new tank question.

[ZombiesAteMyDog]

I just got my new 29 gallon all set up and up to temp, and am doing a fish in cycle, I know all about fishless, but my dad and several of my friends and family have done fish in for years, so thats what I have decided to go with, 4 zebra danios + some of the start zyme for starting a new tank / adding bacteria

my question is this, my fish will not eat, I have a feeling it has something to do with the food not floating, or at least very long, I will add the tropical flakes to the water, and within 45 seconds - 90 seconds they have ALL floated to the bottom, I am thinking this may have something to do with my filter set up, as I am running 2, 10-30 in tank filters, and they only place they fit is in the middle, so the food is being pulled into the current and sunk.

should I change this set up to 1 higher powered filter? I like the idea of 2 so if / when i switch filters the other filter will keep the bacteria going, should I just try unplugging one of the filters when it is feeding time? or is there a type of food that will float even after going through the filter return blowing it down into the tank?

I have already tried twice to feed them with no luck, and I dont want to over do the tank with fish flakes,any help and or advice would be appreciated.

 

[librarygirl]

Most food will sink once it's water logged. You can try turning the filters off when feeding to see if it helps. They seem to take up alot of space though; you could try getting an aquaclear 50 or 70; it has a pretty large basket for various media and you won't need to change it out very often at all. I had the filters you have now a while back when I started but I found they were pretty restricting in terms of what media can go in them and the pads wore out fairly quickly.

Also adding some variety to the fish's diet isn't a bad idea too. You could rotate flakes with pellets (something like Hikari or New Life Spectrum; they make less of a mess than flakes too) and try feeding frozen bloodworms or shrimp once a week or so.

 

[ZombiesAteMyDog]

yea, I like the idea of 1 bigger filter like that, the problem is, my tank sits right up against the wall, and I can not have a filter that hangs outside the tank

 

[Chronos313]

You could look into a fluval canister filter

 

[Mael]

How long have the fish been in the tank? I think if they are stressed, as they may be from a move, they won't just buck up and eat. No fish I've ever put in a tank has started eating until the next day. That's just my personal experience though, so I may be wrong.

Regarding the filter, Marineland makes a small canister that would fit your tank perfectly -- the C-160. If you have space underneath the tank, with a bit of plumbing, you could easily drop one in and free up all that space the current filters are taking up.

I have no experience with Fluval's canisters, but I'm sure they have a similar model!