Hello, this is my first post, I am a complete novice I'm afraid. I bought my new Jewel Vision 180 litres about 3 weeks ago. After cleaning the gravel and filling the tank I added the water conditioner, set the temprature to 26.79 and put the caves and objects in. After 1 week I added about 20 Guppies, they were fine so a few days later I added a Albino Rainbow shark, silver shark, two clown loaches and a sucker catfish pleco. Again one week later they were again thriving and getting along fine, I then completed my tank by adding 8 tetra, two platties and one male beta. I also added 1 live plant and 1 plastic plant covering the filter. This is where my problems have started, 4 of my 8 tetra have died, one of them within a few hours the others within 2 days, I don't think the other will have long either. All my other fish seem fine though except for my male Beta who is acting really wierd, he is either just still looking dead by the filter at the top or hiding at the bottom, he does sometimes swim around but his tail and other bits seem very droopy and his body seems to be losing colour. I have just ordered a Ammonia test kit and digital Ph reader to test the water although I feel it may be ammonia levels. I think I may of rushed and introduced to many fish to soon and am now worried about the other fish I have although they seem ok at the moment. Any help from yoiu experts will be appreciated as I would like to help the beta. I will do a 25% water change tomorrow to see if that helps.
Cardinal Tetra dying and sick Beta male!
- Thread starter ecobr
- Start date
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mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
Welcome to AA
Sorry to hear youre having problems. I think i can pretty much sum it all up by asking you to read through the two links in my signature on cycling. Do you have a liquid test kit to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Sounds to me like the ammonia levels in the tank have raised significantly due to the fact that the tank was not cycled when you added fish. Ammonia is toxic to fish, and will kill them if not kept under control. The link on cycling with fish should help you get through this with the least amount of fish loss possible. I seriously doubt 25% water change will do enough, if your ammonia levels are high, which im sure they are, you will have to do 50% water changes at least once a day, maybe twice.
Sorry to hear youre having problems. I think i can pretty much sum it all up by asking you to read through the two links in my signature on cycling. Do you have a liquid test kit to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Sounds to me like the ammonia levels in the tank have raised significantly due to the fact that the tank was not cycled when you added fish. Ammonia is toxic to fish, and will kill them if not kept under control. The link on cycling with fish should help you get through this with the least amount of fish loss possible. I seriously doubt 25% water change will do enough, if your ammonia levels are high, which im sure they are, you will have to do 50% water changes at least once a day, maybe twice.th08tu
Aquarium Advice Freak
I second that, also just as a heads up, expect your water to go foggy with the next few days if it isn't already, this is a GOOD thing, as it is all the benifictial bacteria in your tank. It will attach itself to items in your tank and filter, and will convert the ammonia to nitrates. Good luck!
P.S. welcome to AA, I joined here recently too and have learned so much from just reading these forums, and everybody is so great to deal with. I have asked tons of questions and never gotten and kind of rude response that would deter me from asking again on these forums!
P.S. welcome to AA, I joined here recently too and have learned so much from just reading these forums, and everybody is so great to deal with. I have asked tons of questions and never gotten and kind of rude response that would deter me from asking again on these forums!
Thanks for your great advise guys, excellent links provided. I have another question, to do a 50% water change, how do I get the water going in to be a suitable temp? I do not want to do a 50% change and shock the fish due to the temp dropping. Sorry for the basic question. This might sond really dumb but can I fill the kettle up and mix it with the cold water to slightly increase the temp? I have twp 15 litre buckets.
mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
well the best tool you can get is a python or similar water changing kit. its basically a valve that hooks on to your sink with a hose usually either 25' or 50' that will allow you to do a gravel vac, then once the required amount is removed, fill back up straight from the sink. as for buckets, what i do to make sure i have the right temp is take a small plastic cup and get enough water in that i can feel the temp difference between it and the water coming from the sink... once im really close, i stick my python in and fill it back up... i would suggest using a thermometer if possible just to make sure. i wouldnt add water from a kettle, just heated tap water to the correct temp
mfdrookie516
Aquarium Free - 2+ Years
nope, it does both... it has a valve on the bottom of it that you pull down to drain the tank, push it back up and twist and when you turn on the water it will fill it back up... good rule of thumb is to run hot water through the faucet prior to filling up the tank so you dont get it the right temp then the water get hotter... did that make sense? Like when you run the hot water in the faucet, its always cold for a few seconds, just let it get hot, then set your temp, then fill up the tank adding dechlorinator of course
