Please help a beginner

[senorkevin]

I´m new to this!

Hello to all here on AA. My daughter has been asking for some fish for a year and my wife finally agreed yesterday!
I bought a 30 litre tank (7 gallon) ish tank with a few guppies and a black fish with 2 tails (I told you I was new to this!).
Also I bought an air pump, a 35 watt heater and 2 plants. The person I bought all this from told me I need to add salt to the tank, which I did.
I few a few questions:
Is my tank a fresh or salt water tank?
What over types of fishes should I buy?
Also I have read a lot of different types of fish that can clean the tank. I am confused about what to buy. Should I get snails (i read that some reproduce and overpower the tank), catfish or shrimp?
Any advice would be great. Thank you.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Welcome to AA!

Your tank would be freshwater and its a little on the small side so you need to be very careful on what you put into it. Did you cycle the tank? This link will help you with many things
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice
You could get away with some snails or some shrimp. The only problem with the shrimp is the fish may eat them.

 

[trickshot3102]

Hello to all here on AA. My daughter has been asking for some fish for a year and my wife finally agreed yesterday!
I bought a 30 litre tank (7 gallon) ish tank with a few guppies and a black fish with 2 tails (I told you I was new to this!).
Also I bought an air pump, a 35 watt heater and 2 plants. The person I bought all this from told me I need to add salt to the tank, which I did.
I few a few questions:
Is my tank a fresh or salt water tank?
What over types of fishes should I buy?
Also I have read a lot of different types of fish that can clean the tank. I am confused about what to buy. Should I get snails (i read that some reproduce and overpower the tank), catfish or shrimp?
Any advice would be great. Thank you.

I wouldn't worry about cycling with fish in the tank, I did the same thing Just make sure that you do 50% water changes weekly to reduce ammonia during cycling. If you really want to get into the hobby, you could buy some test strips for Ammonia, Nitrites and nitrates. Those will tell you when your cycle is done. I think your black fish is a black moor goldfish, which is a freshwater fish, not salt. To clean the tank, I would suggest a Cory cat or a pleco. I would also be careful in stocking the tank because you are still cycling. Keep your bio-load (how many fish you have) to a minimum because if you have too many, it will create to much ammonia and kill the fish.


The nitrogen cycle: Ammonia is fish waste (poop, uneaten food and basically anything that can rot). Ammonia is HIGHLY TOXIC to fish (that's why you need to keep your bio-load down and keep up on water changes). The cycle is all about building beneficial or good bacteria (Yes, there are good bacteria in a fish tank). So, once there are enough good bacteria (nitrosomonas) to break down the ammonia, it will decrease DRASTICALLY. Once your ammonia shoots down, nitrites will shoot up. Nitrites are less harmful to fish, but your not done yet! Once the second beneficial bacteria forms called Nitrospira, it will take care of the nitrites. Hold on, your almost done Once nitrites go down, notates will shoot up to about 70 ppm (parts per million) or more! There is no bacteria to take care of nitrates. The only way to keep them low is by partial water changes once a week. Thats it! Once your nitrogen cycle is done, your water will be clear and you can stock to your full bio-load. Always remember that if you want to add more fish, add them slowly. Every time there is a new fish, you have an ammonia spike. If you put, for example, 5 fish in at one time, your ammonia will shoot way up and it will most likely stall your cycle.

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask! Hope this helped!

 

[senorkevin]

Thank you for the reply.
I didn't cycle the tank the the seller didn't say anything about and just a beginner!
I have started to read about cycling the tank and I am confused about nitrates etc.
I have learned that I need a light because the fish like it and that I also need a filter.
Any recommendations about what I should add to the tank?
Thanks again.
The seller told me I only need to change the water every 2 months if I have an air pump. Therefore do I need to change the water at 50% because of the cycling?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I wouldn't worry about cycling with fish in the tank, I did the same thing

The tank has to cycle no matter how it's approached

If you really want to get into the hobby, you could buy some test strips for Ammonia, Nitrites and nitrates.

The test strips aren't as accurate as people might think. I would suggest using the app liquid test kit for freshwater

To clean the tank, I would suggest a Cory cat or a pleco.

The tank isn't big enough for either of those, shrimp or snail's is the best bet with that small of aquarium.

Any recommendations about what I should add to the tank?

