Help!: Aquarium thrown in my lap. Analysis please?
Professor chicken
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Updated 7-27-99!
Professor chicken
In case my soon to be former ISP didn't post it like it should have..
Newsgroups:
rec.aquaria,rec.aquaria.freshwater.misc,rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants,rec.aq
uaria.misc,sg.rec.aquaria
Subject: Help!: Aquarium thrown in my lap. Analysis please?
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 05:57:37 -0500
I just attained a 29 gallon tank, equipment and fish from a friend at work
for $50 three days ago. He had to sell it quick so he wouldn't get kicked
out of his apartment. Here's a list of everything I've got. I'd appreciate
any comments, concerns I >should< have, tips, web links or anything you can
think of regarding what is essential that I should do. Keep in mind, I've
never owned fish before and am in the process of reading all the FAQ's and
web pages I can find.. I just want to make sure these little fellas aren't
going to die on me before I read about how to properly take care of them.
The guy I bought the Goods from drained the tank to about 25% of full
capacity. I drove it, with the fish still in the tank, from his house to my
apartment (3 miles), barely carried it up 3 stories by myself and filled it
with lukewarm water from the tap. Plugged in the heater, pump/filter, and
light, added the chemicals listed below and have left the fish alone except
for feeding 3 times a day for 3 minutes.. The temperature on the heater as
well as the thermometer (Sticker on outside of tank) are both at 82 degrees.
I was told that the 2 mini waterfalls from the power filter circulate plenty
of oxygen for the fish and that a (bubbler?) would over-oxygenate the water
and wouldn't be good for the fish.
I'll list here what I got from the guy and what I've done so far. My
questions are at the bottom.
Tank Stuff Info:
------
One 29 Gallon rectangular tank; with gravel, fake plants, 2 rocks, 1 flat
slate rock and seashells (1 tiny, 2 medium, 1 very large).
One (Regent) Power filter (not sure of model number ( has one water intake
tube and two filtered 'waterfalls'), it takes 2 filters designed for 20 &
20-40, 30 & 30-60 power filter).
One 115v, 150 w heater. It's set at 82 degrees and the thermometer shows
that's the temperature.
One lid with light attached.
One thermometer sticker on the outside of the tank.
Whisper 650 (Second Nature): Was told not to use it. Has a green (cement?)
cube with bubbles comes out of when plugged in attached to the unit with
tubes.
(Tetra test) Lab kit: Has a bunch of bottles and empty jars I assume for
testing the water. Problem is that it's in FRENCH!
Two fish nets
One Tube for cleaning the tank: I know how to use this.
Bottles and jars; (brand name); What I did:
------------------------------
pH 7.0 (Proper) : Put 3 scoops in after fill-up.
Stress coat with aloe (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals): Added 3 teaspoons.
Rid Ich+ (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons.
AmQuel instant water detoxifier (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons
Complete Conditioner (Wardley): Added 29 drops.
Fish; (info) :
---------
8 Tiger Barbs (Seem to be schooling around, tried their best to hide in the
rock formation for the first day but have been tearing around the tank since
day 2)
4 Zebra Danio (Been hyper from the beginning.)
1 Placoimo algae eater (Mostly hides in the rock formation upside down most
of the time, comes out at night, is scared by any slight noise outside tank)
(Brand) Food
------
(TetraMin) Tropical granules: Been feeding this to the Tiger barbs and Zebra
Danios: Told to feed them 3 times a day for 3 minutes.
(TetraMin) Tropical flakes: Told by previous owner that the Tigers don't eat
it.
(Wardly) Premium Algae discs sinking vegetable food: For Placomio: Was told
to feed it 1 disc a day.
Questions
----------
1: Is the Temperature ok?
2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
4: Am I missing anything?
5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait? What would be a
good complement to the existing population?
7: Any other comments?
Normally I'm a figure it out myself for the fun of it kind of person, but in
this case I don't want an animal to suffer or die due to my ignorance.
Thank you for your help and your patience.
Ugh, I've had a rough day.
Vampeleon
> Subject: Re: Help!: Aquarium thrown in my lap. Analysis please?
> Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 21:19:30 -0500
> In case my soon to be former ISP didn't post it like it should have..
if you did post this before the above time & date, then no, something went
wrong before.
> 1: Is the Temperature ok?
it's ok although i'd eventually prefer it steady at 80°F
> 2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
sounds ok, yes.
> 3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
no, you should have a day/night cycle - ideally 12/12.
> 4: Am I missing anything?
you might have to cope with a mini cycle due to the 75% addition of fresh
water - cycling is described in the FAQ and you'll need an english test kit
to test for the parameters which indicate this, ie; one with which to test
ammonia, nitrite and nitrate - a ph kit is also helpful.
> 5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
not at all, plants can be added right now.
> 6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait?
at least 3-4 weeks to establish that the tank is once again stable and the
inhabitants acting normally.
> What would be a good complement to the existing population?
wait for the above period since you might have to replace more than just a
few fish, you've put them through tremendous stress but since they all
appear alive and well, they could all make it, you have all hardy fish there.
> 7: Any other comments?
you should have checked if your post appeared before sending your
secondary comment !-)
for someone who claims to know nothing about aquaria, you made hardly
any mistake - immediately filling the tank wasn't ideal but you probably
needed the volume for the filters to work.
i see no reason not to use the whisper except that you might find it loud
and irritating.
