no idea what to do with it!

[franc1987]

Helppppp Ive just inherited a fish tank/aquarium from a friend of mine who didnt want them. Iv wanted one for ages and this was completely out of the blue and now i dont hav a clue what to do with them, what fish they are, what temperature they should be at etc
First of all ill describe the tank. I dont no what size it is but it currently houses 5 very small fish about |_________________| that big. It has a filter a pump a temperature thingy and a light. There is a couple of artifical plants in there and a pot boat thingy oh and pebbles.
I need to no what the fish are called. I no the name of one of the fish, i think its a tiger fish (thats what she called it) and it just burries in the pebbles or hides in the boat. Also there are 4 other fish. I hav no idea which ones they are and i would be grateful for any advice or help you can give me. Iv attached pictues. The person who gave them us said the temperature for the tank had to be at 77F( around 25C) but it currently lies at 80F (27C) which is worrying and i dont no how to get it down. Does anybody know what type of aquarium i have or how to look after it? Last night when i got it home i took the fish out and gave it a good clean as on the drive back a lot of nasty stuff got stirred up to the point where you couldnt see through the water. I no your not ment to do that but the filter sponge (dunno its name) was black with dirt and muck so i thort i better. How often am i ment to clean the filter and also how often do i feed them? i would be grateful for any help or advice you can give me as i really dont no what to do! Also does anyone no the maximum number of fish that can be put in there and what type of fish do i use i really have no idea.
I have attached a picture of the type of fish i have and a picture of the tank but i couldnt get a picture of what i suspect to be a tiger fish because i couldnt find it!
Thanks a lot
a distressed fish owner xx
p.s this was reposted from the fish emergencie board cos i didnt see this one. I cant find where to attach the pictures with this one but they are on the other post i wud be v grateful if u cud help me!

 

[clutterydrawer]

Oh my In at the deep end hmm?

Temperature - Is there a heater? If so havea look at it - does it have a dial on, with numbers? If so you can turn it round to produce the right temp for your fish. Make sure the tank is out of the way of otehr sources of heat like direct sun, or radiators. where do you live? In hot countries it can be hard to suffieciently lower the temp.

Feeding - you can feed your fish once or twice a day as you choose but be very very careful not to overfeed. they should only get what they can eat in a couple of minutes. It is better to udnerfeed than overfeed as overfeeding makes the fish ill and pollutes the tank.

Maintenance - You need to change about 25% of the tank water every week to keep the tank in good condition. To do this you siphon the water into a bucket using a siphon hose, then replace it. The water you put back in needs to be dechlorinated - you can get some dechlorinator at your pet shop if your friend didnt give you any - because there is chlorine in tapwater that can kill your fish. It's also useful to "vacuum" the gravel to get rid of any dirt that has fallen into it. This is done by using a siphon hose with a wide, funnel-like end, which sucks up dirt from the gravel.

Every month or so you should clean the filter sponge. It's very important to do this in water taken from the tank, not the tap, as some useful bacteria live in your filter sponge which would be killed by the chlorine in the tapwater.

Did your friend give you other stuff with the tank, like food, dechlor, water test kits, and so on? If so, could you tell us what? It might also be helpful to buy or borrow a book on tropical fish keeping so you can learn all about it step by step.

The fish you posted a pic of in the other topic is a pristella tetra The "tiger fish" I would presume to be a tiger barb but there are not known for burrowing or hiding. maybe it is a clown loach? here is a pic of one: Clown Loach. Could you measure your tank and tell su the length, width and height? This will help us to recommend how many fish you can have.


I hope I've been of some use, just ask if there's anythign else yo uwant to know. good luck with them.

 

[franc1987]

Hey thanks for replying so soon!

firstly i live in the UK and its "summer" at the moment. The fish tank is infront of a radiotor that isnt turned on until end of october time so im guessing its okay to leave the tank there until the radiator is turned on? Also the previous owner hated the tank so much that they just stuck it in the garage. When i rescued them theyd been trying to kill them for about 6months- unsuccessfully! The owner did show me how to alter the temperature and i have been trying all day and i just cannot get it down from 80F is this a major worry or can the fish survive that?

I fed the fish last night and they were acting like it was their first and last feed and the previous owner had to dig the fish food out of a box of junk- it was very dusty so obviously it hadnt been used for a while- there are no instructions on the tub at all its just a clear tub with a plain red lid

I heard as for the cleaning aspect its okay just to get half the water out with a bucket and then gently replace it again with the bucket is that advisable or not?

Last night i cleaned it with tap water.... big mistake huh? Well they are still alive now so i guess next time ill just clean it with the tank water. oops!

I didnt get anything else with the tank. Just a tank of 5 fish and half a tub of fish food.

I looked up a picture on the internet of a tiger barb and that is not the fish we have neither is it the clown loach....
The tank messures 40 x 25 x 20CM or 16x10x8 inches. Also on the lid of the tank is this "Unkyo Sicce" if thats any help.

