So, the 3 year old thought the fish were hungry...

[papa_bear_21]

Needless to say, we have all new gravel, filter media, and a new undergravel filter...plus some new fish. Apparently he thought that the platy's, tequila sunrise guppies, and tetra's (rip) were a little hungry, so he poured the entire bottle of bloodworms into the aquarium while I was at work. We almost lost all the fish in the process of cleaning the big aquarium to save them, but still lost our 8 tetra's. We started out with them in a small 2 gallon tank, but soon realized that they would not last long...by the time we had anything setup to house them, the tetra's were already gone. We thought sure we were going to lose the tequila's and some platy's, but them are some strong fish there.

Needless to say, the 3 year old is not allowed in the same room with the tank at this moment. We replaced everything we could, keeping the LED lights, a barrel decoration, and waterfall decoration. All plants, gravel, and other non needed deco was replaced with new, and the gravel filter was added into the mix. We also aquired some new fish to replace the ones lost in the terrible accident, 4 black mollies, 1 pleco, 2 black tail guppies, and 2 triangle fish (thats what the 6 year old calls them...) They are silver with black stripes, and a triangular shape...I'll try to get a picture of them for yall, cuz I dont remember what they are...

Everyone is doing great, and all the food has been moved to the area where no kids can get to...

 

[Zagz]

Thank goodness you saved some of the fish. Since you have replaced all the substrate and ornaments, you will have to watch your parameters closely as you are quite likely going to suffer from a cycle again. It is like starting from scratch again. Also with the UGF you will also have to keep a close eye on your nitrates. UGF's are nitrate factories IMO, as you can't clean under them very well. Good luck.

 

[papa_bear_21]

We've had to replce everything 3 times now...it gets pretty expensive after a while...LOL

I monitor everything pretty closely for the for month, checking everything a minimum of 2 times a week. Right now, we are treating for anchor worms, which is what caused one of our complete tank cleanings...luckily we were able to keep the guppies, those are my fiance's favorites...the platy's are cool, but the black mollies and pleco are mine...LOL I had to run to walmart last nite just to get the pleco food, didnt even think that there would be nothing for him to eat in the new setup...

Thank you for the tip about the UGF and nitrates, I will deffinately keep an eye on that

Edit*

first test on the new setup...

PH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0 ppm
Nitrates: 0 ppm
Nitrites: 0 ppm

I added some PH regulator to bring the PH to 7.0, as the mixture of fish is better suited at this level, atleast thats what I've read and understand. 29g aquarium housing: 4 mickey mouse platy's, 5 tequila sunrise guppies, 2 black tail guppies, 1 pleco, 2 black skirt tetra's, 1 black sailfin molly, and 3 shortfin black mollies. I think currently, we are well populated in this tank, so we will likely hold off on buying anymore until a larger aquarium is bought.

Bear

 

[verucaproduce]

I would stay away from anything that changes the pH. You will most likely cause more problems for yourself than you will solve.

 

[papa_bear_21]

I never knew that, will watch things closely in the coming weeks, to make sure things stay smooth. I started with stress zyme by API, first dose today, will check numbers again tonite. I've been concerned the last few nights, as we had to rush to get the fish into the tank, we had no time to cycle it, and we dont want to lose any more fish. The water has been pretty cloudy since it was setup, to the point that at nite, with the blue and green, we could see through it. I've been trying not to shock the fish beyond repair, and so far they seem to be pretty normal, even going as far as nipping me when testing the water after feeding. some of the fish have been in hiding, which seems to be semi normal for our tank when things are out of whack, as they did that while we were treating the community for anchor worms. I will keep things posted on here so that all can see and maybe clue me in to some problems I dont see myself.

I do appreciate any and all comments/suggestions/critiques/advice that anyone offers. Once I get things back in order, I will try to get some pictures up for everyone.

Bear-

 

[SCFatz]

Test it everday.Be prepared to change water darn near everyday as well.
2 times a week is just not enough in the spot you are likely in....And 3-4 days can/will be long enough for your water to become pretty toxic and you will have more losses.

