I dont know what to do. Help!

[Scott F]

I will get this kit hopefully in petco today. I did put them in he tank, they seem happy I will continue to watch them and pray like crazy. My intentions are only the best. I feel real bad because if they die im responsible for rushing into this.

Don't beat yourself up over the fact your co-worker has no idea about fish. Since it sounds like you got it dumped on you expectantly all you acn do is make it better.

They set the ball in motion...now you just have to figure out how to keep it rolling and stabilize it. Sounds like a co-worker that let's other people do his work.

 

[elee]

1/3 water change

I have now completed a 1/3 water change adding prime to each 5g bucket, just a splash. When I siphoned the water the first time it wasn't pleasant Now what check it tonight or how long till I check it again?

 

[Coursair]

Angelfish
Serpae Tetra
Zebra Danio ??

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I have now completed a 1/3 water change adding prime to each 5g bucket, just a splash. When I siphoned the water the first time it wasn't pleasant Now what check it tonight or how long till I check it again?

I normally wait an hour and a half or two then will see how it looks. By the way when this is all done you should only need to change like 2 buckets worth every week if you are on that like white on rice you'll well should never have a problem.

When it comes to the filters I normally wait to rinse/clean it when the flow of the water is real slow. When ya rinse it ya want to do it in old tank water. Sorry if ya already knew all that.

Your doing great work and came to the right place don't worry it will get there and its not your fault. The siphon thing gets easyier believe me you'll become a pro.

 

[Andrew McFadden]

Im back from the store. I got the master test kit, Results:
Ammonia- 0
Nitrite- 5
Nitrate-20-40 color varies.

I did buy prime, but initally used AmQuel plus and Nova Aqua plus.
Water temp 78 F

They just had a pinch of food and ate like piggies.
How do I post pics?

By the way this is a very good sign that you have no ammonia this means the bacteria is doing something so just a little work from you to help it out.
Even a pinch of food can be too much depending how many fish you have and what food your using. You don't want to over do it it causes more problems then what you want.

 

[librarygirl]

The ammonia looks good, nitrite doesn't. Either something happened to the bacteria in the filter or some gunk got kicked up with the substrate. Nitrites are as toxic as ammonia so you want to do some water changes to get that number down; it might take a few larger water changes to see any difference. Prime is good, it'll help detoxify things until the bacteria bounces back but it will dissipate in 24-48 hours so it doesn't replace the need for water changes.

If you're changing a lot of water, you can siphon it out, then add dechlorinator right to the tank (add enough for the whole tank though, not just the water you are replacing) then you can refill. For a tank that size you might want to invest in an automatic water changer like Aqueon (hooks up to your faucet and eliminates the need for buckets).

I would treat thsi as a fish-in cycle. Test water daily and any time you see ammonia and/or nitrite rise, do a water change. Here's an article for you: I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

Also do you know what kind of filter on the tank and how many gallons it's rated for?

 

[elee]

The ammonia looks good, nitrite doesn't. Either something happened to the bacteria in the filter or some gunk got kicked up with the substrate. Nitrites are as toxic as ammonia so you want to do some water changes to get that number down; it might take a few larger water changes to see any difference. Prime is good, it'll help detoxify things until the bacteria bounces back but it will dissipate in 24-48 hours so it doesn't replace the need for water changes.

If you're changing a lot of water, you can siphon it out, then add dechlorinator right to the tank (add enough for the whole tank though, not just the water you are replacing) then you can refill. For a tank that size you might want to invest in an automatic water changer like Aqueon (hooks up to your faucet and eliminates the need for buckets).

I would treat thsi as a fish-in cycle. Test water daily and any time you see ammonia and/or nitrite rise, do a water change. Here's an article for you: I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice

Also do you know what kind of filter on the tank and how many gallons it's rated for?

I think it's a whisper flow for 60 g. I have two aerators as well.

 

[elee]

By the way this is a very good sign that you have no ammonia this means the bacteria is doing something so just a little work from you to help it out.
Even a pinch of food can be too much depending how many fish you have and what food your using. You don't want to over do it it causes more problems then what you want.

I hope so. I will do what I have to.

 

[elee]

Guess what, I tested the water this am and this is what I got
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20-40

I'm doing something good. Thanks to all who are helping me. I know I have to keep checking the water as I read on this site. I can't thank you guys enough. I feel better now. Except i am at work for 36 hrs Will keep you updated.

 

[librarygirl]

That's great! Yep keep an eye on things. You might want to test your tap water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate as well. Nitrates seem to be rising a bit but that could be because of the nitrite conversion. Just try to keep those low too; they aren't as toxic to fish but 40 should be the highest you let it get. I'd also highly suggest either getting a larger filter or a second filter on that tank to increase filtration and provide more surface area for the bacteria to grow (you wouldn't toss your existing media though!). For a tank that size you might want to look into a canister filter.

 

[elee]

Update on help I don't know what to do

here we are 36 hrs later and we have:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20

Guys so far so good. I can't believe we did it. Thank you so much. Now I need to know what I have in the tank. I will try and send pic as soon as I can. They are so happy. I think? I do know it's well balanced, top dwellers, middle and bottom. All I know is Angel. Are angel SA chiclids? The bottom guys look like catfish only not long whiskers. The striped I guess is some kind of tetras? I have 20 in all I think they race all over! You guys are life savers!!!!!!!

 

[Andrew McFadden]

here we are 36 hrs later and we have:
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-20

Guys so far so good. I can't believe we did it. Thank you so much. Now I need to know what I have in the tank. I will try and send pic as soon as I can. They are so happy. I think? I do know it's well balanced, top dwellers, middle and bottom. All I know is Angel. Are angel SA chiclids? The bottom guys look like catfish only not long whiskers. The striped I guess is some kind of tetras? I have 20 in all I think they race all over! You guys are life savers!!!!!!!

That's great
The catfish may be a pleco but will see when you get pics up

 

[elee]

Still same levels as yesterday this is great I'm trying to get pics. There not very photogenic















I will get better pic. Can any one tell from these?

 

[tamtam]

I think your bottom sweller might be a cory cat. It's sort of hard to tell from the back end but I think that's it.

The one in the second could be a scissor tail rasbora. Again the flash makes it hard to get a good look at the coloring/fins but the general shape looks pretty close. Maybe go check out the live aquaria site you might be able to match them there.