What to do now?

[ErinF90]

I made a big mistake buying a 90 gallon tank and only getting advice from the LFS. Which was fill'er up and wait a week then add fish. My angels (all 3) died within 5 days, the rest of my fish seem to be doing fine. Stocked with 2 dwarf flame gouramies, 1 Opaline gourami, 6 rummy nose tetras, 1 Betta, 1 Chinese algae eater, 2 clown loaches, 3 blue German guppies, 3 gold leopard guppies, 3 lyre tail guppies. It is a planted tank that has been running for 5 weeks......What now? I have been reading all about cycling but did none of that. I have a nexx filter with bio-chem zorb filter pads and bio-stars at the top for the bb. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Hi!
What are the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH of the tank? After 5 weeks it could be close to cycled. You will need to keep ontop of water changes to keep toxin levels to a minimum.

Please read this and if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-to-Starting-a-Freshwater-Aquarium/Page1.html

 

[librarygirl]

Hi and welcome! I agree with Mumma, at 5 weeks you could be cycled or close-to provided that you aren't changing your filter media out regularly. It seems the API Nexx filter is only rated for 65 gallons and they have extensions to add for larger tanks; do you have those?

Also just FYI the Opaline Gourami may become aggressive to the other gouramis so watch for that. Also the CAE can tend to be very aggressive as it gets older so again just watch. Clown loaches tend to like groups of 5+ (which you don't really have room for) and they can get very large; a 150+ gal tank is recommended to house a group of adults. Not sure what size yours are but as they grow you'll need to upgrade to larger tank(s). http://www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus

Do you have a test kit? Which kind (liquid or strips)? If you can test your water and post your parameters here we can help more.

 

[ErinF90]

Thank you both! I just have strips to test, they are not the best because they don't have ammonia on them. Nitrates are between 0-20, nitrites are at 0. Really wish I knew ammonia. Will need to get API master test kit I think. Oh and I do have one extension for my filter so good for 110 gallons I think. My CAE is already getting a bit aggressive but he is so so good at keeping the tank clean! I hope is is okay. I'll keep an eye on the Opaline gourami, he seems to keep to himself. I quite like my dwarf flame gouramies they have great character! Thanks again and once I get a test kit will let you know readings, if my LFS is open on Sunday will run out and pick one up then

 

[ErinF90]

Thanks for the link about clown loaches, I had read they could get to a max size of 12", but not that they should be kept in groups of at least 5. I feel like I should re-home them . The last thing I want is unhappy fish. Lesson learned about checking more then one source before deciding on a fish!