Hello From Nebraska :D

[Sillyfishies]

That's what I've been telling her but that subject is completely banned now. It doesn't help that the lady at Petsmart says leave it alone and don't do a water change until at least 4 months unless something goes wrong.

 

[Bubbles0oO]

My moms been arguing with me about my fish and say "doing a water change will take out all the good bacteria". I just did a 2 gallon water change (best I could convince)

Show her this post or read it to her.



The good bacteria in an aquarium is mainly located in the substrate and the filter. There is a small percent living on decoration ,plants ( real or fake) , and in the water. Now if you go along and pull all your substrate out, you might have a small problem. Same if you replace the filter media. Taking out water during a water change is vital for the health of the tank. It keeps the water fresh and the bottom of the tank poo and other matter clear. Water changes on a fish tank have to be done weekly around 30-50% ( if you skip a week its fine, but don't skip two in a row, even if no fish or plants die they are still sitting in dirty poo filled, and toxic filled water)




Hope that helps ya!

Edit: don't ever truly trust chain store employees advice (research it first)most of them pull it out of there butts!

 

[Sillyfishies]

Oh ya but is this amount of particles in the water bad. I think it might just be bubbles but it didn't used to be like that

 

[Sillyfishies]

And that will help. I will when I get back from camp (I got my sis feeding and watching my fish while I'm gone)

 

[Bubbles0oO]

And that will help. I will when I get back from camp (I got my sis feeding and watching my fish while I'm gone)

Make sure she knows how much to feed! I would hate to see another tank be totally destroyed by overfeeding ( not saying she dosent know how to feed them but just in case)

( and i hear pillboxes or ziplock baggies work for food, fill each one with one days feeding and write dates on them)

And i would say from the pic the tank looks a bit cloudy, ( maybe from lack of water changes( tell mom lol)

 

[Sillyfishies]

I'm going to show her when she gets home tonight. A tiny pinch when I wake up and a tiny pinch when I go to bed good feeding?

 

[Bubbles0oO]

Yup, i would say ( depending on how long camp is) that she can skip a day and let them fast ( it cleans out there systems and is an extra thing yo can do to keep them healthy. ) when she gets home i would show her how much to use then watch her feed them to ensure its done right.

 

[Sillyfishies]

Thanks a lot. You've been a huge help!

 

[Keithhjs]

Hi all. Just signed up. Hoping to learn and share on this forum

 

[Guppylove85]

just thought I would day Hi, im new here too but not new to fishkeeping welcome, I hope you get your tank cycled and happy quickly.

 

[Keithhjs]

I just got a new mixed reef up and running about 4 months ago. I had salt tanks/reefs before but that was about 10 years ago

 

[Keithhjs]

I was actually hoping someone here may be able to help me identify this fish:

 

[Bubbles0oO]

I was actually hoping someone here may be able to help me identify this fish:

You can start your own thread for that, might get you more answers than posting here. Looks like an awesome fish though! Hope you find out what it is!

 

[Keithhjs]

Great. Thanks for the help!

 

[Sillyfishies]

Hah hello fellow newbies ! I would be fine if my mom would bug off

 

[Sillyfishies]

I'm not sure but looks awesome (as do most SW!"

 

[paytertot]

Hah hello fellow newbies ! I would be fine if my mom would bug off

Lol I wouldn't have that attitude if I were you. Trust me I feel your pain, I'm 17. Just be very adult about it and say "hey come read this" and show her the article. Be calm above all lol ;P

 

[Nimo]

Welcome to our forum! Welcome to the addiction lol!
And the lfs strikes again, if you wait for 4 months to do a water change on your tank all of your fish and plants will be dead. 25% every week should be done, and when the tank is cycling sometimes water changes up to 50% DAILY to keep the fish healthy.
If you can't find a liquid test kit at your lfs try e bay or maybe some one else here can give you a link to find them on line. You should be testing water daily so when your cycle starts you can start doing water changes to keep ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates in a safe zone.
Also I am not sure what kind of water conditioner you are using but I recommend a brand called Prime. It is multi purpose so you don't have to buy allot of other chemicals. This needs to be added with every water change.
Good luck, don't get cocky with your mom lol but have her read about fish in cycles or allow her to read this thread it may convince her that the sales people at your local fish store don't know how to cycle a tank or care for one as far as that goes. I have found they are there for a pay check and most actually don't know squat about fish or how to care for a tank. Man I have gotten some screwed up advice from the fish store. Thank god I found this forum or my tanks would have never made it.