Hi Guys,
Im having trouble with my first tank.
i bought an interpet fishbox (64 ltrs) 2 weeks ago & was told by staff that it would be ready for fish in 3 days.... so i added the water, de-cholrinated it, waited 3 days and took a water sample back to the store - they tested it and said it was fine.
so i took home 2 dalmation mollies and a clown Loach (had already picked up 4 plants & a medium sized piece of bogwood when i bought the tank 3 days previous)
so no problems so far (so i thought).
9 days after purchase i went to another store and picked up 5 amono shrimp, 5 serpae tetra & another clown loach - the first loach i purchased appeared to be constantly freaking out , fins up, gills moving rapidly and constantly darting around or hiding so i figured a tank mate would help.
i also picked up another 8 plants.
now my brother (experienced fishkeeper) brought a test kit back to mine that day and double checked the water and........ Nitrite, Nitrate & Ammonia levels were off the charts!
So cue frantic 50% water change.
We re-tested the water after and got the following readings:
NO2 = Less than 0.50 ppm
NO3 = Less than 10 ppm
NH3/4 = 1 ppm
Disaster adverted! (so i thought)
2 days later 4 of the shrimp were dead (much to the delight of the loaches)
i have reduced feedings to once a day & have been keeping daily test logs to monitor the levels and the readings are below.
Monday 02 May
Tested after 50% water change
Interpet filter start added after test
NO2 = Less than .50 ppm
NO3 = Less than 10 ppm
NH3/4 = 1 ppm
Tuesday 03 May
2 shrimp dead this morning
Still panicking over yesterdays test & this mornings discovery i ran to an aquatic specialist shop in London and bought Sera Toxivec - which apparently removes Chlorine, Nitrite & Ammonia and added it to the tank after testing.
NO2 = Less than 1 ppm (+0.50)
NO3 = Less than 5 ppm (-5)
NH3/4 = 2 ppm (+1)
PH = 8.3
Wednesday 04 May
2 more shrimp died during the night
Filter start added after test
NO2 = 1 ppm (0)
NO3 = 5 ppm (0)
NH3/4 = 2 ppm (0)
PH = 8 (-0.3)
Thursday 05 May
Noticed 2 small white spots on the new loaches tail, white spot treatment bought as a precaution.
NO2 = 1 ppm
NO3 = Less than 5 ppm (0)
NH3/4 = 4 ppm (+2)
PH = 8 (0)
So driven by desperation and guilt (shrimp deaths weighing heavily on my mind) i changed another 50% water change and added another dose of Toxivec & tested again.
NO2 = 0 ppm (-1)
NO3 = less than 5 ppm (0)
NH3/4 = 1 ppm(-3)
PH = 7.4 (-0.6)
Temperature has been between 24C & 26C all week. i will update with tomorrows readings.
Apologies for the lengthy post but i am very worried about this tank.
So in short now what?
Do i keep doing twice weekly 50% changes the keep the chemicals down or should i just do weekly 25% changes to allow the tank bacteria to build up & not freak the fish out so much? or is there anything else i should do? or should take into consideration?
I dont really want to rely on the Toxivec as its a quick fix and i don't want to keep upsetting the bacteria by removing the ammonia so quickly.
Also on a less urgent note i noticed 2 tiny snails in the substrate & 3 clear gelatinous globs with what appeared to be candy floss inside on one of the plants, closer inspection revealed that 1. there were 13 such blobs around the tank & 2. it is not candy floss inside, i assume these are snail eggs?
Please any advice & guidance will be much appreciated.
I understand that this situation is entirely my fault, i should of researched this thoroughly & not relied solely on the shops advice, as stupid as it sounds i honestly thought it would be a case of lobbing fish into a tank of water.
Thank you.
Im having trouble with my first tank.
i bought an interpet fishbox (64 ltrs) 2 weeks ago & was told by staff that it would be ready for fish in 3 days.... so i added the water, de-cholrinated it, waited 3 days and took a water sample back to the store - they tested it and said it was fine.
so i took home 2 dalmation mollies and a clown Loach (had already picked up 4 plants & a medium sized piece of bogwood when i bought the tank 3 days previous)
so no problems so far (so i thought).
9 days after purchase i went to another store and picked up 5 amono shrimp, 5 serpae tetra & another clown loach - the first loach i purchased appeared to be constantly freaking out , fins up, gills moving rapidly and constantly darting around or hiding so i figured a tank mate would help.
i also picked up another 8 plants.
now my brother (experienced fishkeeper) brought a test kit back to mine that day and double checked the water and........ Nitrite, Nitrate & Ammonia levels were off the charts!
So cue frantic 50% water change.
We re-tested the water after and got the following readings:
NO2 = Less than 0.50 ppm
NO3 = Less than 10 ppm
NH3/4 = 1 ppm
Disaster adverted! (so i thought)
2 days later 4 of the shrimp were dead (much to the delight of the loaches)
i have reduced feedings to once a day & have been keeping daily test logs to monitor the levels and the readings are below.
Monday 02 May
Tested after 50% water change
Interpet filter start added after test
NO2 = Less than .50 ppm
NO3 = Less than 10 ppm
NH3/4 = 1 ppm
Tuesday 03 May
2 shrimp dead this morning
Still panicking over yesterdays test & this mornings discovery i ran to an aquatic specialist shop in London and bought Sera Toxivec - which apparently removes Chlorine, Nitrite & Ammonia and added it to the tank after testing.
NO2 = Less than 1 ppm (+0.50)
NO3 = Less than 5 ppm (-5)
NH3/4 = 2 ppm (+1)
PH = 8.3
Wednesday 04 May
2 more shrimp died during the night
Filter start added after test
NO2 = 1 ppm (0)
NO3 = 5 ppm (0)
NH3/4 = 2 ppm (0)
PH = 8 (-0.3)
Thursday 05 May
Noticed 2 small white spots on the new loaches tail, white spot treatment bought as a precaution.
NO2 = 1 ppm
NO3 = Less than 5 ppm (0)
NH3/4 = 4 ppm (+2)
PH = 8 (0)
So driven by desperation and guilt (shrimp deaths weighing heavily on my mind) i changed another 50% water change and added another dose of Toxivec & tested again.
NO2 = 0 ppm (-1)
NO3 = less than 5 ppm (0)
NH3/4 = 1 ppm(-3)
PH = 7.4 (-0.6)
Temperature has been between 24C & 26C all week. i will update with tomorrows readings.
Apologies for the lengthy post but i am very worried about this tank.
So in short now what?
Do i keep doing twice weekly 50% changes the keep the chemicals down or should i just do weekly 25% changes to allow the tank bacteria to build up & not freak the fish out so much? or is there anything else i should do? or should take into consideration?
I dont really want to rely on the Toxivec as its a quick fix and i don't want to keep upsetting the bacteria by removing the ammonia so quickly.
Also on a less urgent note i noticed 2 tiny snails in the substrate & 3 clear gelatinous globs with what appeared to be candy floss inside on one of the plants, closer inspection revealed that 1. there were 13 such blobs around the tank & 2. it is not candy floss inside, i assume these are snail eggs?
Please any advice & guidance will be much appreciated.
I understand that this situation is entirely my fault, i should of researched this thoroughly & not relied solely on the shops advice, as stupid as it sounds i honestly thought it would be a case of lobbing fish into a tank of water.
Thank you.
