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Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)
Hi,
John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.
I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.
With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.
I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.
If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.
I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.
I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.
Thank you
Darragh Sherwin
New additions to tank quick question
- JimMooney (JimMooney)
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28 Apr 2007 13:23 #1
by JimMooney (JimMooney)
New additions to tank quick question was created by JimMooney (JimMooney)
Have my tank up and running with some fish.. 2 pleco's, 2 Clown loaches, and 4 guppy.. added more today 1 more guppies and 7neon's and 6 Rummynoses. Since I've added them the guppies have started to swim near the top of the tank...all the other fish are still on the bottom.. just the guppies up top! Is this normal? I'm paraniod something is gonna go wrong :oops:
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- KenS (Ken Simpson)
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28 Apr 2007 14:03 #2
by KenS (Ken Simpson)
Regards,
Ken.
Replied by KenS (Ken Simpson) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Hi,
That's a lot of fish to add in one go. You've more than tripled the number of fish in your tank. It's likely that you're experiencing an ammonia spike as you filter tries to catch up with the additional waste these fish are producing.
Ammonia is very toxic to fish. If you allow it to build, you will lose fish. Can you please give us the size of your tank and how long it has been set up?
Do you have a test kit, if so post the paramaters for ammonia, nitrITE and nitrATE. pH would also be useful.
If you don't have a test kit to understand extactly what's going on in your tank, I would advise an immediate 25% water change to reduce the concentration of ammonia. It's likely you'll be doing this every day for a week or so until your filter catches up. Use dechlorinated water brought up to the temperature of that in the tank.
This is a common mistake, we've all been there. It's best to add new fish in low numbers to allow your filter keep up with the waste.
That's a lot of fish to add in one go. You've more than tripled the number of fish in your tank. It's likely that you're experiencing an ammonia spike as you filter tries to catch up with the additional waste these fish are producing.
Ammonia is very toxic to fish. If you allow it to build, you will lose fish. Can you please give us the size of your tank and how long it has been set up?
Do you have a test kit, if so post the paramaters for ammonia, nitrITE and nitrATE. pH would also be useful.
If you don't have a test kit to understand extactly what's going on in your tank, I would advise an immediate 25% water change to reduce the concentration of ammonia. It's likely you'll be doing this every day for a week or so until your filter catches up. Use dechlorinated water brought up to the temperature of that in the tank.
This is a common mistake, we've all been there. It's best to add new fish in low numbers to allow your filter keep up with the waste.
Regards,
Ken.
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- JimMooney (JimMooney)
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28 Apr 2007 16:02 #3
by JimMooney (JimMooney)
Replied by JimMooney (JimMooney) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
I've to pick test kits tomoz... did a Nitrate and ph test... PH is still 7.2 and the nitrate is still 0. Taught I could add more smaller fish to the tank without probs... Have the tank up a week now... got the filter medai from platty252
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- KenS (Ken Simpson)
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28 Apr 2007 17:56 #4
by KenS (Ken Simpson)
Regards,
Ken.
Replied by KenS (Ken Simpson) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Even a cycled tank will struggle when the fish population is doubled or trippled. You do need to do an urgent 25% water change.
Your pH is fine. However, nitrATE is rarely 0 even out of the tap. I would recommend the API or Tetra test kits as there are very reliable and easy to read.
I still think your fish are going to be in trouble. You added fish far too early.
Your pH is fine. However, nitrATE is rarely 0 even out of the tap. I would recommend the API or Tetra test kits as there are very reliable and easy to read.
I still think your fish are going to be in trouble. You added fish far too early.
Regards,
Ken.
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- JohnH (John)
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29 Apr 2007 02:22 #5
by JohnH (John)
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
Replied by JohnH (John) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
For what it's worth I think you ought to consider water changes, as recommended by Ken, daily - for the next little while!
It's all well and good the fish outlet telling you it's OK to put in more and more fish....that's their purpose in life - to sell fish, if some die so much the better - you'll go back and buy more.
Do you have a friend with an established tank who might look after some of your fish until cycling is completed? - You could then gradually re-introduce them to your tank over time.
John
It's all well and good the fish outlet telling you it's OK to put in more and more fish....that's their purpose in life - to sell fish, if some die so much the better - you'll go back and buy more.
