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wildcatcrzy

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Sep 11, 2011
Messages
60
Location
ringgold, ga
My brother in law gave me a 45 gallon tall tank. I am new to keeping fish so I filled it with water and waited 48 hours for the chlorine to evaporate and then headed to petsmart. I now know I should have cycled it but its now full of fish. Is it too late to do anything? I might have too many fish too. I have: 1 pleco, 2 rainbow sharks, 2 pictus catfish, 2 cory, 4 ghouramis, 2 kissing fish, 4 zebra barbs, and 4 platys. I wish I had researched this before starting but that's hind sight. What do I do now?
 
wildcatcrzy said:
My brother in law gave me a 45 gallon tall tank. I am new to keeping fish so I filled it with water and waited 48 hours for the chlorine to evaporate and then headed to petsmart. I now know I should have cycled it but its now full of fish. Is it too late to do anything? I might have too many fish too. I have: 1 pleco, 2 rainbow sharks, 2 pictus catfish, 2 cory, 4 ghouramis, 2 kissing fish, 4 zebra barbs, and 4 platys. I wish I had researched this before starting but that's hind sight. What do I do now?

Welcome to the site :)

Wow. There's a lot of things going on here. First, you'll need to use a water conditioner to remove chlorine and not simply let it evaporate. Many cities use a form which will not have toxins evaporate out, and they have to be removed. We all recommend Seachem Prime because it has lots of benefits included along with dechlorinating, like temporarily neutralizing ammonia and nitrIte (something you'll get very familiar with).

Honestly, I don't know where to start. Usually we have a list of things to do like learn about cycling, having a good test kit, etc...but in this case there's just too many issues. You have incompatible fish inappropriate groupings, etc...

At this point, I don't see a way to make it work. My advise is going to be returning the fish, doing lots of reading and starting from scratch. There's simply too many fish to safely cycle the tank with them in there, there's too many incompatible fish for the tank, and honestly not much you have to work with there.

I'd go back to Petsmart with the fish and demand they need to be returned. No one with any integrity whatsoever should have sold you all those fish for a new tank IMO. It might take yelling at a manager...but that's really the only option at this point.

If you choose to keep a few of the compatible ones and cycle with fish...it'd doable, but removing most of them is going to be necessary in this case IMO.

In the mean time, those fish are going to be pumping out a ton of ammonia since the tank is not cycled. It will rapidly build up and the water will become toxic. It's absolutely vital you run out ASAP and purchase a dechlorinator (preferably Seachem Prime) and begin doing large water changes every day until you can take the fish back.

Here's the article which is going to be absolutely mandatory to read.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

We don't blame individuals for believing the (horrible) advice of stores...but hopefully this will show you the importance of doing your own research. This is a bad situation to avoid in the future by researching before purchasing.
 
wildcatcrzy said:
Wow I got a lot of work to do. Is their a compatible list that's reliable ad to what can be together?

Post what you want on this forum! People will tell you if your overstocking or if your incompatible. Just start a new thread with your tank size and the fish you want and people will help!
 
Great post above me(I was referring to Eco, just slow typer I guess lol). I'm very new to aquariums too, I'm still asking questions! I also did the exact same thing 4 months ago.

But many many things wrong, you need a fishless cycle before you get the fish to build beneficial bacteria to help control your toxin levels. You can make the mistake of having to do a cycle with fish in the tank (like me), you will regret it if you don't prepare the tank. Right now I'm having to literally test and do partial water changes, EVERY DAY. You shouldn't have to do that with a correct cycled tank.

Also just a couple small ones, Pleco's can get up to like 20" long. You really need AT LEAST a 55G tank to have ONE pleco, and most say that is too small. But most fish adapt to their aquarium, but it will never stay small enough to keep in a 45. Major over-stocking of the tank, you'll never be able to keep the toxin's low enough with all those fish.
 
wildcatcrzy said:
Wow I got a lot of work to do. Is their a compatible list that's reliable ad to what can be together?

At this point I really suggest starting over. You can do some research on the different fish you have and decide if there are a couple you want to keep...but you need to read about the nitrogen cycle in an aquarium and what is involved in a fish-in cycle. Make sure it is something you are willing and capable of doing. Many times it involves daily water changes for as long as up to 2 months if the tank is stocked too heavily.

I really hate to sound so negative about this...but it's simply not going to work. There is plain and simple, absolutely no way you can keep all those fish in the tank. As steez said, if it's a common Pleco they reach 2' and need a giant tank. A Red Tail Shark needs a minimum 55 gallon and should be kept alone...no other RTS with them. The Kissing Fish (Pink Gouramis) are potentially aggressive, Barbs are nippy if not in big enough schools and / or with incompatible fish, there can be problems with the 4 other Gouramis, Corys need to be kept in a group of 5-6, etc...there really are problems every way you look at this.

Personally, I'd return all of them, do your research, purchase the items you need like a water conditioner, liquid test kit, etc..., decide if you want to do a fish-in or fishless cycle and what they involve...and after that you can formulate a plan.

I'm sure the chain stores are closed, but I'd recommend you make a quick trip to Walmart and grab a water conditioner / dechlorinator so you can start doing water changes until you can return the fish.

Here's some more resources for you to read over and help you deal with the situation-
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Nitrogen_Cycle.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
 
Welcome to the site :)

Wow. There's a lot of things going on here. First, you'll need to use a water conditioner to remove chlorine and not simply let it evaporate. Many cities use a form which will not have toxins evaporate out, and they have to be removed. We all recommend Seachem Prime because it has lots of benefits included along with dechlorinating, like temporarily neutralizing ammonia and nitrIte (something you'll get very familiar with).

