New Tank

[Dercola]

Hi All, new to this site, only joined about 2 minutes ago cause i got myself a little problem. I recently set up a new tank (about 4 weeks ago) and everything was going great up untill 3 nights ago. Since then i've lost 2 Kribs, 1 Molly, 1 Green Barb and 2 rainbow fish (thats what the man in the pet shop told me they were) Now the 2 remaining mollies and 1 remaining "rainbow fish" are swimming around near the top of the tank with their mouths outside the water and they also look to be gasping for air. Now the Green Barbs i have just seem to be Floating in the same spot all day with their heads pointed downwards. I dont have any test kits on me so i cant exactly tell what the vitals of the tank are. But i can say i have done 30% water changes every day, cut down their feeding and dropped the water level so that there is more air getting into the tank and so far its made no difference. Any help at all would be appreciated. Cheers

 

[WILDER]

Added to many fish too soon, and it sound like bad water quality if there gasping, an immediate water change, do you have stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate, and ph.

Read on beginners so you understand the cycling process.
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showforum=58

Also do you have an airstone and airpump, as you need good aeration in a cycling tank.
And i would find an lfs who care about the fish who are willing to help you set a tank up and give you some good advice, half of those fish should of never been put in a cycling tank.
Plus mollies need brackish water.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=137887

 

[Dercola]

I thought that it would have something to do with the water quality alright. It wasnt a LFS where i bought them, it was a pet shop around the corner. I think your man was a bit of a bluffer. Only after my dosh. He told me it would all be ok. Should have read up on it myself. Anyway thanks a mill for the reply

 

[WILDER]

Invest in a test kit liquid ones are the best.
And i would still do that water change.

This test kit is value for money.
API Freshwater Master Liquid Test Kit
A Complete Kit for Testing Tap Water & Aquarium Water

Fast : Easy : Accurate : Over 700 Tests

The latest Kit now contains the following tests:

• : pH (6.0 to 7.6)
• : High Range pH (7.4 to 8.8)
• : Ammonia
• : Nitrite
• : Nitrate

(The hardness tests are no longer included : Nitrate having been added instead)

The Kit Contains :


Step by Step instruction booklet
Water resistant computer-calibrated colour charts
Four glass Test Tubes with snap-tight caps in holders
Test solution bottles for five different tests
The Test Bottles included in this kit are the same size bottles as are in the individual test kits


Made in the USA

 

[TrueNoob]

fish to fast, and to many water chages...................... once a week is good enough

 

[millym]

as well as the above advice, oxygen levels in the water have nothing to do with how much 'air' is above the water level in the tank, it is to do with agitation of the water ie: agitation that is caused by an airstone or a filter outflow causing surface agitation.

tiger barbs are very sensitive to nitrite in your tank & will often go in the 'nose down' postion when this is a problem(like yours are) they also do this when sleeping though so its not always a bad sign.
your tank is going through whats called a cycle (see the pinned topics suggested) and to save the fish i would test the water parameters( ammonia nitrite etc )daily & you may still need to do occasional small water changes to give the fish the best chance of survival if you get ammonia & nitrite readings in your tank (these should read 0).
your right to cut down the feeding as overfeeding will make ammonia & nitrite,nitrate worse.
you may lose more fish im sorry to say as the ammonia & nitrite that is built up in the tank when you add fish to an 'uncycled or new' tank is toxic to fish and can kill them. your tank needs to build up the natural bacteria in it which helps break down & 'control' these toxic levels.

do you have an internal filter (ie one that sits inside the tank water???) if so if you move it so the water flow is moving the surface of the tank water this will help with oxygen levels for the fish until you can get an airstone/pump if you dont already have one.
good luck

 

[Dercola]

Thanks for the replys. I just got an air stone a while ago and it seems to have made some bit of a difference. The Barbs seem to be a lot more livelyer now. Wot I meant by dropping the water level was that I the outlet of the filter was pouring back into the tank like a hose so it was creating a disturbance in the top of the tank. Sorry for not explaning it clearer. I also got a test kit a while ago but im not sure if its ok. I dont know if this makes any sense but the readings are as follows.

NO3 - 10mg/l
NO2 - 5mg/l
GH - >10od
KH - 6od
pH - 8.0 (guessing this is a bit high)

 

[millym]

hi
your no2( nitrite) reading should be 0 once your tank is established ie: cycled you should get 0's when you test the water but as your tank is not cycled this will be why you are getting the reading of 5. do you have an ammonia test kit?? it is one you also really need to check your tank is healthy. i would carry on with small water changes daily to see if you can get the nitrite down to 0. dont worry about pH as it is usually influenced by the water supply in your area and although some fish are very pH 'sensitive' actually fiddling with the pH by adding stuff can actually cause more harm than good and fish are more likely to have problems if the pH in your water is swinging or changing constantly. pH is more critical for breeding & keeping certain species of fish. if your fish have been bought in your area it is likely they are acclimatised to the pH already so dont worry too much about it. in london where we live our water is very hard & our tank water always runs around a pH of 7.8 - 8.0 and we do actually have fish that are only supposed to thrive in soft(llower pH water) - our rummy nose tetras, we've had them 3 years with no problems & all happy looking & healthy.

oh and i hope im not stating the obvious but make sure you use a chlorine/chloramine remover to your new water befroe it goes in your tank when doing water changes as tapwater chlorine/chloramine will also harm your fish. ( something like interpets 'tapsafe')

keep us updated.

 

[Dercola]

Hi all, just want to thank everyone for the replys and the help. Cheers All readings seem to be evening out now appart from amonia which is still a little high but im keeping an eye on it with 30% waterchanges every 3-4 days. I as told this will be good enough till the tank is fully cycled. Anyway thanks a mill for all yer help.