I need help learning to care for my ADF and tetras

[dboyer]

I'm been trying to keep my fish as happy and comfortable while my tank cycles (which their happiness is going to be limited, but its got to happen i suppose)

My ADF doesn't seem to get any food if i just drop the bloodworms in the tank. Unsuprisingly, the tetras get them near-instantly. Ive tried hand feeding him, and that actually seemed to work pretty good. I feed him 4 or 5 worms yesterday, and left a couple in the part of the tank he hangs out in (at the bottom). I think the tetras will have a hard time getting ythe worms if they don't spend a long time in the water column. However, this process has me a little confused:

1. How should I properly wash up for this? I know I shouldn't use soap to wash my hands, should I just rinse my hands off? The water on campus is very shitty (full of metals and other crap). Im worried about introducing that to my tank. I did my best to filter the water to remove most of the crap, but I think there is still some, and I would hate to make the situation worse by introducing more as I feed my frog.

2. How many bloodworms does he need? How often should I feed him? Once a day, twice a day? every other day?

3. I have a HOB filter for the smallish tank (I think its ten gallon) and any tiem it is on, the tetras act like they are being pushed down from too much current. They go straight to the bottom and swim really hard in one spot. The filter has a flow control, and they do this even if its on just the smallest of trickles.

4. What temperature do you guys recommend for the fish and frog? I have it set for ~73 right now, but not sure if it should be a smidge higher or lower.

I believe the tetra's are "orange eye moen/moon tetras' or something. The handwriting on the tanks at the lfs was sorta hard to read

EDIT: Did some googling, the fish are http://members.lycos.co.uk/aquaworl.../Moenkhausia/Moenkhausia_sanctaefilomenae.htm . I bought 3 because the tank is cycling and i don't want to overload it, but i was thinking they are community fish too. *shrug* Hard to know whats easier on these fish... Get a few more or wait until the worst is over?

Thanks,
D

 

[dboyer]

One fish is dead

 

[millipede]

http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/mypets/dwarfs.html that link has some good info on ADFs. I think most people here are going to say "water changes". You need to get a good test kit to test the ammonia in the tank and you'll have to do water changes to keep the ammonia down. Too much ammonia will really, really hurt the fish and frog. The frog might find leftover food while you're not looking so it might be eating more than you think. You do want to make sure, especially since the tank is cycling, that uneaten food is not left in the tank because it will break down right into ammonia. Getting through the cycle is probably most important right now. I wouldn't bother hand feeding the frog. Hopefully this info helps a little and someone else has more info for you.

 

[dboyer]

Did a half-water change yesterday, things look a little better...

Don't have a proper gravel vacuum yet (all the lfs are out) so i just used a several foot long piece of 1/2 tubing I had left over from my computer watercooling adventure to suck up water....

fish water tastes bad

 

[millipede]

I'm a little dissapointed that no one else has replied to this yet. I guess some things just get overlooked. First let's figure out for sure what size tank it is. At the top of the page here there's a link that says "calculators" you can type in the dimensions of the tank there and it will tell you the size in gallons.. or you could just tell us the size. Then we should probably figure out what size the filter is. Too much filtration could stress the fish quite a bit. I'm curious as to why you say "any time it's on". Are you saying that the filter is on only some of the time?
I would make sure you don't add any fish to the tank right now. Once we know for sure what size the tank is and once the cycle is finished we can explore options of fish to add. In case you haven't read muc on it it's always best to cycle the tank before any fish are added. If you can afford it you really should get a test kit.
I'm hoping someone else might chime in with some helpful advice. Keep an eye on everything. Until the cycle is over the rest of the tank inhabitants are in some danger.

 

[tamtam]

Water changes are the best bet, but watch how much u do. To much can mess up the cycle and it can restart. your best bet is smaller more frequant changes. I dont think u should be shuttin off the filter especialy a HOB because your bacteria can die quickly. Like millipede said u shouldnt add anymore fish till ou figure out what size it is and it cycles.
Well I dunno how much I helped but hope I did.

 

[Menagerie]

To much can mess up the cycle and it can restart

It will slow the cycle, as long as bacteria is beginning to grow, the cycle wil keep going. However, the water does have the ammonia the bacteria need to eat.
Post your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels). If you don't have a kit, go to the LFS and have them test the water. You will need to test the water daily while cycling with fish.
That temp is on the low side for tropical species. Assuming the frog is tropical, get the temp up to 78F. This will also speed up the growth rate of the bacteria.

 

[dboyer]

I cranked the tempetures up a bit more, and the fish seem peppier, which is good.

I don't have a test kit handy and winter is starting to hit us fairly hard this last week... and needless to say, going to the lfs is going to be quite an adventure for the next few days. We'll see what I can do.

The cloudiness in the water went away after I changed the tank and doesn't seem to have any inclination to come back... Hopefully that means the bacteria are starting to at least pick up some of the load.

 

[tamtam]

oops
I know that ... I think the word I was lookin for was stull???
Thanks for the correction Menagerie.

 

[verucaproduce]

I have heard of people using a turkey baster to feed worms to their frogs, so that the fish don't get the worms first. Don't know if that is an option for you, but that way you wouldn't have to worry about soap on your hands...etc.
8)