Advice to a beginner please.

[Godly3vil]

Make sure you are not feeding them too much, only feed a max of once per day at the moment while your still cycling.

[padge]

Ok noted,

[Adrienne]

Do you have test kits to test the water or do you have a shop that you could take a water sample in to to be tested?

A white slick on the surface suggests not enough water movement but something is fueling the slick. Possibly too much waste food. It normally takes between 7-21 days for a tank to cycle and a tank your size with those fish in should take longer than 7 days however fish coming up denotes a lack of oxygen in the water caused normally by ammonia or nitrites. This damages their gills and sometimes the damage is permanent.

[Fenriswolf]

I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure you don't need to panick too much about flow so long as it's not a river. I had a betta who loved swimming in his bubble wall and that will certainly increase movement of the surface.

Also as a data point I had a dwarf gourami a while ago and he was a happy little dude with no particular effort on my part. Mildly alkaline water coming from our tap, decent filtration, not overstocked and he thrived. Certainly wouldn't add one until it's cycled obviously but I'm a big fan. :love:

[padge]

Do you have test kits to test the water or do you have a shop that you could take a water sample in to to be tested?

A white slick on the surface suggests not enough water movement but something is fueling the slick. Possibly too much waste food. It normally takes between 7-21 days for a tank to cycle and a tank your size with those fish in should take longer than 7 days however fish coming up denotes a lack of oxygen in the water caused normally by ammonia or nitrites. This damages their gills and sometimes the damage is permanent.

Yes had the water tested only for PH was 6.8 pet shop sold PH up two scoops bought it up to 7, Tested for ammonia this morning there was none.

[Godly3vil]

6.8 is perfect ph for most community fish dude.

[padge]

Well just a update on my tank, so far so good tetras look very happy, I added a GBA and a Rainbow shark yesterday they seem very happy cleaning my tank.

I have a couple of questions

1. How often should i do a water change? I was told 25% once a week??

2. Strees coat how often should i be adding this to my tank?

I am a bit wherry using chemicals after my last use of PH up made my fish very unhappy.

Thanks

[F15hguy]

NEVER play with your pH.

leave that to experts ONLY (I consider myself an expert and I'm scared of the off the shelf stuff)

if your really worried about pH (most fish don't care) then add some limestone to raise pH or driftwood to drop pH. that way it happens slowly and a little more naturally.

the pH readings you read are for wild caught fish, most fish you buy are commercially bred, they are even breeding discus in Asia in pH as high as 7.8 supposedly

stress coat should only be used when adding new water to the tank, and only enough to treat the water your adding, not the whole tank. it is mainly to remove the chlorine. if your fish are healthy they should not need fake slime.