Do you have a friend with an established tank who might look after some of your fish until cycling is completed? - You could then gradually re-introduce them to your tank over time.
John
Location:
N. Tipp
We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl - year after year.
ITFS member.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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29 Apr 2007 06:21 #6
by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Replied by platty252 (Darren Dalton) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Jim as stated above you need to change some water to dilute the Amonia in your tank. Feed the fish sparingly for a week at least to cut down on the Amount of Amonia been produced.
A few fish would have been fine to start with. The media i gave you ( 300 grams ceramic rings ) would have been enough to seed your filter and the bacteria on the media would need a source of Amonia to feed off and multiply on to the new media in your filter. A few fish would produce enough Amonia to feed the filter. Adding to many fish at one time even in an established aquarium would cause an Amonia spike.
You would have had enough fish for the moment without the Neon's and Rummy-nose.
You need an Amonia and Nitrite test kit to monitor how your filter is doing. To see if it is dealing with the waste produced by the fish.
Here is a simple explanation of the nitrogen cycle. It is on ponds but it is the same thing for your Aquarium.
www.vcnet.com/koi_net/dan.html :wink:
When you get the test kits post the results. You will need to test your Amonia and Nitrite untill the results show 0.ppm (ppm = parts per million )
Last but not least dont panic. :wink:
A few fish would have been fine to start with. The media i gave you ( 300 grams ceramic rings ) would have been enough to seed your filter and the bacteria on the media would need a source of Amonia to feed off and multiply on to the new media in your filter. A few fish would produce enough Amonia to feed the filter. Adding to many fish at one time even in an established aquarium would cause an Amonia spike.
You would have had enough fish for the moment without the Neon's and Rummy-nose.
You need an Amonia and Nitrite test kit to monitor how your filter is doing. To see if it is dealing with the waste produced by the fish.
Here is a simple explanation of the nitrogen cycle. It is on ponds but it is the same thing for your Aquarium.
www.vcnet.com/koi_net/dan.html :wink:
When you get the test kits post the results. You will need to test your Amonia and Nitrite untill the results show 0.ppm (ppm = parts per million )
Last but not least dont panic. :wink:
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- JimMooney (JimMooney)
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29 Apr 2007 06:21 #7
by JimMooney (JimMooney)
Replied by JimMooney (JimMooney) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Picked up a api master test kit... every thing came back fine bar the ph level which has gone up to 7.8. I've been told my water is a it soft so the ph may rise and fall. What can i do to stablise the ph level? The fish seem to happy now in that they've been all over the tank now.
Results
Ammonia looks like 0 - 0.25
Nitrite looks like 0 - 0.25
Nitrate looks like 0 - 5.0
PH 7.8
What level of Nitrate is considered to high? I'm goin to record the levels between each water change and the period between changes.
Results
Ammonia looks like 0 - 0.25
Nitrite looks like 0 - 0.25
Nitrate looks like 0 - 5.0
PH 7.8
What level of Nitrate is considered to high? I'm goin to record the levels between each water change and the period between changes.
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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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29 Apr 2007 06:51 #8
by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Replied by platty252 (Darren Dalton) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Jim i sent you a pm.
If i remember correctly your Gh was something like 2.24 and kH was 1.68.
Kh is the buffering capacity and with a kH of 1.68 there is a real danger of the ph crashing.
The crushed coral i gave you will increase the hardness but it will also increase the ph. slightly.
Remove half of the crushed coral from the bag and your ph will drop slightly. I know this will only leave a tiny amount in the bag but it will be enough. I must have pictured your tank as been a larger tank.
Keep testing your water daily and dont add any fish for a few weeks.
If i remember correctly your Gh was something like 2.24 and kH was 1.68.
Kh is the buffering capacity and with a kH of 1.68 there is a real danger of the ph crashing.
The crushed coral i gave you will increase the hardness but it will also increase the ph. slightly.
Remove half of the crushed coral from the bag and your ph will drop slightly. I know this will only leave a tiny amount in the bag but it will be enough. I must have pictured your tank as been a larger tank.
Keep testing your water daily and dont add any fish for a few weeks.
