Meaile
Aquarium Advice Regular
I am new to this and unfortunately didn't know enough about keeping fish before I found this site and learned about cycling....
I have ordered a master test kit through Big Als but it won't be here until next monday.
Heres what I did....
2 1/2 months ago I started up a 29 and let it run for about a week with 2 of the gallons of water from a friends tank and about 2 cups worth of her gravel.
After that week I purchased 2 Red Wag Platys and 2 Sunsets.
Every week I got a couple more fish until I had 4 Platys, 2 Cardinal Tetras, 4 Neon Tetras, 4 Cherry Barbs and 2 White Cloud Tetras.
Last week I broght home 2 Blue Platys (the last I plan to get) and by the next day I saw Ich spots only on the Blues.
I gradually over a day and a half raised the temp up to 87 and added a couple air stones. I didn't use salt because I read on here somewhere that Tetras can't handle it.
All the fish were doing fine. No flashing, no spots after the 3rd day and swimming happily, playing in the bubbles and eating.
Now it has been 4 days with the temp up and I noticed the Sunset Platys are flashing and I had a Neon die. Everyone else looks good as usual.
I've been doing 30% water changes every other day since I saw the Ich.
How long should I keep the temp up and am I doing anything wrong? (other than not having a test kit yet....)
Sorry so long but I want to give as much info as possible.
I have ordered a master test kit through Big Als but it won't be here until next monday.
Heres what I did....
2 1/2 months ago I started up a 29 and let it run for about a week with 2 of the gallons of water from a friends tank and about 2 cups worth of her gravel.
After that week I purchased 2 Red Wag Platys and 2 Sunsets.
Every week I got a couple more fish until I had 4 Platys, 2 Cardinal Tetras, 4 Neon Tetras, 4 Cherry Barbs and 2 White Cloud Tetras.
Last week I broght home 2 Blue Platys (the last I plan to get) and by the next day I saw Ich spots only on the Blues.
I gradually over a day and a half raised the temp up to 87 and added a couple air stones. I didn't use salt because I read on here somewhere that Tetras can't handle it.
All the fish were doing fine. No flashing, no spots after the 3rd day and swimming happily, playing in the bubbles and eating.
Now it has been 4 days with the temp up and I noticed the Sunset Platys are flashing and I had a Neon die. Everyone else looks good as usual.
I've been doing 30% water changes every other day since I saw the Ich.
How long should I keep the temp up and am I doing anything wrong? (other than not having a test kit yet....)
Sorry so long but I want to give as much info as possible.