Personally the black fish should go as a 7 gallon wouldn't be big enough for it. I'd just stick to the other fish with shrimp, snails and plants. As for a light you can use a clip on work lamp or even a desk lamp.

The seller told me I only need to change the water every 2 months if I have an air pump.

That would be incorrect. 50% weekly water changes broke up threw out the week would be the best thing to do. Fish like clean water

Therefore do I need to change the water at 50% because of the cycling?

Yes a fish in cycle you still need to test the water more often and do water changes more than normal

 

[senorkevin]

I was planning on maybe getting 1 or 2 extra fish and 1 to keep the tank clean. Should I add them to the tank first then start to cycle or cycle then add the other fish?
Also the bloke told me that I should use bottled water because it is better. Could I use filtered tap water?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I was planning on maybe getting 1 or 2 extra fish and 1 to keep the tank clean. Should I add them to the tank first then start to cycle or cycle then add the other fish?

If there is fish in the tank The cycle has already started. Please read my last post to your questions

 

[Aqualady40]

Welcome.....start here
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Stocking Guidelines for Newbies - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[senorkevin]

So buy the fish/shrimp and add them?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

So buy the fish/shrimp and add them?

I wouldn't buy any fish but I would take back the black one. You can try snail's, shrimp and live plants. You can maybe get away with a couple ottos. But they are picky so if you try them add them later down the road

 

[eduguy]

If you fish in cycle, 25% every other day works I think.

 

[eduguy]

An air pump does not clean water so you will still need to do weekly water changes after the tank is cycled.

 

[flitabout]

I will break it down nice and easy as I can.
The black fish with the two tails is most likely a lyre tail mollie and needs at least a 30g or 113 liter tank. I would try to see if your LFS (local fish store) will take the fish back. You really should have a liquid test kit like an API master. Any water added to the tank should be treated with a de-chlorinator like prime (best in my opinion). Once your tank is cycled you will need to do a 50% water change weekly. Your issue now is that you have fish in a small tank that have large bio loads they poop a lot!!! You will need to check your water no less than once a day and do a water change with de-chlorinated water anytime your ammonia or nitrites get over 0.25ppm or your nitrates get over 20ppm. Water changes will not slow your cycle down. The bacteria you are trying to grow live on the hard surfaces of the aquarium, like the gravel on the plants and on the glass.
One of the issues I am also noticing with the test strips people have been getting these all in ones and they don't have the ammonia test on it. By the time they realize they have a problem they are already having fish deaths.
The way that the cycle works is, is fish produce waste (ammonia) bacteria develop over time to eat the ammonia. That bacteria's waste is nitrite. Another bacteria develops that feeds on the nitrite and it's waste is the nitrate. This cycle can take up to 2 months to totally establish. So in the meantime you have to make sure that ammonia and nitrite stay at levels that are safer for the fish because they are poisonous. Nitrate is a toxin but not nearly as toxic to the fish as the ammonia and nitrite. Also these toxins become worse at a higher pH. The other thing you have to watch out for and this is toward the end of the cycle is the pH dropping. On one hand you are thinking that the toxins aren't as toxic as the pH drops but it brings up another issue. At a pH of 6.5 the bb (beneficial bacteria) begin to slow down the processing of the waste products, and at 6.0 they totally stop and begin to die off. It's just something to watch out for. It may mean that you just need to do a water change to add more pH buffers back in to the water. pH buffers help to keep the pH from swinging up and down which can stress fish and end in their death. On a positive note that rarely happens in a "fish in cycle" because of the frequent water changes that are always replenishing the pH buffers.
Cycling fish in is a pain in the butt. But it can be done safely for the fish, it just take a lot of diligence on the part of the fish keeper. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask. That's what we are all here for. Even the most advanced of aquarist has questions from time to time.

 

[trickshot3102]

I would suggest aeration Some of the good bacteria will grow in oxygenated water

 

[threnjen]

Senorkevin:

You need to purchase a filter RIGHT AWAY. This is an integral part of your tank. It needs to be rated for double the size of your tank. So a filter for a 15-20 gallon tank.

You don't need bottled water, you need a proper dechlorinator, such as Prime.

Follow the advice from others about the fish.

Who was giving you all this advice to set up? A fish store? A generalized pet store? A friend? We'll help you but there are some things to be fixed.