New to tropical fish - seeking some advice

[Byron]

Tank maintenance today with 50% water change and glad we did it as it smelt a bit bad.
Also adjusted the spray bar to get more aeration. Bit stronger current on left hand side of the tank but fish doesn't seem to mind.
Created a ring to contain the Salvanias and the Barbs sometimes swim up to nip at them

I agree, that is very nice indeed. There is some nice interaction among the barbs; they are feisty, but nothing serious should result.

I do have one suggestion though, and it is easily remedied, and I think you will like the result. Get rid of the photo on the back of the tank, and replace it with black construction paper. You can buy this in sheets at craft and similar stores, and cut it down or tape together, whichever. I believe you will really see a difference. The fish and plants in the tank will stand out much more, and the tank will seem more spacious. I personally find the photo background distracting, and it does impact the appearance of the live plants which is something you don't want.

 

[jonnyc88]

I agree, that is very nice indeed. There is some nice interaction among the barbs; they are feisty, but nothing serious should result.

I do have one suggestion though, and it is easily remedied, and I think you will like the result. Get rid of the photo on the back of the tank, and replace it with black construction paper. You can buy this in sheets at craft and similar stores, and cut it down or tape together, whichever. I believe you will really see a difference. The fish and plants in the tank will stand out much more, and the tank will seem more spacious. I personally find the photo background distracting, and it does impact the appearance of the live plants which is something you don't want.

Thanks for the suggestion @Byron. We got the photo is the hope of mimicking natural environment. It’s a special 3D effect poster we’ve bought on Amazon.
Definitely will consider making the background black. We’ve used poster glue to attach the photo so would need to dedicate some time in removing it

 

[jonnyc88]

Here a video of the barbs schooling. So tempted to get somemore barbs (either x10 Cherry or Rosy) however I think it's wiser to wait for few months.

Also thinking of getting some Java Fern and some shrimps to help clean up but wondering if the corydoras would stress them.

Next on the list is to have a black background. Daughter suggested using black bin bags as they would also be water proof.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Ive used black bin bags before and they were ok, not quite the matte black that works best though.

I have some cherry shrimp in with my peppered cory and theyre all fine together. The shrimp have this mad sort of reflex 'jump' thing if anything comes close to them. There are juvenile shrimp in mine too so they've clearly survived from being the tiny shrimplets. I'd be more concerned about whether theyd survive the barbs

 

[jonnyc88]

Ive used black bin bags before and they were ok, not quite the matte black that works best though.

I have some cherry shrimp in with my peppered cory and theyre all fine together. The shrimp have this mad sort of reflex 'jump' thing if anything comes close to them. There are juvenile shrimp in mine too so they've clearly survived from being the tiny shrimplets. I'd be more concerned about whether theyd survive the barbs

True, perhaps I will pop down the hobby shop to pick up some matt black paper.

My daughter has a shrimp tank and I do love them, ability to be clean up crew is a bonus too.
If my grass plants grow more perhaps it will provide some cover for the shrimps but not too sure at the moment. Something to mull over
Definitely would be challenging introducing the shrimps to the tank as the barbs are very curious.

 

[jonnyc88]

So the water turned quite cloudy after 40% water change last weekend. I suspect this is bacterial bloom. I’ve tested the water parameters today and everything looks ok, except for ammonia with is bit high, about 5.0 ppm.
Nitrites and Nitrates are almost zero though.

Perhaps I’ve upset the cycle after the water change as I’ve just added new fish few days before. I’ve treated the water with API AmmoLock and also some API QuickStart. I’ll also greatly reduce the feeding as I’ve been feeding twice a day. Perhaps once a day or even go a day without feeding.

I’m thinking of cleaning up the substrate and perhaps a 10% water change that follows it as normally cleaning substrate would reduce water level slightly. Should I do this though or wait few days? I will test ammonia daily.

Fish seems to be happy enough though. I’m really hoping that none of the fish died which caused the bacterial bloom. It’s heavily planted and tall tank and I did try to have a look but can’t find anything so far. I’m hoping it’s the over feeding and big water change soon after adding new fish which upset the cycle.

