Tank Trouble

[jcabs100]

So I have a 20 gallon tank w. 8 neon tetra 3 mollies which I am returning on saturday 1 betta 2 plecos 6 cory cats I'm gonna move these guys into a 100 gallon tank as soon as I get the money but I have one neon tetra that's not swimming properly and I the others are just hiding in my bettas territory fortunately my betta doesn't mind but I'm worried about that neon what do I do and what can I put in my tank also I feed my fish everyday at 6.30 am is that to early because I don't have time during the day so I do before I leave to work please help thanks in advance

 

[creeker]

How long has your tank been set up? Is it cycled? Do you have a test kit for the water parameters? If so post the test results.

 

[jcabs100]

well the neon died...my tank is not cycled and its been set up for about a month now i took a sample of my water to the local pet store and they said the the water was fine they said the ammonia was just a very tiny bit high but nothing to worry about

 

[Dieses Madchen]

well the neon died...my tank is not cycled and its been set up for about a month now i took a sample of my water to the local pet store and they said the the water was fine they said the ammonia was just a very tiny bit high but nothing to worry about

What is a "tiny bit high?" .25ppm is toxic and can kill your fish. You need to do a water change and invest in a liquid test kit (strips are notoriously inaugurate) I recommend the API master test kit personally as I never have issues with it.

 

[jcabs100]

she said it wasn't high to the point where its gonna be lethal it was probably 1 point off what its suppose to be but your right im gonna get a test kit this saturday how often should i test the water

she said it wasn't high to the point where its gonna be lethal it was probably 1 point off what its suppose to be but your right im gonna get a test kit this saturday how often should i test the water

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Test it everyday. And IMO you should get exact numbers from the LFS. Most of time, the LFS workers are not experts in the field, If I had a dollar for every bit of bad advice I got from the LFS> I could twice replace the fish I lost due to that bad advice.

 

[jcabs100]

i will do that thank you for the advice

 

[mike455555]

my LFS know what there on about most of the time. iv learnt a lot from them, but i guess it varys from LFS to LFS

 

[Dieses Madchen]

my LFS know what there on about most of the time. iv learnt a lot from them, but i guess it varys from LFS to LFS

There are two near me that I will not ask about fish. Their employees are incompetant and their advice singly handedly killed almost every fish in my tank (i know better now...chemcial pH alteration is a baaad idea) but there is another that is about 45 minutes away, and they are worth the drive, as it is locally run by fish hobbyists.

I will generally "quiz" an LFS before I take anything they say. I will try to play dumb to find out what they know, and see how many wrong answers I get. If they tell me a tiger oscar is going to flourish in a 10g tank, then I am going to turn around and walk away. If they recomment a fishless cycle, and encourage me to put my betta in a 5g tank with a filter and heater, then I will actually stop and fish them for answers to harder questions.

I probably shouldn't have said don't listen to the LFS. I should have said MOST, and not all of them. There are some good ones out there, but they are overshadowed by all of the bad ones.