> Ugh, I've had a rough day.
carrying a "live" 60+lbs of tank around, i'm not surprised <g>
if your fish are all fine by the time you get this, i expect you'll have few
troubles but do read up on cycling so that you will be prepared for when
the water turns murky and get those test kits (tetra make a nice but pricey
all-in-one kit).
--
sciathán leathair ~..~
"there's a bat in the kitchen, so what you gonna do?"
Beverly Erlebacher
Professor chicken <stonebrkrp...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
>In case my soon to be former ISP didn't post it like it should have..
>for $50 three days ago. He had to sell it quick so he wouldn't get kicked
>out of his apartment. Here's a list of everything I've got. I'd appreciate
>any comments, concerns I >should< have, tips, web links or anything you can
>think of regarding what is essential that I should do. Keep in mind, I've
>never owned fish before and am in the process of reading all the FAQ's and
>web pages I can find.. I just want to make sure these little fellas aren't
>going to die on me before I read about how to properly take care of them.
Reading FAQs is good. There are a lot of web pages about fish - for a
starting point, try www.thekrib.com. See what your public library has
about aquaria. If you want to buy a book, I recommend the inexpensive
but very good books published by Barrons, especially the ones that are
translations of German books. They have good clear well-explained advice,
and pack in a lot of information for the few dollars they cost. Try
"The New Aquarium Handbook" for starters. There's also a book published
by Tetra called somethign like "The Fishkeeper's Guide to a Healthy
Aquarium" by Carrington, I think, which is a good introduction to the
basics that some people take years to learn (if they don't give up first!).
>The guy I bought the Goods from drained the tank to about 25% of full
>capacity. I drove it, with the fish still in the tank, from his house to my
>apartment (3 miles), barely carried it up 3 stories by myself and filled it
>with lukewarm water from the tap. Plugged in the heater, pump/filter, and
>light, added the chemicals listed below and have left the fish alone except
>for feeding 3 times a day for 3 minutes.. The temperature on the heater as
>well as the thermometer (Sticker on outside of tank) are both at 82 degrees.
>I was told that the 2 mini waterfalls from the power filter circulate plenty
>of oxygen for the fish and that a (bubbler?) would over-oxygenate the water
>and wouldn't be good for the fish.
Sounds like you have plenty of filtration and aeration. I would keep the
temperature lower, maybe 75 or so, but if your apartment is hot this time
of year, you may not be able to get it down that far, so don't worry.
>I'll list here what I got from the guy and what I've done so far. My
>questions are at the bottom.
>
>Tank Stuff Info:
>------
>One 29 Gallon rectangular tank; with gravel, fake plants, 2 rocks, 1 flat
>slate rock and seashells (1 tiny, 2 medium, 1 very large).
Shells will make your water harder. If you have very soft water, this is
a good thing. If not, it's no big deal unless you are trying to keep the
more delicate soft water fish. Personally, I think sea shells look unnatural
in a freshwater tank, but it's a matter of taste.
>One lid with light attached.
Is it a fluorescent or incandescent light?
>(Tetra test) Lab kit: Has a bunch of bottles and empty jars I assume for
>testing the water. Problem is that it's in FRENCH!
Try the Tetra web page for help. They may be able to send you instructions
in ENglish. Btw, the chemicals in these kits become unreliable after they've
been opened for a year or less, so you may want to buy new kits. I recommend
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals liquid tests, which are inexpensive.
>pH 7.0 (Proper) : Put 3 scoops in after fill-up.
This may be a good thing in this case, where you had to do a massive water
change, but probably won't be necessary in future.
>Rid Ich+ (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons.
This is a drug for treating the 'ich' disease, caused by a protozoan. Don't
use it again unless the disease occurs.
>Stress coat with aloe (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals): Added 3 teaspoons.
>AmQuel instant water detoxifier (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons
>Complete Conditioner (Wardley): Added 29 drops.
These three things all do the same thing. In future, only use one, and only
use the amount corresponding to the amount of new water you are adding.
>8 Tiger Barbs (Seem to be schooling around, tried their best to hide in the
>rock formation for the first day but have been tearing around the tank since
>day 2)
>
>4 Zebra Danio (Been hyper from the beginning.)
Sounds like normal behaviour for these species, which are both very hardy
and adaptable.
>1 Placoimo algae eater (Mostly hides in the rock formation upside down most
>of the time, comes out at night, is scared by any slight noise outside tank)
This is normal too. These fish are nocturnal, and usually have a favorite
hiding place to sleep in during the day. He will calm down after a while.
There are hundreds of species of plecos, and they aren't easy to identify.
While some remain under 6" in length, other get to be 12"-24" in length and
will outgrow your tank. If the pleco gets too big, you can usually trade
it in for other fish at your local fish store.
>(TetraMin) Tropical granules: Been feeding this to the Tiger barbs and Zebra
>Danios: Told to feed them 3 times a day for 3 minutes.
>(TetraMin) Tropical flakes: Told by previous owner that the Tigers don't eat
>it.
>(Wardly) Premium Algae discs sinking vegetable food: For Placomio: Was told
>to feed it 1 disc a day.
These foods are ok. For adult fish, you really don't need to feed them more
than once a day unless you want to. Drop the pleco tablet in at night when
you turn the lights off so the pleco can eat it in the dark.
>Questions
>----------
>1: Is the Temperature ok?
Somewhat lower would be better.
>2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
Yes.
