A couple of weeks ago I bought a 10 gallon tank for a baby red eared slider, I got from my buddy. I decided to give it some friends so I got two tiger fish, and a Bala shark for the tank. I think that I did every thing I was supposed to do. I cleaned the new tank out, cleaned the gravel out, and the plants and decorations, bought a power filter for it and a under gravel filter for it, and used bottled water to fill it. It stayed pretty clean for a week. then I replaced the filters, vacuumed the gravel, and replaced 20% of the water. The next day it became very cloudy and nasty and my Bala shark died. apparently I missed something. What should I do?[/code][/url]
Help im lost
- Thread starter joemcse23
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Ky'smommy
Aquarium Advice FINatic
umm how long did your tank cycle before you placed the fish in it?
what are your water paremeters?
and you replaced the filters with what?
are you saying you took both the filters out and stuck a new filter in?
what are your water paremeters?
and you replaced the filters with what?
are you saying you took both the filters out and stuck a new filter in?
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
How big is the turtle? They need a 75 gallon when they become adults. They are tremendous waste producers and they require an area to get out of the water and dry out. They should have a reptile lamp to bask under. It will not be long before the tiger barbs become lunch. I would imagine your fish are suffering from high ammonia levels as you didn't have any kind of cycle in the tank. I would take the other fish out and leave the turtle by himself with a pile of rocks to climb out on. You will need to plan on getting it a new home as they grow fairly quickly.
joannde
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hi, I'm sorry for your loss. You probably experienced an ammonia spike. New tanks have to do something called "cycle". Animals (including fish) release ammonia as part of their waste products. Food and other organic materials also break down and release ammonia. When a tank is cycled the ammonia gets converted by nitrites by certain "good". Both ammonia and nitrites are harmful to fish, especially if the levels are high or if they are exposed at low levels for an extended period. The second part of the cycle is the growing of a second type of "good bacteria" that convert the nitrites to nitrates. Nitrates are also harmful to fish, but not as "deadly" - nitrates are the "end stage" of the "nitrogen cycle" and it is to remove / dilute the nitrates that we do water changes.
I know , it all sounds like mumbo-jumbo right now but don't worry - the folks on this forum will help you through this.
Here is an article on cycling that explains the whole process in more detail (the same process applies to both freshwater and saltwater, so ignore the saltwater references)
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15
Since you already have fish in the tank you have two options right now:
1. return the fish and do a fishless cycle or
2. do a cycle WITH fish - it takes longer and its more work, but if you can't return the fish its probably your only option.
You should buy the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit. You can find it at petsmart (if you go online and print out the page for the product and bring it to the store you'll get the online price, which is lower). This will allow you to test for ammonia and nitrites as well as nitrates. Whenever the levels rise you'll need to change out some water (as much as 50%) to dilute the levels.
In the end its worth it - we've all made "new tank" mistakes .... just hang in there and we'll get you through it
JoAnn
I know , it all sounds like mumbo-jumbo right now but don't worry - the folks on this forum will help you through this.
Here is an article on cycling that explains the whole process in more detail (the same process applies to both freshwater and saltwater, so ignore the saltwater references)
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15
Since you already have fish in the tank you have two options right now:
1. return the fish and do a fishless cycle or
2. do a cycle WITH fish - it takes longer and its more work, but if you can't return the fish its probably your only option.
You should buy the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit. You can find it at petsmart (if you go online and print out the page for the product and bring it to the store you'll get the online price, which is lower). This will allow you to test for ammonia and nitrites as well as nitrates. Whenever the levels rise you'll need to change out some water (as much as 50%) to dilute the levels.
In the end its worth it - we've all made "new tank" mistakes .... just hang in there and we'll get you through it
JoAnn
I found the problem
The part that I missed was cycling the tank. ammonia was the problem. I planned on getting a 55 gallon here shortly. I will make sure I cycle that one first. The turtle is about an 1 and a 1/5in. It is now in the tank by him self. Im sorry to say the tiger fish did not make it through. And the tirtle will stay in the tank by him self. I will not add any more fish to that tank.
What do you recommend on the type of fish that will be used for the cycling process and what type of filtration would you recommend? I made a mistake but I will not give up.
The part that I missed was cycling the tank. ammonia was the problem. I planned on getting a 55 gallon here shortly. I will make sure I cycle that one first. The turtle is about an 1 and a 1/5in. It is now in the tank by him self. Im sorry to say the tiger fish did not make it through. And the tirtle will stay in the tank by him self. I will not add any more fish to that tank.
What do you recommend on the type of fish that will be used for the cycling process and what type of filtration would you recommend? I made a mistake but I will not give up.
rich311k
Aquarium Advice Addict
Here are a couple of articles you should read. Ignore the SW part in the fishless cycling article works just as well for fresh. Are you asking for the 55 gallon. If you are, I would reccommend a cannister filter. If it is for the ten gallon an HOB would be fine. I like the Aqua Clear line.
The Nitrogen Cycle
Fishless Cycling
The Nitrogen Cycle
Fishless Cycling
