Varina Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Hi I am a novice and have just got my first community tropical tank set up and it seems I have a very unfriendly fish in my bunch my smallest guppie has had its tail eaten off, I don't have another tank to separate him will he survive (its been 24 hours) and can I help him he is hiding among the plants at the bottom of the tank........ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 have you noticed any other fish harrasing him??? it might be finrot? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varina Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 this morning one of my tetra's was chasing the other guppie, but he did not catch him, my little guppie lost his tail while I was at work yesterday he was fine in the morning.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 You could try adding tonic salt and melafix to the water. Unless it was a really nice guppy I wouldn't sweat it though, you're going to have like 20 more next month anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Also, how big is the tank, what filtration is on it, and how many fish have you added? Do you know about 'cycling' a tank? What fish have you got in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varina Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 The tank is 137 litrs with a futon (i think thats the name) filter system in the tank there is 6 x neon - 2 x clown loaches - 4 x gourami - 2 x zebra - 1 x red fin shark - 4 x guppies (incl the tailess one) 3 x tetra and 1 cat fish not sure of name not a pretty fish is is black and white and stick to the side of the tank:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 How long has the tank been setup? Thats a lot of fish if the tank is new (i.e. less than a month old). A new tank takes time to cycle, which basically means the bacteria that eat the fish and food waste need to grow, if you add too many fish to quickly the water gets over loaded and it can kill or damage this fish. If your tank water is ok and this fish isn't being hassled anymore it has a good chance of making it. It only take a few days for their fins to grow back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varina Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Was unaware that you carn't put to many fish in at once, the pet shop did not tell me and I bought the wholeset up from them. I put in stress and something else for the water as told to by the shop on last thursday and put in the fish on Saturday......... am i going to loose all of them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustcooktea Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 What it means, Varina, is that you will need to do lots of partial water changes for the time it takes the tank to cycle. If you do a search on this site for this you will gets lots of information. Have you any test kits to keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrItes? These are what are most toxic to the fish during this time. Don't be afraid to have questions as most of us have been exactly where you are - with a tank full of fish before we hear about cycling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varina Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 I got home to find my guppie had passed on How often do I have to do the water changes and is it 20% of the water each time?............. I have a test kit for the PH I will go and get the other this week Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Oh dear you are well overstocked, especially for a newly set up tank! The clown loaches are going to get too big plus should never be put into a new tank, they need one well matured. The red fin shark will also get too big for a tank this size. What sex are the guppies? You should have a ratio of 1 male to 3 females. Ask the shop if they will take some fish back - especially the clowns and shark. If this is a new tank they should never have sold you the whole lot at once that is irresponsible. Get some test kits for ammonia and nitrates and start doing 20% minimum daily water changes until your ammonia and nitrate level are reading as per the instructions in the kit. Please read as much as you can about cycling aquariums. Feel free to join us in the chat room too. A group of us are in there most nights around 9pm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 I agree with caryl. Take back the clowns, the RT shark and the four gouramis. Tell the lfs that you will buy them as soon as the tank settles down. Prolly in a month or so. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Yeah the clowns especially, they're incredibly sensitive to bad water parameters. I had the bad experience of losing 3 of them once. They got sick, I seperated them into little ice cream containers (bad move, I know now, but I figured it'd be easier to treat them), they all jumped out and dried up. It was particularly bad because the dehumidifier was on in the room too (siphon accident). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Where abouts did you buy your tank and fish from Varina? They should know better than to seel you so much stock for an un cycled tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Varina Posted May 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 I have only 3 male guppies left, I will do the tank change tonight I only hope it is not too late, I do have a problem with getting the fish back to the store tho until the weekend........... What size do the sharks grow to and is it only a falacy that the fish will only grow to the size of the tank they are in... I bought the whole set up from Takapuna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted May 17, 2005 Report Share Posted May 17, 2005 Gold fish release a chemical that slows/stops there growth, they they are the only fish that I know off. Do you know anyone with a tank that has been setup for a while? if at all possible the best thing you could do is swap filters with them for a couple of weeks, this will put a mature filter in your tank and cycle your tank in no time, plus will give your filter a chance to mature (cycle) in an already cycled tank. Next best option would be to swap some media out of their filter, dont clean it just take it out and keep it wet and put it in your filter. I would at very least ask for your money back on the fish that have died (and sorry but there is a high chance you will lose some more), you are with-in your rights to do this because they have given you bad advise. I would advise you to take back the loaches and some of the others if you can. Once the tank has cycled your can have a FEW of the larger fish, but this will reduce how many smaller fish you can have. [edit=cees]11:16 22-05-05[/edit] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maxy Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 I had the same problem when I first started Varina. Bought my whole set up from the lfs and have since only used there stock, plants etc (possibly due to a severe shortage of lfs!) but was also not given very competent advice about cycling and I lost a few fish, namely my expensive pictus cat, due to the ammonia being to high for him. My fighter harassed one of my male guppies shredding his tail to a stump, and killing another. That was six months ago and my guppy is still living, albeit he isnt very pretty! His tail has grown back, but he sometimes struggles to swim in for feeding. Welcome to the site, any info or help you need, there are always people willing to assist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shelley Posted May 21, 2005 Report Share Posted May 21, 2005 Oh Varina...what a sad start to a beautiful hobby....don't let this put you off....just think of it as a steep learning curve. I have had a lot of losses since I started too and it is upsetting. I think a lot of pet store owners just don't KNOW the information they should.....which is where the bad advice comes from.... Daily water changes...yes 20%.... will help. I use a product called 'cycle' too...and another product called "aqua plus (water conditioner)" which are wonderful products...perhaps the store you got these fish from might hold your fish in a spare tank for you until you are more ready...or swap/refund the bigger growing fish for some test kits (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate....and no, nitrite and nitrate are not the same).....perhaps they might also give you some of the water from their tanks which might help the cycling process. However given the fact they sold you all those fish all in one go when they knew this was new for you would make me a little wary of trusting them. Good luck and keep us informed of your progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.