boxxy Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hey - Ill start off by introducing my self - I've just started my foray into fishkeeping. Ive got a 3ft tank, aqua one cf 1200, 300w aqua one heater not much of a lighting system yet (currently being built). have read into and kind of understand the idea of cycling. SOoo im 4 days into my tank, have 6 black tetras and 8 glowlights (they were the cheapest and i like them more than guppys) in the tank starting up the cycle, ive tested PH (7.2) and Nitrate is not really showing (.25 maybe) dont have any other test kits yet. I got home for lunch and one of the black tetras had half burried itself in the subtrate and wasnt looking too flash, got him out and he kept floating to the top of the tank butt first, and swimming straight down / in a circle and then got sucked against the filter so i put him in a floating container incase he gave the other guys anything!! Ive just done a 20l water change as i had naf all dechlorinator left (dont ask) all the other fish look happy as larry. Ive hopefully attatched a photo of the sickky to see if anyone can help - hes still swimming round a bit so dont really want to pass him through the big white ceramic gate yet. Also have a querie about water changes - to keep the temp a bit more stable is hot tap water, or boiled water poured into the bucket of cold a better idea?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 If possible I would either get a ammonia test kit and a Nitrite test kit so you can test these daily until your tank is cycled or take a sample to your LFS and ask them to test for you, it is possible you have started to have an ammonia spike. Is your water cloudy at all or clear? The advice I received here when I had high ammonia was a 50% water change daily until there is no more ammonia reading, after the ammonia spike comes the Nitrite spike and that means yet more daily water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi boxxy. Welcome to the forums. :bounce: I agree with bedazzled. When I'm doing water changes to a tank that has an unwell or sensitive fish in it I warm the water in buckets by adding a little hot water from the tap. If the tank is well established and the occupants are healthy I just use cold water straight from the garden hose. We're spoiled in Christchurch and don't need to use a de-chlorinater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Hi boxxy. Welcome to the forums. :bounce: I agree with bedazzled. When I'm doing water changes to a tank that has an unwell or sensitive fish in it I warm the water in buckets by adding a little hot water from the tap. If the tank is well established and the occupants are healthy I just use cold water straight from the garden hose. We're spoiled in Christchurch and don't need to use a de-chlorinater. lol I was hoping I was giving the right advice Mark :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 Spot on I'd say 8) Nothing beats a good water change :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxxy Posted August 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 cool, i will hopefully get to the lfs tomorrow and get the other 2 test kits (are some beter than others?), and some more conditioner so i can do (and keep doing) a decent water change as for my first casualty am i better send him to the fishy gods, or is it worth keeping him floating round (ive changed the water and will do again in the morning) in his gladware house in the hope he'll get better :-? also whats the deal with airation?? i dont have any plants yet nor an air pump, so have put the outlet a little above the surface so its puts some bubbles in there but the constant "Wee" noise is annoying the flatties Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bedazzled Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 An air pump is not a necessity I would keep ya little sick guy in his special house and see how he goes, if he is really sick an you think he is suffering then perhaps it would be better to put him out of his misery though As for test kits, I have been told that the liquid kits are better than the paper strip kind but perhaps it is just more personal preference Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 13, 2008 Report Share Posted August 13, 2008 All you need is surface disturbance, e.g. a filter moving water on the surface, or an air pump (which pulls water to the surface). Not having surface water moving lowers the oxygen content of the water, meaning the fish can't breathe essentially. You don't really need dechlorinator for water changes of 33% or less (for larger changes e.g.50% I do), Wellington water is fine as is. If you want to then all good, better safe than sorry, but don't let it stop you from doing water changes if ammonia or nitrite is high. Nitrate is actually something you don't really need to test for. Its nice to know but the serious ones are ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia usually results in fish having trouble breathing because it burns their gills, sometimes this damage is permanent. Nitrite (which comes after the ammonia spike in the cycle) usually results in nitrite poisioning which can cause sudden death (did for me last time I had an issue, lost a LOT of fish). Its all part of the cycle process. Once its over the tank is what is known as 'matured'. With your filter (good choice) on a tank that size, once this is over you will have an awesome setup pH in your tank should settle between 7 and 7.5. Unless you've got an African cichlid setup, I wouldn't try making any changes to this. For small changes (10-20%) I usually use cold water. But for larger changes, delicate fish, or sick fish, I add a bit of water from the hot water tap (jug is better if you dont mind, but hot tap is fine) to each bucket, then used the finger test to make sure it was about the right temp (its very easy to make the water too hot, so always check this). Also check your temp. The setting on the heater is never accurate (some of mine were out by 3-4 degrees often). Try and set it to 25-26 degrees (using an aquarium thermometer to check). With the innacuracy of aquarium meters, this is a safe bet. Up to you what you do with the black neon. I always feel sorry for them and try to let nature take its course, but the smarter thing to do was just put it out of its mysery. p.s. dont flush down loo though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxxy Posted August 14, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2008 i woke up this morning and he had made his way to fishy heaven didnt get to the lfs to get the test kits, every one else seems to be ok and seem to be pretty active and normal, but have just done another 30l change to be safe. ive got the temp at a steady 26 which was a stab in the dark and its working - your right about the heaters! its set to 28.5 deg to keep it good fingers crossed they stay happy chappys!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 You didn't get them from Animalz Miramar did you? If you're the guy I caught them for they do have a 10-day guarantee and while it may have been your tank and not a bung fish it I don't mind (not my money :lol:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindy500 Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 You didn't get them from Animalz Miramar did you? If you're the guy I caught them for they do have a 10-day guarantee and while it may have been your tank and not a bung fish it I don't mind (not my money :lol:) mirimar has a fish shop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted August 15, 2008 Report Share Posted August 15, 2008 mirimar has a fish shop? Animalz is a chain of vets that also have pet centres. One in Johnsonville and one in petone as well Petone is known for its rare fish selection at times, including rare plecs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fenriswolf Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Note though that while Miramar and Petone are part of the same chain (with Khandallah Vet, previously AllVet) we are not part of the Animalz group any more. So we have nothing to do with J/Ville etc etc. We (Miramar) have a teeny fish section with a 7 tanks of comets/fantails etc and 6 tanks of various tropicals. Our boss wants to add marine though, which I'm very dodgy about but once he gets an idea in his head he doesn't really listen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boxxy Posted August 16, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 Yup that was me!! im not too worried about it as i am cycling with them, oh and the oddball still has no stripe ive had no more fatalities, so fingers crossed :bounce: also, just checked the tank and the ammonia level was about .125 and same for the nitrite, which is ok yea?? Cant wait till i can have more fishies!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkLB Posted August 16, 2008 Report Share Posted August 16, 2008 It sounds as if the Ammonia spike is almost over with. The best ammonia level to have is 0.00. I'd do a water change to bring it down a bit. A little Nitrite at this stage is OK because it proves the bacteria is doing its job on the Ammonia. Keep your eye on it though and don't let it get much higher. Eventually you want this down to 0.00 also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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