 

[mbsqw1d]

A water change wouldnt upset the cycle unless your biomedia went without any water for a while? If you're reading 5ppm ammonia i'd do at least 60% water change for your fish's sake. Hopefully the BB will catch up in a day or two

 

[jonnyc88]

A water change wouldnt upset the cycle unless your biomedia went without any water for a while? If you're reading 5ppm ammonia i'd do at least 60% water change for your fish's sake. Hopefully the BB will catch up in a day or two

I was reading somewhere that a big water change in a new tank could upset the cycle as it introduces new bacteria.

My filter was running all the time so don’t think that’s the issue. Perhaps I’ve disturbed the substrate with water change but I’m leaning towards bacterial bloom for the cause of the cloudiness.

60% water change would be bit tricky with all the fish I have now but I’ll see what I can do.
I think I’ll probably wait until the weekend at least to see if the treatment helped whilst testing the ammonia daily.

 

[seangee]

Do you mean 5ppm or 0.5ppm?
5ppm is well into the lethal range.

 

[jonnyc88]

Do you mean 5ppm or 0.5ppm?
5ppm is well into the lethal range.

My daughter tested it and it was green but not too sure what the value was. I’ll go test again as this is worrying.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Ah yeh you added the API stuff, ive no experience with them so yeh, be waste of money to flush them away! Hopefully one of the more experienced folk can jump on advise about cycling situation

 

[jonnyc88]

Ok just tested using API master kit and it’s very dark green. So 8.0ppm... should I do a large water change now?

 

[Byron]

A dead fish or two is not going to cause a rise in ammonia, with those plants. It just is not possible, unless there is something else we are not seeing. Same for the cloudiness, a dead fish would not do this with plants as here.

Cloudiness in new tanks can be suspended particulate matter or a bacterial/diatom bloom. Particulate matter can get stirred up from the substrate, or enter via fresh tap water. Harmless whichever. A bacterial or diatom bloom can occur from a new setup as the biological system is not yet stable, and it can also be prompted by a water change. You would be surprised at how much dissolved organics can occur in tap water, especially in summer. And the decomposition bacteria that feed on these organics can reproduce rapidly, roughly every 20 minutes (compare that to the 12-30 hours for nitrifying bacteria to reproduce).

 

[jonnyc88]

Just spent last few hours doing major water change. I did 70%, top up, 50% and top up again.
Quite a lot of rotting food and plant matter which made the tank smell really bad. I’ve now removed them.
Had quick reccy around the tank and can’t seem to find any dead fish so that’s good news. Water looks much clearer now, just some visible debris and small particles stirred up from water change.

I’ve tested for ammonia again after water change and it’s lower but still green-ish. I’d say it’s between 1.0 and 2.0ppm, probably closer to 1.0ppm.

After testing I’ve added some API Quick Start which hopefully would help with the cycle.

Fish looks happy at the moment, no signs of stress. I haven’t fed them yet today and to be honest I probably won’t.

 

[jonnyc88]

A dead fish or two is not going to cause a rise in ammonia, with those plants. It just is not possible, unless there is something else we are not seeing. Same for the cloudiness, a dead fish would not do this with plants as here.

Cloudiness in new tanks can be suspended particulate matter or a bacterial/diatom bloom. Particulate matter can get stirred up from the substrate, or enter via fresh tap water. Harmless whichever. A bacterial or diatom bloom can occur from a new setup as the biological system is not yet stable, and it can also be prompted by a water change. You would be surprised at how much dissolved organics can occur in tap water, especially in summer. And the decomposition bacteria that feed on these organics can reproduce rapidly, roughly every 20 minutes (compare that to the 12-30 hours for nitrifying bacteria to reproduce).

Good point about organics in tap water @Byron. Suppose the warm weather would also affect their numbers. I was worried about the ammonia levels hence the water change.
Also I was probably feeding too much.