Hampshire1
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
I have a 5 gallon tank (I know not recommended, but largest we can accommodate in our home). We cycled it for a week - watched water go cloudy and then go crystal clear. Added 5 zebra danios, 6 guppies, 6 neon tetras and 1 bristlenose catfish. After 2 days I noticed one danio had slight colour fade, mildly swollen belly and staying up top. I did an immediate water change of 20%, dropped the water temp from 25 degrees to 22 degrees Celsius. Almost immediate pick up in the danio, colour came back and swelling on belly reduced. Have withheld food since. Today (day 3) I noticed the same fish had mild colour loss again, so another water change and this time I increased the flow rate of the water filter. Again immediate pick up of the danio. I'm waiting for the water testing kit to arrive in the post. In the meantime, how long should I do daily water changes? How long should I withhold food? Is there anything else I can do to reduce ammonia and increase oxygen? Would adding plants help?