Freshwater 29 Gallon Setup

[Scoobcake]

Hi,
Brand new to the site here

So I just recently started my own aquarium for the first time and it was a 10 gallon. I realized after about a week that I should start with something bigger while learning. I opted for a 29 gallon for now (dimensions 30 wideX 19 highX 12 deep inches that is). I wanted to stop by here and put down my set up and my fish currently stocked and see if I can get some advice on it.

Tank dimensions are listed above. Temperature sits at about 78 degrees was going to go 76 but the room I have them in gets too warm so it would drop to 76 over night and back to 78 during the day. cranked it up to 78 so it would be stabilized. I have a Tetra Whisper 40 filter, a bubble wall, 1 moss ball, and I am floating a bunch of Hornwart at the top. I also have various decorations and a piece of driftwood. I have been keeping my light on for about 8 hrs a day.

My tank has been running for about 1 month. About 4 days ago I noticed ammonia drop to zero, nitrites were trace, and nitrates started rising so I thought my tank might be cycled. However Currently my readings are .25ppm ammonia, 0-.25ppm nitrite, and 5ppm nitrate. not sure why ammonia is back up a little other than the fact I added a few more fish which might just be it.

I started out by stocking 1 dalmation molly, 1 swordtail, and 5 danios. I have since added 2 fancy guppies, 2 glass catfish, 1 red tail bala shark, 1 bushynose pleco, 2 kuhli loach, 1 what i believe is a molly fry that i have in a breeder net, and a snail.

I think my tank is at its limit or a little bit over. The fancy guppies i learned after the fact should be stocked with more females then males not sure what to do about that. I had 3 glass cats but 1 died after 24 hours. I found out after buying them that they like to be kept in larger groups and are very fragile fish. Fish shop didnt warn me. I'm at a crossroads with the cats because I want to add more to keep the other 2 company but I dont want to overstock my tank and I dont want to put money into fragile fish that might die while im learning but I also dont want the current 2 to die from not being in a proper school. ugh! The fish shop also failed to inform me that the kuhli loaches like to be kept in groups of 5 or more. Might toss a few more of those in since they dont really add to the bio load i dont think.

I plan on doing a 40% water change once a week, vacuuming gravel with the water changes, and changing my filter once a month. I am also wondering about filtration. Should I add another tetra 40, or replace with something bigger, or maybe add a sponge filter.

In summary my questions are these:

1. what should I do about my class cat fish?
2. should I add more kuhli loach?
3. should I add another female guppy?
4. is my filtration adequate?

And other than that if you notice anything glaringly wrong in my setup or planned water changes it would be awesome if you can let me know .

Thanks guys looks like a helpful site and any and all info would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Batt4Christ]

I wouldn't add ANY fish to the tank until fully cycled! If your ammonia level isn't zero, then the tank isn't really cycled and any addition to the bioload could be disastrous

.

 

[micaiah12]

I agree with Batt4Christ, get your fish tank completely cycled then try adding fish. Or else you could crash your existing cycle.

 

[Scoobcake]

Alright well Im set on not adding anymore fish for awhile if at all. The issue is I thought it was cycled so I added some more fish. I realize now that #1 I added too many fish at once and #2 I probably should have kept testing the water over another week or so to make sure it was fully cycled. My question now is what can I do to help my fish through this phase? I dont want anymore fish to die.

 

[micaiah12]

Keep a close eye on you levels and do pwc whenever your ammonia spikes or your nitrite spikes. That would be one of the best ways I know of.

 

[Batt4Christ]

#1 most effective tool to combat bad water parameters and save your fish: water changes. There really is no shortcut or substitute.

 

[Scoobcake]

Ok so here are some water readings:

11/8 at 11pm- Ammonia=0ppm, Nitrite=.25ppm, Nitrate=10ppm
11/9 at 3pm- Ammonia=.25ppm, Nitrite=.25-.5ppm, Nitrate=10-15ppm

Should I do a water change at this time and if so what %?
What are acceptable levels of Nitrate? I know the goal is to have ammonia and nitrites at 0 but at what point should I be worried enough to do a water change?