>3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
If you don't have live plants, the light just needs to be on so you can see
the fish and they can see their environment. If they are in a room that gets
daylight, the light doesn't need to be on unless you want it on. It's best
for the fish to get some darkness; 10-12 hours is good. To avoid panicking
them by turning the lights off suddenly at night, turn on a light in the
room, turn off the tank light, then turn off the room light. This will give
them some warning and they can go to their resting places before total dark.
For live plants, you should try to arrange for at least 30-60watts of
fluorescent light. The cheapest method is to buy a shop-light type fixture
at a building supplies store and build a wooden hood to contain it. You
could also buy some undercabinet fixtures and just lay them on top of the
glass tank cover.
>4: Am I missing anything?
You are doing extremely well so far! You should try to do weekly water
changes of 10-20%. This will do more for the health of your fish than
almost anything else. Make sure the fresh water is at about the same
temperature as the tank water to avoid abrupt changes.
>5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
You can add them as soon as you have enough light to support them (minimum
1-2watts per gallon, more is better), and know which kinds will do well
under your conditions.
>6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait? What would be a
>good complement to the existing population?
Probably best to wait a few weeks until everything is settled down. Try
not to overdo it - overcrowding is the source of many of the problems new
aquarists have. There's a very rough rule of 1" of fish per gallon of
water - this rule applies to fish less than 2" long. Bear in mind that
most fish for sale in stores are juveniles and have some growing to do,
so you should plan for their adult sizes.
A small group (3-5) of Corydoras catfish would be nice, or a group of small
bottom feeding barbs like checker barbs or cherry barbs. You could also
add some more zebra danios to make a real school of these schooling fish.
Read about different kinds of fish, and ask here for advice before you buy.
Btw, here are some rules that you will eventually regret not following:
- never buy a sick fish
- never buy a fish from a tank containing sick or dead fish
- quarantine any newly purchased fish
- never buy a fish on impulse unless you know all about it
- take the advice of store personnel with a spoonful of salt until you can
recognize knowledgable advice.
>7: Any other comments?
Read, both from books and the web. While there are usually several
different but effective ways to do something, there is also a lot of
bad advice on the web. If a suggestion is completely at odds with
everything you know so far, be skeptical.
>Normally I'm a figure it out myself for the fun of it kind of person, but in
>this case I don't want an animal to suffer or die due to my ignorance.
You sound like a person who will do well at this. I think you are in for
many years of enjoyment. There are a lot of things about keeping aquaria
that can be experimented with. This is one thing that makes it such an
endlessly interesting hobby.
>Thank you for your help and your patience.
Ask again when you have more questions.
>Ugh, I've had a rough day.
Relax and watch your fish - this will mellow you out very well!
Vickie Hewitt
Professor chicken wrote:
>
> In case my soon to be former ISP didn't post it like it should have..
>
I certainly never saw an earlier post...
> Bottles and jars; (brand name); What I did:
> ------------------------------
> pH 7.0 (Proper) : Put 3 scoops in after fill-up.
> Stress coat with aloe (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals): Added 3 teaspoons.
> Rid Ich+ (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons.
> AmQuel instant water detoxifier (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons
> Complete Conditioner (Wardley): Added 29 drops.
Way too many conditioners. You don't mention what PH your water is out
of the tap. You may not need the ph 7.0, Danios and Barbs are fine up to
a ph 7.5 or so. Rid Ich you only use when the fish are sick. AmQuel you
only use if ammonia is present and I don't use it even then. I prefer to
control ammonia (during cycling) by water changes. I personally have
never had any ammonia after my tank cycles. Stress coat and Complete
Conditioner do the same thing, use one or the other.
> Fish; (info) :
> ---------
> 8 Tiger Barbs (Seem to be schooling around, tried their best to hide in the
> rock formation for the first day but have been tearing around the tank since
> day 2)
>
> 4 Zebra Danio (Been hyper from the beginning.)
>
> 1 Placoimo algae eater (Mostly hides in the rock formation upside down most
> of the time, comes out at night, is scared by any slight noise outside tank)
>
<<SNIP>>
> Questions
> ----------
> 1: Is the Temperature ok?
Your temp is at the high end for these fish. I would go 78d.
>
> 2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
Fine
>
> 3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
With Plastic plants the light is mainly for you to see the fish.
>
> 4: Am I missing anything?
If you want to add plants you will need more light.
>
> 5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
Your tank should be ready for plants now. I find that plants help to
balance the tank by using up the nitrate end product of the cycle. A lot
of people with aquarium plants are into growing the plants as much as
having the fish. I myself have gone the low tech route. For that you
will need more light about 3 watts per gallon. Unless you plan to add
CO2 to your tank, (which is not the low tech route) you will only want 4
to 5 slower growing plants.
>
> 6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait? What would be a
> good complement to the existing population?
In a 29 gallon tank you want about 29" of fish. Your 8 Tiger Barbs will
grow to be 16" of fish. Your 4 Danios 8". The pl*co could get very
large. (12"-16") You currently will have about 34" of fish when they are
full grown.
Once you are experienced, used to the routine of partial water changes
and water chemistry tests you may decide to push the tank capacity.
Especially if your plants are doing well. In that case you could add a
couple fish at a time and wait to see if the nitrates jump up. I do have
a tank with Danios and Tiger Barbs and with your tank I would add 4 more
Zebra Danios. (I tend to overstock) It won't calm them down, they are
hyper fish, but a larger school looks really cool. You might consider
trading the Pl*co for a couple of corys which stay small.
