Yeti's 55gal FW Journal (Pix and Flix)

[Yeti]

Gonna do a PWC today look for the update

My pleco hasnt moved in a couple days.. something wrong with him?

 

[courtnee]

I dont know if this helps but when I bought my first pleco he swam all over and seemed "normal" he died two days later. I was confused and even took my water in to the LFS and he even said my water was flawless and I like how he put it.

He said "I dunno, he just decided life wasn't worth living anymore" and went on to say there sometimes is no reason.

I tried pleco #2 and still have him. He at first stuck to the side of the tank likes yours and wouldn't move around much. I read how much they hide and well mine was always right there in the front of the tank stuck to it.

I never saw him eat. It bugged me. I would watch his stomach though since he was always right there I could keep an eye on him. If their stomach is sunk in they are not eating. I would see his stomach starting to sink in and then eventually would notice a change so I knew he was eating.

Now days his stomach is plump usually so I know he is eating. He hides a lot now and moves around all over the place and is more normal.

Ive had him for several months and only seen him eat a few times. Very rare.

Just make sure his stomach is not sunk way in, that way you know he is eating and give him some time to adjust and maybe he will come around more when he has his own "home" to hide.

 

[Yeti]

hey what kind of pleco does my pleco look like? i cant really find an exact match.. hes black with brown spots.. pretty basic..

 

[black hills tj]

i think its just a common sailfin pleco

 

[Yeti]

sailfin is just a general name though.. theres diff kinds of "sailfins" though..

 

[black hills tj]

hopefully someone more knowledgeable in the world of plecos will come along and help you out

 

[Yeti]

Thursday, April 26th, 2007

Im in serious need of a water change.. I did a test today and here's the current conditions:

[Temp:] 78F
[NO2: ] 1.0
[NO3: ] 5.0
[pH:  ] 7.6/8.2???
[NH4: ] 4.0

Notes:
1) I think either my heater is dying or since ive been running my AC the past few days its cooling the water down, i have to keep bumping my heater up a notch..
2) I noticed something weird, my test kit comes with High range test solution, I tested it normally and it reads pH 7.6 if I test it with the high range it comes out as 8.2! so.. which is it??

Found the perfect hide out for my pleco but its fricken $30!!.. either I fork out the dough, or I make my own .. I kinda had an idea to make my own column out of clay and bake it and paint it .. it would be hollow with holes in it.. i dunno.. maybe make my own broken greek vase?

 

[Yeti]

Saturday, April 28th, 2007
Did my first PWC of 25%, man what a pain - now I see why people tell me to get a python haha.. I bid on one on ebay hopefully I'll win it.. all else fails wally world has them for $35..

im concerned my numbers didnt change much after the PWC...

Before PWC:
Temp: 78
pH: 8.2
NO2: 1.0
NO3: 5.0
NH4: 4.0

AFTER PWC:
Temp: 80
pH: 8.0
NO2: .25
NO3: 5.0
NH4: 1.0

How the heck do I get the numbers down? A higher % water change? I did 25% i guess 50% may have done the trick? - somebody suggested that I do 50% tomorrow..
on a lighter note, I added another piece of decor it doesnt really match but my pleco needs something until I find something for him/her

 

[severum mama]

Do a larger water change. Don't vac the gravel or clean the filter until you're sure the tank has cycled.

 

[Yeti]

well before I added fish I cycled it and it had zeros across the board so it was cycled. I havent changed my filters ever for fear to disrupt the beneficial bacteria, it has 2 cartridges and starting next sat, Ill replace 1 and 2 weeks later replace the other, and alternate.

 

[zenkatydid]

i'm confused as to why you were told you were ready for fish. in your original reading, you had 0 NO2 and NO3 (nitrites and nitrates) and 1.0 NM$ (ammonia). you need to have 0 ammonia and nitrite for the tank to be ready for fish.

of course, since your tank was not cycled to start with, now you are having problems. for your tank to be healthy you need to have 0 NH4 and 0 NO2. until that is true, i would be doing daily water changes to keep your fish from suffering.

 

[Yeti]

I was getting all 0's across the board, my NH4 was 1.0 and then went to 0.0 before I added the fish.. it was a sure sign of cycled I dunno why its all thrown off now but it WAS cycled before the fish...

is it possible the fish were in nasty conditions to begin with and they brought something with them into the water that could turn it? I am waiting on my python to do a PWC of large quantities but the auction has nearly 3 days left!

