jlindseyjr
Aquarium Advice Regular
Hi folks. I just need a little guidance here. I've lost some fish and can't figure out exactly why. I apologize for the long post, but I don't want to miss anything. Here are my params:
Aquarium size and shape. Standard 20 Gal.
Substrate type and depth. Medium sized gravel. 2" deep
Decorations/structures. Fake logs, silk plants.
Type and size of filtration. Penguin 170 Edited--Not a Penguin 125
All of the fish and their sizes. Right now I have 2 Emerald Cories, each 2" long and 4 platies(1 male, 3 female) each about 1.5 " long.
Live plant types and quantity. None
How long the tank has been setup and is it cycled? Been set up about 10 weeks and is cycled
Lighting type and time on/off. 20W(?) fluorescent. On at ~1:00PM Off at 11:00PM
Feeding, food types, quantities, and frequency. Flake food daily. Bloodworms occasionally.
PH 7.6
Hardness º3
Ammonia 0
nitrrIte 0
nitrAte I don't have a kit for NO3 but I do 20% water changes every 10 days
Salinity I haved a little salt but not enough to read on a Deep 6
Temperature 76º F
When I set up the tank in late January, I introduced 3 red wag platies and 2 emerald cories. I put in 1 oz of Biospira. I did get a small NH3 spike. Went up to 0.5. i added another oz of Biospira. NH3 and NO3 have been 0 ever since. Three weeks later I added 4 lyretail mollies, each about 1.5" long. I checked the NH3, never spiked. Several days later, 2 of the mollies had ich, the next day, all had spots except the cats. I jacked the temp to 85 and slowly added salt until the SG was 1.003. I left the temp up and the salt in for a week after all the spots disappeared. I then lowered the temp and did small water changes every few days to bring down the salt level. All the fish were still alive after we got rid of the ich. Then, over the next 2 weeks, the mollies died one by one, followed by the male platy. I was left with the 2 cats and 2 female platies. One of the platies was pregnant. I didn't know it until I saw a fry hiding in the bushes. She never got big nor did she have a noticeable gravid spot. She died about a week later. Through all this, the cories have flourished and have grown like weeds. I left the tank with just the cories and the last platy until this past Sunday. I added a male and 2 female platies. Right now they all seem happy, although my original red platy sometimes hides. I just can't figure it out.
Aquarium size and shape. Standard 20 Gal.
Substrate type and depth. Medium sized gravel. 2" deep
Decorations/structures. Fake logs, silk plants.
Type and size of filtration. Penguin 170 Edited--Not a Penguin 125
All of the fish and their sizes. Right now I have 2 Emerald Cories, each 2" long and 4 platies(1 male, 3 female) each about 1.5 " long.
Live plant types and quantity. None
How long the tank has been setup and is it cycled? Been set up about 10 weeks and is cycled
Lighting type and time on/off. 20W(?) fluorescent. On at ~1:00PM Off at 11:00PM
Feeding, food types, quantities, and frequency. Flake food daily. Bloodworms occasionally.
PH 7.6
Hardness º3
Ammonia 0
nitrrIte 0
nitrAte I don't have a kit for NO3 but I do 20% water changes every 10 days
Salinity I haved a little salt but not enough to read on a Deep 6
Temperature 76º F
When I set up the tank in late January, I introduced 3 red wag platies and 2 emerald cories. I put in 1 oz of Biospira. I did get a small NH3 spike. Went up to 0.5. i added another oz of Biospira. NH3 and NO3 have been 0 ever since. Three weeks later I added 4 lyretail mollies, each about 1.5" long. I checked the NH3, never spiked. Several days later, 2 of the mollies had ich, the next day, all had spots except the cats. I jacked the temp to 85 and slowly added salt until the SG was 1.003. I left the temp up and the salt in for a week after all the spots disappeared. I then lowered the temp and did small water changes every few days to bring down the salt level. All the fish were still alive after we got rid of the ich. Then, over the next 2 weeks, the mollies died one by one, followed by the male platy. I was left with the 2 cats and 2 female platies. One of the platies was pregnant. I didn't know it until I saw a fry hiding in the bushes. She never got big nor did she have a noticeable gravid spot. She died about a week later. Through all this, the cories have flourished and have grown like weeds. I left the tank with just the cories and the last platy until this past Sunday. I added a male and 2 female platies. Right now they all seem happy, although my original red platy sometimes hides. I just can't figure it out.