Honestly, I don't know where to start. Usually we have a list of things to do like learn about cycling, having a good test kit, etc...but in this case there's just too many issues. You have incompatible fish inappropriate groupings, etc...

At this point, I don't see a way to make it work. My advise is going to be returning the fish, doing lots of reading and starting from scratch. There's simply too many fish to safely cycle the tank with them in there, there's too many incompatible fish for the tank, and honestly not much you have to work with there.

I'd go back to Petsmart with the fish and demand they need to be returned. No one with any integrity whatsoever should have sold you all those fish for a new tank IMO. It might take yelling at a manager...but that's really the only option at this point.

If you choose to keep a few of the compatible ones and cycle with fish...it'd doable, but removing most of them is going to be necessary in this case IMO.

In the mean time, those fish are going to be pumping out a ton of ammonia since the tank is not cycled. It will rapidly build up and the water will become toxic. It's absolutely vital you run out ASAP and purchase a dechlorinator (preferably Seachem Prime) and begin doing large water changes every day until you can take the fish back.

Here's the article which is going to be absolutely mandatory to read.
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!

We don't blame individuals for believing the (horrible) advice of stores...but hopefully this will show you the importance of doing your own research. This is a bad situation to avoid in the future by researching before purchasing.

Petsmart has a 14 day return policy for fish in my area. It may or may not be the same in his area.
 
Ok, everything has been taken back except for the albino rainbow shark. My daughter won't give him up. So I am down to one fish and will do the in fish cycle. I have the liquid kit and will test tonight. I added the dechlorine chemical last night. I will post the readings tonight.
 
wildcatcrzy said:
Ok, everything has been taken back except for the albino rainbow shark. My daughter won't give him up. So I am down to one fish and will do the in fish cycle. I have the liquid kit and will test tonight. I added the dechlorine chemical last night. I will post the readings tonight.

Good going. A " fish in " cycle is a little more demanding but a way better situation than you had in the beginning. HN1s article is a great guide. Good luck and be prepared for honest answers when you ask questions. We we all new to this ourselves once.
Wayne
 
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wildcatcrzy said:
Ok, everything has been taken back except for the albino rainbow shark. My daughter won't give him up. So I am down to one fish and will do the in fish cycle. I have the liquid kit and will test tonight. I added the dechlorine chemical last night. I will post the readings tonight.

Good to hear...you did the right thing. Returning all the fish and doing a fishless cycle is ideal IMO, but if you are committed to get your fish through a fish-in cycle it's not a big deal. There's a good chance the ammonia has already built up in the tank from all the other fish, so you might have some serious water changes ahead of you to get the ammonia down to .25. Just make sure you read up on fish-in cycling (the article we linked last night), and in the mean time, do lots of research on what types of fish are compatible with your Rainbow Shark.

However, there's still the issue that RTS require a minimum of 55 gallons...so if you can convince your daughter that returning the Shark is the best thing to make the fish happy...that's really something I'd advise. Having semi-aggressive fish like RTS's will also really limit your choices for other fish in the future.

I applaud you though for taking the steps you have so far, and I hope you've learned not to trust the people at pet stores without doing your own research first
 
I would like to correct someone. Plecos can get that big but to successfully house them you need atleast 150g. 45g ain't bad for like 6months or so. I have mine in a 40g but he is still only 4" so definitely take the pleco back unless you have arrangements for a bigger tank. And get Corys
 
Ok, the numbers were really high so I took the rainbow shark back. Told my daughter they would babysit him for a few weeks and then we would get him back. Now that it has no fish should I do 100% water change and new filter and start over or will the water in there be better and just wait for numbers to decrease?
 
wildcatcrzy said:
Ok, the numbers were really high so I took the rainbow shark back. Told my daughter they would babysit him for a few weeks and then we would get him back. Now that it has no fish should I do 100% water change and new filter and start over or will the water in there be better and just wait for numbers to decrease?

No need to change anything...you can keep everything exactly as it is and start cycling. Give this a read-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html
 
Just do a 75% water change and do not change the filter. The bacteria is growing and that's good. Do a 50% water change every 2 days after that! And things will start looking better. The water will get cloudy for awhile and yes it is ugly but just stick to an every 2 day 50% water change and you will be good. Dont put anything in the water from a bottle unless its water conditioner

**edit** Eco is pretty good with this stuff too!!!
 
o.jonathan.o said:
Just do a 75% water change and do not change the filter. The bacteria is growing and that's good. Do a 50% water change every 2 days after that! And things will start looking better. The water will get cloudy for awhile and yes it is ugly but just stick to an every 2 day 50% water change and you will be good. Dont put anything in the water from a bottle unless its water conditioner

There's no fish in the tank.
 
Just to be clear...the tank is completely empty now, right?

^ jeta beat me to it

*edit- If your ammonia is above 4ppm (I hope it's not), then do a water change to bring it down to ~4
 
One more question and I think I got it. The filter tube goes a little less than halfway down the tank. Should I get an extension tube?
 
wildcatcrzy said:
One more question and I think I got it. The filter tube goes a little less than halfway down the tank. Should I get an extension tube?

I can't answer that one. My tank is 24" high and its only about 6" down. I'm gonna extend it though
 
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