Very Worried About My Fish

[Wanderer]

How are things coming along Wanderer?

Things are good, thank you.

The tanks have been very stable for the last few days since my last posts here....I have my Seachem ammonia alert attached to the sides of each tank, so that I can always see how the ammonia is, and it has been at 0 since.

I have been doing 15% water changes every 2-3 days. I got some Seachem stability to help boost the bacteria, have added a bag of Seachem Purigen to each of the filters.

The fish look very healthy. They are very active and go crazy for their food which I give them every morning, which seems the most natural time of day to feed them as they need to be able to see their food, and are most active. I have noticed that they become much paler in colour at night, and much darker in the morning, which is normal for some fish, and due to their natural biorhythms. Fascinating stuff.

Unfortunately, the couple interested in taking more fish never got back to me; I may have to do some more advertising. I will definitely scale right down when the fish get bigger.

I'm still a bit worried that the glass on the side of my filters could be leaking from the side into the filtered compartment. Putting sealer onto it will be a big job. Both tanks might need it doing. They still seem to be working, but perhaps not as efficient. I will post some pictures soon so that folks get a better idea of what I am describing.

I also have a Seachem PH alert on the side of each tank, however these show the PH to be higher than the strip tests do, so I am not sure how accurate these are. The strip tests put the PH at around 7, and the PH alert gadgets put it at a very bright 8. I did a copper test today too (a liquid one) and the results for this are 0.

 

[fluttermoth]

Don't worry about pH; fish are very tolerant of it, as long as it stays fairly stable, so don't do anything to try and change it!

I would seriously consider getting yourself a standard, four foot tank for your fish, if at all possible. AS long as you move your filter media with the fish, you won't have to worry about cycling the new tank's filter and your fish would be a lot happier. Also, your tanks are on the floor, which means you can't syphon your water out or use a gravel cleaner, which may cause you a lot of hassle as time goes on.

Shame no-one got back to you about rehoming some; it happens *sighs*.

 

[Flute]

Glad to hear things have calmed down a bit for you

What Fluttermoth has advised is a really good idea too- if you have the space, you can get some fantastic deals on second hand tanks and stands

 

[Wanderer]

My filters:

Left tank:

Right tank:

The filter compartment is about 32cm high, 19cm long and 11cm wide. It consists of a first layer of filter wool with a bag of Seachem Purigen underneath. Next are a layer of sponges (2 lying side by side). Next is a good depth layer of ceraic filter media (some are tubes that came with the tank and some are biorb ceramic filter rocks that I added after). After this is another layer of sponges, 2 side by side. The water that comes out underneath this last layer then goes through a UV filter which has been working well for some time (the previous owner had it for around 6 months).

I think that the water is leaking out of the side of the filter into the filtered compartment before it is going through the filter properly.

 

[phoenixgsd]

The nitrites now read 0 on the strip test.

Im a little surprised you dont yet have a proper test kit, i really reccomend you get a liquid based kit ASAP, those strips are very inacurate

 

[Wanderer]

The nitrites now read 0 on the strip test.

Im a little surprised you dont yet have a proper test kit, i really reccomend you get a liquid based kit ASAP, those strips are very inacurate

I've heard that test strips are inaccurate but I don't know any more about this. If they are that awful then I am surprised they are still sold? Liquid tests are much more expensive as separate tests are needed for each thing you want to test as opposed to the 6-in-1 test strips. I only earn minimum wage so I try to get the most cost effective things. If I had a better paid job then it might be a bit more surprising I hadn't purchased some liquid tests.

I am willing to spend a lot, however, on anything that could save my fish's health....when it comes to the actual well-being of the fish then that is different. Everything I've got for them unfortunately has had to go on credit. Unfortunately I don't have the space to get more aquariums as I live in a very small place. I'm not even really supposed to have pets here, lol.

 

[SandraNewbie]

You can pick one up for around £16, they should be replenished roughly Yearly as the chemicals can degrade.