overfeed) they don't eat, they often spit back out the food. I have flakes and med pellets (the jar says for sm to med trop FW fish)

and what does LFS mean?

 

[colleen0309]

LFS= Local Fish Shop. Don't worry. You aren't the first person to believe what their lfs said. We are here to make sure you enjoy those fish and those fish enjoy being with you. First of all, 10 gallon tank with the little HOB ( hang on back) power filter. It has a cartridge with blue pad on one side? Carbon on the inside. Cut a slit in the blue pad and remove the carbon, as much as you can. Put the cartridge back in. This is where your beneficial bacteria are going to colonize. Next, you really need a liquid test kit. It may save you some work. If you can't get a test kit now, you need to do DAILY, or twice daily water changes of at least 50 - 75%. You need to keep the ammonia down to 0. No higher than 0.25ppm.

 

[newbie_zak]

LFS= Local Fish Shop. Don't worry. You aren't the first person to believe what their lfs said. We are here to make sure you enjoy those fish and those fish enjoy being with you. First of all, 10 gallon tank with the little HOB ( hang on back) power filter. It has a cartridge with blue pad on one side? Carbon on the inside. Cut a slit in the blue pad and remove the carbon, as much as you can. Put the cartridge back in. This is where your beneficial bacteria are going to colonize. Next, you really need a liquid test kit. It may save you some work. If you can't get a test kit now, you need to do DAILY, or twice daily water changes of at least 50 - 75%. You need to keep the ammonia down to 0. No higher than 0.25ppm.

Thanks! ok - I can do that - the little pads aren't blue but yes it came with a little hang on back filter and filter is marina and the cartriges had stuff in them - carbon for the 2 tropical and bio-clear? for the "goldfish" one (these are the 3 that came with the filter the lfs guy said to use them all it doesn't matter) So, I took them out a day or so ago - I can cut them and empty the stuff so my medicine will work...and I think it is working by the way - my fish's fuzzy spot seems a little smaller. But the cartriges that have been sitting out for a day or two are ok to still use right? They wouldn't have grown some funky bacteria that just make everything worse?

I have been doing twice daily water changes of about 30% since I found out my ammonia was so high...and when I get a chance I'm going to get a test kit. I've heard the dip strips aren't so great so I should get a drop kit? Can I get one for a reasonable price? (somewhere close to $20 hopefully) And I've been told that the bio filter is mostly in those filter cartridges so not to change them all at once...how often do you recommend I change them? I was thinking I should switch out one every 2 weeks (I think it said to change them about 6 weeks or so...and one every 2 should spread it out) does that sound right or will I never cycle that way?

 

[PyroBrit]

Save your money. Don't change the cartridges at all whilst you are cycling.
Once cycled, only change a cartridge if it has fallen to bits. They last ages. Mine are 4 years old and plenty of life.

 

[giants1249er]

If possible, return your fishes to the fish store and start a fishless cycle. What chain store did you buy the fish from? Was it Petsmart or Petco...they have a return policies. A fishless cycle is much easier, using Ammonia Janitorial Strength from Ace Hardware stores. I had 2 10-gallon tanks, 1 with fish (3 platies) and 1 without. It took me about 6 weeks to cycle them. The fishless cycle only required me to add ammonia to feed the beneficial bacteria and a few water changes to maintain a good ph. The fish-in cycle, however, was much harder...lots of water changes...at least 2-3 per day as my ammonia levels were too high, later nitrite levels were too high and 2-3 partial water changes daily....lots of bucket trips to my lawn. Luckily my platies were able to survive the cycle and are thriving now. My tank for the fishless cycle had 3 goldfish....way too many for a 10-gallon tank...they had an attack of ich and high ammonia levels eventually killed them.
So do yourself and your fish a favor....return the fish and cycle 1st.

Also get the API tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrates, and ph.

I agree with PyroBrit. If your cartridge gets dirty, you can clean it by rinsing in TANK water, not tap water. Tap water will kill your beneficial bacteria. Then reuse them until they fall apart. When they fall apart, put the old cartridge and new cartridge side by side so beneficial bacteria can transfer into/grow in the new cartridge. After a while, then you can discard the old cartridge.

 

[colleen0309]

Excellent advice from all. The test strip can be innaccurate. Liquid test kit is much better. I also use API Freshwater master. Use those cartridges until the fall apart. If you can't take the fish back, keep doing what you are doing. I'd up the water changes to atleast 50% until you can get a test kit.