Fish rescue!!!!

[Heiko]

Right heres the story.

Me and my family went round to one of my mums friends houses for a meal. My mums friend has a 9yr old son and after a short conversation he told me he had a 20g tank up in his room. So naturaly i was interested and took a trip up to see his tank.

BUT when i got up there the tank was in a right state. He told me he did hav 14 fish in there a month ago but there were only 4 left. There were two moonlight gouramis, 1 neon and a Headlight tetra. The water was cloudy there were only two small ornaments in the water and both tetras were in a really bad state it looked as if the gouramis had beed having a go at them.

His mum then tells me there going away on holiday and hes just leaving thefish 2 die so he can start all over again. (Isnt this just cruelty)

I could posssibly save the gourami but the tetras are gonners. The only poblem is my tank is already overstocked so i have nowhere to put them.

Sorry about the length of the post but i feel really bad not doing anything.

[SerLunchbox]

well, the sad thing is that they won't be the last person to do this.

The gourami's may be saved as they are labrynth fish, but i suspect that if the water quality is that bad, it may be a shock to their system if they have fresh water.

Personally, look at the tanks and inhabitants in my signature. I am supremely overstocked but i make up for it with my filteration.

Hope that helps, but i also hope that the fish can be saved

[bzbee]

Just a practical consideration since they aren't in the best shape. Make sure you [acronym:ed6abf5d4b="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:ed6abf5d4b] them and treat if necessary before introducing them to your main tank. I've heard too many stories of people rescuing fish only to inadvertently introduce disease to their other fish and wipe everything out in one fell swoop. Check for internal parasites (white stringy poop), fungus (cottony lesions), hole-in-the-head, etc that are common in poor water conditions.

[Heiko]

Well ive just gone over there just before they left with my master test kit to see what i can do. THe readings are pretty bad (well compared to what i normally get).

Amonia = 2-3mg/l
Nitrate = 100mg/l +
Nitrite = 0.00mg/l (only correct 1)
pH = 4.0

Now im just a beginner myself but i try and think "my fish didnt want to be in my tank, so now that i have put them there what can i do to make their lives good?"

What do these people think when they buy a tank?

[Heiko]

Forgot to mention about the fish. The gouramis are going strong as i thought they would but the neon is looking worse every day. His finns have been nibbled at and it doesnt look like he has eaten anyhting in days as his belly is concaved. However the headlight is the supprise package he seems still to be allert and eating well.

The problem is my 20g tank is really (and i mean really) overstocked at the moment. I cant posibly put these 2 gouramis in safely with:

3 Angels
1 red finned shark
6 Barbs
5 Leapord Danois
2 Swordtails
(Man i really need another tank)

Plus the diseas factor mentioned by bzbee. Thanks i hadnt thought of that.

[oxymoron]

3 Angels = 18"
1 Red Finned Shark = 4-6"
(not sure if you mean a red tailed shark or a rainbow shark)
6 Barbs = 12-18"
5 Danios = 10-15"
2 Swordtails = 6-8"

That is potentially 50-65" of fish in a 20 gallon tank, I'd say you are overstocked. If you have the ability and money to do so I'd get a 55 gallon tank and put the Angels, Shark, Barbs and 2 new Gouramis in it. But that is going to be no small expense. Good luck.

[Heiko]

i know what you mean and im trying all i can to get another (possibly bigger tank).
But it doesnt look like thats going to happen. However i have 1 more likely hope is that a friend is getting a new 20g tank and i will donate a few of my fish to him.

Im still in the earlie stages of fishkeeping and i had all these fish before i found AA.

[Andos99]

Do you know of any [acronym:1f8c2bcdbb="Large polyped Scleractinian (stoney) coral"]LPS[/acronym:1f8c2bcdbb] that would take a few fish off your hands? That might be a solution to the gourami dilemma.

[Heiko]

There are only 2 Fs's on the island where i live. Im pretty sure one of them wont take fish and i cant contact the other. Im going to go into the pet store soon and ask if it would be possible for thm to take some

thanks for the thought