Random Questions

[Shay]

These are just questions I can't find the answer for.

1. Is fish tuberculosis common? And is it easily transmitted to humans? This really makes me worried when my fish are sick and I can't enjoy them when I'm paranoid. A personality flaw of mine, lol.

2. Also, I have almost two inches of gravel in my aquarium and I know it's only recommended to use 1/4 an inch. So do I need to remove some of my gravel? And if so, how do I keep my fake plants in place? It's hard to keep the stands (?) from view. But I think it could be my problem with nitrites.

3. Does the degree of quality in fish foods vary a lot in brands? Are there certain once that a particularly better? And what are the differences in quality and ease of feeding with flakes or pellets or freeze-dried, etc. food?

4. What water changes are recommended for a 10-gallon aquarium? Is there a drastic difference for the better doing about two water changes a week compared to one every two weeks?

5. Is it really worth getting a twenty- or thirty-gallon tank to replace your ten-gallon (easier to manage water changes, etc)?

6. Another food question: How is the best way to feed (in my case, three) fish and make sure they all get some without all the waste (food falling to the bottom)? And how's the best way to get rid of the food that does settle into the gravel?

7. When changing water in a heated aquarium (e.g. eighty degrees f) and the room temperature is 75-82 degrees f, how do you bring the water up to 80 degrees to avoid the sudden temperature change? Not sure how to ask this question better.

8. If you get a contagious disease, such as a bacterial infection (or tuberculosis) or parasites, do you have to discard you biological wheel or filter? Or can you disinfect them? For now, I don't need to do this or anything. Just so I know in case I do.

9. Along with the question above, with nets or pythons or siphon tubes, etc., is leaving them to dry thoroughly enough when fish are sick (illnesses listed above) or do they need to be disinfected or discarded?

Sorry for all the questions, but I needed a place to put them out there, just to ease my mind. I wanted to ask them all at once (except for my current need for a diagnoses in the other topic I started) and I appreciate anyone's thoughts.

 

[Koda]

Sorry for all the questions, but I needed a place to put them out there, just to ease my mind. I wanted to ask them all at once (except for my current need for a diagnoses in the other topic I started) and I appreciate anyone's thoughts.

Well....my thoughts are that while these are all good questions they really don't add up to an emergency.Maybe you'd do better to put them in the Beginners Questions area of the site.That's what I do when I can't find answers

Koda

 

[cutechic]

1. Is fish tuberculosis common? And is it easily transmitted to humans? This really makes me worried when my fish are sick and I can't enjoy them when I'm paranoid. A personality flaw of mine, lol.

It is rare, but can be transmitted to humans (I don't know how easily). As long as you don't stick your hands in the tank with open cuts/ sores when your fish have TB, and you wash your hands after doing fish stuff, you'll be fine.

2. Also, I have almost two inches of gravel in my aquarium and I know it's only recommended to use 1/4 an inch. So do I need to remove some of my gravel? And if so, how do I keep my fake plants in place? It's hard to keep the stands (?) from view. But I think it could be my problem with nitrites.

I've got 2 inches of gravel in my planted tank, and it is fine. The main concern is having a thick level of sand because it is denser, and anaerobic bacteria can build up. However, gravel is larger and should not be a problem because the water can circulate better.

3. Does the degree of quality in fish foods vary a lot in brands? Are there certain once that a particularly better? And what are the differences in quality and ease of feeding with flakes or pellets or freeze-dried, etc. food?

I think so. Hikari makes wonderful fish foods, specially formatted for each type of fish. TetraMin is another good brand. The main difference is in the number of nutrients vs fillers, I think. Live and frozen foods are best, followed by flakes/pellets/wafers. Freeze-dried foods often lack in nutrition and can cause digestion problems.

4. What water changes are recommended for a 10-gallon aquarium? Is there a drastic difference for the better doing about two water changes a week compared to one every two weeks?

Depending on how stocked your tank is, the filtration, and whether you keep live plants, once a week to once every 2 weeks should be fine. You should test your nitrates weekly for the first little while; if they reach above 40 ppm, it usually indicates that it is time for a water change.

5. Is it really worth getting a twenty- or thirty-gallon tank to replace your ten-gallon (easier to manage water changes, etc)?

Definitely. In addition to it being easier to maintain, you can keep more/bigger fish and plants, and there are less water parameter and temperature flucuations.

6. Another food question: How is the best way to feed (in my case, three) fish and make sure they all get some without all the waste (food falling to the bottom)? And how's the best way to get rid of the food that does settle into the gravel?

Feed small amounts 2-3 times a day, only what your fish can eat before it falls to the bottom. To get rid of fallen food, you should siphon your gravel.

7. When changing water in a heated aquarium (e.g. eighty degrees f) and the room temperature is 75-82 degrees f, how do you bring the water up to 80 degrees to avoid the sudden temperature change? Not sure how to ask this question better.

Just turn the tap nozzels, stick the temperature in the bucket (or whatever you use to transfer the tap water to the tank), and adjust the tap nozzels accordingly. I think that is what you meant by the question

8. If you get a contagious disease, such as a bacterial infection (or tuberculosis) or parasites, do you have to discard you biological wheel or filter? Or can you disinfect them? For now, I don't need to do this or anything. Just so I know in case I do.

No, you should never need to discard the biological wheel. I don't think either needs disinfecting, either, because once you add meds to the tank to cure the fish, the parasites on the filter bed should die as well. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

9. Along with the question above, with nets or pythons or siphon tubes, etc., is leaving them to dry thoroughly enough when fish are sick (illnesses listed above) or do they need to be disinfected or discarded?

I don't do anything with my siphons after a fish has had an illness. My siphon is the kind you suck, so I don't need to worry about it infecting the tank, since the only time I'm using it is when I'm taking water out of the tank. With pythons, I don't think it is a big concern, but you could use a mild bleach solution and rinse the siphon thoroughly with hot water after to remove the traces of bleach.

HTH

 

[Shay]

Oh I am so sorry. I intended on posting this in the other thread, but I had this one open. I don't know how to move threads.

cutechic thank you for the reply. I appreciate it.

Koda, does your betta and platy get along? No fin nipping?

 

[Ron]

Wow, cutechic!!!

I give you a round of applause for those wonderful, and long answers! It must've taken some time!!!

 

[cutechic]

) It was no trouble- I'm happy to help.

Shay: Hopefully a mod will see this thread and move it to the appropriate forum. I know your question was directed at Koda, but I hope you don't mind if I answer it as well.

I've had one betta who got along well with platies- fin nipping on both sides was minimal. On the other hand, one of my more aggressive bettas terrorized the platies so much that I had to remove him before things got more serious. It really all depends on how aggressive your fish are.

 

[Koda]

Koda, does your betta and platy get along? No fin nipping?

I've had to do a bit of mix and match with the bettas and platies.Originally I had some females in with a few platies.But I noticed that the younger females were getting their tails nipped so I moved them.I have them now in individual containers to get a good start on mending the tails.I also noticed that one platie was doing most of the chasing and was bothering all the other fish.So I put him in with my male betta in a 10g.I kept a close eye on them and after some initial flaring and chasing they seem to have accepted each other.I now have one female betta in with three platies,and one platie in with the male.Everyone seems to be getting along.I may set up another tank for the younger females or work out some other arrangement.As cutechick says,it seems to depend on the fish.Some are more aggressive and some are more easygoing.I am glad she was able to help with your other questions as well

Koda

 

[Shay]

Yeah, the platies and bettas in the store don't seem to get along, so I just wondered. Thanks.