new tank questions

[nightswake]

Hello everyone so I recently got a 10 gal tank Its my fist tank and the LFS sure got me.. so I bought the tank filled and dechlorinated and way overstocked so needless to say I lost a few fish and returned a lot more after I read a bit online. so now I have had the tank for 10 days I have been doing 25% water changes everyday I have 2 neon tetras 2 mickey mouse platys 2 guppys 4 zebra danios and 2 ghost shrimp I think its still overstocked but I cant return anymore fish to petsmart I have test strips for ammonia and one with 5 thins like ph hardness alkalinity nitrite and nitrate...

so I read about cycling and I have been testing the water is at like 3 of ammonia and I haven't got any nitrites or nitrates yet how long b4 I start to get the bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite? I didn't seed the tank with any filter media cause this is my first one ever and I had no idea about cycling

also I found baby fish in the tank yesterday so after watching two get eaten I got a cup and used a turkey baster to catch the babies and I put them in the cup went to petsmart got a fish cage thingy and now I have babies in the fish cage with the mickey mouse platy I looked online and the babies looked like those.. think I can raise the babies ( I crushed up flake food and they ate some) anyways thank you for reading my long post hope you can make sense out of it

ps.. I have pics just figuring out how to post them

 

[nightswake]

here is pics if it helps









and thanks in advance for any advice im going to go change some of the water now and try n clean out where the babies r a bit

 

[addisonnolann]

Do you have a filter running? If not, go out and buy one. The tank looks fairly cloudy and that will help out. See if you can get one of your LFS to sell you some seeded filter material. If not, continue with daily water changes and closely monitor your fish and water parameters. I would recommend the API liquid water testing kit. It's much more accurate than strips. Oh, I don't think you will be seeing too many fry making it at this point. The water quality isn't there, and they most likely will not make it. Which is probably a good thing because you don't have the room for all of those babies in your current setup.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[nightswake]

I have a hang on back filter its a aquaclear it says on the box good for 5-20 usgal... I just changed like 45% of the water its much clearer now



we also got ammonia filters so we have that on top of the charcoal in the filter mesh bag thingy... and the little fish frys are still looking good so im optimistic with frequent water changes I can keep them alive.. my wife used to have cichilids so we were planning on getting a bigger tank in a few months so hopefully if they live we will have the space to keep them for replying

 

[addisonnolann]

Keep up the good work and they should make it. Continue the pwc daily until the tank is more established. You're on the right track, it just takes time!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[nightswake]

I will continue with the pwc daily for as long as it takes. I did another water test still no nitrites or nitrates the ph is high and it says the alkalinity is a little high should i be worried? The ammonia is down to 1.5 or 3 hard to tell.. also im using the seachem prime as my dechlroinator it says on the back it makes it so the filter can take out ammonia and nitrite and nitrate. Is that ok?

 

[addisonnolann]

Test your tap water. In all honest it's better to leave it than try to change it drastically. The fish are better with stability.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[addisonnolann]

Seachem is good, and highly recommended. I don't know how much faith I have in it removing toxins, but it will dechlorinate the water, so continue with it. Keep the toxins down manually until they start converting.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[nightswake]

Awesome thanks for info i will test my tap water tommorrow

 

[nightswake]

Hello again forum users.. I tested my tap water this morning after another PWC and it shows up pretty high on the ph I have the api 5 in 1 test strips and it was at the max of that for ph no nitrates or nitrites and its hard water also the alkalinity it says is acceptable. I also tested the tap water for ammonia and it showed as like 2 or 3 (those strips are hard to use and I have maintained hot tubs b4 so I thought the test strips were easy lol) so my question is should I worry about the ph? I could go get a neutralizer, I am a plumber so I understand a bit about water quality and all

so please help me out I am still really new to fish keeping and I want my little community to survive any help is appreciated

 

[Stacey W.]

Hello again forum users.. I tested my tap water this morning after another PWC and it shows up pretty high on the ph I have the api 5 in 1 test strips and it was at the max of that for ph no nitrates or nitrites and its hard water also the alkalinity it says is acceptable. I also tested the tap water for ammonia and it showed as like 2 or 3 (those strips are hard to use and I have maintained hot tubs b4 so I thought the test strips were easy lol) so my question is should I worry about the ph? I could go get a neutralizer, I am a plumber so I understand a bit about water quality and all

so please help me out I am still really new to fish keeping and I want my little community to survive any help is appreciated

You will have way more accurate results with a liquid test kit. An API master test kit costs approximately $30 and it will last about 1 year. Also like the one of the previous users states, test your tap water. PH up and down does not work. If your ph is high from the tap there are ways to resolve that (i.e. crushed coral). Otherwise, if you have certain water perameters you can get fish that are compatible with them. Remember though, fish you purchase from your lfs are captive bred and not straight from the wild. Good luck!

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[nightswake]

thanks for responding Stacey and the above post is the test from my tap water
also I plan on getting the api masters test kit however petsmart didn't have it last time I was there so im going on Friday to a large LFS that only sells fish so im hoping they will have it their (I should go on Thursday that's when they feed there sharks)

 

[Mattyfelts]

i wouldnt worry about a high ph, youll do more harm then good trying to hit a certain number. stability is key my friend

 

[addisonnolann]

As far as I know it's best not to mess with them. But I hope someone else comments on this thread because I've never had this issue!


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[nightswake]

okay awesome yea im not going to mess with it if I don't have to and all fish are still doing good even the little fry so im optimistic

 

[addisonnolann]

The only thing that seems weird to me is ammonia being present in your tap water. I think it's not supposed to be there. That would contribute to an ammonia issue. I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure there shouldn't be.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[Stacey W.]

thanks for responding Stacey and the above post is the test from my tap water
also I plan on getting the api masters test kit however petsmart didn't have it last time I was there so im going on Friday to a large LFS that only sells fish so im hoping they will have it their (I should go on Thursday that's when they feed there sharks)

I wanna go sounds awesome! Here in Ohio we a place called Aquarium Adventure and I have never been. Mainly because it's 30 minutes away and I gotta bribe my 9 year old to come. Last year I purchased some giant danios and they destroyed my tank. He held the bag for me fo 30 minutes while I had to catch them. I think I traumatized him.lol.

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[nightswake]

haha that's awesome staceyw I have little dianos but they will get bigger, I have already noticed my neon tetras growing and the place I want to go to is called big als in Edmonton if you google it comes up it looks like a pretty awesome store ill have to let you know when I check it out

and thanks for all the advice everyone I definitely wont try and change the ph.. and yea I really hope the test strips are messed cause there shouldn't be ammonia in the tap water