30 gallon restock

[Guppyman34]

It's been a while since i've been on here, so here goes. As some of you may know, I added some driftwood and a bristlenose pleco a while.back. Ever since then Ive had issues with my tank. Most of my livebearers have failed to reproduce and died off. In the tank now I have 1 female guppy, 1 Cory, my pleco, 5 neon Tetras, and a Bolivian ram. Any ideas for a restock? I an definitely going to up the Cory.school, but other than that i' m pretty open. My ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are all good, but I fear the driftwood lowered my ph which maybe killed my livebearers? Any ideas on this are also appreciated. Thanks guys.

 

[librarygirl]

Ph itself shouldn't have killed the fish unless it was fluctuating wildly. If you can answer some questions it might help pinpoint the issues:
--what are the exact numbers of the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH tests in the tank now?
--what test kit are you using?
--what's your normal water change schedule? What dechlorinator are you using?
--Test the PH of your tap water straight from the tap and let us know the number
--Leave a glass of tap water out for 24 hours (stir it occasionally) and then test the PH and let us know the number
--what kind of wood is in the tank, if you know? Where did you get it?
--What filtration do you have?
--What's the tank's temperature?

Once you're sure the tank is settled and there are no other issues you could do:
--add 3 more corys
--3 more neons
--2 more guppies
--6-8 of another schooling fish, most tetras or danios would do. Harlequin Rasbora is one idea but there are many more options

 

[Guppyman34]

Sorry I didn't have time to take pictures of the rest of my test.... My pH seems to be a little higher in the tank than the tap, ( tank is first pic). I am using API test kits. My ammonia is 0, nitrite is 0, nitrate is under 40. I also looked and my guppy seems to have some white stuff on her, but it doesn't look like ick. Ill try to get a pic.

 

[Guppyman34]

Oh and it's Malaysian driftwood that I boiled beforehand.

 

[librarygirl]

If you're PH is the darkest blue on the low-range kit (which it is) you need to use the high range kit to get what your actual PH is. Also the PH from tap water can differ once it gasses off; for instance the PH out of my tap is 8.4, but once it gasses off it goes down to 7.2 which is what my tank's PH is (which is why leaving out a glass of tap water for 24 hours then testing the PH is recommended).

In any case your PH doesn't seem to be too low; it's at least 7.4 anyway. Unless it was fluctuating wildly then that alone shouldn't have killed the fish. Your other levels seem ok too, although how much below 40 is the nitrate? Are there nitrates in your tap water? Nitrates or 40 is pushing it a bit for most fish, you want to keep those as low as you can as well, ideally <20. What's your water change schedule (frequency and how much)? What dechlorinator do you use?

Get a pic of the sick fish if you can. I'm hoping it isn't columnaris but if it is it could explain the fish deaths.

 

[Guppyman34]

I'm planning to go.to the pet store tomorrow, so I might be able to buy a high ph kit then. Ive attached a pic of the fish.

 

[Guppyman34]

Sorry didn't work. Here's the pic.

 

[librarygirl]

Hm, those white spots on the tail? Are they anywhere else? Are they fuzzy? Her tail seems a bit rotted down too, or is that her normail tail? Are any other fish affected? You could try a light treatment first, something like Pimafix, to try to treat for a fungal infection. You could safely add it to the whole tank, or quarantine the sick fish and just treat her. Keep the water very clean, do extra water changes if necessary, try to keep nitrates down and make sure there's no ammonia or nitrite. I would say also trying a half dose of aquarium salt but Corys can be sensitive to salt so if you're going to treat the whole tank maybe either try a small dose of salt and see how the corys do or not try it at all. If the Pimafix and water changes don't help, she may need some other type of medicine or an antibiotic. It's hard to tell from the pic what it might be for sure.

 

[Guppyman34]

No other fish are infected. Her tail is s little rotting too. My platys died recently as well. It was strange though. They just kinda stopped going to the top to eat, got skinny and died. No other symptoms. I have no idea why they died. One day they're fine, the next they stop eating. My guppy is also quite lethargi. During the day.

 

[Guppyman34]

I will definitely try those treatments.

 

[librarygirl]

Skinny fish and not eating could be an internal parasite, it's hard to say for sure. Along with the Pimafix you could try feeding a medicated fish food for parasites. It doesn't taste the best from what I've heard, some fish won't go for it, so you could try dipping it in some garlic juice or Garlic Guard

 

[Guppyman34]

Okay. That does make sense. I'll definitely try that.

 

[Guppyman34]

So once my tank is cleared of any diseases, what kind of schooling fish could I add? Would tiger.barbs work?

 

[librarygirl]

I don't think TBs would work with your setup. They are often aggressive toward each other and need a large number to spread out the aggression. They can also go after other fish and your neons may be targets. I would up the cory shoal by 3, up the neon school by 3, add 2 more guppies if you wanted, then add 6-8 of a peaceful schooling fish; most tetras, danios or rasboras should work. If you like barbs, you can try cherry barbs as they aren't as aggressive as the Tigers.

 

[Guppyman34]

Sorry about the lack of updates, been very busy lately. I treated the tank, but ended up losing the guppy.... The other fish are all active and show no signs of disease. So I decided to restock. I followed your advice and now have 7 neon Tetras, 7 het rasboras, 3 cories, and the Bn pleco and Bolivian ram. I still feel the tank is missing something... Am I already fully stocked? If not what else could I add?

 

[Jbaygurl78745]

I would up your cories.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Sorry about the lack of updates, been very busy lately. I treated the tank, but ended up losing the guppy.... The other fish are all active and show no signs of disease. So I decided to restock. I followed your advice and now have 7 neon Tetras, 7 het rasboras, 3 cories, and the Bn pleco and Bolivian ram. I still feel the tank is missing something... Am I already fully stocked? If not what else could I add?

I have a 30g as well and to give you an idea of stock I'll tell you how I'm stocked, and I'm still not at 100% according to aqadvisor. I have....
6 serpae tetras
3 long fin black skirt tetras
2 Bolivian rams (plan on getting more over time because I want to attempt breeding them).
3 bronze cories
2 peppered cories
2 adult platy (one red wag and one silver Mickey mouse)
2 silver Micky mouse platy fry
1 albino pleco
1 balloon Molly
I have two filters on my tank, an aqua tech 30-60 and an aqueon quiet flow 30. I'm running both incase I have to set up my spare 30g with breeding the rams so it will already be cycled and ready to go.

 

[Guppyman34]

Thanks for the replies. I am planning to up the cories, our lfs has had a some baf cories recently though so were going to wait a couple weeks. That's a sweet tank! Could I add another centerpiece fish that is more of a top level swimmer?

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Thanks for the replies. I am planning to up the cories, our lfs has had a some baf cories recently though so were going to wait a couple weeks. That's a sweet tank! Could I add another centerpiece fish that is more of a top level swimmer?

I dont know much about what fish are top level swimmers, but I will say my tetras (both the serpae's and the long finned skirts) are pretty much all over the place.

 

[Guppyman34]

I dont know much about what fish are top level swimmers, but I will say my tetras (both the serpae's and the long finned skirts) are pretty much all over the place.

Oh they are indeed everywhere! I just kind of want 1 larger fish that isn't just at the bottom of he tank like my ram.