Thankyou for all your help love frances xx

 

[clutterydrawer]

ohmygoodnesss I could say some bad things about your friend at this point...but I'll refrain.

I am in the UK too. *shivers* It's possible your heater or thermometer are faulty - the stick on thermometers aren't very reliable, I had one and after a while it stuck at one value and never changed. Either way the fish would probably prefer a stable but too high temp to a temp that fluctuates a lot, so it shouldn't be _too_ much of an issue.

Your tank is 20 litres or 5US gallons so you only need to change about 4litres (1US gallon) a week. I guess it would actually be easier to do this by scooping it out with a bucket or jug than with a siphon, when I mentioned siphons I had bigger tanks in mind. You need some dechlor asap though.

Do you know about the nitrogen cycle and the role it plays in fishkeeping? If not it would be useful to read the pinned topic at the top of this forum called Avoiding and Treatinf New tank Syndrome". The nitrogen cycle should already be established in your tank but it might have been disrupted by cleaning the filter with tapwater. If you could test your water for Ammonia and NitrIte either by buying test kits or asking your pet shop to test it for you, you can find out.

Feeding - healthy fish will "beg" for far more food than is good for them, don't give in! Sounds like yours are pretty hardcore if they've been neglected for so long but still swim and feed.

Could you get a photo or even a drawing (!) of the otehr fish? It's mystifying me and until I know what he is, I cant tell if the tank is overstocked or not. I'd liek to know size, colouring, markings, shape, and if he has whiskers or not. He might be nocturnal, try looking at him after lights-out.

 

[rvm]

Just a stab in the dark, but possibly a khuli loach? I know they like to dig, and they have stripes (of a sort!!).

 

[clutterydrawer]

Oooh...nice one I didn't think of that.

Here is a kuhli loach:

Also I've reread the original post again and I don't think 27 should be a problem at all as most tropical fish can live in temps between 23 and 28.

 

[franc1987]

Finally a break through in naming the fish! i searched on the internet at the one the last person sadi (sorry i dont remember its name) and found this one called an Ancistrus (i thinK) and it looks very similar to the one i have but i think ours is shorter on the body and fatter around the head?. This is a picture of te one i found on the net
Any info on it? Love frances
ps thanks for everything! gonna pop off to the pet shop at the weekend and try and get it figured out!

 

[rvm]

Right. So it's a plec of some sort. I'd be surprised if could be a tiger peckoltia (try this link). But identifying plecs is hard unless you have a good picture.
When you say it buries itself, do you mean literally in the gravel, or just that it hides a lot??

 

[Wisperian]

Too bad it isnt a kuhli.... they're too cute to be true

 

[clutterydrawer]

oh my...a plec in a five gallon tank.

Edit: note to self - must stop saying "oh my" !

 

[franc1987]

hi
i dont understand why you say "oh my" at the fish being in there because it is the same size as the other fish! which confuses me a lot! I must say i love watching them! there brilliant. A friend of ours has just made an aquarium in their nursey and its very very pretty (hes an experienced fish persoN) but its a bit of a difficult time to ask as his wife is in a difficult LONG labor!
love frances xx

 

[rvm]

hi
i dont understand why you say "oh my" at the fish being in there because it is the same size as the other fish! which confuses me a lot! I must say i love watching them! there brilliant. A friend of ours has just made an aquarium in their nursey and its very very pretty (hes an experienced fish persoN) but its a bit of a difficult time to ask as his wife is in a difficult LONG labor!
love frances xx

Basically because a Plec of any size in a 5 gallon is not ideal. They are notoriously messy fish, and pollute the water much more than other fish do. I'd wait until you have a definate ID on the fish before worrying too much though.
You can tell if it is a plec as it will have a sucker mouth. This doesn't definately tell you it is a plec, but it's more than likely

 

[bigfish]

Hey franc

Welcome to fish forums and hope your enjoying your new hobby!!!

 

[franc1987]

Wowwwww iv found the other fish, well actually my bro found it- its hiding under the filter box bit thing in the dark! Its very small (smaller than the other ones -forgot their names already!) and it does look like those in the pictures, Also it has a big mouth so maybe it is a plec. My friend called to ask how the fish were today and i told her that i was told that they wasnt ment to have tap water and she said well theyve had it for the past 2 yrs and its never done em any harm why stop now and i have to say i agree with her......... am i wrong i dont no im just confused i didt no where was so much more to fish world. ah well. anythorts on how many fish i can keep in the tank i have five already (V small ones! 2" max!)
franc xx

 

[smithrc]

the picture is of a small bristlenose plec (ancistrus sp.) - they get to about 5 or 6 inches.
(that pic is from a site run by cryosi from here)



just wondering where abouts in the uk you are?