new tank problems - need help !! (with ammonia & guppies)

[BikBok]

tank info: tank is 34L AquaOne AR 380, 2nd hand, but dry when I bought it. I reused the noodles and replaced the sponge and cartridge filter. pH around 7.0 , temp 25oC

previous week .. started tank, cloudiness for first couple of days, a slight odour which disappeared after a few days, a little green sludge on cartridge filter wool .. i guess from the 2nd hand stuff in tank , although i did rinse it all first.

SATURDAY : I had my tank running for a week without any fish and added two guppies.

(Two days before i added them i put in some TLC live bacteria)

The two guppies were dropped by staff member but rebagged and sold to me.

The guppies were not interested in food that day.

Later that evening the male seemed to get very fat and a bit slow , I thought I would lose him overnight but he was ok the next morning and no longer fat.

SUNDAY: We ended up taking the other fish back the next morning after I had a closer look and realised it was a young male and not a female that we were supposed to get. I told them about the fat male so they gave me an extra male for free in case the first one dies. so i now have THREE guppies.

While i was at the store i got my water tested and was told there was ammonia... I'm not sure but I think he said 1 ppm. He sold me some ammo block and told me to put it in the tank when I got home , and do a 50% water change, then a 25% WC the next day.

I used the ammo block but did a 25% change (with stress coat conditioner), not 50% because I have new fishie and didn't want to stress them too much because our tap water is pH 7.8- 8.1 and the tank water is now close to neutral.

The two new guppies after putting in tank, their eyes became very dark/ dilated making the eyes look big. The males eyes returned to normal by nightfall. I got different opinions after googling .. from; the guppys are climatising.. to stress... to sick.

MONDAY: All 3 fish still good and I did a 25% change and added some more TLC live bacteria. Female eys are still big. They are all active and eating well.. on limited food once a day (until i can test for ammonia)

Now here is where I am confused.. I don't have an ammonia test kit but have ordered a Nutrafin one. Was told by one person to do daily changes until I can test for zero ammonia. Another person has said, not to do a water change change because my tank is still cycling.

There is also the question of the ammo-block , has this interfered with the cycle , meaning I have to start over.. but with three fishies!

What do I do next??

I'll try and summarise my questions:

1. Do I continue to do daily water changes until the kit arrives.. (might be another 3-4 days) or shall I stop?

2. Has the ammoblock interfered with the filter establishing? one website says it doesn't but I'm not sure)

3. The reading of ammonia 1ppm , the next day after adding just 2 guppies seems high to me, is that possible?

3. what caused the male to bloat like that but recover next day?

4. Any ideas what is going on with the females eyes.

5. not so important but I'll ask while I'm here... do I need to get another female guppy? Am planning on adding another 4 fish gradually (2 kuhli, bristlenose, maybe a betta) and don't want to overstock the tank. An extra female would bring it to 8 fish. Once ammonia levels are down , when can i add another fish?

Any advice on any of the above queries would be really really welcome. I am very new at this fishkeeping and don't want to lose even just one fish.... especially the first male who is very pretty.

thanks!

[phoenix44]

all of what's going on is pretty normal for a tank that is cycling.

I wouldnt use the ammo lock in this case. its more of an emergency use thing. (say you havent done a wc in a month or more).

AmmoLOCk converts ammonia into a non harmful form, so your test kit will still show the presence of ammonia. it will in no way affect your biological filtration. least its not supposed to.

eye colouration can change sometimes with mood, stress, lighting... sometimes it may appear more vibrant in the evenings.

PS- thank you for a very well informed post. :bounce: :bounce:

[lmsmith]

A water change during cycling will help, not hurt. As long as you have some sort of filter (which you do) 99% of the bacteria are in there; only a tiny tiny amount are in the water itself. You can happily take water out to dilute ammonia or nitrite without disturbing them. You can never to too many water changes as long as you have a good filter and are using good water.

[darkfur]

the bloating of the male sounds like a bit of swelling due to being dropped, but if he's still going he'll most likely be ok

I think you are doing well and really care for your fishies which is the first step in being a great fishkeeper. Make sure you don't overfeed them while the tank is cycling, if there's lots of gunk at the bottom of the tank siphon it out as you change water

[BikBok]

thankyou for the replies!

I will keep doing the water changes untill I know for sure the ammonia levels are down.

It did occur to me that the water I had tested at the petshop was from the bag I carried the little male guppy in , to swap for a female. He would have been in there for about an hour so perhaps that affected the reading also.

All three Guppies are still doing well, and I think my first one is going to be ok !

They are being very lightly fed.

I want to add two kuhlis once I know the water is ok ..

Also , in the future I was hoping to add a betta but am in two minds becuase I think my male guppy might be picked on ... he has a nice tail:

[darkfur]

that's a very nice guppy! I hope you have nice females to breed him with. Try to breed him with females that have a 1/2 black body and preferably a red tail too, although that red is often quite dominant anyway

[Zev]

If you do not want to breed too many fish, I would suggest that you have just male guppies, otherwise you will end up with a severe case of MTS in no time in order to save the fry.

