New to Forum with a bunch of questions!

[woofwoofgrrl]

Hello!
I have a 10G freshwater with two fish - a fat zebra danio and a pink tetra.

1) I'm looking to upgrade to either a 30gal Long or a 20 gal long. There's a 20 on craigslist that looks like a good deal, so my first question is - should go for the 20 or wait until a 30 comes up?

2) I have a heck of a time keeping fish alive for any longer than a few months each. Occasionally, I get a good one that lasts - I had a catfish that lived for 2 years. Is this expected or am I doing something wrong? The various fish (mollies, platys, danios, tetras, catfish, and a pleco) have been purchased from various reputable LFS. It doesn't seem to matter where I buy them. I do partial water changes every week, change my filter every month. My temperature stays around 78 deg F. I use the liquid test kid and my ammonia is never over 0.25 ppm and my nitrates are usually around 5.0 ppm at water change time, with 0 nitrites. My water is REALLY hard - ph over 8. I was lead to believe that the fish can adjust and that lowering it would be more traumatic. Is that incorrect? I use Tetra Aquasafe to treat my tap water during water changes.

And lastly (but. for. how. long?)
3) What is this algae? I've looked all over at photos of many different types of algae trying to ID it myself, but nothing quite looks like it.
Here's a link to a photo - it's the fuzzy black lumps...
Picasa Web Albums - WoofWoof

Thanks so much! My two remaining fish thank you as well - as do their potential future tankmates!

Christine

 

[Deep Seven]

Welcome Aboard

.

1. A 30g tank isn't really much more work then a 20g tank as far as upkeep. It's slightly more expensive because everything has to be a bit bigger, but it opens up a few more fish as far as options. AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor is a very nice website to plan with. It can tell you when you're putting the wrong fish in your tank.

2. Ideally you want to keep ammonia and nitrites at zero. First thing. DON'T CHANGE THE FILTER This is important. Once a month, or as needed, when you're doing your water change, save some of your water in an aquarium safe container (no soaps or straight tap water), and gentle rinse the filter in the old water and put the filter back in your tank. Only replace it when it's falling apart, and then put the new filter in behind the old filter for a few weeks. This protects the benificial bacteria thats eats the ammonia and nitrites. Lifespans of Aquarium Fish - All About Lifespans of Aquarium Fish is a decent guide on aquarium fish life expectancy.

3. Sorry, can't help you here .


Good Luck, welcome to the forums.

Juan

 

[melosu58]

Moved to General FW discussion.

 

[cmor1701d]

 

[jsoong]

3. Probably Black Brush Algae, or may be the black (very dark red/brown) form of Blue Green Algae (actually a cyanobacteria) aka Red Slime Algae.

If the algae smells gross when you crush & smear it out, it is BGA. Can't quite describe the smell, not earthy like plant matter, but rather pungent, and a bit fishy (ammonia) ....

 

[mandy2936]

WELCOME TO AA

Just adding some advice here...

I don't think this would be the reason for deaths, but Zebra Danios are schooling fish and prefer groups of six or more.
All Tetras are also schooling fish, and find comfort in numbers. They should be in groups of 6+, for sometimes when they are scared they can even become aggressive. Also, it should be six Tetras of the same kind, but I don't think a "pink tetra" is a species... perhaps you can most some pictures and someone can ID it for you.

As for whether a 30g or 20g would be better, if you can, I'd choose the 30g.
First off, to provide proper schools for your fish you are right to upgrade because Danios will not fit in a 10g. When it comes to maintance, a 30g is really not much more work. Yes, a bit more expensive, but I think you will find it more rewarding.
I have a 20g right now and I wish I had gone with a 30g instead because it opens up more stocking options.

Good luck! Hope this helps

Oh, I almost forgot! Ammonia is toxic and always always needs to stay at 0. Did you cycle your tank before adding fish?

 

[mudraker]

Welcome to AA.

 

[woofwoofgrrl]

Thanks!

Thanks everyone! Juan, those site links will be VERY useful, thank you!

I just picked up a 30 long on craigslist so I'm set to go bigger. Now to clean and cycle it! YAY! Then I'll be able to get my two fish some playmates!
Thanks so much everyone!

Christine

 

[mandy2936]

Awesome! Glad to see you got a 30 gallon, I'm sure you'll love it

When you get down to stocking, I would start by adding 5 more Zebra Danios. They will be happy to be in a proper school and you will really enjoy watching these little buggers zip around the tank. Then, I'd add 5 more of those "Pink Tetras" you have. Once that's all settled, you have a lot of options for what you can add next!

Good luck with your new tank!
Hope this helps

 

[mudraker]

When buying second hand, always hold until you see what you really want. There are is a lot of unwanted-to-them but treasured-by-us stuff out there.

I also agree with Mandy, get your loners some company. They do better in schools.

Enjoy!