> 7: Any other comments?
Good Luck and patience,
Vickie
Kristen
>Thanks for your lack of help. My fish appreciate it.
I didn't even see the original post, so probably not a lot of others
did. Please repost it.
Kristen
--
"The Frogurt is also cursed."
Guinho
<vickie...@bentley.com> wrote:
> Professor chicken wrote:
> >
> > In case my soon to be former ISP didn't post it like it should have..
> >
> I certainly never saw an earlier post...
Me neither.
> > Bottles and jars; (brand name); What I did:
> > ------------------------------
> > pH 7.0 (Proper) : Put 3 scoops in after fill-up.
> > Stress coat with aloe (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals): Added 3 teaspoons.
> > Rid Ich+ (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons.
> > AmQuel instant water detoxifier (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons
> > Complete Conditioner (Wardley): Added 29 drops.
>
> Way too many conditioners.
Yes.
> You don't mention what PH your water is out
> of the tap. You may not need the ph 7.0, Danios and Barbs are fine up to
> a ph 7.5 or so.
The buffers may contain phsophates which may lead to algae blooms. Find
out what your pH is out of the tap (after you've left it out overnight to
get dissolved gasses out).
>. AmQuel you only use if ammonia is present and I don't use it even then.
I prefer to
> control ammonia (during cycling) by water changes.
Depending on what your water company uses to debacteriafy it, you may need
to use this to remove chloramines out of the tap. many things remove
chlorine, but not chloramines. You might call your water department to
find out what the use: chlorine or chloramines.
> Stress coat and Complete
> Conditioner do the same thing, use one or the other.
or neither. They're a little controversial.
> > Fish; (info) :
> > ---------
> > 8 Tiger Barbs
> > 4 Zebra Danio (Been hyper from the beginning.)
> > 1 Placoimo algae eater
> In a 29 gallon tank you want about 29" of fish. Your 8 Tiger Barbs will
> grow to be 16" of fish. Your 4 Danios 8". The pl*co could get very
> large. (12"-16") You currently will have about 34" of fish when they are
> full grown.
>
Fish populations are mostly limited by aeration and filtration. You can
keep more "inches" of smaller fish than of larger fish. Axlrod's altas (a
heft $50 book I lucked into finding a copy for $16) has a little chart of
the amount of surface area fish need based on size. I did some
calculations based on that and found you could likely add up to a half
dozen of similar size fish to the barbs (i.e. around 2" full size), given
that it sounds like you've got good aeration. Also, you could add a
somewhat larger gourami instead of one or two of those, possibly.
Gouramis get some/most/all of their oxygen from the air and contribute
less to bioload levels than do other fish. Whatever you do, do it slowly
( afew fish at a time) and make sure your aeration and biological
filtration can keep up. Also, getting a small quarantine tank (a 5 gal,
some fine gravel, plastic plants, cheapo heater and filter) to put new
fish in for the first five weeks or so, so new disease are confined. I
don't know whether I'm cursed or what, but I've seem to find diseases in
about a third to a half the new fish batches I get. I do tend to get
around three species ata time, though.
> Once you are experienced, used to the routine of partial water changes
> and water chemistry tests you may decide to push the tank capacity.
Ah, yes. That's good advice. Wait a while before getting up to max
stocking levels, if you decide to do that at all. A heavily planted tank
with just a few fish is really cool. not to busy.
> > 2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
> Fine
If you see ammonium in the tank, halve it.
> > 3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
not more that 10 hours a day to start, lest algae take hold. You can move
up from there.
Who makes the french test kits you have? I'd imagine you've got pH
(should have a color scale that varies from yellow at 6 or so to blue at
7.5 or 8 or so, unless you've got a high pH kit). Ammonium and nitrite
(to other likelies) of course range from 0 up. Ammonium also tends to
have yellow/green or clear/beige color scales, and nitrite goes for the
blue/purple/pink (at very high) scales. There are some other chemistries
ut there that have different color scales. Also, Ammonium, nitrite and
nitrate should have similar names in french. Perhaps it you figure out
what you have, you could post the kit/company here and someone can provide
english language instructions. It's worth a shot and might save you some
bucks. Good luck. It sounds like you're in good shape.
Doug
--
Eu canto porque o peixe existe
e a minha vida esta completa
Professor chicken
This is the second time I've reposted this here. My ISP is out the door
after this one. Sorry everyone.. Here is it, AGAIN : )
> I didn't even see the original post, so probably not a lot of others
> did. Please repost it.
From: "Professor chicken" <stonebrkrp...@earthlink.net>
Newsgroups:
rec.aquaria,rec.aquaria.freshwater.misc,rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants,rec.aq
uaria.misc,sg.rec.aquaria
Subject: Help!: Aquarium thrown in my lap. Analysis please?
Date: Thu, 29 Jul 1999 05:57:37 -0500
I just attained a 29 gallon tank, equipment and fish from a friend at work
for $50 three days ago. He had to sell it quick so he wouldn't get kicked
out of his apartment. Here's a list of everything I've got. I'd appreciate
any comments, concerns I >should< have, tips, web links or anything you can
think of regarding what is essential that I should do. Keep in mind, I've
never owned fish before and am in the process of reading all the FAQ's and
web pages I can find.. I just want to make sure these little fellas aren't
going to die on me before I read about how to properly take care of them.
