Well I F'ed that up!

[nomaddan]

Well here is my sad story. I decided I wanted to get some pirahna. I had some when I was younger and they did fine until my Mom turned the heat up way too high and boild them. Anyway, I went and got a tank w/all off the fixings. 2 days after setting it up I went out and bought some plecos. I figured I had atleast a week before the pirahnas arrived since I had to mail order them so I waited a few more days to place the order. the website said they only ship on Tuesdays and Thursdays. So the maths works out...Order Friday, card doesn't clear till Tuesday so fish don't ship until Thursday Right? Wrong! I order my fish from the over achiever! He sends my fish the day I placed the order. So, come home from work on Monday morning(I work nights) and what pray tell is sitting on my doorstep, you guessed it, a box of fish! So now I am a week ahead of schedule, I have a practically brand new tank and 4 Pirahna in a box. Well, in go all of the fish with in 3-4 days of each other. I mean what choice do I have.

Bored Yet?

Here is my problem. My ammonia is through the freaking roof I have 7 fish (4 that make one heck of a mess when they eat) all crapping in my brand new tank! I can't get my Ph right and my ammonia is so I high I can almost smell it when I walk into the room(slight exageration, but you know what I mean). So far I have been lucky and only lost one of my plecos. The fish seem to be doing fine. Maybe I'm the only one stressed.

Well, if you have made it this far I would love some advice! Thanks for listening to me ramble. Oh yeah, I also have 3 live plants...should I get more?

 

[Tolak]

See if you have a friend with a tank, or a helpful lfs that you can get some mature gravel from to help get the tank cycling. If you can get someone with a mature filter to let you squeeze some of the bacterial goop into your filter that would help big time. Definite 20% water changes daily until the tank is cycled.

What size tank & what kind of filters do you have? With that kind of fish load, double the normal filtration is a must. Another advantage to double filtration is if (when) you get another tank, you already have a cycled filter ready to go.

Tolak

 

[nomaddan]

If you can get someone with a mature filter to let you squeeze some of the bacterial goop into your filter that would help big time.

Who would have thought I woul dhave to go around begging for filter crud. YUM!

Thanks! for the advice.

I am only running a 20g right know, but all of my fish are around an inch. I was planning on upgrading them in about 6 - 8 months. the plecos are a little larger than that but I was told the plecos would grow kind of slowly and the Red bellies shouldn't grow too fast in that time (I hope).

Am I off base on the growing time. I was remembering back to my old setup. Of course that was about 15 years ago.

 

[sylvia]

20 gallons!!! Take the pleco back. If you are going to upgrade - get a tank of at least 200 gallons for those 4 piranhas. I suspect your old fish didn't live particularly long when you had them in a 20 before but you said they got boiled . I would actualy say it's much more realistic to give those piranhas back and get yourself some colorful, beautiful commuity fish that wont outgrow their current tank... (if you do, don't get any large plecos - a bristlenose is a smaller option - and don't fall for the huge clown loaches )

 

[nomaddan]

get a tank of at least 200 gallons for those 4 piranhas. I suspect your old fish didn't live particularly long when you had them in a 20 before but you said they got boiled .

OK, I am going to upgrade as my fish grow. I was told plecs grow kind of slow if that is not the case I will handle it. As far as the pirahnas the common theme seems to be 15 - 20 gallons per adult so the largest tank I will need is 60 -80g. I will probably go for 150 or something like that. The problem with doing it all at once is the $$. If I clould have dropped a grand on a large tank I would have. Anyway, 100g tank for what right now is 11 inches of fish total seems excessive.

I am not some 15 year old kid who wants to impress my friends. I had my boiled pirahna for about 1.5 years before leaving them in my mom care for a week while I was away.

What I really need is some help getting my tank cycling.

Thanks for the concern of my fish and any advice given.

 

[kev_kb]

OK, I am going to upgrade as my fish grow.

Just make sure you do it as quickly as you can, or you could end up with 7 stunted fish...

As far as cycling goes, get some filter media and gravel from an established tank and put it in yours. Also do as many water changes as needed to keep the levels down, I try to keep to 0.5ppm max when cycling with fish.