Abd I'll second the notion to forget the PH stuff.Not a road you want to or need to go down.

 

[papa_bear_21]

I do welcome everyone's advice, but I have a question. So far everyone is against the use of ph modifiers, but dont give any real reason, what are some things to look for since I have already added some to the aquarium?

Also, given that the numbers posted in my test last nite are for a full 24 hours of running operation, is there anything I need to continue to look for? I will be testing again tonite, and will continue to test until I am certain that things are good for the fish, as I dont want a mass casualty in my tank. The first time we set the tank up, we didnt cycle, and had no issues that I noticed. I am hoping that nothing goes wrong with this time either, but I'm also hoping to keep the dang thing operational for more than a month...

EDIT*

I've been pondering either replacing, or adding a second filter to the mix, as I believe there is no such thing as over filtering. What would be a good filter to go with, I want something that I will give me more control of the placement of the intake and outlet, and more flexibility to get into places unreached by the HOB filter...any recomendations will be greatly welcomed

 

[Zagz]

Ph modifiers are temporary and can cause ph swings. Stable ph is better for the fish's health than ph moving up and down.

As far as HOB's go, I like the Aqua clear line of filters.

 

[papa_bear_21]

makes sense, I will be testing again tonite, and likely a partial change (possibly 75%, or is that to much?). We are talking about moving the tank to a new location in the room, and will need to empty out water in order to move it. I am looking to get rid of the HOB filter and go to a canister, I have an aquaclear one now, but I've been wanting a cansiter type setup like the xp2 or 3...

My main concern is whether all the fish will be able to survive with a higher PH...
Platy's
guppies
pleco
mollies
and tetra's

I dont want any to fall victim to high ph or anything

 

[lovemybarbs]

I have hard water and a high ph. The fish don't seem to care.

 

[papa_bear_21]

well, did a 75% change las nite...during the chabge, we moved the tank...well, we found my sailfin mollie dead behind his cave he liked...not sure why he died, but we noticed what we think was a worm in atleast 2 other fish, so we added a treatment last nite after the change. water is still cloudy, didnt do any water tests, but will tonite. I am hoping the water clears up soon

*EDIT

My fiance jus informed me that the pleco is no longer with us. could the worm meds have caused him to die? I've read that plecos dont do well with them...this makes 2 fish in 2 days...down to 16...

 

[Zagz]

It is possible for fish to die as a result of parasite and worms. What are you treating the tank with? Some medications kill beneficial bacteria, also what type of test kits are you using?

 

[papa_bear_21]

I know the worms can kill the fish, but I read on here that the pleco's dont fair well with medicine in the water? I'm just wondering if maybe he had a hard time with the meds, and thats what got him, or maybe he was so stressed from the tank conditions and what not that he starved himself...he wasnt a huge pleco, only a couple inches...we've got him seperate from the other fish, so as not to royally mess up the tank...I'm just afraid we're going to lose more...the tank hasnt cleared much, if any at all, since we started it up. I really dont want another massacre on my hands, and so far it only seems to be the new fish, and none of the ones from the previous incident...

to test the water I use an API liquid test kit, no paper strips at all. To treat the worms, I've been using Jungle anti parasite tabs. I've had great luck with them in the past, and havent seemed to hurt the tank at all before. The last time I used them, before now, we used them, and the coudiness went away over night. The tank has remained cloudy since its startup, and I am wondering if something is not right, but every test I've done the perams have been at 0 for everything. I didnt test last nite, but will test again tonite, we did the pwc last nite. I'm almost tempted to find something to keep them in while we cycle this tank, but I wouldnt know what. I dont want to lose anymore fish, and have intentions to aquire new fish to replenish what has been lost. Just not sure where to buy fish anymore...the 2 stores we go to, they dont seem to fair too well. I found a local place around here that seems highly recommended on the boards, will go check them out...I will post the test results tonite, if I dont have my fiance test tonite...