Usually you have a higher ratio of females to male guppies so that they do not get harassed incessantly by the male, I would consider three females to one male a good ratio, but others may have a more informed idea of what works.

Looks like we will have to have a AR380 aquascaping competition soon, there seems to be a few of them turning up, mine is blue and I hate the colour, as with yours it was a second hand acquisition, complete with blue glass chip substrate as well!

[BikBok]

My AR380 is purple but I don't mind the colour, I'll post a pic once it is fully setup . I added driftwood today and will put in a plant soon.

Have decided a Betta might be better in it's own small tank, so have to research what will suit him.

So I should be able to add an extra female guppy or two without the betta. My present female has found a little cave in the ornamental rock mountain and she goes in there from time to time without the boys chasing her.

I'm not too concerned about saving all the fry, they will get eaten , that's life ! But I don't understand the "MTS" reference (Malaysian trumpet snails?) and how it relates to baby guppies?

[Adrienne]

mts - multiple tank syndrome - cause fish that breed rapidly or the ooh thats nice, I need it attitude. More fish, more tanks = mts :roll:

[aaron11]

listen to adodge she knows all about fish

I have 3 tanks one communtiy one with guppies, and one for the guppy fry

be prepared to get another one if you have girls and boys they breed like wildfire

your male is very nice looks like a red tuxedo one to me, i had one like that but he died waaa

i have about 80 guppie babies at the moment and the poor things are only in a 22 litre tank so they will go to the pet store i keep the good ones lol

guppies are lovely fish i had ammonia problems too just keep changin the water small tank is easy to change

PS dont do what i do and get sucked in to feeding them all the time they will trick u and make out they are hungry :lol: :bounce:

[BikBok]

Thanks Aaron

Well i did use a little pH down before I had any fish and haven't put any more in since. The water seems to have Stabilised and is bang on 7.0 and I am testing every 2nd day at the moment.

My tap water is closer to 8 so it will probably come up a bit with water changes but at least it will be gradual. Driftwood is now in the tank also and a plant is beign added tonight.

Finally got an ammonia test kit today (hagen nutrafin) and I still have a little ammonia , even though I've been doing 15-25% water changes every day.

The ammonia is just under 1ppm from what I can tell, but includes total ammonia . pH is 7.0 and if I'm understanding this right, it is not at a serious toxic level as free ammonia will be less than 0.01 . Can someone please confirm.

Aaron .. that's a lot of guppies in a small tank, how often do you need to waterchange?

I will no doubt end up with babies at some point. I'm not actively going to try and save them but there's bound to be a few surviviors until I can find a new home for the extras. (our local pet store said they could take them).

[aaron11]

bik i do once a 1-2 a week its only for the babies some will be going to the pet store when i ring them if they want them man they are hard to catch the ones you want to keep

keep donig the water changes

i only use water for my fish sometimes some of that stuff i forget what its called and thats it

i dont even own an ammonia test kitt yet !!!! but i must get one of those master test kitts i keep forgetting or something else comes up hahaha and like u i got my tank second hand good way to save money !!!!!!

[Caper]

As aaron said, keep doing the water changes. The goal is to have your ammonia reading 0.

Caper

[Caryl]

I hope you have stopped using the Ammolock as it will stuff up your ammonia readings and slow down the cycle. It is not necessary if you set the tank up correctly and do regular water changes.

[BikBok]

i only used the ammonia lock that one time, when I was adding the two new guppies to the tank. I have done daily water changes since then so most of it will be gone by now I hope.

The plant is beign enjoyed by the guppies - they love it!

[aaron11]

dont worry we all learn from mistakes pet stores will sell you anything

somethings u need the test kitt is a good thing to get :bounce:

its hard to knock off a guppy !

[BikBok]

I took some water into the petshop today and they tested and said everythign was fine...pH 7.0 , and the ammonai levels etc next to nothing. She said it was near on perfect so that was really good to hear!

I bought two kuhli home (so cute) and they are climatising in the bag as I write this.

I took a photo, in case I don't see them again for ages!

[aaron11]

oh neat they are nice, make sure you dont get too many more for a while and keep checking your ammonia levels and water changes

:bounce:

[BikBok]

thanks Aaron

Yes I will keep checking levels every few days for a while yet, and won't be getting any more fish for a few weeks.

(just want a bristlenose and that will be it for some time)

One of the kuhlis is quite brave and is exploring evrything , the other is in the cave but not burrowed under.

Disocvered some little trumpet snails were in the bag with them (came with the little bit of gravel that got scooped up) ... good or not?

[aaron11]

most ppl hate snails, i have them in my baby tank with the ton of guppies, BUT if you like them leave them in, they also spread too that tank you have is small? all you have to do once a week 25 precent water with a gravel cleaner, clean the glass rince out the filter in the water from the tank every few weeks and boom should be no problems

i just do mine when i feel like it now or they look like they need it I learnt my lesson from over feeding

i have bred some nice blonde guppies and some tux ones with amazing tails this lot dont look as nice for some reason lol