 

[yvez9]

Won't piranhas eat each other if they run out of space?

I know I had a friend who kept 2 piranhas in a very dirty tank and one ate the other after a few months, i think it was a 20 gallon...

anywya, I wouldn't keep piranhas, they look dirty

 

[nomaddan]

Won't piranhas eat each other if they run out of space?

I know I had a friend who kept 2 piranhas in a very dirty tank and one ate the other after a few months, i think it was a 20 gallon...

anywya, I wouldn't keep piranhas, they look dirty

Pirahnas will turn on each other if they run out of space or if they are not fed properly. the key is keeping an eye on them and being involved with them daily. If you start to see them picking on one another something is up and its time to figure it out. As far as them being messy, they are. Thats why I have the three plecos and a red clawed crab. The bottom aof the tank is almost spottless when I check on them in the morning. Its a great way to tell if you are overfeeding. If the bottom feeders can't keep up or there large chunks of remains left then you need to cut back on your food.

 

[sylvia]

I suggested returning the plecos because they grow too large and are also very dirty. I'm also unsure of how the piranhas will treat the plecos once they get larger and plecos are territorial and only one should be kept per tank - especialy in such a small one. Even in the tank you plan to upgrade to, all your plecos cannot be kept together. I am very much against keeping fish in a small tank with 'plans to upgrade as fish get larger'. If you want large fish - get a suitable home from the start. It may well be true that 20 gallons per piranha is the suggested amount but piranhas grow to 12 inches. I doubt one could even turn around, let alone swim, in a 20 gallon tank and I'm sure they would appreciate the largest tank possible considering their size and the environment they originaly come from. Also, a larger tank is better for messy fish, more stable and I would add two more piranhas of a similar size when you do decide to up-grade as they do better in groups. I still stand by my suggestion of getting a peaceful community for your 20 gallon instead. At least until you can get the large tank that is necessary for your current fish. Please return the plecos either way though.

 

[blue_ram]

Combination of FAST growing live plants and bio-spira (marineland) should should reduce your ammonia levels significantly...provided that Plecos leave the plants alone. If not, just float them.

 

[Matty]

I would be adding biospira, live plants and cycled filter media like mad to get that tank cycled...as for your pH problem, driftwood lowers it alot and looks good.

 

[nomaddan]

I suggested returning the plecos because they grow too large and are also very dirty. I'm also unsure of how the piranhas will treat the plecos once they get larger and plecos are territorial and only one should be kept per tank - especialy in such a small one. Even in the tank you plan to upgrade to, all your plecos cannot be kept together. I am very much against keeping fish in a small tank with 'plans to upgrade as fish get larger'. If you want large fish - get a suitable home from the start. It may well be true that 20 gallons per piranha is the suggested amount but piranhas grow to 12 inches. I doubt one could even turn around, let alone swim, in a 20 gallon tank and I'm sure they would appreciate the largest tank possible considering their size and the environment they originaly come from. Also, a larger tank is better for messy fish, more stable and I would add two more piranhas of a similar size when you do decide to up-grade as they do better in groups. I still stand by my suggestion of getting a peaceful community for your 20 gallon instead. At least until you can get the large tank that is necessary for your current fish. Please return the plecos either way though.

Sylvia,

I understand your concerns about the tank size. I really cant do anything about that right now. As of now the fish are small enough to stay where they are and I am already collecting the pieces for a larger tank. AS far as the plecs getting picked on, I watch for that everyday and the have tons of places to hide. I am grateful for your concern.

 

[nomaddan]

The good news is my ammonia is down to about .5ppm and dropping. The fish are all eating and looking good. Hopefully things are moving in the right direction. As I said before I really do appreciate everyones advice. I did as much as I could. My local Petco guy gave me some gravel out of their Pleco tank and that along with the water changes is helping I think.

Thanks alot!

 

[dothedew]

You understand that the stuff that the plecs eat just goes in one end and out the other, right? Matter doesn't just disappear when it's digested. Plecos don't make waste go away, they just change the form of it.