Aeration for 20 gallon tank and Ich

[Isabella17]

We recently set up a 20 gallon tank and then when it was in good shape (tested it), transferred 4 guppies (2m and 2f) and 2 ghost shrimp that were in a small tank. We are now using the small tank for some surprise fry. The fry are doing great.

We proceeded to Petsmart (which we will not do again! unfortunately, we can not find a good fish store in our area...will have to keep looking) and the children picked out some fish. Over a few hours, after adding a little water to the bag every 20 minutes or so, we added the fish to the tank. By the next morning half of the new fish were dead. I shouldn't be surprised really since Petsmart can be hit or miss really. A few days later, replaced those fish at Petsmart and brought home some more (the previous fish were stressed since they were a new shipment) of the same kind (since the kids picked them out). All the 3 female guppies died, yet again along with 2 of the, I assume, new zebras. *sigh* My poor children now think that fish die easily.

Anyways, last night I noticed the pleco we bought was covered in ich! Great. Nice present from Petsmart. So I am slowly raising the temperature (which was already at 80 degrees) and will be buying some aquarium salt today.

Can someone tell me a good amount of salt per gallon?

Also, I lowered the tank water so that the filter water "falls" and gives some more splash to help with oxygen. I was also thinking about buying a bubble wanter and pump to add more aeration but I am reading that this may not help with oxygen levels much. Can someone recommend a good way to provide a bit more oxygen in the tank to compensate with the higher heat and the salt? Preferably not an overly expensive option at this point but I do want the fish happy.

So that is our beginning fish story. I have a bit of experience with fish but it has been quite a while. I have NEVER had so much trouble with fish dying though. At least the fry are doing great (if only 4 hid well enough) and the kids are enjoying watching them. And our original guppies are doing just fine.

 

[dskidmore]

This sounds like new tank syndrome. Did you complete a cycle before adding the first fish? How many fish are you adding at a time?

Articles of interest:

Freshwater Ich
Freshwater QT
Nitrogen Cycle

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!

As you stated, it's not surprising to not get good quality fish from the local big chain petstores. Unfortunately, that's just the way it goes. It sounds as though this is the case in your situation, but I'd like to check a few things to be sure.

When you say "when it was in good shape", what do you mean? Did you cycle the tank prior to adding fish, or are you cycling it with fish (links in my signature if you need info on the nitrogen cycle).

If you do have ich, then you're doing what you should, lower the water level to create more surface turbulance for oxygenation, and slowly raise the temperature in the tank to above 85 deg F. 2 degrees every 6-12 hours is about as fast as I'd raise it. Then, once you achieve temperature (target 86 or 87 deg), stay there until 2 weeks after the signs of ich go away. This will help to ensure that it's gone. Ich has 3 stages to it's lifecycle IIRC, only 1 of which is visible.

I don't typically recommend using salt, unless you specifically see a need for it. It is possible for ich to get in the gills, in which case the salt may help, but otherwise it's not typically necessary to add any salt for treating ich.

 

[Isabella17]

Thanks for the articles. I will see about doing a quarantine container though as I have no plans on adding any more fish at the moment, that can probably wait a bit.

I will admit I did a few newbie mistake and let my "wanting to please the kiddos" override my judgement on a few things. (I can only claim that they have me wrapped around their fingers and pregnancy brain doesn't help) I should have let the tank cycle a bit more. I only tested the water after a while and assumed that since everything was in the good range, that it was fine.

I also let them guilt me into buying too many fish at once (those eyes did me in). They each wanted to choose fish and with 4 kids, that can add up (since I didn't want to just buy one or 2 zebras, that didn't help). I *must* be stronger with my children. I am a pansy.

So we will be heading to Petsmart again today to return some dead fish. But we will not replace them. Instead, we will just get some aquarium salt and something to help get more oxygen into the water and work on getting this tank in shape. Any other advice will be much appreciated! (especially on correcting my mistakes!)

By the way, we are using a Tetra Whisper In-Tank filter in both of our tanks. With the heat and salt treatment I want to do for the Ich, I want to get something in addition to the filter to provide oxygen in the water. What is the best way to go?

Oh, my sharp-eyed 5 year old spotted 2 more platy fry this morning. At least something good is coming from this experience.

 

[Isabella17]

Welcome to AA!

As you stated, it's not surprising to not get good quality fish from the local big chain petstores. Unfortunately, that's just the way it goes. It sounds as though this is the case in your situation, but I'd like to check a few things to be sure.

While I would dearly LOVE to put all of this on Petsmart's plate, I am going to have to admit to some of the fault (tho only a bit ) The lady at Petsmart mentioned that we happened to have bought the fish on the day they arrived. Double stress for the poor guys.

As for the salt, so you think I should just do heat for now? Our water appears to be soft by the way. We also normally keep our water at 80 degrees.

 

[Isabella17]

Welcome to AA!

When you say "when it was in good shape", what do you mean? Did you cycle the tank prior to adding fish, or are you cycling it with fish (links in my signature if you need info on the nitrogen cycle).

Sorry, I forgot to mention that it was a fishless cycle. Once the testing looked good, I added our guppies from our other small tank. Then we added the new fish from Petsmart.

 

[Purrbox]

I would just use heat for treatment as others have already recommended. Really lowering the water level and letting the water splash back into the aquarium is the best and cheapest way to ensure that the water is well oxygenated. No need to buy something else for oxygenation.

 

[Alaris]

Sorry, I forgot to mention that it was a fishless cycle. Once the testing looked good, I added our guppies from our other small tank. Then we added the new fish from Petsmart.

What did you use for your ammonia source during the cycle? How long did you cycle? It usually takes 4-8 weeks for a tank to cycle. If you never added an ammonia source then your tank never started cycling UNTIL you added fish.

 

[dskidmore]

I also let them guilt me into buying too many fish at once (those eyes did me in).

How about next time drawing names, and each week a different child picks out a fish, or be democratic and they get to vote? I think it was adding so many at once that did you in. It's also possible the tank was not as cycled as you thought it was.

 

[AlissasDad]

What are you using to test your water? Strips can give you a ballpark, but if the readings go beyond what the strips can read (which sounds entirely possible based on your symptoms) you won't get an accurate reading.

Best to stop buying fish for a while and get the API Freshwater Master Test Kit instead. They're about $25 at PetsMart.

 

[Isabella17]

Thanks guys. I am slowly getting the temperature up in the aquarium. Hopefully we will hit 86-87 in the next day or so (tho we are having trouble getting a really accurate temperature...the stick-on thermometer says one thing, the heater we set says another and the cooking digital thermometer says even another...I think I will trust the cooking thermometer the most...just don't want to go toooooo high on accident).

Sadly, we lost our 2 original male guppies today. They were covered in Ick. The 2 female guppies look horrible also and we are just crossing our fingers they will be ok. We have 4 zebras left who all appear robust and moving around lots and a couple of platy's who are a little iffy at times.

If we happen to lose all our fish, we will crank the heat up, get that Ick out of there and cycle the tank a good month or so. Then we will transfer the no-longer fry to the big tank and use the smaller tank as a quarantine tank. I will no longer buy any fish at Petsmart and will try and hunt down a decent enough lfs in the area (which I understand is quite hard here). Any fry in the future will be kept in a net breeder in the big tank.

Thank gosh we have the fry tho, for the children's sake. They seem to be doing very well (even if only 5 of them!). One of my purposes for the tank was educational and I guess the kids now have learned 1) how fragile fish are 2) it always pays to be prepared 3) be patient! and 4) only buy fish from a good, reputable place!

I am very glad I found this forum. It has been very helpful and I know it will be helpful in the future