Hi there. Have always loved aquariums and found them very relaxing. Had the opportunity to be gifted a lovely tank - so thought we would take the plunge.
It’s all been a bit stressful. I’m worried we are bad fish keepers and are doing something really wrong. We have been to 3 local aquarium shops. Listened to expert advice, bought the necessary chemicals to make our water the best it could be.
We have a 60 litre fluval tank with heater and lights (not LED - tubes). Temp is between 75-78f
Put the right amount of chemical into the tap water. Let it stand for 2 days. Went to the aquatic supplier and bought 3 male and 3 female guppies.. introduced them slowly.
Next day tank was very cloudy. Took water to be tested. Amonia too high. Too much food. Lesson learned. Bought some filter starter and added to the tank along with the crystal clear. Also had the first hoover and quarter water change. Over night 2 guppies died. Next day 2 more. Now we only have 2 males left.
5 days later water test strip says PH 7.5 . General Hardness 60-120. Carbonate Hardness 80 . NO2 0.5 NO3 between 0/20.. This is apparently fine . So we got a little shoal of Neon Tetras. 12 of them. They are fine - no problem. 5 days later with the water still the same were advised that Corydoras (3) would be a good fit along with 2 male and 2 female Platas..
This was yesterday. We have one very sorry looking Corydoras left. The other two seem to have completely disappeared. This one looks like he has been attacked but by what ? These are the largest fish in the tank.
So after a month of fish keeping we have lost 4 guppies and then 2 Corydoras in the last 24 hrs. Please advise what we are doing wrong ? Don’t want to bring anymore fish to our tank only to die ..
It’s all been a bit stressful. I’m worried we are bad fish keepers and are doing something really wrong. We have been to 3 local aquarium shops. Listened to expert advice, bought the necessary chemicals to make our water the best it could be.
We have a 60 litre fluval tank with heater and lights (not LED - tubes). Temp is between 75-78f
Put the right amount of chemical into the tap water. Let it stand for 2 days. Went to the aquatic supplier and bought 3 male and 3 female guppies.. introduced them slowly.
Next day tank was very cloudy. Took water to be tested. Amonia too high. Too much food. Lesson learned. Bought some filter starter and added to the tank along with the crystal clear. Also had the first hoover and quarter water change. Over night 2 guppies died. Next day 2 more. Now we only have 2 males left.
5 days later water test strip says PH 7.5 . General Hardness 60-120. Carbonate Hardness 80 . NO2 0.5 NO3 between 0/20.. This is apparently fine . So we got a little shoal of Neon Tetras. 12 of them. They are fine - no problem. 5 days later with the water still the same were advised that Corydoras (3) would be a good fit along with 2 male and 2 female Platas..
This was yesterday. We have one very sorry looking Corydoras left. The other two seem to have completely disappeared. This one looks like he has been attacked but by what ? These are the largest fish in the tank.
So after a month of fish keeping we have lost 4 guppies and then 2 Corydoras in the last 24 hrs. Please advise what we are doing wrong ? Don’t want to bring anymore fish to our tank only to die ..