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- Tetra (Tetra)
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29 Apr 2007 07:46 #9
by Tetra (Tetra)
Replied by Tetra (Tetra) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Do a water change asap ammonia and nitrite should be 0 and nitrate max of 50 at this level its harmful to fish.
Get some R.O. water would proabley be the best.
Seems that you tank is in a cycle
Get some R.O. water would proabley be the best.
Seems that you tank is in a cycle
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- JimMooney (JimMooney)
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29 Apr 2007 09:02 #10
by JimMooney (JimMooney)
Replied by JimMooney (JimMooney) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Cheers platty have removed about 60% of it now will continue to monitor.
Have the hospital\quarantine tank setup as well. Was gonna maintain a temp of 30 degrees in this tank from what I've read most of the disease's have probs with higher temps is this advisable or should I set temp @ 26 and gradually increase if treating fish? Was going to keep a cleaning fish in the hospital\quarantine tank is this ok?
Have the hospital\quarantine tank setup as well. Was gonna maintain a temp of 30 degrees in this tank from what I've read most of the disease's have probs with higher temps is this advisable or should I set temp @ 26 and gradually increase if treating fish? Was going to keep a cleaning fish in the hospital\quarantine tank is this ok?
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- platty252 (Darren Dalton)
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29 Apr 2007 10:53 #11
by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Replied by platty252 (Darren Dalton) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Tetra Tetra i think you have misread his test results;
Ammonia looks like 0 - 0.25; When a tank is cycling the Amonia would normally go to 10+ ppm and it's not uncommon to get readings of 0.5ppm shortly after feeding your fish. So i would think a reading of 0 - 0.25 is good for a new tank.
Nitrite looks like 0 - 0.25; This is not a bad reading for a new tank either but it dose need to come down to 0ppm. I think most fish will tolerate Nitrite up to 0.50 for a short period of time.
Nitrate looks like 0 - 5.0; There is absolutely nothing wrong with 5ppm of Nitrate. your average community tank would probably have readings of up to 40ppm or even more. A lake Malawi cichlid tank heavily stocked could have readings of over 100ppm.
Jim keep testing your water Dayle. If the Amonia or Nitrite start to rise do a 25% water change. This is especially needed if the Nitrite goes up.
Your quarantine tank should be kept at the same temp. as the main tank so if you have to remove any fish for medication you wont shock them by putting them into warmer water. The ph should also be the same.
By cleaning fish i assume you mean pleco. This will be fine but if you have to treat any fish in quarantine you will have to remove it. Also these will only cope with a half dose of meds. compared to most fish.
Ammonia looks like 0 - 0.25; When a tank is cycling the Amonia would normally go to 10+ ppm and it's not uncommon to get readings of 0.5ppm shortly after feeding your fish. So i would think a reading of 0 - 0.25 is good for a new tank.
Nitrite looks like 0 - 0.25; This is not a bad reading for a new tank either but it dose need to come down to 0ppm. I think most fish will tolerate Nitrite up to 0.50 for a short period of time.
Nitrate looks like 0 - 5.0; There is absolutely nothing wrong with 5ppm of Nitrate. your average community tank would probably have readings of up to 40ppm or even more. A lake Malawi cichlid tank heavily stocked could have readings of over 100ppm.
Jim keep testing your water Dayle. If the Amonia or Nitrite start to rise do a 25% water change. This is especially needed if the Nitrite goes up.
Your quarantine tank should be kept at the same temp. as the main tank so if you have to remove any fish for medication you wont shock them by putting them into warmer water. The ph should also be the same.
By cleaning fish i assume you mean pleco. This will be fine but if you have to treat any fish in quarantine you will have to remove it. Also these will only cope with a half dose of meds. compared to most fish.
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- Tetra (Tetra)
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29 Apr 2007 12:02 #12
by Tetra (Tetra)
Replied by Tetra (Tetra) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
sorry missed read it alright taught it said 50 ppm as this could be harmful this is why I suggested a water change apolgises again re read your stats there just keep an eye on it everyday as platty said
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- JimMooney (JimMooney)
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29 Apr 2007 13:47 #13
by JimMooney (JimMooney)
Replied by JimMooney (JimMooney) on topic Re: New additions to tank quick question
Thanks for the help. Much appreciated. I can already tell this is gonna turn into an unhealthy obsession :twisted:
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