The guy I bought the Goods from drained the tank to about 25% of full
capacity. I drove it, with the fish still in the tank, from his house to my
apartment (3 miles), barely carried it up 3 stories by myself and filled it
with lukewarm water from the tap. Plugged in the heater, pump/filter, and
light, added the chemicals listed below and have left the fish alone except
for feeding 3 times a day for 3 minutes.. The temperature on the heater as
well as the thermometer (Sticker on outside of tank) are both at 82 degrees.
I was told that the 2 mini waterfalls from the power filter circulate plenty
of oxygen for the fish and that a (bubbler?) would over-oxygenate the water
and wouldn't be good for the fish.
I'll list here what I got from the guy and what I've done so far. My
questions are at the bottom.
Tank Stuff Info:
------
One 29 Gallon rectangular tank; with gravel, fake plants, 2 rocks, 1 flat
slate rock and seashells (1 tiny, 2 medium, 1 very large).
One (Regent) Power filter (not sure of model number ( has one water intake
tube and two filtered 'waterfalls'), it takes 2 filters designed for 20 &
20-40, 30 & 30-60 power filter).
One 115v, 150 w heater. It's set at 82 degrees and the thermometer shows
that's the temperature.
One lid with light attached.
One thermometer sticker on the outside of the tank.
Whisper 650 (Second Nature): Was told not to use it. Has a green (cement?)
cube with bubbles comes out of when plugged in attached to the unit with
tubes.
(Tetra test) Lab kit: Has a bunch of bottles and empty jars I assume for
testing the water. Problem is that it's in FRENCH!
Two fish nets
One Tube for cleaning the tank: I know how to use this.
Bottles and jars; (brand name); What I did:
------------------------------
pH 7.0 (Proper) : Put 3 scoops in after fill-up.
Stress coat with aloe (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals): Added 3 teaspoons.
Rid Ich+ (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons.
AmQuel instant water detoxifier (Kordon): Added 3 teaspoons
Complete Conditioner (Wardley): Added 29 drops.
Fish; (info) :
---------
8 Tiger Barbs (Seem to be schooling around, tried their best to hide in the
rock formation for the first day but have been tearing around the tank since
day 2)
4 Zebra Danio (Been hyper from the beginning.)
1 Placoimo algae eater (Mostly hides in the rock formation upside down most
of the time, comes out at night, is scared by any slight noise outside tank)
(Brand) Food
------
(TetraMin) Tropical granules: Been feeding this to the Tiger barbs and Zebra
Danios: Told to feed them 3 times a day for 3 minutes.
(TetraMin) Tropical flakes: Told by previous owner that the Tigers don't eat
it.
(Wardly) Premium Algae discs sinking vegetable food: For Placomio: Was told
to feed it 1 disc a day.
Questions
----------
1: Is the Temperature ok?
2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
4: Am I missing anything?
5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait? What would be a
good complement to the existing population?
7: Any other comments?
Normally I'm a figure it out myself for the fun of it kind of person, but in
this case I don't want an animal to suffer or die due to my ignorance.
Thank you for your help and your patience.
--
Kristen
>Questions
>----------
>1: Is the Temperature ok?
The temperature is too high. I know from experience that plecos don't
like this. It should really be about 76-78F.
>2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
Seems like a lot to me. I feed all the fish in my 55 gal in about 1
minute once a day. And depending on the size of the pleco, you might
need to feed him more (they can get really big, 6-12+ inches, and eat
lots then.)
>3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
About 10-14 hours a day if there are plants in the tank, less is OK if
not. You shouldn't leave it on 24 hours since this will stress the
fish. They have no eyelids!
>4: Am I missing anything?
pH Proper: what's the pH of your tap water? You may not need to waste
your money on this type of stuff at all.
Rid Ich+: why did you add this? Do your fish have Ich? (small
parasites on the skin that look like sugar grains.) If not, you
should do some 25% water changes to remove the medication.
Stress Coat (for chlorine) and AmQuel (for chlorine and for ammonia,
if this stuff even works): if you don't have chlorine and ammonia in
your tap water, this stuff isn't necessary. Your local water dept.
can tell you what's in your water if you can't test it yourself. Or
if you have well water, you're probably all set.
Complete Conditioner: likely the main job of this product is to
de-chlorinate tap water, so if you don't have chlorine or if you do
and are using Stress Coat or Amquel, then you don't need to use this.
Basically, pick one.
Test kits: get yourself an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master test kit
which should include chlorine, ammonia, ph, nitrite at least. They're
cheap, easy to find, and work well (and if you buy them locally, they
should be in English...) You might have to get the chlorine test
separately, or not at all if you can learn for sure if there is
chlorine in your tap water.
Regent Aqua-Tech Power Filter: ah, now we come to filters, my
favorite. Basically, this is some old Penguin design, without
bio-wheels, sold at Walmart that's not too good with biological
filtration (see "nitrogen cycle" in the FAQs.) I think it would be
really smart to get a better filter like a Penguin bio-wheel 125.
With this old model, I'd be very careful cleaning the filter so that
you don't damage your established bio filter (if it made it through
the move.) I'd only rinse the pad in used tank water instead of
replacing it; replacing it will throw away most of your bio-filter
(bacterial colony.) If you do get a better filter, you should run the
two together for at least a month. A bio-wheel has the bacterial
colony, so pads can be changed out then without problems.
Seashells: if they're real, not plastic, I'd get them out of the tank
unless you specifically want to make your water harder. They may also
affect pH.
