Sorry so long. I am new to this game (fish AND forums).
My son was born early this year and he expressed an amazing fondness for fish and water very early on. My wife and I decided to get him a fish tank. I asked a friend to help us because I really did not want to kill the fish. He has a couple of tanks and his fish have always done well.
We bought an AquaTech Hex5 in May and my buddy gave us a couple Comets to cycle the tank. After a few weeks, we bought two little fantails and gave him back the comets. The fish did well and my son adores them.
The Fantails have long since outgrown the 5 gallon. My friend offered his 29 gallon to me as long as I agreed to take a few of his fish (two calico fantails and a black moor). I agreed cautiously, since the other fantails grew so quickly--but I really needed something for them fast . I kept his fish in bowls while I cycled the new tank with two long-finned zebra danios (and gravel from the 5 gallon). That was three months ago.
At the same time (enjoying my new hobby and feeling quite the fish genius) I decided to set up a FW community tank. I studied up, and discovered that my friend was more lucky than good with fish. So I went to an LFS while on business in Williamsburg and found a very nice, knowledgable guy to help me out. I set up my 30-gallon cube and cycled with my trusty little danios. I planted the tank and waited patiently, watching my levels and so on. When the time came, I introduced 1 male and 2 female swordtails. When my levels were right again, I put in two pictus catfish. When my levels were right again, I added two angels and tragedy struck... A female sword swam to heaven, then the angels bought it, then one of my cats perished. I noticed some oddities in the way the swords were acting so I moved them to the empty 5 gallon and the danios went back in with the goldfish. The swords died, clearly infected with what looked like fungus.
So I got back on the horse. A few days ago I added three baby angels to the tank and now I am sporting a healthy, albeit odd, assortment of fish (1 pictus cat (original), 1 red-tailed shark, 1 small Raphael cat I rescued from my friend, 4 guppies and the 3 little angels). My levels are good, my maintenance seems to be on target, my plants are growing--but...my tank is cloudy and has been constantly cloudy from the beginning. It is not grey or green, but just hazy all the time. Near the glass and at the bottom it appears fine. Also, there are always little specks of something floating around. The fish seem fine, but the haze drives me crazy. No clarifiers have worked yet. Should I worry? My wife thinks it might just be the light or the glass lid but I don't know. Any ideas? I am afraid it is linked to the swordtail killer.
Also, my goldfish tank is now cloudy (actual cloudy through and through) and water changes are not helping. And when I went to move the danios to the 5 gallon after the disease went away, one of them showed up missing. Poor guy--I am such a bad fish dad. The two calicos are looking like they might have dropsy (misc scales look out of place). But they act fine, and why would it just affect the calicos? And how should I treat them if that is the case?
I really thought I was being responsible in learning everything I could before beginning this venture. Now I realize just how little I know. Please help. I hoped to move the guppies to the 5 gallon and add one more fish group to the 30 gallon (any suggestions). But I am afraid to do anything now--I don't want to move the guppies since everything seems fine in their tank--and I have only had goldfish in the Hex5. I don't want to add new fish to cloudy tank in case the cloudiness is a sign of worse things to come. I don't want to fill the 5 gallon in case I have to treat the calicos, but I don't want to try and treat the calicos alone if what they have might infect everybody without me knowing it. And all the goldfish have been doing so well. Why would the sickness develop now, when no fish have been added for months? I chalked my first fish tragedy up to Petsmartitis--if something happens now I really only have myself to blame and that is surprisingly hard for me to handle.
Thanks. Please help.
My son was born early this year and he expressed an amazing fondness for fish and water very early on. My wife and I decided to get him a fish tank. I asked a friend to help us because I really did not want to kill the fish. He has a couple of tanks and his fish have always done well.
We bought an AquaTech Hex5 in May and my buddy gave us a couple Comets to cycle the tank. After a few weeks, we bought two little fantails and gave him back the comets. The fish did well and my son adores them.
The Fantails have long since outgrown the 5 gallon. My friend offered his 29 gallon to me as long as I agreed to take a few of his fish (two calico fantails and a black moor). I agreed cautiously, since the other fantails grew so quickly--but I really needed something for them fast . I kept his fish in bowls while I cycled the new tank with two long-finned zebra danios (and gravel from the 5 gallon). That was three months ago.
At the same time (enjoying my new hobby and feeling quite the fish genius) I decided to set up a FW community tank. I studied up, and discovered that my friend was more lucky than good with fish. So I went to an LFS while on business in Williamsburg and found a very nice, knowledgable guy to help me out. I set up my 30-gallon cube and cycled with my trusty little danios. I planted the tank and waited patiently, watching my levels and so on. When the time came, I introduced 1 male and 2 female swordtails. When my levels were right again, I put in two pictus catfish. When my levels were right again, I added two angels and tragedy struck... A female sword swam to heaven, then the angels bought it, then one of my cats perished. I noticed some oddities in the way the swords were acting so I moved them to the empty 5 gallon and the danios went back in with the goldfish. The swords died, clearly infected with what looked like fungus.
So I got back on the horse. A few days ago I added three baby angels to the tank and now I am sporting a healthy, albeit odd, assortment of fish (1 pictus cat (original), 1 red-tailed shark, 1 small Raphael cat I rescued from my friend, 4 guppies and the 3 little angels). My levels are good, my maintenance seems to be on target, my plants are growing--but...my tank is cloudy and has been constantly cloudy from the beginning. It is not grey or green, but just hazy all the time. Near the glass and at the bottom it appears fine. Also, there are always little specks of something floating around. The fish seem fine, but the haze drives me crazy. No clarifiers have worked yet. Should I worry? My wife thinks it might just be the light or the glass lid but I don't know. Any ideas? I am afraid it is linked to the swordtail killer.
Also, my goldfish tank is now cloudy (actual cloudy through and through) and water changes are not helping. And when I went to move the danios to the 5 gallon after the disease went away, one of them showed up missing. Poor guy--I am such a bad fish dad. The two calicos are looking like they might have dropsy (misc scales look out of place). But they act fine, and why would it just affect the calicos? And how should I treat them if that is the case?
I really thought I was being responsible in learning everything I could before beginning this venture. Now I realize just how little I know. Please help. I hoped to move the guppies to the 5 gallon and add one more fish group to the 30 gallon (any suggestions). But I am afraid to do anything now--I don't want to move the guppies since everything seems fine in their tank--and I have only had goldfish in the Hex5. I don't want to add new fish to cloudy tank in case the cloudiness is a sign of worse things to come. I don't want to fill the 5 gallon in case I have to treat the calicos, but I don't want to try and treat the calicos alone if what they have might infect everybody without me knowing it. And all the goldfish have been doing so well. Why would the sickness develop now, when no fish have been added for months? I chalked my first fish tragedy up to Petsmartitis--if something happens now I really only have myself to blame and that is surprisingly hard for me to handle.
Thanks. Please help.