 

[papa_bear_21]

Well, got back from the lfs, had to go to 2 lfs's to find the fish we wanted to replace the ones we lost. We got a new sailfin mollie, and a pleco, except not a common pleco like the first one. This one is a high fin pleco, body markings look similiar to the common, but the fin is taller on the dorsal. Acclimated them to the tank, then put them in with the others. We did find a link to the 2 dead fish, when purchased, they were both in the same bag water, those are the only 2 dead ones. maybe there is a connection?

When we left, the mollie was swimming around checking things out, and the pleco was on the front glass hangin out. Dropped some food in, and went to get lunch, am at work, but my fiance checks on them while I'm not there. Did another round of tests last nite, everything was zero, the ph was about 7.9 or so, no higher than 8.0. The tank is still very cloudy, but I dont know why. Its been since thursday since it was started up, and thus far all the perams have been zero, I have set the ph modifier to the side and wont use it anymore. I did a dose of parasite meds from jungle, and the worms appear to be gone, bought a bottle of API melafix for future incidents with any illness. I have some tank clear, but am not sure if I am wanting to use it or not, as the previous doses have not helped thus far. Any ideas, or is the cloudyness a normal thing?

Thanks in advance,

Bear

 

[plecoperson]

I wouldn't add anything to the tank until it's 100% testing zero ammonia, zero nitrItes and no more than 40 nitrAtes--for a month or so.

 

[papa_bear_21]

We already added the pleco and mollie, if we lose anymore, we will likely wait before replacing them...but with it being just those 2 fish, I am wondering if something was wrong with them to begin with. I hope thats the case atleast...

 

[Zagz]

I would not add any more meds and yes the cloudiness is normal under your circumstances. It is always possible that the fish were sick when you got them, almost impossible to know that now. Good luck.

 

[papa_bear_21]

I would not add any more meds and yes the cloudiness is normal under your circumstances. It is always possible that the fish were sick when you got them, almost impossible to know that now. Good luck.

My fiance said the tank looked like it was clearing some a little bit ago when I asked. I really dont intend to add anything else to it unless needed, like we have another battle with worms or something. I'm just glad we were able to replace the pleco and sailfin...those were my fish...my fiance has the guppies, I have the mollies and pleco...LOL but the sailfin and pleco were my favs...I keep tryin to convince her to let me get more pleco's...but she wont go for it...atleast none of the ones I really like...LOL

 

[papa_bear_21]

Well, last nite, while watching the fish, we noticed that a few of them had stuff hanging out of them. Not wanting to jump to any kind of action, we watched them, all the while looking for the pleco. We watched for about an hour, and noticed prolly 5 fish with stuff hanging out of them, even the pleco after we found them. Not wanting to have a major outbreak of anything, we added a treatment for parasites, thus far, everyone was ok. The pleco stayed behind the waterfall decoration all nite, and all day...but was no where to be found before I left for work, I think he might be underneath it again...I'm almost to the point of taking the waterfall out for the time, until we get the tank cleared, to allow for ease of counting the fish. We have some little cave pieces that the fish can hide out in to keep them safe, which are easier to check for fish in.

Any idea as to how long the water will stay cloudy? The water hasnt changed a bit as far as visibility goes...so far the perams are ok, will test again tonite...

 

[papa_bear_21]

so I am in the midst of an ammonia spike in my tank, so far the highest is .50ppm, but hasnt gotten any lower than .25ppm. All other perams so far are in order, everything being 0ppm, ph is a little high, was 8.4 last test. I have removed the pleco from the tank, as his color wasnt looking too good, he is in a small tank for the time being with one of the platy's...I hope he makes it, he seems pretty blah...course he's prolly pretty stressed...the other fish seem pretty normal, nothing out of the ordinary, other than the fish seem a bit nippier than normal...What can I do to get the ammonia down? I did a 75% pwc las nite, and the ammonia hasnt changed...gravel vac an all...any help is greatly appreciated...

I think the pleco is a marble high fin pleco. not sure what the number or whatever he is...but I am almost positive thats what he is...he's in the quarantine tank right now keeping him out of the ammonia water...I am hoping he makes it through this...he is my favorite fish out of all of them...