freshwater Aquarium Novice Help Please

[grounded_plane]

Hi to everyone,

Okay, I am a complete novice when it comes to freshwater Aquariums. I started one and all my fish are dead, due to my lack of knowledge and inexperience, which I am setting to put right now, with the help of you guys. So thanks in advance.

Okay story so far.

I have a 10 gallon fresh water tank. I had 4 regular gold fish (28 cent kind). They all got fin rot I believe due to the excessive amounts of ammonia I believe. I overfed the fish and hence they died. Also, on bad advice from a Walmart Associate, I also put in an Algae eater, not sure of the name of them, but a small little black guy with spots on him, any way he also died. He kept on attacking the Goldfish.

Right now, I have the tank running about 12 days. Preformed about 3 15-25% water changes and the water is clear.

My first question is, with the fish dying and the tank empty, is it better to start a fresh with tank, by that I mean remove all water and stone ect, or keep with my current environment and try and get the levels of the water to a normal level?

Right now, I can skim the bottom of the tank and a lot of rotten food and fish poo is in the tank? Is this good or bad given my tank has no fish and is `12 days old?

I don’t own a tester, but I am going to get one and I also do not plan to put any fish in until I test water and get it to good levels.

My second question is, what is the best type of fish to start out with in a tank and how many should I start with?

I don’t have a water heater right now, but I live in Florida, I may get one soon though.

Since the fish died, and I felt guilty, I have tried to research all over the net, but I am getting different answers and would like to know first hand from people who have been in similar situation.

Any advice I can get will be greatly appreciated.

Thanking you in advance.

Mick.

 

[fishygurl]

I think it would be best to start over, since its not such a big deal with a 10 gallon. Just because it will be easier than trying to thouroughly clean the tank with water. Since you were overfeeding, you might want to take the gravel out and clean it. Get a test kit, you will need one to cycle the tank. Get the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals liquid test kit. Trust me you will need it. To get a better understanding of the nitrogen cycle, read this article.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=21
Also please read this article on fishless cycling, ignore the saltwater part it works the same for freshwater.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/article_view.php?faq=2&fldAuto=15Fishless cycle is a much more humane method, because when fish are exposed to excessive amount of ammonia during a traditional cycle, it can often kill them. If they survive, they have permanent gill damage which will cause them to live a much shorter life. Thats probably what happened to your fish. A fishless cycle is also much easier on you, because with fish in the tank, you would have to do large water changes every day to keep the fis alive. You can also use pure ammonia to start the fishless cycle. If you decide on this method, someone will expain exactly how to do it.
You should get a heater, because it will help to keep the temperature more stable. As for types of fish, look at the fish profiles on this site. http://www.liveaquaria.com Its a commercial site, but the profiles are generally quite accurate. The post the names of the fish you like, and we can advise you on which ones are suitable.
Oh, and by the way, welcome to AA!

 

[rich311k]

Not much to add after fishygurl's post. Try and keep your filter media wet in old tank water if you can. It will help jump start the fishless cycle since you had some bacteria start growing. I dont know if you picked goldfish because you wanted them or if they were cheap. I just wanted to let you know that they really wont work in a ten gallon tank.

Welcome to AA!!!