Contrary advice from expert

[RobStark]

I went to an amazing local pet store today that specializes in aquatics. The first person that I meet in the store starts chatting me up and I find out he is the owner of 29 years. He had so many beautiful fresh and saltwater tanks set up with the nicest corals and biggest captive saltwater fish I've ever seen. I told him I was having ammonia troubles and was trying to get my month old 10 gallon tank to cycle. I told him I was doing almost daily water changes. He instantly said stop doing water changes. You're not letting the benefitial bacteria get set up. He said to do weekly water changes and recommended api stress zyme plus.

I was under the impression that since I was testing daily and getting 2.0ppm ammonia results that it meant I had to do a 20 to 30% change or the levels might rise to 4 or more and kill my little friends.

Any thoughts on this? I bought the stress zyme and added some when I got home. Is he right or should I keep doing the changes when I get a 2ppm reading?

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[PB_Smith]

That depends a lot on the fish you have in there. some can handle cycling, others not so much. I tend to agree about cutting back on the frequency of WC's. How do the fish act/appear when the levels creep up?
If they are exhibiting no signs of stress or discomfort, maybe let it go another day before doing the WC.

After a month though you should not be having issues with ammonia unless you are overfeeding a lot or the filtration/bio-media is inadequate. At this point you should be seeing little or no ammonia and the nitrites should be getting under control and nitrates should be rising.

 

[dmalone]

Well, if u have problems with ammonia, why don't u try to plant some plants in your tank??? It helps to reduce ammonia (and also oxygen producer).
Or maybe u could put carbonactive in your filter. It will also reduce ammonia and other dangerous substance in your tank's water.

Just my opinion

 

[RobStark]

Yeah I was starting to think cycling was impossible in my tank because its only 10 gallons with the whisper 10i filter that came with it. And I have 2 comets and a fantail in there. Granted they are juveniles. But the shop owner said 10 gallons is fine for now as they are so small still. Plus I have a 29 gallon bow front that im setting up for them real soon.

The filter has a sponge and then one of those whisper cartridges with carbon inside.

Even though im setting up the other tank soon I should probably grab a bigger filter for this tank too since the fishless cycle of the new tank will take a bit.

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[RobStark]

Oh and the fish seem to be ok when the level is at 2ppm. Although they do seem to gulp at the top quite a bit. That could be just looking for food though because I did cut back a bit on feeding.

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[PB_Smith]

gulping at the top means there isn't enough dissolved oxygen or they are distressed by the ammonia, probably a combo of both.
Can you throw an air pump on it and also try to increase surface agitation somehow.
If you can I'm sure you will see an improvement.

 

[RobStark]

I have an air pump on it with a curtain of bubbles. Plus the filter ripples the water. Im going to buy a 30 gallon filter for it tomorrow and add that to the current setup.

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[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello Rob...

Small tanks are difficult to maintain. There's not much water in them, so there's no room to make a mistake. You're wise to test the tank water every day for traces of ammonia or nitrite. if you have a trace of either, change a quarter of the water and replace it with pure, treated tap water.

It would be good to get some floating plants into the tank to help filter out some of the toxins like ammonia and nitrite. Hornwort, Brazilian water weed (Anacharis) and Pennywort are all good.

Keep testing and removing the water when needed. When several daily tests show no trace of the above toxins, the tank is cycled. The tank should cycle in a few weeks.

Make plans for a much larger tank, say 30 gallons. You'll increase your chances of success in the water keeping hobby and your fish will appreciate it.

B

 

[joejeff]

Comets in a ten gallon may be effecting lvls. Those are high bio load fish who need larger tanks.

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[Brookster123]

You will constantly have issues with those fish in that tank. 10 gallons is suited for a few small fish.. comets get huge and have a massive bioload.. I'd suggest taking those fish back and getting something better suited to a small tank..

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[RobStark]

Thanks for all the replies so far.
I didn't get the fish or the tank from the same place I got this advice. The comets the girlfriend and I won at the local carnival. We weren't even trying to win fish and didn't know they were even a prize available. The guy had them under the sides of the booth and had stuffed animals hanging all around.

So I got sprung into this and had no tank at all. I didn't have time to properly research goldfish or fishkeeping. So I made the mistake of buying a 10 gallon starter kit from walmart. We just wanted to get them into something bigger than a minnow bucket asap. And not knowing anything about fishkeeping we picked up a calico fantail at walmart as well.

