my story and help needed please

[aidenb]

I am new here and this is my first post and it’s going to be a long one sorry.

I could really really do with some help with these 3 tanks that I have I have never had fish before in till about a month ago so now I will go into the story of how I ended up with these tanks

My best friend of 10 years had these 3 tanks and loved them very much I did to and was very interested in them but never fort bout getting one myself. Sadly my friend past away from cancer 3 months ago and so the left his girlfriend looking after them who did not know how to look after them and was scared of them tbh all the did for 3 months was feed them once a day and that’s it no cleaning, water changer nothing at all so one day about a month ago I went down to have a catch up and noticed the tanks did not look good a tall so I sed I will take them off your hands and look after them.

So when I got the tanks home I did a full water change on all tanks and changed the filter media in 2 tanks and got a new filter for the 1 tank.

Anyway I’m gunner get onto what tanks I have and what fish I have in which tank and what equipment I have.

Tank 1


Is a 7L tropical tank which is this one here this one has 1 male fighter/betta which has white spot/ick in this tank I did a full water change and replaced the filter cartridge (which has carbon in it) with a sponge because I am treating him and did not wont the carbon to remove the treatment from the tank I treated him on Wednesday 15th and Iv givebhim the second dose today.


Tank 2


Is a 24L cold water tank which is this one here this one has 2 platties, 2 danios and 1 sucking loch I did a full water change and replaced the old filter with a new one (the same one that came with the tank)


Tank 3


Is a 54L tropical tank which is this one here this one has 2 platties, 2 minows, 2 tetras , 2 rummie nose tetra, 2 female fight/betta, 2 albino corydoray and 1 butterfly pleco this one I did a full water change and replaced all the media with new.


The equipment I have


Net
Gravel vacuum
Algae cleaning sponge
API stress coat/tap water safe (used in all 3 tanks)
API aquarium salt (used in all 3 tanks)
API fresh water master test kit (liquid one which IV bin told is the best one to use)
Interpet Fluval cycle biological enhancer (used in all 3 tanks to kit start the tank after water and filter changer)
Aquarian tropical flake food (used in all 3 tanks)
Anti-white spot treatment (got this for the fighter currently treating him)

I have been told I need to cycle the tanks again because of the full water and media change is this true if so how am I going to do it with fish in the tank?

I would like to know the maintenance I should be doing on all the tanks and what I can do to make the fish feel better in a way I just want to get these tanks sorted and look after them properly.


If there is any more information you need please ask and I will do my best to answer them.



Thank you ever so much for reading


(PS SORRY MY FIRST POST IS SO LONG)

 

[lilme]

try turning your gold water up slowly in water tems
and the tanks are a little small for the fish so upgrade soon if you can if you upgrade you can add tank b to tank c
and also try geting more corys when you upgrade

 

[aidenb]

SThankyou for your reply

It ia not going to be posible for me to upgrad as i dont have the room at the moment.

when the fighter is looking betta i am planning on moving him to a bigger tank that i got and set up on the 15th it is this one here when would i no the tank is cycled so i can move him as i have been told the 7L tank is a lil small is there anything i can do to this tank to make it the perfect enviroment for him as he has been thru a lot i thank

and would it be good to post my results from all my tanks of the master test kit so you can see where i am with the water then can give me advice from there.

 

[lilme]

yes please do and on you betta just add a hiddy place and a fake plant he will love it

 

[aidenb]

7L
PH 7.6
Ammonia 025ppm
nitrite 0.25ppm
nitrate 80ppm

24L
PH 7.6
Ammonia 050ppm
nitrite 0ppm
nitrate 40ppm

54L
PH 7.6
Ammonia 4.0ppm
nitrite 0.25ppm
nitrate 40ppm

22L (this is the new one that was set up on wednesday that is going be the fighter new home
PH 7.6
Ammonia 0ppm
nitrite 0.ppm
nitrate 20ppm

can some one please tell me what i need to do for each tank to get it right.

 

[Fresh2o]

Sorry for the loss of your friend and your efforts to take on the responsibilities of your friend's pets is a supportive and generous act.
For tank 1, good job removing the carbon while treating with meds.
For tanks 2 and 3, they are a bit one the high side in terms of stocking IMO.
What you can do is keep the fish healthy and reduce stress by keeping up with regular water changes. It is recommended to perform these weekly although 2-3 times a week may be necessary in case the ammonia and/or nitrite values are above zero. How much to change at a time? 25-50% is usually recommended. Generally the more the better. Kudos I getting the API master test kit. Post your results here and any questions you might have and folks will be able to offer assistance based on the info you have provided.
I am not sure if the aquarium salt is beneficial to the health of the fish. In some cases it is not desired (e.g. with corydoras).
Welcome to AA and good luck with your tanks.


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[Fresh2o]

I posted right after you posted the params. Water changes for all three. Especially on the 54L with the high ammonia.


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[Bloodroot]

Sorry about your loss first off. And second good for you taking on these tanks!

Can you test your tap water and tell us those parameters?

The aquarium salt worries me in the tanks. Corydoras do not do well in salt so I would highly suggest doing a 50-75% water change ASAP to get that salt out of the water. The other two I don't see a benefit of having salt in their tanks.

The filter and tanks, did you wash them at all? Just for a bit of information, cycling the tank is a process of increasing/growing the beneficial bacteria in the tank. So the more of the bacteria that was left in the tank the less harsh the cycle will be on the fish.

Any ammonia is poisonous to the fish. So any level is bad to have. The 4ppm tank needs a huge water change ASAP. Check the levels daily. Ammonia should be at 0, nitrites should be 0 and nitrates are okay to the 20-30 ppm range.

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[Bloodroot]

Actually I would do two 50-75% water changes for the big tank ASAP. The salt and the ammonia levels worry me.

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[trennamw]

So sorry for your loss. And well done on adopting the fish.

Yes you do now have Uncycled tanks. Beneficial bacteria live in the filter media and on surfaces, not in the water. So changing water is a really good thing.

In future you'll never want to change the filter media unless you have to, and then only a little. Is it possible you have the removed filter cartridges around and they're still wet and didn't get leftover spaghetti on them? I ask because you might be able to salvage some of the bacteria population off them. Or, if you can get used filter media from someone with healthy tanks, that will jump start a regrowth of beneficial bacteria. You're going to have a ton of water changes until the BB colonize.

Ideally you'll see zero ammonia and nitrite in the water. But until then, as you may have read, the clue that bacteria are repopulating are that first you have nitrites begin to appear, then nitrates. After you are fully cycled you should never see anything but nitrates.

Good luck!


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