Back to this hobby and it's definitely changed.

[Chad2000k]

Hey Chad.... how is the tank doing?

Are you still having trouble with cloudy water?

Hey! Thanks for checking in. The cloudy part has substantially reduced but still a slight haze... The water is still the same at 0 Nitrates and Nitrites. Ammonia has climbed to 6. I'm beginning to wonder if these strips are really working... I have the Api Kit on order and should be here tomorrow. I'll be doing a water change today. Thinking about checking out another store and maybe getting another plant from an established tank to help establish this tank's bb.

How is your tank doing?

 

[Koco35]

Hey! Thanks for checking in. The cloudy part has substantially reduced but still a slight haze... The water is still the same at 0 Nitrates and Nitrites. Ammonia has climbed to 6. I'm beginning to wonder if these strips are really working... I have the Api Kit on order and should be here tomorrow. I'll be doing a water change today. Thinking about checking out another store and maybe getting another plant from an established tank to help establish this tank's bb.

How is your tank doing?

View attachment 157166

It looks much better but keep up with water changes every other day which will help with clarity and the ammonia levels. Also be sure to use a product to remove chlorine from your tap water. I use Seachems Prime. The prime will also help to reduce the ammonia levels in your water so be sure to use it liberally.

From what I have read the test strips are not really accurate.

Both of my tanks are doing okay. The red tail shark in my sons freshwater tank is having some issues though
Just added a pair of clowns and some corals this past week. Everyone is getting acclimated okay

 

[Koco35]

Hey are you using a gravel sipphon for your water changes?

It would help to reduce your ammonia levels even further.

 

[Chad2000k]

It looks much better but keep up with water changes every other day which will help with clarity and the ammonia levels. Also be sure to use a product to remove chlorine from your tap water. I use Seachems Prime. The prime will also help to reduce the ammonia levels in your water so be sure to use it liberally.

From what I have read the test strips are not really accurate.

Both of my tanks are doing okay. The red tail shark in my sons freshwater tank is having some issues though
Just added a pair of clowns and some corals this past week. Everyone is getting acclimated okay

Thank you! It does look improved as far as quality but the tests aren't exactly the same... I do have that Prime on order with my API water test tube kit from Amazon. Should be here tomorrow and I'll switch to that conditioner and use that.

Aw, that sucks, what kind of issues?

 

[Chad2000k]

Hey are you using a gravel sipphon for your water changes?

It would help to reduce your ammonia levels even further.

Yes I am actually using a gravel sipphon. But I'm actually vacuuming the gravel (per say) every other water change kind of.... I have 5 1gallon jugs of tap water in the water heater/ac room since it's the most warmest part of the place just to make it easier on getting it really close to the tank water temperature... Right before refilling the tank I add just enough conditioner to the 2 jugs and give it a good shake before I pour it into the tank. The fish seem to be enjoying and running around the tank so they seem to be well acclimated to the tank. So now it's just a waiting patiently game and doing water changes every other day....

 

[Koco35]

Thank you! It does look improved as far as quality but the tests aren't exactly the same... I do have that Prime on order with my API water test tube kit from Amazon. Should be here tomorrow and I'll switch to that conditioner and use that.

Aw, that sucks, what kind of issues?

The prime is great for removing ammonia too.
I usually use more than two drops per gallon of water just because of the number of fish in the tank as well as some issues i was previously having with high ammonia numbers. My son decided to feed the fish at one point and dumped most of the container of flake food into the water. It took me about a month of water changes and gravel sipphoning each time to finally get the levels down to a safe point.

I just tested my water today and had to do a pwc because once again my ammonia levels were too high. I also added a capful to the tank afterwards to help bring the level down
even further.

 

[Koco35]

My red tail shark's tail was losing all its color. It is a sign of stress so I was trying to figure out what was causing it. I did the pwc as my first attempt. We will have to see if it works!

 

[Chad2000k]

Ahh I see. Petsmart told us to use just a few drops as well... Ended up not being nearly enough to what 1tsp to 10gal ratio was. I used about 1/8tsp or roughly 15 drops...

 

[Koco35]

Ahh I see. Petsmart told us to use just a few drops as well... Ended up not being nearly enough to what 1tsp to 10gal ratio was. I used about 1/8tsp or roughly 15 drops...