FAQs: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~aquaria/Faq/map.html
Good places to buy stuff cheap:
http://www/petwhse.com
1-888-that-pet (online catalogs going up soon)
>5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
As soon as you'd like. Plants, as long as they stay healthy, have no
drawbacks that I'm aware of. Unless you want to upgrade your lights,
you should get some really low-light plants like Java Fern and Java
Moss. Neither are rooted and both are very hardy in general. I think
Vals might be OK, too. You can ask on rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants.
>6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait? What would be a
>good complement to the existing population?
I would wait at least a month after your last filter-upset (moving or
adding a filter) and still only if your water tests zero for ammonia
and nitrite. I think the tank is pretty much stocked, but if you
really, really want a few more fish, a trio of Checkered Barbs should
go well with the Tiger Barbs (trio = one male and two females, but you
can add more females than that, just not more males IMO.) With the
Tiger Barbs, you need some quick or tough fish. If you lose any
Tigers, I'd replace them since having too few can mean they'll turn
their attention to other fish and may start harassing them. A few
more Danios should be OK, too. Only add new, healthy fish 2-3 at a
time every couple of weeks.
>7: Any other comments?
Keep testing your water for ammonia and nitrite for the first few
weeks. If you have either, do enough water changes to keep levels
below 1ppm. And if you add more fish, you might need to employ that
pump and airstone.
Good luck,
Professor chicken
news:37b05f8c...@news.ne.mediaone.net...
> "Professor chicken" <stonebrkrp...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>
> >Questions
> >----------
> >1: Is the Temperature ok?
>
> The temperature is too high. I know from experience that plecos don't
> like this. It should really be about 76-78F.
I've turned it down to 80F. I'll lower it to 78 next week sometime. although
since I've turned it down the heater, the tiger barbs have begun to hang out
at the opposite end of the tank. Before they used to mainly hang out on the
opposite side of the tank as the heater. Now they're new hangout is in the
corner by the heater.
> >2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
>
> Seems like a lot to me. I feed all the fish in my 55 gal in about 1
> minute once a day. And depending on the size of the pleco, you might
> need to feed him more (they can get really big, 6-12+ inches, and eat
> lots then.)
I'm going to cut down to 2 times a day for the Barbs and 1 disk a night for
the Placo.
> >3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
>
> About 10-14 hours a day if there are plants in the tank, less is OK if
> not. You shouldn't leave it on 24 hours since this will stress the
> fish. They have no eyelids!
I'm going turn the tank light on from 9am-9pm. The sun rises at 5am and with
the blinds drawn it would work as a good transitional light for them.
Bedtime is a few hours after 9pm so the lights in the living room should be
an ample transitional light until total darkness a couple hours later.
> >4: Am I missing anything?
>
> pH Proper: what's the pH of your tap water? You may not need to waste
> your money on this type of stuff at all.
I'm going to get a cup and let it sit out over night then test it tomarrow.
(something about gasses needing to escape?)
> Rid Ich+: why did you add this? Do your fish have Ich? (small
> parasites on the skin that look like sugar grains.) If not, you
> should do some 25% water changes to remove the medication.
The guy we got the tank from told us just to add everything as a precaution.
I guess he figured the move would be stressful on them and weaken their
immune systems making them more susceptible to Ich.
> Stress Coat (for chlorine) and AmQuel (for chlorine and for ammonia,
> if this stuff even works): if you don't have chlorine and ammonia in
> your tap water, this stuff isn't necessary. Your local water dept.
> can tell you what's in your water if you can't test it yourself. Or
> if you have well water, you're probably all set.
I'm calling them in the morning. The guy told me that the stress coat
replaced the slime on their bodies because stress stripped it way..
> Complete Conditioner: likely the main job of this product is to
> de-chlorinate tap water, so if you don't have chlorine or if you do
> and are using Stress Coat or Amquel, then you don't need to use this.
> Basically, pick one.
From the bottle:
-Reduces Oders & organic slime buildupon glass, ornaments, and gravel .
-Helps clarify water
-Breaks down uneaten food and fish waste.(Wouldn't that increase ammonia?)
-Used weekly it provides a clean and wholesome environment for your fish.
(So can 25% water changes every other week and sifting gravel with the beer
bong looking thing right?)
> Test kits: get yourself an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master test kit
> which should include chlorine, ammonia, ph, nitrite at least. They're
> cheap, easy to find, and work well (and if you buy them locally, they
> should be in English...) You might have to get the chlorine test
> separately, or not at all if you can learn for sure if there is
> chlorine in your tap water.
Too late, I taught myself enough French to read through the manual. There is
these test included:
-Nitrit I & II
-pH I and II
-GH
-KH
-Ammonia
> Regent Aqua-Tech Power Filter: ah, now we come to filters, my
> favorite. Basically, this is some old Penguin design, without
> bio-wheels, sold at Walmart that's not too good with biological
> filtration (see "nitrogen cycle" in the FAQs.) I think it would be
> really smart to get a better filter like a Penguin bio-wheel 125.
> With this old model, I'd be very careful cleaning the filter so that
> you don't damage your established bio filter (if it made it through
> the move.) I'd only rinse the pad in used tank water instead of
> replacing it; replacing it will throw away most of your bio-filter
> (bacterial colony.) If you do get a better filter, you should run the
> two together for at least a month. A bio-wheel has the bacterial
> colony, so pads can be changed out then without problems.
