Help, My tank is out of control.

[martiniduck]

I have 3 big problems with my tank.

I thought I was done with my cycling. Will Nitrites increase with every new fish I add? My Nitrite level climbed to Nitrite .25, Nitrate 10, Ammonia 0, using API master test kit. 29 gallon FW. I purchased a Python and have been doing 20% pwc once a week.

Once I was done with my cycling, I have slowly been adding fish. I first had a sword tail and a black molly. A week later I added a two more mollies. Then a week after that I added two corries and a platty. Last Friday I added 4 neons.

One of my neons has lost some of his color and seems to be gasping for air. His top back of his be hind his dorsal fin that normally would be blue is white. Does any one know what this is?

My last issue. I have posted earlier about my black molly being pregnant. I thought, I was wrong about that, until tonight. I was feeding my fish and I spotted a tiny fish swimming around. I was able to spot and catch 4 fry. I have them in one of those little floating, breediers. Now what? I have never raised fry. What do I do with them? What to feed them? Won't they over load my tanks capacity?

Help???? I am lost.

 

[mgamer20o0]

yes it may. each time you add a fish your adding to the bio load. it might take a a couple days for the bacteria to catch up depending on what was the stocking and how much your adding. if its a little high try doing a 50% water change there is no harm in major water changes.

with livebearers i let nature take its course. unless you have many tanks ready to raise fry it might be best to let them out.

 

[martiniduck]

Should my Nitrites be zero or is it ok to be .25? What is a good level?

I am afraid that, if I let them out the other fish will eat them. Are you saying to let the other fish eat them, so that my tank is not over stocked? I do not have any other tanks. Any idea about the neon? Should I put him out of his misery or wait it out? I don't know if it will spread to my other fish? It is not ick or fungus. It is a discoloration, but he seems week. My water is hard and my PH is high 8. Could that be the problem with my neons? The books I have read say they need soft, acidc water, but one of my books says that they are hardy can can survie other water contitions. It says, it is more important that the water is stable than, having perfect ph or hardenss. Should I return the neons and keep my fry? I am confused.
Thank you for all your help.

 

[martiniduck]

I have one more stupid question. When doing a water change? I have an under gravel filter and an external filter. Should I vacuum the gravel with my Python with every water change or will it disrupt the bacteria that is breaking down the ammonia and nitrites and cause them to be sucked out? Is it better to just siphon out the water without disrupting the gravel?

 

[mgamer20o0]

you want it to be at zero. if mine was at .25 i would do a 50% water change. yes i am saying let them out if they become lunch they become lunch. most likely they wont eat them all. your right its about not over stocking the tank.

dont know whats wrong with the neon. its not uncommon to lose a lot of them. stable ph is what you shoot for. most fish can handle conditions from where they are found in the wild. more so as more and more fish are breed vs wild caught.

yea i would gravel vac the gravel every time. it keeps it clean. you wont suck the bacteria out.

 

[martiniduck]

Lost the neon last night. Will do a 50% water change and release the fry.
Thanks for all the help.

 

[martiniduck]

I have did more research and found out the problem with my neon. It is a disease caused by a parasite pleistophora, that attack neons. Now I will have to watch that the others don't get it.

 

[mgamer20o0]

really dont know what it is. like i was saying often people buy bunch of them having most of them die off once in the tank they become hardy.

 

[Squareheads]

yeh... about the fries... do they cannibalize them? so are you suppose to put them in another tank? cause i was doing my water change and i spotted one... it really surprised me... but I don't know where it is now... it's probably gone into hiding, or died from starvation or from beign eaten :S

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

really dont know what it is. like i was saying often people buy bunch of them having most of them die off once in the tank they become hardy.

I have currently 8 neons... and have replaced at least 10 in the approx 5 months I have had them not counting the 6 that got eaten. Neons are not hardy at all... its just too bad because they are beautiful

 

[martiniduck]

Hey, now that you mention it. This is off topic and maybe it is answered somewhere else on this forum, I searched and could not find it. Any tips on taking pictures of fish in a tank. I have a digital camera, it is an advanced point and shoot, but the autofocus always focuses on the glass not the fish. Their is no way to do disable the autofocus. Any suggestions?

 

[Yellow Eye Tang]

I do believe that there is a thread here that goes over that, but if your camera is like mine the let the autofocus focus away from the tank a bit and once its locked... you can move forward and take the shot. It works for mine, but really depends on the camera. Sorry to hear about your neon. They are hard to keep - they can even just plain get sucked into your filter intake and die there too. I really like them but have strayed away because one day they are there and another day they are gone. My black molly also had fry and I gave them to a neighbor to try to keep my tank from overstock. Good luck!

 

[kangster]

my 12 neons have been through everything and are still living
i cycled my 10 gallon with them
i thought the heater i had was accurate and had my tank at 90 F for about 3 weeks as the tank was cycling
i changed the gravel of my tank when it wasnt even cycled
i guess im just lucky to have a good supplier its like i tried to kill them unintentionally and they lived