Bought stocked established tank. Got problems!

[frankfair]

I have not had fish for about 30 years but wanted to get back into the hobby. Bought a 26 gallon Bowfront off craigslist with a few fish in it. Previous owner told me he didn't do water changes. Drained about 13 gallons and moved rest intact to my home about 10 miles away. Refilled tank with "Spring Water" from store. 3 days later i bought some fish (too many, I now know) from my LFS (Petco and Petsmart) to add to my tank. I added 6 neon tetras, two molys, two plattys, and 9 guppies. Yes, I was uneducated (stupid) but i had owned fish for several years with no problems I thought.

Tank had power filter but not biowheel. I bought Bio-wheel.

I also added some hornwart (several stems) I had purchased from ebay.

Ammonia, nitrites and nitrides went sky high in a few days. GUPPIES started dying off at the rate of one per day for two days and today 2 died.

All other fish seem to be healthy and showing no ill effects.

Today did 30% water change.

That's history-now questions.

Why only guppies dying? LFS problem or guppies more susceptible?

Can adding a lot of plants cause spike in cycle.

Is there anything else I should do except water changes and let the nitrogen run its course?

Thanks for all your help.

Frankfair

 

[i3k]

Adding too many fish at once can cause a spike. Also, overstocking will definitely give you problems. You will need to test your water parameters.

Did you get rid of the filter that came with the tank? Lots of beneficial bacteria live in the filter...so removing the filter took out a lot of the beneficial bacteria.

 

[frankfair]

Hadn't thought of that! Yep, I did change and put in new filter. Why would filter manufacturers recommend changing every 2-4 weeks if that exacerbates the problems? I guess that is why bio-wheel types are so important.
Frank

 

[i3k]

They are recommending to change the filter media every 2-4 weeks...but the bacteria lives on the walls of the filter and some on the filter media itself. That's why it's important to wash your filter media in de-chlorinated water so the bacteria does not die.

 

[bluerose]

You're re-cycling the tank, more or less. Follow the directions for cycling with fish. Hopefully you have some bacteria left and you'll be OK after a week or two, but you may lose more fish.

Don't change your filter media; just swish it in tank water (then discard the water) when it's gunky.

 

[mudraker]

They tell you to change filters frequently to sell more filters, period. If your filter uses cartidges, rinse them with tank water when they get gunky, but don't actually replace them until they begin to fall apart.

In the meantime, do at least a 25-40% pwc daily until the tank is cycled. This will reduce the amount of amonia and nitrite which are poisoning the fish. Don't rinse or mess with the filter until cycling complete.

You can also get (maybe from lfs) substrate from an already cycled tank to add to your filter. This will add beneficial bacteria to the tank and either complete the cycle or speed it along significantly.

Good luck with the new tank.

 

[frankfair]

Thanks for the info. It helps.

One more question about water changes. I have on order a water change hose but do I need to worry about clorine? I live in the city and get city water. Should I use a water treatment chemical after the water change?

 

[mudraker]

You need to treat the water with a dechlorinator before you add it. Chlorine is a fish killer, period. Be sure the product you use also removes chloramines.

I have heard some people add the dechlorinator to the water left in the tank after removing some of the old, then add the fresh water into the tank. I'm not sure if this works as well.

I'm lucky and have a well from a fresh spring and don't have chlorine in my water.

 

[Faile]

Part of the problem with the new fish is that they are used to very pristine conditions at the LFS. The existing fish in your aquarium have gotten used to much poorer water over time since the prior owner did so few water changes. I'd recommend doing a drip acclimation for new fish, once you've got the aquarium recycled and it's ready for new occupants.

Also the biowheel is more gimmick than anything else. While the science behind them is sound, they'd have to be much bigger than you'd find in an aquarium to work as advertised.

 

[libbyb]

You need to treat the water with a dechlorinator before you add it. Chlorine is a fish killer, period. Be sure the product you use also removes chloramines.

I have heard some people add the dechlorinator to the water left in the tank after removing some of the old, then add the fresh water into the tank. I'm not sure if this works as well.

I'm lucky and have a well from a fresh spring and don't have chlorine in my water.

Yes, it works well, thank goodness. Can you imagine all the large tanks and the people who don't have well water! Proves that G-d doesn't mind our keeping fish. Just add the dechlorinator to the tank first then add the new water.

 

[frankfair]

I have decided the LFS guppies I bought had a problem. (Brillient since they died). They are the only fish that seemed stressed or affected in any way whatsoever. I bought 9 and all but one died. I think I am out of the woods now. No dead fish in three days and they all seem happy and vigerous. My little Panda Corys are even exibiting mating behavior and they have to be too young! Less than 1" long. The others, especially the Zebras are really enjoying the bubble wall.

I have been doing 30% water changes every other day and all levels are lowering. Just holding my breath every morning when I first look in the tank.

frankfair

 

[ChizerBunoi]

That's good that they are all behaving better. Why did you purchase spring water in the beginning instead of using regular tap water?

 

[frankfair]

It was part of my "old school" mentality. I thought it would be better than city tap water since I would be adding so much. I had never heard of weekly water changes! You can teach an o0ld dog new tricks I guess. I sure seem to be learning a lot of them.