Now that i've had the time to research I realize the mistake I made. Thats why I was checking out this guys store. I have a 29g bowfront a friend gave me last week that I need a filter and light for. But I have to try my best to get this 10 gallon under control because Its going to take a few weeks to get the 29 set up.

Thanks for the advice about the live plants. I'm definitely going to look into planting it a bit.

This morning the levels are around the same 2.0ppm I'm not seeing any signs of burns on their fins luckily. And only the albino comet is gulping at the top quite a bit. I have a work appointment shortly here, when I get back I plan on doing a 20% WC if the levels are still at 2-3ppm.

 

[RobStark]

Speaking of bigger tanks. I noticed alot of replies saying the 10 gallon is too small and get a bigger tank. I do understand this and found out as soon as I started researching a few weeks ago. I really wish I had time to do the research beforehand. These carnivals and fairs should not be allowed to give out goldfish as prizes. Sure I'm happy I have them now but what about all the people who don't research this stuff and end up killing their fish by putting them in a bowl and not checking levels or anything. It may spark off a fishkeeping hobby for some but I bet more of them end up dying.

But anyways I already have a 29 gallon bowfront that I'm researching filters and lighting for. That's the reason I went to this guys shop. From what I've read I'm leaning toward an Aquaclear 70 or 110. But some of the canisters are tempting as well. Like the Eheim and Fluvals. I'll probably make a thread in the right section for this but figured I'd make a mention if anyone has any advice. 2 Comets and 1 Fantail, still juvenile. In a 29 gallon bowfront. Best filter under 150 dollars?

 

[joejeff]

My aqua clear 70 rocks my 30 gallon. Very quiet and good flow. For now do daily pwc

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[joejeff]

By rocks I meant does a great job.

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[J.Mcpeak]

Knowing that all 3 fish will probably outgrow the 29, get the biggest filter possible, then when it is time, all you need is a bigger tank, the filter will be alive already and the change to bigger accommodation will be a much easier affair.

(I got my first fish at a fair, bad bad bad, I think they have banned this now over here in England)

Either way good luck!

 

[RobStark]

By rocks I meant does a great job.

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Lol yeah not rocking the tank back and forth right..hahaha im picturing someone using an insane huge filter on a tiny tank and it looks like its about to run a 1/4 mile.

Yeah the aq70 would probably do me fine..I might jusy grab the 110 for future tank upgrade though. I want to buy it from this local guys shop but it 69.95 for an aq70 and amazon is 43.95 and free shipping. I might have to buy other things from his shop and go the amazon route. Wouldnt matter if it was a few bucks..heck even 10..but 26..idk

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[joejeff]

I run two aq70 on my 75. So if u moved up running two filters works

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[Coyne]

I think goldfish are fairly notorious eaters of plants, so keep that in mind if you add some plants and they start disappearing.
Also, goldfish typically feed off the bottom, so seeing them gulping at the surface is probably a sign that somethings off. They're also pretty prone to swim bladder problems, which can be exasperated when they gulp air at the surface.

 

[jlk]

Knowing that all 3 fish will probably outgrow the 29, get the biggest filter possible, then when it is time, all you need is a bigger tank, the filter will be alive already and the change to bigger accommodation will be a much easier affair.

(I got my first fish at a fair, bad bad bad, I think they have banned this now over here in England)

Either way good luck!

+1

Definitely invest in the largest filter possible now as they will need a larger tank insleds than six months time. I will also strongly suggest increasing your wcs to 50% 2x daily and moving them to the 29 as soon as possible. A 10g with three goldfish and barely any filtration is unlikely to ever properly cycle as there simply isn't the available real estate for a bacterial population to properly colonize to support the bioload of these fish.

The gulping at the surface is due in part to lack of oxygen- the lack of oxygen is due to the high ammonia levels as well as gill damage from lengthy ammonia exposure. Frequent wcs and lots of healthy water will give them what they need to recover. Please ask any questions!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

 

[MonkeyMonk86]

If u can drive to Chicago soon, I can give you (free):
I need the area it is taking up in my storage locker. Message me if you want it. There is no stand for the tank b/c I'm using the stand for my 29 gallon tank.


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