Well when I had the water tested at the lfs they guy suggested that I use a whole capful which made an immediate change. So that is what i am trying again and we will see if it works again.

The red tail shark is my favorite fish in the freshwater tank so I am doing what I can to save him!

 

[Chad2000k]

Ahhh I see okay.

 

[Chad2000k]

We went to PetCo last night to look at some plants already in an established tank and found a couple and I got this one, Echindorus Paniculatus or 'Bleheri', looks like a great plant. Got it in the tank last night and this morning the tank is crystal clear, it was kind-of exciting to wake up to that. The water levels are the same however, but with 2 live plants in the tank now, that may be keeping the Nitrate and Nitrite low, but Ammonia is still high and fell slightly since yesterday. I will be doing a water change tomorrow.

 

[Koco35]

We went to PetCo last night to look at some plants already in an established tank and found a couple and I got this one, Echindorus Paniculatus or 'Bleheri', looks like a great plant. Got it in the tank last night and this morning the tank is crystal clear, it was kind-of exciting to wake up to that. The water levels are the same however, but with 2 live plants in the tank now, that may be keeping the Nitrate and Nitrite low, but Ammonia is still high and fell slightly since yesterday. I will be doing a water change tomorrow.

Sounds good. Just keep up with your water changes and eventually you levels will become normal. Stay the course as they say

I am thinking about bringing my red tail shark back to the lfs. Even with the constant water changes he is still not showing much red in his tail. I am going to call today to see what they say.

 

[Chad2000k]

Sounds good. Just keep up with your water changes and eventually you levels will become normal. Stay the course as they say

I am thinking about bringing my red tail shark back to the lfs. Even with the constant water changes he is still not showing much red in his tail. I am going to call today to see what they say.

Awesome and wait before getting some more fish? Thinking of adding an algae eater like the Octinclus and maybe another blue guppy to even the color...

Is discoloration a sign of stress or wrong nutrition? I use color enhancing crisps by Tetra Fin. I'm thinking about adding another food item such as regular flakes to help changeup their diet a little.

 

[Koco35]

Awesome and wait before getting some more fish? Thinking of adding an algae eater like the Octinclus and maybe another blue guppy to even the color...

Is discoloration a sign of stress or wrong nutrition? I use color enhancing crisps by Tetra Fin. I'm thinking about adding another food item such as regular flakes to help changeup their diet a little.

I was told you should wait at least a week or two before adding new fish to your tank. This way your tank can adjust to an additional source of waste products! Lol

Algae eaters are a good addition as long as you have some algae for it to eat. They sell algae wafers in case your tank cannot produce enough.

I think discoloration is a sign of both stress and wrong nutrition. Unfortunately I came home to find my poor red tail shark floating at the top of the tank

I am sad because he was a cool fish to watch.

 

[Koco35]

I forgot to tell you... variety is good for feeding your fish. I usually switch back and forth between flake food and frozen cubes of blood worms. Both are relatively cheap and give the fish some variety

My fish seem to like the blood worms best!

 

[Chad2000k]

Hmmm you got a frozen cube. I'll have to look into that. I got flakes and crisps which is sorta the same thing.... I'm sorry to hear about your fish.

 

[Koco35]

Hmmm you got a frozen cube. I'll have to look into that. I got flakes and crisps which is sorta the same thing.... I'm sorry to hear about your fish.

Thanks for the condolences. Fortunately my son took it well.

The frozen cubes are great but I have to cut them in half and then quarters depending on the number of fish in order to keep from overfeeding.

If you are interested i know i saw them at a Petco in my area. It is likely that they will be at the one you go to.

Just look for the refridgerator in the aquariums/fish area. Thats where i saw them the last time i was at petco.

Hope that helps!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Okay, I am going to put in my 2 cents and ask a few questions. If anything sounds offending, i'm not trying to be..