 

[librarygirl]

Ok so here are some water readings:

11/8 at 11pm- Ammonia=0ppm, Nitrite=.25ppm, Nitrate=10ppm
11/9 at 3pm- Ammonia=.25ppm, Nitrite=.25-.5ppm, Nitrate=10-15ppm

Should I do a water change at this time and if so what %?
What are acceptable levels of Nitrate? I know the goal is to have ammonia and nitrites at 0 but at what point should I be worried enough to do a water change?

You're probably starting the nitrite phase; once ammonia goes down nitrites typically start to rise. They are just as toxic as ammonia so you definitely want to keep them down; this phase can last 2-3 weeks. Since ammonia is rising though something may have upset the balance (adding the extra fish perhaps).

Yes you should definitely do a water change, I'd say at least 50%, 70% if you can do it to get nitrites under .25.
Don't worry about nitrate; they aren't as toxic to fish as ammonia or nitrite but you want to keep those below 20. You'll be doing enough water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite down so the nitrate will go down as well. Once your tank cycles the nitrates will be kept low by a weekly water change.

 

[Wy Renegade]

So please describe how you set up the tank; i.e. were the initial fish listed in the tank from the beginning? Did you really add all those additional fish over a four day period, or does your post just read that way?

If so, and the tank has been set-up for a month you may have been cycled, but the sudden addition of all those fish massively out scaled your existing bacteria populations. Keeping up with advised PWCs as indicated is very important. Once you reestablish the equilibrium between your stock and the bacteria levels, then you need to figure out adjustments to your stocking list. If you are considering removing some fish at this point and time, and can return them to the pet store, I recommend that you do so.

 

[Scoobcake]

Hey thanks for all the replies this info is very helpful.

50% WC completed as suggested I will monitor levels daily at 3pm and do more PWCs as needed. In reference to how I stocked the tank it went like this:

I started out with just the dalmation molly and the swordtail. after maybe 2.5 weeks I realized it was just going to take way too long as I had very veyr minimal amounts of ammonia. I then added 5 danios and a snail because my wife kept bugging me to get a snail. probably should have waited on the snail but oh well he seems to be doing fine. At the creation of this post is when i noticed what i thought was my tank being cycled and so I added the shark, pleco, 2 guppy, 2 kuhli, 3 glass cats. I know now that was a bad move. ugh. Too much at once I think but lesson learned.

Im considering removing the red-tailed bala shark. i really like him but im worried that my tank may be too small for him later on in his development. thoughts? I will continue posting water parameters and PWCs as I do them.

 

[librarygirl]

So please describe how you set up the tank; i.e. were the initial fish listed in the tank from the beginning? Did you really add all those additional fish over a four day period, or does your post just read that way?

If so, and the tank has been set-up for a month you may have been cycled, but the sudden addition of all those fish massively out scaled your existing bacteria populations. Keeping up with advised PWCs as indicated is very important. Once you reestablish the equilibrium between your stock and the bacteria levels, then you need to figure out adjustments to your stocking list. If you are considering removing some fish at this point and time, and can return them to the pet store, I recommend that you do so.

Agreed. I must have missed the stocking list in the original post. I'd rehome/return the shark as it's going to outgrow your tank fairly quickly. The BN Pleco likes driftwood to munch on if you don't have any. The Loaches and Glass Cats should be in groups of 5 each (which I wouldn't advise doing now with your stocking and rising toxin issues).

 

[Scoobcake]

Yeah I had a piece of malaysian driftwood in there already so that worked out nice.

 

[Scoobcake]

Well sadly the bala shark problem might solve itself. He is looking sluggish and is staying near the bottom.

 

[Scoobcake]

OK here's my update for today:

yesterdays water parameters at 3PM:
Ammonia=.25ppm, Nitrite=.25-.5ppm, Nitrate=10-15ppm

50% water change conducted yesterday at 6pm

today's water parameters at about 2:30pm:
Ammonia=0-.25ppm, Nitrite=0-.25ppm, Nitrate= 5-10ppm

Looks like things are stabilizing a bit more. Fish look a little happier today.

