Zuzkots
Aquarium Advice Regular
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2013
- Messages
- 66
Hi all! This is my first post in this forum.
I'm a newbie and have a 64 litre tank. When I was setting it up, I used tap water with dechlorinator. The water was crystal clear until I added live plants, then it clouded over for two days and cleared again. I let the tank run for a week and took a sample of my water to Pets At Home to check the levels yesterday. The guy said my water was perfect and let me buy 3 platys, 2 mollies and a male betta (he said the betta will be ok with them, but now I hear and read that they shouldn't be mixed). I added Filter Start to the water before adding fish. Was this a mistake? Should I have added that when I set up the tank? (It says I should add it every two days for seven doses.) The water is now cloudy again, more than before, in fact so cloudy I have to go close to the tank to see the fish. I'm guessing this is a bacterial bloom - should I worry or is this normal after adding Filter Start? Is it safe for my fish to just wait it out or should I do a partial water change? They are swimming mostly just below the surface, although few of them have explored the bottom of the tank and didn't seem bothered. They don't seem to be gasping for air, but just to be sure I put the Venturi on to aerate the water properly.
The ammonia levels were perfect yesterday - can the BB spike them up to a dangerous level within 24hrs? Should I take a sample to the store again today (can't afford a kit just now)? The guy said to bring a sample in 1-2 weeks but that seems too long to me.
Also, do I wait with feeding the fish? Will the flakes spike it up even higher?
I want to do everything I can for my fish to be happy and healthy. I wish I didn't listen to the guy when he said the tank will be ready for fish after a week.
I'm a newbie and have a 64 litre tank. When I was setting it up, I used tap water with dechlorinator. The water was crystal clear until I added live plants, then it clouded over for two days and cleared again. I let the tank run for a week and took a sample of my water to Pets At Home to check the levels yesterday. The guy said my water was perfect and let me buy 3 platys, 2 mollies and a male betta (he said the betta will be ok with them, but now I hear and read that they shouldn't be mixed). I added Filter Start to the water before adding fish. Was this a mistake? Should I have added that when I set up the tank? (It says I should add it every two days for seven doses.) The water is now cloudy again, more than before, in fact so cloudy I have to go close to the tank to see the fish. I'm guessing this is a bacterial bloom - should I worry or is this normal after adding Filter Start? Is it safe for my fish to just wait it out or should I do a partial water change? They are swimming mostly just below the surface, although few of them have explored the bottom of the tank and didn't seem bothered. They don't seem to be gasping for air, but just to be sure I put the Venturi on to aerate the water properly.
The ammonia levels were perfect yesterday - can the BB spike them up to a dangerous level within 24hrs? Should I take a sample to the store again today (can't afford a kit just now)? The guy said to bring a sample in 1-2 weeks but that seems too long to me.
Also, do I wait with feeding the fish? Will the flakes spike it up even higher?
I want to do everything I can for my fish to be happy and healthy. I wish I didn't listen to the guy when he said the tank will be ready for fish after a week.