Q for fish people

[beaker1]

I'm currently a fish murderer. Does anyone have any tips for keeping tropical fish alove for
Longer than a week. Ive had two lots and both lots i've mange to murder. Ive left the tank for a week each time before adding fish and have cleaned the tank completely first. Ive now taken everything out of my tank laid new substrate and put new plants and decorations in.

 

[lindsay1993]

Have a look at this

http://www.fishchannel.com/fishkidz/beginner-fish/fishless-cycling.aspx

It's a common mistake that people are often advised to just wait a week then add fish. It's a lot more complicated than that!! There is a lot that needs to happen before adding fish. I used the ammonia method on my 500 litre tropical tank and never lost a fish. It took about 8 weeks to complete the cycle. I would also advise getting a full testing kit ( about £35) to test your water properly. Good luck!!

 

[beaker1]

Thank you. I shall have a look at the link and into the testing kit

 

[MargotC]

I highly recommend fishforums.net. They have very detailed guides to cycling and a handful of very experienced fishkeepers who give input to questions.

Besides cycling the filter media, you will also need to determine what kind of water you have (soft, hard, or somewhere between) before you choose fish. You will want to pick fish that are suited to your parameters and your tank size, and that are compatible with each other if you want a community tank.

Once you know what parameters you can provide there is a site called seriouslyfish.com that does reliable fish species profiles detailing their specific requirements.

 

[9tails]

You need to cycle your water. Preferably using the sponge from a well established tank or adding shop bought cycling stuff and this all takes a while. Bacteria needs to build up so they can eat the bad stuff your fish produce. Basically, your tank is too clean to sustain life.

 

[MargotC]

You need to cycle your water. Preferably using the sponge from a well established tank or adding shop bought cycling stuff and this all takes a while. Bacteria needs to build up so they can eat the bad stuff your fish produce. Basically, your tank is too clean to sustain life.

Just remember it is not the water that needs to cycle or which holds the good nitrifying bacteria, it is the filter media. For instance taking water from an established tank will do nothing to help your tank. The bacteria needs a good surface to grow on and that is primarily the filter material. As 9tails says the best way to go about it is to "seed" your new filter with material from a mature tank. Perhaps you know someone with one who would kindly donate a bit of media? Some fish stores might also be able to give you a little. This will speed up the process considerably. What you want is enough nitrifying bacteria in your filter to deal with the ammonia your fish will produce. Adding fish to the tank before the filter is ready to handle their waste leads to the fish suffering from ammonia poisoning which quickly becomes fatal.

With that said; for future reference if you have fish in the tank and they show signs of ammonia poisoning (gasping at the surface, red gills) what you need to do is test the water to know what you are dealing with (API and JBL both make good liquid test kits; do NOT rely on test strips as these are notoriously inaccurate and can give false readings) and do an immediate large dechlorinated water change. The water changes must then be repeated as often as needed to get the ammonia down to zero. Invariably most problems with fish have to do with water quality, and water changes should be the first step to try and minimise damage. With a healthy, cycled tank I recommend a weekly 50 % water change with temperature-matched, dechlorinated water. This will help keep parameters stable.

When it comes to cleaning the tank, never change all the media at once or rinse your filter media under tap water. This will kill off the good bacteria. Simply squeeze the sponge(s) lightly in a bucket of tank water during a water change, and put them back in. Some suppliers tell you that you have to replace the sponges at a certain interval: this is NOT true and can be detrimental to the tank. Unless the sponges are literally falling apart just leave them be save for the odd squeeze in a bucket of tank water, and if you do need to change the media make sure to only change a bit at a time to leave enough bacteria left to colonize the new material.

I know this is all a lot to take in, but you have a good chance to get it right the third time.