Unforutanly i did a stupid thing when we got it home. I took both filters
and rinsed the brownish gunk off it under warm water in the sink. I got as
much off as I could. So I probably trashed much of a bacteria colonies that
had built up on the filters in the past 3 weeks. He told me I should relpace
the filters in a week, but I'm ony going to replace 1 of them in order to
build a bacteria colony on the new one. 2 weeks after that I'll replace the
remaining old one. At my level of knowlege I think buying a bio wheel would
be a bit much at this point. I just remebmered that I have a 20 gallon tank
at my parent's house which I'm going to put in my computer room as a future
breeding/hospital/transtional tank. (It's name will be dependent on it's
need) I'll consider purchasing a biowheel for this one. The consensis that
I've seen is that they are more hassel then they're worth, but I'll look
into it nonetheless.
> Seashells: if they're real, not plastic, I'd get them out of the tank
> unless you specifically want to make your water harder. They may also
> affect pH.
I'm getting rid of them tomarow. (My girlfriend is upset about this!) But
it's for the best. These fish don't have them in their native habitats.
> FAQs: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~aquaria/Faq/map.html
>
> Good places to buy stuff cheap:
> http://www/petwhse.com
> 1-888-that-pet (online catalogs going up soon)
>
> >5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
>
> As soon as you'd like. Plants, as long as they stay healthy, have no
> drawbacks that I'm aware of. Unless you want to upgrade your lights,
> you should get some really low-light plants like Java Fern and Java
> Moss. Neither are rooted and both are very hardy in general. I think
> Vals might be OK, too. You can ask on rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants.
I'm not sure what kind of lights I have. Perhaps you can tell me: There is a
single bulb which is a hare under 23 inches long but label says it's a Model
30.
Rating:120 Volts: 60 Watts: 20 Willthe plants you mentioned be ok with this
lighting?
> >6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait? What would be a
> >good complement to the existing population?
>
> I would wait at least a month after your last filter-upset (moving or
> adding a filter) and still only if your water tests zero for ammonia
> and nitrite.
So don't replace only 1 of the 2 fiters? The guy said this set of filters
has been in use for nearly a month and needed to be changed..
I think the tank is pretty much stocked, but if you
> really, really want a few more fish,
I'm definitely going to wait on this a few weeks.
>
> >7: Any other comments?
>
> Keep testing your water for ammonia and nitrite for the first few
> weeks. If you have either, do enough water changes to keep levels
> below 1ppm. And if you add more fish, you might need to employ that
> pump and airstone.
Great! thanks!
yoda
Professor chicken wrote:
> This is the second time I've reposted this here. My ISP is out the door
> after this one. Sorry everyone.. Here is it, AGAIN : )
>
Yea, they can be a pain at times.... ;)
> The guy I bought the Goods from drained the tank to about 25% of full
> capacity. I drove it, with the fish still in the tank, from his house to my
> apartment (3 miles), barely carried it up 3 stories by myself and filled it
> with lukewarm water from the tap.
Always make sure the water frome the tap is the same temp as the water in the
tank and add your chemicals before any water is added to the tank. I use a
large plastic trash can to do this before I add the water to the tank....I can
usually fill the trash can with water and let it "age" for a few days before I
use it.
> .
> I was told that the 2 mini waterfalls from the power filter circulate plenty
> of oxygen for the fish and that a (bubbler?) would over-oxygenate the water
> and wouldn't be good for the fish.
Never heard this before, anyone else heard it? I know too much oxygenation of
the water is bad for plants since most of the time aggitation of the water
surface will allow CO2 to dispell into the air.
You apparently have a filter with "biowheels". This is a good filter for
keeping fish, but not the best filter for keeping plants.
>
> Fish; (info) :
> ---------
> 8 Tiger Barbs (Seem to be schooling around, tried their best to hide in the
> rock formation for the first day but have been tearing around the tank since
> day 2)
Normal.
>
> 4 Zebra Danio (Been hyper from the beginning.)
Always hyper.
>
> 1 Placoimo algae eater (Mostly hides in the rock formation upside down most
> of the time, comes out at night, is scared by any slight noise outside tank)
>
Pecos are nocturnal and usually hide during the day. Loves rockwork and
driftwood. Pretty good algae eater, hope you got a dwarf variety since the
larger ones will quickly outgrow your tank....
> Questions
> ----------
> 1: Is the Temperature ok?
The temp is a little high for the Danios, but other wise it's good.
>
> 2: Is my feeding schedule ok?
Yea, but I would suggest twice a day no more than they can consume in 5 mins at
each feeding. Most people kill their fish by overfeeding thinking they are
being kind.
>
> 3: How often should the light be on? All the time?
Since you are not growing plants, but using plastic, you can turn the light on
as much as you want. If you don't want too much algea growing, I suggest a 12
on 12 off cycle. I personally use a cheap timer available at any hardware store
and my tanks turn on at 10 AM and go off at 10 PM.
>
> 4: Am I missing anything?
Get rid of the shells. They add to minerals to the water and will make it
hard. You don't need them anyway. If you were keeping shell dwellers I'd say
keep them but since you aren't....
>
> 5: I want to add live plants how long should I wait?
Why wait? Best suggestion is to add a whole bunch at one time. As many as the
tank will hold. Right at the beginning. By loading the tank like this you will
be able to keep algae down since the plants will absorb nutrients that would
have otherwise gone to feed the algae.