1. How did you fishless cycle the tank? You need to add an ammonia source such as pure ammonia from Ace Hardware, Fish Food, or a Frozen Shrimp in a nylon.
2. Bump the heat up. Like 82*. If you need another heater, get another heater. The heat will help with growing the BB
3. Do 50% water changes at least once a day, if not twice. This is going to be too easy in a 5.5.... Wait till you have to do a 75% pwc in a 25G, in the basement, with no sink. Using a 5 gal bucket. That's why I am waiting till there's a sink down there to get a 55..
If you truly have 6ppm of ammonia in there, those poor poor guppies won't last very long in that water.
4. I would wait on the blood worms until your tank is cycled... They are very messy, and if the fish don't eat them all, they just add more ammonia to the tank. Actually, you should underfeed by a little and fast one day per week. This will help with the ammonia.
5. For plants, you picked slow growing ones. They will help take a little ammonia and nitrates (They don't eat nitrites) but not much.. If you can get some, get some anarcharis. Not they prettiest plant, but they will eat a ton of ammonia and nitrates, and it grows pretty fast also.
6. Do not, I repeat, do not add any otos... You are 110%+ stocked as is, your tank isn't cycled, there will not be proper algae for them to eat. They need a very mature (and larger) tank, so they can get enough algae and bio film to eat. They never eat prepared foods. 99% (if not 100%) are all wild caught. They are not schooling or shoaling fish, but they are shy fish and do like others of their kind.. Unfortunantly, you will not be able to put any other fish in this tank.
A couple months after it is 100% cycled, you could add a couple Ramshorn snails, or a couple amano shrimp, or a few cherry shrimp, but keep in mind the guppies will eat most if not all shrimplets the RCS decide to have.

I hope this information and suggestions help. If you have any questions feel free to ask

 

[Chad2000k]

Okay, I am going to put in my 2 cents and ask a few questions. If anything sounds offending, i'm not trying to be..

1. How did you fishless cycle the tank? You need to add an ammonia source such as pure ammonia from Ace Hardware, Fish Food, or a Frozen Shrimp in a nylon.
2. Bump the heat up. Like 82*. If you need another heater, get another heater. The heat will help with growing the BB
3. Do 50% water changes at least once a day, if not twice. This is going to be too easy in a 5.5.... Wait till you have to do a 75% pwc in a 25G, in the basement, with no sink. Using a 5 gal bucket. That's why I am waiting till there's a sink down there to get a 55..
If you truly have 6ppm of ammonia in there, those poor poor guppies won't last very long in that water.
4. I would wait on the blood worms until your tank is cycled... They are very messy, and if the fish don't eat them all, they just add more ammonia to the tank. Actually, you should underfeed by a little and fast one day per week. This will help with the ammonia.
5. For plants, you picked slow growing ones. They will help take a little ammonia and nitrates (They don't eat nitrites) but not much.. If you can get some, get some anarcharis. Not they prettiest plant, but they will eat a ton of ammonia and nitrates, and it grows pretty fast also.
6. Do not, I repeat, do not add any otos... You are 110%+ stocked as is, your tank isn't cycled, there will not be proper algae for them to eat. They need a very mature (and larger) tank, so they can get enough algae and bio film to eat. They never eat prepared foods. 99% (if not 100%) are all wild caught. They are not schooling or shoaling fish, but they are shy fish and do like others of their kind.. Unfortunantly, you will not be able to put any other fish in this tank.
A couple months after it is 100% cycled, you could add a couple Ramshorn snails, or a couple amano shrimp, or a few cherry shrimp, but keep in mind the guppies will eat most if not all shrimplets the RCS decide to have.

I hope this information and suggestions help. If you have any questions feel free to ask

I didn't fishless cycle it. I'm in a fishin cycle moreof.
I'm thinking about bumping up the heat a little to maybe help the BB grow better...
I did a lot of detoixfying tabs which I stopped because I feel the BB aren't growing.... So it's more of an ionized ammonia so it isn't as lethal as the free ammonia.
I haven't found any bloodworms and the PetCo says they're out within the day they get them. But I'm sticking to flakes for now.
I also haven't found any anarcharis... But then again all the local stores have 3 kinds and i have 2 of them... Not sure if it's an area supply shortage or what.
I see... I've never had an Oto... So I'm not familar with them at all... Thanks for all the info though!

 

[Koco35]

Hey do yo have any lfs near you? They will probably sell the blood worms too.

I just know that the fish go nuts when i drop the cut up pieces of the cube in the tank... definitely cool to sit and watch