Beginner looking for advice

[Chris Howse]

Hi there , as the title says looking for some MUCH needed advice .Recently my partner decided she wanted to have fish again after not having a tank for well over 17 years , So , recently she bought a small 25 litre tank to start things off again , did all the "pre start" stuff , checked everything was ok , bought 6 male guppies and a Loach . All was ok for around 3 months until she noticed a couple of the Guppies back fins were a bit frayed and we noticed the Loach was chasing at them , she decided to take out the Loach put him in own tank with Neon Tetras , and all is fine with them . As for the tank with the guppies in ,3 of them died , checked water levels etc , all was ok , she decided to replace the dead ones with 4 news ones and a couple of snails , upon on the advice of the guy from the aquatics shop . All have now died apart from 2 of them , girlfriend is distraught about it all and i dont really know what we have done wrong . After trawling the internet , not always a good thing i know , it seems we may have over stocked the tank ?? read about fin rot ? tank is too small ? Also the tank has a normal eco bulb rather than LED lighting , i actually think LED would look better .
So , 1 could anyone shed any light on what we are doing wrong
2 , recommened a decent 40 or 48 litre tank with LED lighting please

Sorry for the huge first post

Cheers
CHRIS

I'm in the UK btw

 

[plantnoob]

What are your water parameters? Can you shed some light on what prestart stuff you did before starting the tank. Did you first cycle your tank before getting the fish in and how?

 

[Chris Howse]

We cycled the tank for around 24 hours , added the correct of ATM colony freshwater stuff , left it another 24 hours , then added the fish , all the parameters within the correct levels . Fish were fine for a week and then that when the probs started , checked parameters everyday and they were fine and yet the guppies kept , we now have 2 left of which now 1 has damged fins so we added Melafix to try and help with that . My partner has had guppies etc before and never had these problems so any help would be appreciated .

 

[plantnoob]

Ah I see. The normal time for a tank to cycle without "seeding" from an established tank is 3-4 weeks. What you're currently doing is called "fish-in" cycling. In most cases, it takes a few days for ammonia to start building up, especially with small fishes like guppies. You're just now starting your cycle. I'd suggest frequent water changes and constant monitoring. It is common for some or all fish to die during cycling. An alternative if you have no fish is to first cycle your tank by adding store bought ammonia and then introduce fishes.

Cheers.

 

[Chris Howse]

Thanx for the reply , sorry for sounding a bit stupid i always thought ammonia was bad for the fish or am i misunderstanding you . Sorry if im sounding dumb lol

 

[plantnoob]

Not at all! I was saying you could switch to fishless cycling in the event that the fish you currently have all end up dying. Otherwise, just keep up with the regular water changes and let the cycle run through its course.

 

[Chris Howse]

Ahh i see hahahaha , i will do that and hopefully all will settle down in time , many thanks for your advice , very much appreciated

 

[Coursair]

If you are testing with strips, make sure you test Ammonia.

Liquid test kits are more accurate, but you need to follow directions carefully.

Is the tank heated at all ?

25l is only 6.6g. I don't recommend fish in tanks less than 10g unless you just keep a single Betta.

I believe you overstocked and added too many fish, too fast. Almost everyone starts out doing that.

2 Guppies might live in that tank. But they'll do better in a larger tank.

You can keep the small one as a QT tank, switch to a Betta or consider a Shrimp only tank.

For a larger tank ? 40-48l is still only 10-12g. Still tricky to stock. If you can, consider a 75-113 liter tank.
20-30g will give you many more options.

You can often find used tanks here in the US or we have $1/gallon tank sales or discounted kits.

I'm sorry you lost fish.
Take a breath, do your homework and we'll help any way we can.

This was my 10g when I had more time for it.
it's my Shrimp tank

 

[flchamp89]

If you are testing with strips, make sure you test Ammonia.

Liquid test kits are more accurate, but you need to follow directions carefully.

Is the tank heated at all ?

25l is only 6.6g. I don't recommend fish in tanks less than 10g unless you just keep a single Betta.

I believe you overstocked and added too many fish, too fast. Almost everyone starts out doing that.

2 Guppies might live in that tank. But they'll do better in a larger tank.

You can keep the small one as a QT tank, switch to a Betta or consider a Shrimp only tank.

For a larger tank ? 40-48l is still only 10-12g. Still tricky to stock. If you can, consider a 75-113 liter tank.
20-30g will give you many more options.

You can often find used tanks here in the US or we have $1/gallon tank sales or discounted kits.

I'm sorry you lost fish.
Take a breath, do your homework and we'll help any way we can.

This was my 10g when I had more time for it.
View attachment 290568 it's my Shrimp tank

+1

Need api master kit
I do think guppies are wrong choice. Very active and being 6.6g you would want two males as to not have to deal with fry. Odds are with two males one would be a submissive and may not do well.

Chili rasbora would be better choice imo

 

[TMaier]

I have a Biorb 30l with a single betta, ADF and a few snails. I am using sponges as undergravel filtration and Biohome gravel.

Has been running since July and so far it's doing great.

I do 50% PWC every 2 weeks along with a vacuum. I am monitoring the nitrates and when they climb I will remove all the tank water, inhabitants and plants to rinse (in de chlorinated water) the filter sponge and media. I suspect I will be able to go 6mons between these major cleanings.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[GuppyGuy333]

Simple questions first: do you have/are you using water conditioner?
do you have a heater?
Do you have a filter?
Are you doing water changes?

Fin rot would only really be happening if your tank has really poor water quality (no filter, no water changes) or if there is a rip in the fin and a bacterial infection occurred (which could also be happening do to poor water quality).

The bigger your tank the more stable your water parameters will be, the safer your fish will be and it will also allow you to have more fish. Your fish will also feel more comfortable and be safer from many more things than they would be in a smaller tank.

I think you might be overstocking your tank before your bacteria could be ready to handle the bioload.

with guppies, the more you have the more aggression is spread out amongst them. You should probably have at least five males, BUT ONLY if your tank can support five males safely. Male guppies by themselves need the space to also spread out their aggression not just the numbers. if they don't have the space then they can be cornered and things can escalate. even doing everything right, having enough space and having the right amount it is possible you could have some aggressive guppies.

It is also possible you could have just gotten sick fish/bad batch....I would try medicating the fish preemptively not reactively as soon as you get them home.