Update on the Red tailed bala shark:
Last night I was worried because he was being very sluggish and hanging out near the bottom. He also got very pale at that time. I figured he was definately stressed. Today he is still hiding and not being very active but he is darker today. probably not quite like he was but his color is returning. Keeping my fingers crossed.

One thing I noticed is my fish always seem pretty stressed when I do a water change and I thought perhaps I am doing it wrong. Right now I only have a siphon and a bucket but here is my procedure:

Using the siphon and bucket I remove water to the desired level. I keep my siphon off in the corner of the tank hoping it will have less impact on the fish and none will come near it. Then I run water until temperature matches my current tank water. I add 25 drops of dechlor per 2 gallon bucket (Im using start right by Jungle) then add the water on top. when it's full i stir it for maybe 10 seconds and then add it to my tank repeating until tank is again at desired level. I try to pour the water into the tank away from the fish but they dont always cooperate. Also I leave my filter running while im doing this so there like a steady waterfall on the tank water from that. Ive been thinking about turning the filter off during water changes, not sure on that. Let me know if this is the correct way to do this. Also I have a python no spill system ordered and waiting for its arrival. Maybe I need to let the water sit with dechlor for awhile before adding it? Any help with this would be great! thanks!

 

[librarygirl]

OK here's my update for today:

yesterdays water parameters at 3PM:
Ammonia=.25ppm, Nitrite=.25-.5ppm, Nitrate=10-15ppm

50% water change conducted yesterday at 6pm

today's water parameters at about 2:30pm:
Ammonia=0-.25ppm, Nitrite=0-.25ppm, Nitrate= 5-10ppm

Looks like things are stabilizing a bit more. Fish look a little happier today.

Update on the Red tailed bala shark:
Last night I was worried because he was being very sluggish and hanging out near the bottom. He also got very pale at that time. I figured he was definately stressed. Today he is still hiding and not being very active but he is darker today. probably not quite like he was but his color is returning. Keeping my fingers crossed.

One thing I noticed is my fish always seem pretty stressed when I do a water change and I thought perhaps I am doing it wrong. Right now I only have a siphon and a bucket but here is my procedure:

Using the siphon and bucket I remove water to the desired level. I keep my siphon off in the corner of the tank hoping it will have less impact on the fish and none will come near it. Then I run water until temperature matches my current tank water. I add 25 drops of dechlor per 2 gallon bucket (Im using start right by Jungle) then add the water on top. when it's full i stir it for maybe 10 seconds and then add it to my tank repeating until tank is again at desired level. I try to pour the water into the tank away from the fish but they dont always cooperate. Also I leave my filter running while im doing this so there like a steady waterfall on the tank water from that. Ive been thinking about turning the filter off during water changes, not sure on that. Let me know if this is the correct way to do this. Also I have a python no spill system ordered and waiting for its arrival. Maybe I need to let the water sit with dechlor for awhile before adding it? Any help with this would be great! thanks!

Hi! The Shark is likely feeling the toxins in the water; it also could be stressed due to the small tank size and many fish (although I don't know much about shark's behavior admittedly so I may be wrong).

Your test kit needs to dictate when and how many water changes to do. If you test and see ammonia and/or nitrite at .25 or over it's time for a water change ASAP. Also you may need to do more than one or large ones. For example, if ammonia and/or nitrite are .25, a 50% water change will (temporarily) get them down to .125 which is good. If either one of those is higher, say .5 a 50% water change will get it down to .25 which is still borderline toxic so you'd either need to do a larger 70% water change initially or two 50% changes back to back.

If you can invest in Prime it's a superior dechlorinator to the Jungle brand. Prime will also temporarily help detoxify nitrite and ammonia between water changes (not to be used in place of water changes) which will also help your fish.

Your method of changing water sounds right. I'm pretty sure most dechlorinators work almost instantly so there's no need to let the water sit out.

