5 gallon in daughters room...filter too strong for guppies?

[mcompton1973]

I have one of those mini bow tanks in my daughters room. She had a gold fish for a few years and he died. We decided that we would try some guppies. We got some smaller ones and in the first 24 hours or so we lost 2 of them due them being caught in the up tube of the filter. Not getting sucked up...just getting suck to the tube and not being able to get away.

Any thoughts on options? If I go to a different filter I will prob have the same problem...they dont make them any smaller than the one that came with it. I dont know if I should be trying to limit the power some how? OR should I just move the remaining guppies to the 29 gallon downstairs and try something else? Any other ideas? I dont have a heater on that tank but I guess that I could.

 

[tyspot1000]

Welcome to AA!

Most healthy fish will be able to get away from the suction of the filter even from the strongest of the filters. Have you considered covering the intake with a sponge (like in fry tanks or betta tanks)?

 

[fort384]

Did you cycle the tank prior to adding the fish? How long was it between when the goldfish died and you added the guppies? My guess is ammonia poisoning/new tank syndrome got the fish, and they just ended up on the filter intake after succumbing.

 

[Crepe]

Are you sure they didn't die first and then get sucked up? How long has this tank been set up and what period of time has it been fallow? Do you have water tests?

 

[mcompton1973]

We took apart the tank...got rid of the old rocks...scrubbed the tank and started over...its not something left from the gold fish. We did have the tank put together and running etc...but only for a few hours...

I live out in the country on a well...no chlorine so I didnt figure that it needed as long. Mostly I was just letting the temp stabilize.

 

[mfdrookie516]

It's not cycled then. Do you have a test kit to test the water? Fish don't get stuck to filters unless they're dead, or almost dead. There's a link in my signature on cycling with fish. Take a look at it. Basically, you are going to need to do lots and lots of water changes.

EDIT: Just saw the part about you having a running tank... Yes, move the remaining fish to the other tank, pull some media from the filter and do a fishless cycle... there's also a link in my signature on that

 

[Crepe]

I think we've found the problem. The tank isn't properly cycled and the ammonia from the fish is building up and killing them. The dead bodies are in turn being picked up by the filter. Or they were weakened to the point they couldn't resist.

You need to cycle the tank. The goldfish probably survived because they are bulldogs of fish....

Read up on our fishless cycling articles to get started off.
It's also not a good idea to replace everything in a tank...ever...including filter media it'll get rid of all the beneficial bacteria that process the ammonia in to nitrates. I would also get your own liquid testing kit.

Think about it: Would you rather, get a 20 dollar test kit that you can use for over a year on this tank and all the tanks you get in the future?
Or spend 20 dollars replacing countless fish for this tank alone.

 

[mcompton1973]

OK I am doing some more reading...I thought cycling was primarily for the chlorine and chemicals in the tank to go out or whatever.

I changed everything only because I wondered about something in the tank or water killing the goldfish...although he was like 6 years old...so it could have been age. I know thats not the oldest gold fish ever...but he was old.

What about the kits that say "live bacteria" or whatever for the tank?

Thanks for all the help. I thought I was pretty good with fish...lol

 

[mfdrookie516]

What about the kits that say "live bacteria" or whatever for the tank?

They don't work. Waste of money. If you have a tank that is currently up and running, you can easily get some bacteria from the filter, or by putting some of the substrate in pantyhose or a mesh bag in to this tank. We call that 'seeding'.

And, cycling is where your tank establishes a colony of bacteria that convert ammonia in to nitrite, and also nitrite in to nitrate. It's a process that usually takes 2-4+ weeks.

 

[Love_MyFish]

Tank Update / Any Word of Advice

Live bacteria is a crap shoot, but it did work for me...