>
> 6: I want to add a few more fish, how long should I wait? What would be a
> good complement to the existing population?
>
Tiger barbs seem to be fin nippers of slower moving fishes. I'd stay away from
fish like angels or gouramis. I'd be more inclined to add some tetras (serpae,
cardinal, neon), perhaps a few cory cats. You might also consider adding a few
livebearers. Swordtails, plattys, mollies are good choices for this. They love
the high heat and come in a rainbow of colors.
>
> 7: Any other comments?
>
Again, your filtration is not the best for plants, but I wouldn't let that stop
me from trying. Good plants for your tank would be Anubia (any variety), Java
fern, Java moss, and any other low light plant since I assume you have a hood
with only one light strip. If these seem to grow well, you might try your hand
at some other varieties like an amazon sword or two, but I wouldn't go with
stemmed plants since they require high light sources to grow well.
Hopes this helps a little. If we can be of any further assistance, feel free to
ask! That's what we're here for!
Chuck
Kristen
>> Complete Conditioner:
>-Reduces Oders & organic slime buildupon glass, ornaments, and gravel .
>-Helps clarify water
>-Breaks down uneaten food and fish waste.(Wouldn't that increase ammonia?)
>-Used weekly it provides a clean and wholesome environment for your fish.
>(So can 25% water changes every other week and sifting gravel with the beer
>bong looking thing right?)
Oh, _that_ stuff. It's probably one of those "miracle" bacteria
additives that supposedly makes cleaning your tank unnecessary or
something like that. Most people don't seem to get any results from
it, and I consider it a waste of money, because you're right, water
changes, gravel vacuuming, and a cycled filter should do all that.
It's not going to do a thing for nitrate buildup and micronutrient
depletion, either, but water changes will.
>At my level of knowlege I think buying a bio wheel would
>be a bit much at this point.
While your current filter can be made to work with care, at your level
of knowledge, I personally believe you need the most fool-proof
beginner filter possible. A filter like the Regent, as you seem to
understand, is easy to mess up big time (presumably why Penguin
stopped making them under their real brand name when they added the
bio wheel.) Even replacing one pad every couple of weeks will not
give you a very stable bio filter, because it can take one month or
more to build up a suitable colony on a pad. As a newbie who may be
prone to some mistakes (we all were/are,) something you can't really
accidentally kill off while cleaning the filter, like a bio-wheel,
would be good. If you're concerned about price, a 125 can be had
mailorder for $15. Cheap insurance!
>breeding/hospital/transtional tank. (It's name will be dependent on it's
>need) I'll consider purchasing a biowheel for this one. The consensis that
>I've seen is that they are more hassel then they're worth, but I'll look
>into it nonetheless.
Well, if you don't like them, then I'd suggest an Aquaclear 150
stocked with three sponges. Then you just rinse the bottom sponge in
used tank water whenever it's dirty. Nothing can go wrong there.
$13. I'd relegate the Regent to the hospital tank, in any case.
>I'm not sure what kind of lights I have. Perhaps you can tell me: There is a
>single bulb which is a hare under 23 inches long but label says it's a Model
>30.
>Rating:120 Volts: 60 Watts: 20 Willthe plants you mentioned be ok with this
>lighting?
Well, I think at least Java Fern should be ok with a 20 watt
fluorescent. Post to rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants about it.
>So don't replace only 1 of the 2 fiters? The guy said this set of filters
>has been in use for nearly a month and needed to be changed..
As I mentioned before, I think, it would probably be best to only
rinse the pad in used tank water and reuse it, and only if it's pretty
dirty (light feedings should help - the fish won't starve.) You
should be able to keep most of the bacterial population this way. If
you just go throwing out half the bio filter, your cycle, if any, will
take twice as long. It's just not a very stable type of filter, and I
wonder if the designers had bio-filtration in mind at all when they
made this thing.
I may seem unnecessarily prejudiced against your filter, but I
remember when this design was far more prevalent. So many people had
continuous problems with their bio filter using them. I just like to
see newbies start out on the right foot with a bomb-proof setup.
How long did this guy have this tank set up? How long is his
experience with aquaria? He doesn't sound like he knows much. I
wouldn't rely on any advice he gave you.
Another piece of advice: most regulars read all the various groups
anyway, so it's only really necessary to crosspost to one or two
groups. Something like this post would be good for only
rec.aquaria.freshwater.misc and alt.aquaria. The plant question would
be good for rec.aquaria.freshwater.plants. Rec.aquaria is a defunct
group, and rec.aquaria.misc might as well be.
See ya,
Kristen
>> I was told that the 2 mini waterfalls from the power filter circulate plenty
>> of oxygen for the fish and that a (bubbler?) would over-oxygenate the water
>> and wouldn't be good for the fish.
>Never heard this before, anyone else heard it?
Yeah, I've read about it, but I don't think I've seen it occur in
everyday setups. It seems to me that some serious over-agitation and
aeration would need to be done to achieve this.
>You apparently have a filter with "biowheels".
I've never seen a Regent with biowheels. Are they out there? All
I've seen is Regents utilizing Penguin's old "pad" design.
>Why wait? Best suggestion is to add a whole bunch at one time. As many as the
>tank will hold. Right at the beginning. By loading the tank like this you will
>be able to keep algae down since the plants will absorb nutrients that would
>have otherwise gone to feed the algae.
That would definitely call for adding some micronutrients...