With ammonia still rising though I suspect that there's too much ammonia for the bacteria to handle with the addition of the new fish. Ideally ammonia is usually 0 at this phase and nitrites spike without ammonia, so the ammonia is a sign that the tank is overstocked. Keep doing water changes as needed, try to get Prime if you can, and seriously consider returning some fish (particularly the shark) or upgrading to a much larger tank (at least 55 gals probably although a "shark" expert may have to verify this) sooner rather than later. Good luck. Let us know how you make out.

**Edit: oh, yes water changes can be temporarily stressful for fish but letting them swim in toxins that can burn them is more stressful, so keep up with the water changes.

 

[Scoobcake]

Well I dont think the amonnia level raised any it just didnt negate out.

What I mean is yesterday they were around .25
after doing my 50% WC that should have made it around .125
today they are somewhere between 0ppm to .25ppm which is essentially right where they left off at after completion of the water change. or am I missing a calculation?

 

[Batt4Christ]

25 drops per bucket? Been a while since I last used that product (Start Right), but that seems like a lot. I have essentially quit using a dechlorinator except in the case of massive water changes (which I haven't needed to do in months). A properly cycled and not over-loaded tank shouldn't need lots of massive water changes.

But yes - the water tests should dictate your water changes right now - and that may very well mean huge changes of 50% or more daily (or even larger/more frequent).

 

[Scoobcake]

Well the update for today is not good I'm afraid. came home from work to find my shark and male guppy dead.

My water parameters from 3pm yesterday had both Ammonia and Nitrite at around .125ppm So I didnt do a water change as that seemed fine
Nitrates at the time were 5ppm

Water Parameters today:
Ammonia .25ppm, Nitrite .25ppm, Nitrate 10ppm, a very marginal increase across the board so i have no idea what the issue here is. Temperature in the tank is a constant 77 degrees. light on in aquarium for 6hrs a day for live plants....

I havent been checking my PH so I thought maybe it was going crazy. checked it today and its still about 8.2 which is what it has been. I understand from what Ive been reading that PH is high however when I spoke to my fish shop upon setting up the aquarium they told me not to mess with the PH since the fish stocked at that shop are already used to high PH. Im not sure if thats something I need to look into.

The weirdest part about this is the swortail and molly Ive had since the beginning seem great. very active and healthy looking. The dannios I added early on seem fine as well. it just this last group of fish im having issues with. Out of 2 guppies, 3 glass cats, 1 bala chark, 2 kuhli loach, and a pleco. Im already down a guppy, a glass cat, and my shark. Also the molly fry Ive been keeping in the breeder net is doing great. You would think if the balance was screwy he'd be the first to drop.

Any suggestions? doing a WC tonight. probably about 50%

 

[Batt4Christ]

I'm not sure I have any help for you. I can only say what I might do in a similar situation...

Any time I test the water and detect ANY ammonia, I do a water change. I don't wait for some magic number to trigger a change. Any ammonia is bad for fish.

As far as pH, I would agree- don't mess with it. Stable pH is more important than lower pH for most fish.

Glass cats are, in my experience, pretty sensitive to ammonia, though I have seen guppies survive some level of ammonia for an extended time (not my own tank).

Plecos also tend to be easily "burned" my ammo levels. Add to that any other significant stresses and they don't do well.

Loaches also are sensitive to water issues.

As to why some fry and other fish seem unfazed - that's a good question, other than maybe they were stronger/more healthy to begin with.

And one other thought- has there been any other chemicals applied in the area (exterminator, cleaning solvents)?

 

[Scoobcake]

Negative on the chemicals. The only thing I can think of that my fish shop warned me about is burning candles. I dont use candles but I have those warmers where you put wax on top and the scent fills the room. Do wax on the warmer actually evaporates into the air but it does make the air heavily scented. Not sure if thats something that can affect it or not.

Also I was going to ask about my filter. been running a month now and I probably need to change it but I didnt want to discard all my good bacteria during this delicate phase. Am I ok to change it out?