Help please

[KendallTraylor]

Have a 55 gal I haven't ever really had fish before so when I bought the thing I took it home set up the equipment and filled it with tAp water went got some fish put them in it and now that I have done some research I know I have messed up the fish I have are
2 kissing guromieas(which one is very ill)
2 Bala sharks (which seem to be doing fine)
5 guppies(which seem to be doing fine)
4 red tail sharks(2albino(which seem to be doing fine))
8 neon tetras (which seem to be fine)
1 snail
1 Chinese Alger eater
5 long fin tetras (which seem to be fin)
Had 2 goldfish in there but took them out cause the guy at my Lfs told me they were bad for my Eco system in my tank( create to much waste)
Now all my fish are suffering from fin rot due to high ammonia levels.
I was nyeve at aquariumes so I did not cycle what can I do to save my fish I have already lost my 2 Skelton catfish I don't wana lose anymore.

 

[skywhitney]

I would start by doing a massive water change. Do you have a dechlorinator (such as prime)?

Some other questions/comments.
- Do you have anything to test your water parameters? The API master test kits is great if you still need to get one.
- What is your filtration?
- I'm not the one to help you out on this but you might have to redo your stocking list. Hopefully others will chime in on this.

 

[KendallTraylor]

I have 2 filter one a double charcole with 2 bio wheels and a single with just a charcole filter. I have the master Ali tester kit and I have bought ammonia nutrlizer joe medicine anti biotics for the fin rot and some safe start some aquatieum salt( which I have found out a lot of people have mixed emotions about) and some ph down because my ph is really high and won't come down

 

[skywhitney]

I have 2 filter one a double charcole with 2 bio wheels and a single with just a charcole filter. I have the master Ali tester kit and I have bought ammonia nutrlizer joe medicine anti biotics for the fin rot and some safe start some aquatieum salt( which I have found out a lot of people have mixed emotions about) and some ph down because my ph is really high and won't come down

So all of the media you have is carbon (with the exception of the biowheel)? Do you know the flow rate of your filters by any chance?

I didn't see a water treater/dechlorinator listed. Do you treat your water with anything or just use straight tap water?

IMO the chemicles (ammonia neutralizer, PH down, etc) usually cause more harm then good. If i'm correct, i might not be, the carbon will pull most of it out of the water anyway.

I only use salt for my tank for medicinal reasons and only for a short period of time.

Can you test your water and let us know the readings for your PH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates?

 

[George9]

Did you add all those fish at once? You need to do daily water changes to keep your ammonia and nitrites below .25 ppm at all times! This will also help the fin rot alot. Keep up with your water changes, 50% daily.

 

[KendallTraylor]

The big filter is for 70 gal tank the small one is for a 30. I used smart start the first time I filled the tank but sense then just the smart balance when I do water changes which I'm doing 50% every3days a week. The ammonia levels is 2 ph is at a 7.8 nitrite is 0 and nitrate between 5 &10 ppm. I'm using RO water now

 

[KendallTraylor]

Did you add all those fish at once? You need to do daily water changes to keep your ammonia and nitrites below .25 ppm at all times! This will also help the fin rot alot. Keep up with your water changes, 50% daily.

Yes all at once and I have been doing water changes 50% every 3 days I have switched to using RO water instead of tap it seems to be helping

 

[George9]

Yes all at once and I have been doing water changes 50% every 3 days I have switched to using RO water instead of tap it seems to be helping

Continue with that until your ammo is .25 or below (non toxic level) and continue to monitor it and do water changes as necessary until your ammonia reads 0, nitrite reads 0.

 

[skywhitney]

The big filter is for 70 gal tank the small one is for a 30. I used smart start the first time I filled the tank but sense then just the smart balance when I do water changes which I'm doing 50% every week. The ammonia levels is 2 ph is at a 7.8 nitrite is 0 and nitrate between 5 &10 ppm

I would do another 50% pwc then another 50% right after. The Nitrates are good. The zero NitrItes is good. The Ammonia is bad. PH seems ok, my tank was at 7.6-7.8 for a long time.

The smart start, is that the two bottle kit by Kordon?

 

[KendallTraylor]

What temp should I run it I have it staying between 76 and 80 will this work I have had several people tell me 86 but I have read about some of my fish and they won't survive if I go that high

 

[KendallTraylor]

No it's by terra and it is smart start and smart balance that I'm using

 

[George9]

What temp should I run it I have it staying between 76 and 80 will this work I have had several people tell me 86 but I have read about some of my fish and they won't survive if I go that high

78 is perfect! Do not set it at 86 unless you're dealing with ich. 76 is a bit cool IMO 77-80 is good

 

[KendallTraylor]

How do I get my ammonia level to stay down and how will I know when I have a good bacteria growth in my tank and should I transplant the fish out now and do a tank cycle or do u think I have already done the harm and just leave them in there till I line it out

 

[George9]

How do I get my ammonia level to stay down and how will I know when I have a good bacteria growth in my tank and should I transplant the fish out now and do a tank cycle or do u think I have already done the harm and just leave them in there till I line it out

If you have a tank running that has been cycled, it's probably best to move them out. But since youn probably don't, just leave them there. In weeks, your tank will cycle. You'll get your ammonia level to stay Down with daily 50% water changes. Any ammonia level above .25 is toxic to fish, so it's best to keep it below that. You'll know when your cycled when your ammonia and nitrites are 0!

 

[skywhitney]

What temp should I run it I have it staying between 76 and 80 will this work I have had several people tell me 86 but I have read about some of my fish and they won't survive if I go that high

86 is way to high. I'd recommend 78-80 for normal temp. I keep my tank "high" and its a steady 82

 

[skywhitney]

How do I get my ammonia level to stay down and how will I know when I have a good bacteria growth in my tank and should I transplant the fish out now and do a tank cycle or do u think I have already done the harm and just leave them in there till I line it out

You'll know the tank is cycled when you have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10-20 nitrates. To keep up with the Ammonia you might have to do daily or twice daily 50% pwc's.

Each of those sharks will get about 5-6" so IMO you'd be better off returning or rehoming 4 of them. The Chinese Algea Eater will get pretty good sized as well, in the 6" arena.

 

[librarygirl]

Unfortunately I think you're going to be fighting a losing battle with all of those fish in an uncyled tank. You're way overstocked IMO. Plus:

The gouramis might go after the Neons and guppies, particularly if they breed
CAEs can grow fairly large and can become very aggressive as they mature
The sharks may see the guppies and neons as food
Bala sharks do better in groups of at least 5 and need a much larger tank

Personally I"d return or rehome the CAE, the Gouramis and all of the sharks right now. You might be able to stay on top of the cycle with thetetras, neons and guppies in the tank I think. Then as the tank cycles (which can take 4-8 weeks without seeded media) you can research proper tankmates to add later.

In the meantime, I'd do 50-80-% water changes daily (more if ammonia isn't going down). I wouldn't bother with RO water either. It's going to get expensive and RO water is stripped of all minerals that the fish need so you'll need to add those back in with something like Seachem's Replenish or Kent's RO Rite. If you change water to tap though do it slowly over a few days with multiple smaller water changes so as not to shock the fish.