 

[black hills tj]

From what I was told regarding the fish he has now, he either took them and put them in his tank or the previous owner would flush them. I give him thumbsup for keeping them alive. If they seem to be healthy what's all the gripe about?

 

[Yeti]

well today I got a python, lemme tell ya those things are frikken awesome! took me a little under 15 mins to drain and refil my tank, on top of that I sucked out a lot of nasty stuff from the gravel. .... any who I did a 50% PWC with this bad boy and did another water test... everything is zeros except the ammonia!! I cant think of what is making this exist.. could it be my filters need changing, or at least change 1 of the 2??

New test results:
Temp: 79
pH: 7.8
NO2: 0
NO3: 0
NH4: 1.0

should I replace a filter cart or what? thanks guys!

 

[Yeti]

Decided to snap a few more shots.. I got a powerhead today a friend gave it to me so it was missing a few parts.. a little super glue and a suction cup and bam done.. but before I add it is 295gph too much for a 55gal?

This one is too big, its a tetra peeking through the ruins

Here is the Pleco, the Molly, the Angel, and a Tetra all in one shot

Believe it or not I took these with my cellphone haha

 

[severum mama]

well before I added fish I cycled it and it had zeros across the board so it was cycled.

Not necessarily. Reading 0's across the board doesn't mean the cycle is complete. When Ammonia and Nitrite are both 0, and Nitrate has creeped up over 20, then the tank has cycled. Or, it could be that the tank actually DID cycle, and then adding all those fish at once was too much for the bio filter to handle, so you are seeing another cycle. And yes, I understand that you had to add all the fish at once or your friend was going to flush them.

There are a few things you can do to make this as easy on the fish as possible. First, DO NOT add any more fish until you are absolutely positive that the tank has cycled. I'm not saying that you have, only that it would be a bad idea. Second, test the water every single day. It's a good thing you have that Python now because you will probably need to change a lot of water until the tank cycles- it's possible that you will need to change water every day until it does. Don't be afraid of large water changes; do as much as it takes to keep the ammonia under .5 and Nitrite under .25, if you can. Don't vac the gravel, and DEFINITELY don't clean the filter, until the tank cycles.

As far as the power head, I'd be wary of putting anything that has been super-glued into a tank. It may harm your fish and I wouldn't personally risk it.

I give him thumbsup for keeping them alive.

Me too. Sounds like he didn't have a choice; I would have done the same.

If they seem to be healthy what's all the gripe about?

I haven't seen anyone griping about anything in this thread. I've seen some concern expressed, and rightfully so; as ammonia and nitrite are EXTREMELY toxic to fish, and can cause permanent gill damage. That's why it is so important to keep ammonia and nitrite under the levels that I mentioned above.

 

[Yeti]

thanks, yeah I am going to do another 50% PWC today, and then a water test, ill post the results in an edit later tonite.

 

[black hills tj]

I give him thumbsup for keeping them alive.

Me too. Sounds like he didn't have a choice; I would have done the same.

If they seem to be healthy what's all the gripe about?

I haven't seen anyone griping about anything in this thread. I've seen some concern expressed, and rightfully so; as ammonia and nitrite are EXTREMELY toxic to fish, and can cause permanent gill damage. That's why it is so important to keep ammonia and nitrite under the levels that I mentioned above.

My bad. It just seemed like you were all jumping on his butt for putting fish in there when he "wasn't cycled" even though his cycled appeared to be finished. Your point about a mini cycle after adding fish is one I didn't think of. Thanks for pointing that out I'll beware of that next time I add fish to any tank.

 

[severum mama]

Yes, that's why we always advise stocking slowly here, particularly in a newer system. The bio filter simply needs time to catch up to new additions.

Yeti, it's unfortunate that you have to complete another cycle the fishy way. As you know, it's certainly more difficult than throwing a shrimp in there! If you keep up on your test results and water changes, though, it can be done.

 

[Yeti]

yup im about to do a 50% PWC , as long as i just keep up my routine it should adjust itself, i mean they aren't dead yet! haha

Update: did a 50% PWC and a test, the results are identical from the last test.. all 0's except the NH4 is 1.0...