Help! Fish unhappy in new 55 gallon tank!!!!

[chimbica]

HELP! so 3 days ago I purchased a 55 gallon tank, with a new bag of gravel and a top fin power filter 60, cycled it for 3 days, used some Perfect PH tablets and used test kits, everything was great and temp was 69-70 degrees, my fish are now 9months old, one Oranda and a moor goldfish, they are very happy and curious fish, always eating, always moving, used to be in a 15 gallon tank, now they have been in their new tank for 12 hours, already noticing problems, my Oranda fish at first was very happy, now he is stationary in the corner, either
Mid tank or at the surface, not eating or moving...not at sure what to do, also my tank was so clean now it's super cloudy??? ANY SUGGESTIONS? DONT WANT TO LOOSE HIM!! THANKS!!

 

[El_diablo]

Did u rinse your new gravel enough? New gravel is often very dusty

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Your tank is probably cycling. If you search the forum for threads on how to safety cycle a tank WITH fish you should find plenty of help.

I also wouldn't use any kind of pH adjusters (this might be the actual problem you have at the moment). Just use whatever comes out of your tap and add water conditioner. pH adjusters work great, until they stop working, at which point the pH goes back to where it should be like a rocket and your fish go into shock.

Do you still have the old tank running? What happened to the gravel, ornaments and filter from that tank? If anything is still wet there may be good bacteria alive... Transfer it to your new tank. You can temporarily run your old and new filter at the same time, too.

 

[El_diablo]

Also I'm not too sure 3 days is long enough for a full cycle

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Did u rinse your new gravel enough? New gravel is often very dusty

That is another possibility. Fish can ingest a lot of dust and have problems.

 

[chimbica]

So my old filter is a small fish , no comparison to the 60gallon filter, the ornament went straight to the new tank, should I put them back till it's fully cycled??

 

[chimbica]

I meant should i put fish back in old tank

 

[TraceyB4602]

First, You can not cycle in 3 days. It takes at least a couple of weeks if not months to cycle a tank. Your tank is cloudy because it is most likely a bacteria bloom. What you need to do, if you havent already is read up on the nitrogen cycle, with fish seeing you already have some. You also should do a 50% PWC right away. If you don't have the API liquid test kit you need to get one of them too. Your fish is most likely suffering from "new tank syndrome" if you let us know what your ammonia levels, nitrite levels and nitrate levels are we could help you out a lot more.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I'm not comparing them. I'm saying you had good bacteria (that stuff that keeps fish alive) in the old filter. Running it in the new tank temporarily (along with your new one) can help to seed the new tank. You're basically cycling the tank all over again right now, your fish are poisoning themselves.

If you still have the old tank setup, it should still work to put them back. But be careful and slow to acclimate them properly.

How are you cycling the new tank? It doesn't happen in 3 days...

 

[ChelseaLake]

Hey there! Welcome to AA, it's a great place.

So you said you cycled your tank for 3 days? Unfortunately, it takes anywhere between 4-6 weeks to cycle a 55g (I'm in the process right now, it's killing me). Did you mean you ran it with all of the equipment? You'll learn that they're separate things. However, if your fish have only been in there 12 hours, I doubt they have ammonia poisoning yet.

Do you have a test kit? If not, go buy one ASAP. The API master kit is best, but it's around $30. If you can't afford it right now, get a liquid ammonia test, and test your water. Is your pH correct? Once again, test it! Test it like there's no tomorrow!

Read up a little about cycling your tank. Since you already have your babies in there, it might be too late to cycle fishlessly. Get really familiar with the nitrogen cycle. Goldies are dirty critters (no hatin', mine are my best friends), and produce a ton of waste.

What is the temp of the tank, and how did you acclimate them to their water? That could be another reason they're freaking out.

Also, it's going to take some time for your goldies to get used to being in such a large space.

But seriously, test your water ASAP, make sure the pH is around 7.5, make sure the temp is right..

Oh, and did you dechlorinate your water?

So many things. Fish are very sensitive creatures.

Good luck with your babies, and let us know what your tests read!

 

[chimbica]

Ph 6.5 alkalinity 100 hardness 140 nitrate NO2 0 NO3 0

So should I get fish out and put back in old tank till it's properly cycled??

 

[Tim Wheatley]

Ph 6.5 alkalinity 100 hardness 140 nitrate NO2 0 NO3 0

So should I get fish out and put back in old tank till it's properly cycled??

I would.

Your tank (according to those results) is not cycled.

Of course putting them back in the old tank won't work if it hasn't been running the whole time. If you emptied it, shut it off, etc, you're not going to gain anything doing that.

 

[chimbica]

Yes I used water conditioner

 

[subliminalanarchy]

I'm hoping your old tank and filter have not dried out. If they have then all the good bacteria has probably died. If the old tank is still full I would put them back in that one until the new one cycles.

 

[chimbica]

Just tested water, pH is 7.5 and total alkalinity is 180 and total hardness is about 200 nitrates are 0

 

[TraceyB4602]

Ph 6.5 alkalinity 100 hardness 140 nitrate NO2 0 NO3 0

So should I get fish out and put back in old tank till it's properly cycled??

How is your ammonia? I agree your tank isn't cycled, and I think you should put your fishies back in your old tank, as long as the old tank is cycled. Also if you can put your fish in the other tank then you will be able to cycle the 55g more quickly by doing it fishless. It's a lot less work to and less stress, no dead fish involved.

 

[subliminalanarchy]

And if your old tank is full you can put a few handfulls of that old dirty gravel into your new tank. That's called 'seeding' it. This should make your new tank cycle wayy faster just like the filter method suggested earlier.

 

[TraceyB4602]

Just tested water, pH is 7.5 and total alkalinity is 180 and total hardness is about 200 nitrates are 0

Which tank is this for?

 

[chimbica]

This levels are my new tank, unfortunately, my old tank nitrate levels are high, medium pink (60-80) and not sure they can go back? Now object now test strips left, can't get to a pet store till Saturday

 

[chimbica]

Sry for mistype, I meant to say I used my last test strip kit