Tank Is Very Unwell- How To Fix?

[philb]

Ive had my tank set up for a year, but the tank has become a little murky and algae has started to fom on the tank walls!

Do i try and sort this tank out, or set up a new tank and transfer my fish to this?

The tank is fairly small, a 25l and im looking at getting a 60-80l tank, but would prefer to sort my original first and then set up the new one after!

The main problem is,

I cant just restart the tank, as the fish will have nowhere to go (2 zebra danios, 2 female guppies, 1 male, and 20 fry!!)And will need time for cycling.

So how van i sort my tank with losing the fish?

Is a complete water and gravel change possible, just keeping the same filter medium, or will the levels kill the fish?

 

[Durbkat]

How many gallons is the tank and is the water white cloudy or green? You shouldn't have to do anything except maybe do a 15% water change like every couple days to help keep it under control. Also what color is the algae you could get a couple of ottos to help control the algae?

 

[paulthegreat]

You need to do a 30-40% water change every week and scrape the insides of the glass with a razor or a NEW white-scrub sponge that you have rinsed well(keep it seperate only for fish-tank use). Not a green scrub sponge!! They can scratch your tank!!! Even a wash cloth that has been rinsed out several times to keep out the laundry soap can help to clean off the algea. You do not have enough room in your tank to put in an algea eater. Try to keep you lighting at 10-12 hours a day. A timer can be used so that you can watch the fish when you are at home. Try to give them a regular day/night cycle.

 

[philb]

my tank is 25l- 5gallon

The algae is green coloured, but is mainly on the tank sides

By scraping the algae of will it not just float around in the water?

Also i have rocks in the bottom of the tank, im thinking of taking them out and replacing the gravel, or will this not be benefical, as the rocks have algae also??

Any advice??

I dont really want anymore fish as i have baby guppy fry in there!!

 

[WILDER]

Is there anyway you can get the lfs to take the baby fry as it massively overstocked with them in, really you should only have 3 guppys in there, and that's size tank is to small for them as they are very active fish, you won't get rid of the algae and cloudiness till you get your stock down, what filter are you using and with the tank being so small i would recommend maintaining it twice a week.

 

[Durbkat]

Why do you have so many fish in a 5g? Those zebra danios will need to be rehomed to at least a 20g long or a 10g long (if they make them) because danios like to go fast and they need enough length to do so. Also unless the fry are big enough the other fish will eat them. When you scrap the algae off the filter should suck it up. No need to replace the gravel just take it out and put it into a plastic ziplock bag and rinse the gravel under some water and pour the water out of the bag and return the gravel to the tank. Also I think you could get 1 otto to eat the algae for you. But I would start getting a tank really soon to rehome the fish and when you get the new tank just put the filter media from the old tank into the new filter on the new tank and put the fish in it.

 

[kris-b-]

Why do you have so many fish in a 5g? Those zebra danios will need to be rehomed to at least a 20g long or a 10g long (if they make them) because danios like to go fast and they need enough length to do so. Also unless the fry are big enough the other fish will eat them. When you scrap the algae off the filter should suck it up. No need to replace the gravel just take it out and put it into a plastic ziplock bag and rinse the gravel under some water and pour the water out of the bag and return the gravel to the tank. Also I think you could get 1 otto to eat the algae for you. But I would start getting a tank really soon to rehome the fish and when you get the new tank just put the filter media from the old tank into the new filter on the new tank and put the fish in it.

Please don't encourage them to get any more fish. They are massively overstocked in such a small tank as it is, think of the bio load in there and hence the green algae. Adding more fish will only make matters worse. Don't ottos need to be in a small group anyway?

 

[Bryan1957]

Why do you have so many fish in a 5g? Those zebra danios will need to be rehomed to at least a 20g long or a 10g long (if they make them) because danios like to go fast and they need enough length to do so. [snip] I think you could get 1 otto to eat the algae for you. But I would start getting a tank really soon to rehome the fish and when you get the new tank just put the filter media from the old tank into the new filter on the new tank and put the fish in it.

Please don't encourage them to get any more fish. They are massively overstocked in such a small tank as it is, think of the bio load in there and hence the green algae. Adding more fish will only make matters worse. Don't ottos need to be in a small group anyway?

Yes, ottos should be kept in groups of at least 3 and in nothing smaller than a 10 gallon tank. The zebra danios should be in larger groups, also. The tank is definately overstocked. You should get a larger tank as soon as possible to rehome some of the fish you have. You can't keep the water correct with the fish you now have since the tank is way overstocked. A tank as small as yours should really be used for something other than active fish, I use mine as quarantine tanks or maternity tanks. You might be able to clone a new tank with some bacteria from your existing tank. I would suggest trying to squeeze some water from the filter media in your old tank on a new filter media in a larger tank and adding ammonia. If you have a decoration from your old tank you could add that, also. Follow the instructions for a fishless cycle using ammonia and testing the water with a master test kit. The bacteria from the old filter should begin the cycling process quickly if you do it correctly. You might be able to have a new tank cycled within two weeks. Until then perform daily small water changes.
Bryan

 

[Durbkat]

Sorry I mean to say once you rehome most of the fish then you should get some ottos. But now since I've just found out that they need a 10g nvm.

 

[kris-b-]

lol

 

[philb]

Well i wasny intendin to have that many fish, but the females had one fry each that survived, so i thought well, they will be ok until they get a little larger!

And then suddenly a new batch appeared, like 10 in one go!! So i am now a bit stuck!!

I think i am going to replace the gravel as it is very dirty and wont clean that well. Also check my filter and change about 25% water?

Will this be ok?

How would a new tank take 2 weeks to cycle, if i used some of my old fileter medium? Would this be alot quicker? But if i did do this then i wouldnt have any in my old tank!

Im planning on gettin a JUWEL 80, so 80l tank to put all the adults in, and use the old tank as a maturing tank for the fry, until there big enough for the larger tank!!

OK??

 

[Bryan1957]

Well i wasny intendin to have that many fish, but the females had one fry each that survived, so i thought well, they will be ok until they get a little larger!

And then suddenly a new batch appeared, like 10 in one go!! So i am now a bit stuck!!

I think i am going to replace the gravel as it is very dirty and wont clean that well. Also check my filter and change about 25% water?

Will this be ok?

How would a new tank take 2 weeks to cycle, if i used some of my old fileter medium? Would this be alot quicker? But if i did do this then i wouldnt have any in my old tank!

Im planning on gettin a JUWEL 80, so 80l tank to put all the adults in, and use the old tank as a maturing tank for the fry, until there big enough for the larger tank!!

OK??

You don't actually use the old medium in the new tank, you take some of the bacteria from the old medium and put it on the new medium. You then put the old back in the original filter and begin using the new filter in the new tank. The bacteria will be introduced in the new tank from the old tank and grow quickly.
Bryan

 

[philb]

Ok, well that makes more sense!

Will using new gravel effect the levels in the tank?

And should i put back in the water i have removed, not brand new water? Made 75% old water, and 25% new water??

Also would cleaning algae form the rocks, do anything major?

 

[Durbkat]

Media not medium

 

[philb]

Will using new gravel effect the levels in the tank?

And should i put back in the water i have removed, not brand new water? Made 75% old water, and 25% new water??

Also would cleaning algae form the rocks, do anything major?