Newbie here

[RichardGlasgow]

Hi. First of all a happy new year to all and all the best for 2014 from sunny glasgow Scotland lol

I've just recently set up my 64 litre tank. Let it mature before adding any fish. I now have

3 rosy tetras
1 red tail shark
2 marble mollies

Now had problems with the clear gooey stuff growing so have been doing a 50% water change every day and seems to be getting better.

Now yesterday I changed it and then filled the tank to water line but a few hours later I noticed all my fish sitting at surface as if they were gasping for breath I knew straight away that there was something wrong when the shark was at the surface as he never goes there and always feeds at bottom or middle.

The filter I have is one of these over hang ones and the filtered water wasn't breaking the water. So I quickly took a bit of water out and now there is bubbles and fish are back to normal and seem really happy. But tank water isn't where it should be.

What is best solution for filteres or should I go with airstone?



As you can see on picture the tank is far from full but for now the survival of my fish is really important

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Richard. I am new to site as well.
If you can't position your filter outlet at the water level when the tank is full then an air stone at the other end of the tank will improve water circulation and 'break' the water surface to improve oxygen absorption. Other than that - get more plants.
I am a novice at a planted aquarium but have noticed fish have no breathing probs even with air stone off while injecting co2. Bit of a balancing act but have found plants grow well with Seachem Excel Flourish if your not planning on co2.
Good luck with your tank.
Steve.

 

[BL1ND1ND3X]

Hi. First of all a happy new year to all and all the best for 2014 from sunny glasgow Scotland lol

I've just recently set up my 64 litre tank. Let it mature before adding any fish. I now have

3 rosy tetras
1 red tail shark
2 marble mollies

Now had problems with the clear gooey stuff growing so have been doing a 50% water change every day and seems to be getting better.

Now yesterday I changed it and then filled the tank to water line but a few hours later I noticed all my fish sitting at surface as if they were gasping for breath I knew straight away that there was something wrong when the shark was at the surface as he never goes there and always feeds at bottom or middle.

The filter I have is one of these over hang ones and the filtered water wasn't breaking the water. So I quickly took a bit of water out and now there is bubbles and fish are back to normal and seem really happy. But tank water isn't where it should be.

What is best solution for filteres or should I go with airstone?

As you can see on picture the tank is far from full but for now the survival of my fish is really important

Hello Richard, Happy New Year to you Too!
When you say you let your tank mature did you do the full cycle?
What do you mean by clear gooey stuff?
With hang on back filters as long as the "waterfall" is at least an inch or two above the water line than it is fine.
If you want an airstone then you can get one as it does help the water to move if your filter isn't doing that already thus creating oxygen.
But you have to have a filter.
What is the name of your filter?
Sorry I don't know if you are a beginner or not so if you know all of this already I apologize as I'm just being precautionary.

 

[RichardGlasgow]

Hi. Thanks.

I am a beginner. I waited 4 weeks (I know major mistake) and went on the advice of the so called experts at pets at home. They originally told me 2 weeks before adding fish but I waited longer. I'm getting water testing stuff tomorrow

The stuff was at the bottom of tank at first on the sand but I have been doing a 50% change everyday and it's gone now. Only problem is my fish struggle to breathe if water is right up to top.


The filter came with tank and heater etc. think its a Lovefish one

Thanks and any more advice would be good

 

[BL1ND1ND3X]

Hi. Thanks.

I am a beginner. I waited 4 weeks (I know major mistake) and went on the advice of the so called experts at pets at home. They originally told me 2 weeks before adding fish but I waited longer. I'm getting water testing stuff tomorrow

The stuff was at the bottom of tank at first on the sand but I have been doing a 50% change everyday and it's gone now. Only problem is my fish struggle to breathe if water is right up to top.

The filter came with tank and heater etc. think its a Lovefish one

Thanks and any more advice would be good

Ok more questions for you.
4 weeks is a possibility that your tank cycled but with all those water changes I doubt it.
The only water testing kit that me and everyone else on this forum would recommend to you would be the API Freshwater Master test kit.
It's around $30 but it is cheaper in the long run than test strips and a lot more accurate.
The fish could be gasping for air not just from oxygen depravation but also from bad water quality.
Like ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates, but with all those water changes nitrates shouldn't be an issue right now.
Hopefully you can get the test kit I recommended tomorrow but whichever water test you get make sure to test your water as soon as possible and post your results here.
And I'll tell you how far into the cycle you are.
Now for the filter I have never heard of lovefish but could you tell me the gallons per hour rate.
It should be on the box the filter came in.

 

[BL1ND1ND3X]

Also how big is your red tailed shark?

 

[RichardGlasgow]

Hi I threw the box etc out. Panorama love fish make the tank and filter. I will go in store and ask them these questions tomorrow

The red tail shark is about 1 n half inches. Gets on great with the other fish so far.

