Possible Tank Problems - A Bit Of A Read!

[sycko]

hi all,
Im realy new to this so please go easy on me!!
i just resently got married and was bought a 126 litre/27.5 gallon fluval tank with a heater and filter plants rocks and all the trimmings! so i followed the instructions and cleaned it filled it with water set the pump off and heater to between 24-26cfilled the tank with water and treated it with 3 cap fulls of aqua plus and cycle also some plant food and some fish food like sugested then went on my honeymoon for 2 weeks!! i returned my tank ready to stock it up with a few fish only to find i had tiny snails all around my tank (around 20) which after further research turned out to be not that threatening if u keep on top of them! so any way i go to my (pets at home) shop and speak to the fish expert guy on what to buy nad he sell me the following fish (a red fighter fish,5 neons,5 rummys,2 plecs to eat the snails and 2 clown loaches for the agae and 4 cory bottom feeders! also a drift wood plant thing to help stabalize the water so he says! so i follow the instruction on how to introduce them and leave them too it! next day i wake up and my fighter fish looks ready for the toilet but everything else looks fine! swimming around eating! day after that the fighter is dead so i take it back to the shop i got it from with a water sample and a different guy says its dies from stress of been moved around and that my water is fine which i just accept because i havnt a clue what the colours on the (tetra test 5) kits mean which starting from the left read (2 whites 3 lilacs a green then an orange!
then tonight i go to feed them and some dont look as active as they were the day before and one of my (dont know if its the plec or clown loach but its orange and black striped and suposed to eat the snails) is laid on the bottom breathing dramaticly and on its side i go to move the fish and it swims of ok but later its doing the same thing and realy doesnt look healthy! ive read a few forums and the manuals and cant seem to see any ilnesses on the fish (ie white spots or discolouring) so not sure if i have a problem with the tank and what to do next!!
any help would be greatly appreciated

jon

 

[mark.w.jones]

You are suffering from a case of bad advice from your Local Fish Shop and also from adding too many fish too soon. You really need to get yourself a liquid test kit. The API Freshwater Master Test kit is a god start. Then test your tank for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. In a tank that has finished cycling you will get a 0ppm reading for ammonia and nitrite and less than 30ppm nitrate. If your levels are any higher than this, wich I can almost guarantee they will be, then you need to be doing water changes to dilute the amounts of nasties. 20% every other day is a good benchmark. Keep doing these water changes every other day until your levels of ammonia and nitrate stabilise at 0ppm. In the meantimes read all the pinned articles at the top of this forum and the tropical chit chat one. They are a good starting point.

to TFF by the way

 

[WILDER]

You been given some terrible advice.
Added far to many fish to soon.
Only a few hardy fish to cycle a tank.
Clown loaches shouldn't even be in that size tanks when small need over 60 gallons.
Corys, plec and neons need a mature tank so do the clown loaches.
Take a sample of your tank water to the lfs and tell them to write the readings down for you.
I would do a search on cycling a fish tank.
Also I would increase aeration in the tank and do a water change of 20%.

Jonesyuk beat me to it.
I agree about the lfs I would find a more respectable one.

 

[sycko]

hi all and thanx for the speedy replies!!!
im realy p****d off that my local pet store has sold me all these fish saying they will be fine and my tank is fine!!
all i can do for now is a water change and hope things improve FAST!!! how do i do a water change as i have never done one before! do i use tap water and treat it with the cycle and aqua solutions?
also the guy said the clown loaches would grow to the size of my tank!! what a muppet

 

[Christine1014]

Good luck getting everything straighted out! To do the water changes: the easiest way is to invest in a gravel vacuum -- for a tank your size, you can pick up a small or medium size one for $10, I think (it's been a long time since I bought mine!) Basically, it's a syphon with a wider opening at the end that you dig around in the gravel with and suck up all the nasties that have accumulated (careful; when you're cycling your tank, don't get it *too* clean!). Or even without cleaning, you can just get a nice syphon going, take about 20-30% of your water, and then replace it with tap water, treated with a water conditioner. (Things to look out for: make sure whatever brand you buy does more than just remove chlorine. You want to get one that removes Chlorine, Choramine, AND ammonia --- ammonia is a byproduct of the chemical process that neutralizes the chlorine). Personally, I like Prime, as it can also be used to help reduce nitrates in a pinch.

Good luck; figuring out what the problem is can be half the battle, so you're on your way to getting things fixed!

 

[WILDER]

When you perform a water change get the temp to match the temp of the tank, add your declorinator water conditioner to the bucket of fresh water, and add the cycle thats benefical bacteria to speed things up, but I don't rate it much to be honest.

 

[sycko]

hi all and thanx again for your support!
i have orderd the prime water conditioner from ebay it should be with me in 1 to 2 working days! have i to wait till i get this b4 i do the water change or have i to do one asap with the aqua/cycle liquids i have???
also i only have the heater thats in my tank so how else can i heat the new water up? can i use warm tap water or boil it then cool it?

 

[WILDER]

Some boil water and let it cool down.
All I do is mix cold and warm but not everybody agrees with that method, though never had any problems.

 

[sycko]

thank you!!
water change all done!! around 35-40% water also treated with aqua/cycle liquids i have ordered API Freshwater Master Test Kit For Aquariums
and Seachem Prime 250ml Aquarium Tap Water Conditioner lets just hope the fish suvive till i get these items and hopefull stabalize the water!!
not good news for one of my clown loaches tho!! just found it dead on the bottom and also the rummys had all bright red noses when i bought them and now there is hardly any red lets just hope they improve if they are ill!!!!
once again thanx for all your kind help

jon

 

[WILDER]

Sorry bless him R.I.P.
Couldn't of put a worst tetra in rummy noses very sensitive to ph and with the tank cycling it will be all over the place.
Once they lose there red heads not good news there stressed, fingers crossed.

 

[sycko]

it was a clown loach that had died im still trying to get used to the names!!
i just hope the rummys pull thru! have u any other tips i could benefit from?

 

[bobbicus]

sycko

sent a pm!!

rob

 

[sycko]

hi!!
unfortunatly one of my clown loaches died last night not impressed!!
also i did a %40 water change last night ive just got in from work and done a water sample with the tetra test i got with the tank and these are the reading2 (no3 is 50,no2 is 1,gh is p 91< and all 3 are lilac,kh is p 9 light green and ph is 8.0) i havnt a clue what they mean im still learning. do i need to do a water change tonight?

 

[bobbicus]

read ur message sycko - theres info in the private message - explains the numbers!


really need ammonia reading too

 

[sycko]

hi rob w could i pick you brains for a minute or 2 please?
i have just done a water change again like sugested i noticed my final clown loach is on his way out i think he is going like the others!!
u know when i do the water test with the tetra test do i wait for the dap of paper to dry b4 taking the reading or as its wet?
also the pump i have has a black foam pad in the box along with a white one would it benifit if i had any of these in the pump or is that just to clear medicated water?
also the pump had a nozzle on to increase/reduce the amount of bubbles that it pumps into the water is that important or doesnt it matter much?
thank you

jon