My Friends' Fish

[blang]

My sister-inlaw has a 20 gallon tank with a common, cichlid, one type of barb and an oscar. She cleans it about every 3-4 months. She feeds them only flakes (about 1 tsp) about every 2 days. She has both a regular filter and an underground filter. When she topped off the water, she put in dechlorinator and filled the jug with tap water without using a thermometer. She's had the fish since September and they all look very active and happy. Forget about a discussion on overstocked, she won't listen!

I have another friend who had a 55 gallon tank with a canister filter and a undergravel filter. He had angel fish for 7 years without any problems. He cleans the tank every 6 months or so.

I have several more friends that have tanks set up and taken care of in the manner but I thought I would give you two examples.

I have 2 tanks, one 10 and one 15. I clean them every 1 to 1 1/2 weeks and feed them on a varied diet. Both of these people think I am crazy and say that I spend too much time cleaning and taking care of my fish. I had major problems in the beginning but now my oldest fish is 10 months old. I only lose an occassional fish now but overall they are doing great.

Now, the question......If they are doing everything wrong and I am doing everything right, how come their fish live longer? Is there some truth to saying that less is better? Although I haven't had my tanks for more than a year to prove them wrong, I am really puzzled about all of this.

Any comments?

 

[DeFeKt]

some people just fluke it..
I did in the beginning.
but now, thanx to AA I have an even happier aquatic community

 

[talloulou]

When I use to not change my water as much, back in the old days.....I always had some really hardy fish that thrived for years and I thought my tank was great. (I cleaned it every couple of months, unless the water evaporated earlier than that......then I just added more water to top off. )

However while my hardy fished lived for years like this I could never add anything new to the tank. The water appeared crystal clear but it was intolerable to new fish. I would always blame the petstore......Man those creeps sold me a sick fish lol...

Anyway now that I am princess of water changes my fish still live long and lo and behold new fish can be plopped in there and survive!

I guess my point is there are some great looking tanks out there with some hardy super fish but beneath the beauty lurks.....old tank syndrome and the fish are living in sloth.

 

[blang]

But why would they want to add anymore fish when all the fish are doing fine? My sister-in-law said she had room for one or two more but I very nicely said that I didn't think she should add anymore. We'll see if she does and what happens.

My friend wanted to sell me his 55 gallon. I took a look at it before he had a chance to clean it. It was empty but absolutely disgusting. At that point, I decided I am better off purchasing a new tank (a 90 gallon is sitting in my garage).

 

[talloulou]

I think one of the best ways to tell if your fish are happy is if they are spawning. If they are colorful, active, and spawning occasionally then you are doing something right no matter what anyone says.

As far as overstocking, I do that myself. I also spend way more time on tank maintenance than others so I feel I can get away with it.

As far as your sister in law adding fish, she probably may not want to. But eventually something will die. And she will want to replace the deceased with something new. This is usually the point where people discover they have old tank syndrome. Their hardy fish had time to get used to such horrible conditions slowly while a new fish from the fish store can't handle it at all.

As for the 55 gallon, how much does he want to sell it for. If it is way cheaper than the cost of a new one it might be worth it to use some elbow grease and clean that sucker up.

As for the 90 gallon......If you are saying you have a 90 gallon sitting in your garage unused well that's just not right. You must have comendable restraint. If its glass and its near my house I fill it up with fish, LOL.

 

[blang]

He was asking a very fair price but I was a little overwhelmed with the grime in the filter, tank, etc. Since I am not a mechanically inclined person, I feel much better opening up a new box and putting things together and learning all about a new setup that way.

The only reason the tank is sitting in the garage is because my husband is building me a cabinet for it. It is going to have all the bells and whistles a fish hobbiest could ever dream of. Unfortunately, it is taking much longer than I anticipated so I am going crazy. It was purchased in the beginning of May and it should be done I hope, no later than the end of the summer. And besides the cabinet, my husband wants to put down new carpeting first before we set it up. He says once it is up, it will be extremely difficult to move as the cabinet is also going to be very heavy.

 

[talloulou]

oh you are so lucky! I can see why you are going crazy. Have you already planned out what you are going to put in the 90 gallon once it is ready. Maybe thinking about that can help keep your crazies at bay, lol.

 

[blang]

Yes. And I have been even considering going salt. However, yesterday I spent about 20 minutes at a great LFS answering all of my questions on what I can expect. And after alot of thought, I decided that I am staying with freshwater.

I purchased a couple of plants for my 10 gallon to see how I do with those. I've been back and forth to my freshwater LFSs looking at different fish. My centerpiece fish are going to be Dennison Barbs. I will fill the rest of the tank with cories, a fancy pleco or two, gouramis and rainbows. I will also throw in there my mean gold dust Molly so my other fish in the 10 gallon can live in peace. I really wish I could have a rainbow shark but with my peaceful community, I don't think it will work.

 

[greenmaji]

http://www.bestfish.com/oldtank.html

your sister-in-law and friends are dealing with old tank syndrome.. I would venture to guess if they did one big water change that all of there fish would die from ammonia poisioning.. ACK! and adding new fish would not be an option, hardy new fish would most likely die from that kind of treatment..
and If I were you I would get the 55 and clean it up!! add that with the 90 gallon and you can possibly do something new?

grief and the oscar in that little tank! 8O nothing but trouble!!!

 

[blang]

Thanks for the article. I'm sure the tank is sold by now, but in any event, I really don't like the 55 gallon tanks. I would at least want a 75 gallon and with the 90 gallon, we do not have any more room for anymore tanks.

 

[gheitman]

I think your sister-in-law and friend fall under the category of "ignorance is bliss". This may sound strong but I know that my fish are much happier and healthier because I perform regular water changes, vary their diet and look after their well-being the way that any informed, pet owner would do. My fish are active and frequently will spawn. My tank water is crystal clear without having to treat it with chemicals for cloudiness. I am even able to sell fish and plants back to my LFS where the staff wants to buy my fish because they look so good.

You may want to enourage your sister-in-law and friend to do some reading on fish care. I suggest "The Simple Guide to the Freshwater Aquarium" by David Boruchowitz. I got this book when I first got into the hobby about four years ago and still refer to it occasionally.