Many thanks

 

[BL1ND1ND3X]

Hi I threw the box etc out. Panorama love fish make the tank and filter. I will go in store and ask them these questions tomorrow

The red tail shark is about 1 n half inches. Gets on great with the other fish so far.

Many thanks

Ok it's always best to have your GPH to be about 10 times your aquarium capacity so you should be looking for 160 GPH or if your going by liters you would be looking for 640 LPH.
And sorry to tell you this about your Red Tail Shark since they are great fish, he is too big to be in a 64l tank. They get around 6-8 inches fully grown and are active requiring a 55 gallon minimum. And in that little tank not only will he be unhealthy but he will get very territorial to the other fish.
Again I'm sorry.

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Richard. I have looked at your set up on the store web site and read the reviews. There seems to be some concerns about the top of the filter, it being open and fish being able to jump in and therefore die. There was also no info about flow rate. Quite a few reviews said that they replaced the filter. I bought a complete 25l set up for my quarantine tank from the same store and the filter struggled. I added an addition internal filter with an extra foam filter on the outlet. Not pretty but effective. I would suggest that you keep stocking levels very low level until tank is proven stable and then only add one or two fish at a time. Personally I would invest in either an additional filter or use an external filter.
The API test master is an ideal kit but doesn't include kh and gh, it's worth getting these additional tests. When you are armed with all the test results you get a much better picture of the stability of your tank.
I decided when I set my tank up last year (2013) that I would work with the natural water condition of my area (very soft) and opted for fish that suited.
A fish keeping friend said that we don't keep fish we keep water. Very true!
Hope the tank settles. Steve.

 

[RichardGlasgow]

Just woke up to check my tank and noticed this at bottom of tank. Moving very slowly along bottom. It's only a few MM in size

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Richard. It's not very clear on the picture. I'm assuming it's not just a snail so can you describe it or get a close up picture. Steve.

 

[RichardGlasgow]

Hi Richard. It's not very clear on the picture. I'm assuming it's not just a snail so can you describe it or get a close up picture. Steve.

Hi Steve. I can't see it anymore. Could be hiding somewhere or a fish has got it. To me it looks like a baby fish but surely there would be more and it swimming? That was a close up mate. Probably only 2-3mm in size

 

[ScotJudd]

What fish have you got in the tank?

 

[RichardGlasgow]

2 marble mollies
3 rosy tetras
1 red tail shark

 

[RichardGlasgow]

On looking on google. I have 2 females and 1 female tetra

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Richard.
The Mollies could have dropped young as they are live bearers. The other fish would probable had an early breakfast as there is not enough cover for them to escape.
You really need to see what your water specs are. Generally mollies like slightly hard water with a touch of salt and the tetras like softer water and defo no salt. The red tail will be too big.
Personally I would either go the hard water or soft water route and not mix them. As I said before, get a kh/gh test kit and see what your local water is like. I never believe the advice of chain store fish shops. Try and find a specialist aquarist shop as they give much better advice - but they will still want your money
Steve.

 

[RichardGlasgow]

Ok. I have 4 mollie fry now which have been seperated and re doing well. But original pic I posted came back. Took it our tank and it has a shell and put it back. Since spotted another very small one. What are these?

 

[RichardGlasgow]

Oh and got my water tested. My nitrate levels and PH levels are fine but ammonia is at 1.0. Got it tested in store as both my Mollies died

 

[Fishperson]

1. You should definitely buy a test kit. I recommend buying it online, because it is often half the price of what it is in stores.

2. The mollies and red tail shark both need a bigger tank. Sorry.

I recommend upping the tetra school to at least 5, and adding another school and a centerpiece fish. This would be great:
6 rosy tetras
7 neon tetras
1 honey gourami

3. Your water should be below 7 pH for best results with rosy tetras. They will still be fine. I would recommend a ph of between 6 and 7, but others will be fine. Fish can adapt, but they do better in certain ranges.

Welcome to AA!

 

[Caliban07]

Hi Steve. I know this tank very well as I had one about 6 months back. The filter is made by the same company as the tank makers you are correct. The output flow rate is on the label on the back of the filter. You can dismantle the filter pretty easily and it's a good idea to do this because it gets noisy if it gunks up.

The flow rate is sufficient for the tank. It's just over 4 times the capacity so you need to ensure that you do not over stock of put fish with extremely high bioloads in. It's only a 15 gallon tank (UK) so really not for fish that require a larger body of water as has already been pointed out.

I commend your efforts at leaving the tank still for a month with no fish. Unfortunately the tank has not been cycled. You need to establish a bacteria in your tank that can break down hateful toxins in the water. In order to do this you need an ammonia source. Your tank was left to sit with no ammonia source. When you put the fish in the cycle began but there is not enough bacteria to process the ammonia that the fish are creating. The LFS says your nitrite and nitrate are good because the cycle hasn't got that far yet. Water changes and a test kit are going to be very important to ensure the health of your fish. That's probably a snail. Did you buy live plants?

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