New Aquarium Set Up

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Clselby

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 11, 2005
Messages
41
Location
tennessee
Hello new to the board. I just set up my 10 gal tank 5 days ago and i made the mistake of getting 6 fish fish right away. 3 of them died. I have a ph test kit and an ammonia test kit, they seem to be ok. Their are 4 fish remaining. 2 are tiger barbs, and the other 2 are gouramis. one of the gouramis tail is a little bitten on by the barbs. I know i made the mistake of getting fish right away, but now that i have some what are some suggestions?
 
Tested The water

Hello tested the water and everything is fine. Our water is hard, and the amonia is 1.0. Also our tiger barbs are standing on their heads and flashing, they have been doing this the whole 5 days. The lady at pet smart said that they are hardy fish and that they will probadly survive. About the gouramis, the one with the bittn tail. Should I just leave him in there till he dies, will his tail put bad bacteria in my water? Also any advise for beginners, i had a fish tank like 3 years ago, so i need to be refreshed.
 
I am still new at this also. But I have read that adding fish to quickly throws off the biological filter and throws levels out of whack.
 
Change your water. Ammonia is to high. That is why the fish are flashing. Keep testing and when levels are too high change the water.

Good luck
 
Confused?

I heard that amonia will change to nitrate? Wont things even out without changing the water?
 
they were flashing when we first put them in there so changing the water will just make it worse.
 
There is no way changing the water will make it worse. You are changing the water to get your ammonia down. Nitrifying bacteria in your tank convert the ammonia to ntrite to nitrate and then to a harmless substance. That is why you cycle your tank to get your nitrifying bacteria colonies up and running.
 
then we will have to start the biological filter thing over again. Will they survive if i dont change>? and if so how long will it be till they act normal? they are eathing still.
 
Ok why has the amonia built up so fast over 5 days? and if we do do this how much water do we change and will they survive? Also how do we know this wont happen when we change it?
 
You have to do partial water changes. You don't drain all the water, just 15-30%. It will help, not make it worse. It doesn't start the biofilter over again, as the bacteria don't free float. Changing the water removes ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/whatever.
 
well if you are goinig to start the biological filtering over again than you would probably have to take thye fish out to restart the cycling proccess. how long did you cycle the tank at first? i wouldn't say that you made a wrong choice in fish compatibility because at one time i had a school of about 10 tigerbarbs in a 30 gallon tank with a gourami and they lived peacefully but i think your tankl may be too small that fish compatibility. since the tank is small the are livivng together in close quarters and the barbs will take there nips at the gourami who is constantly in ther space. another factor is that the school of barbs is small so there nipping extends to other fish. i would put the gourami in another tank but if you don't have one then why not give it to a friend who has a tank
 
Ok why has the amonia built up so fast over 5 days?Also how do we know this wont happen when we change it?
 
It builds up because the fish produce waste. Ammonia is that waste. What are you afraid will happen when you change the water? I don't understand what you're trying to ask. But if you mean "will it happen again?" then in a way, yes. Nitrates will build up once cycling is done and when they do you have to do more partial water changes.
 
Unfamous - man we made a mistake and conditioned the water lets it sit for like 2 hours and then put the fish in it...
 
treat it with the dechlore again. you are suppose to traet the water that you use in each water change
 
So do i just fill up a bucket with like 1 1/2 to 3 gallons and treat it and pour it in? Do i have to let is sit for a while or what?And how often will i have to do this?
 
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