# aquarium newbie! first ever fish tank!



## jeff1727

hi everyone! okay so i decided i wanted to get a fish tank cos i find them very cool and nice to look at. Ive never had any fish before and no idea at all on where to start. good thing i found this forum! so i've been researching and reading around this forum and going to different fish stores for a bit over a week now and took the plunge the other day and bought a starter kit from petsmart. i ended up getting the aqueon 26gal bow front, it came with a 100W heater, a filter, and flourescent light. i set it up and put water in two days ago and started the filter running since. i put the water in with nutra fin aqua plus and nutra fin cycle. the nutrafin cycle says i have to keep putting that in for three days, so i've put it in twice already then the last would be tonight. i also bought an airpump and put it in yesterday with two airstones. its a topfin pump, but i think i'm going to change it today cos i find it too loud. any suggestions on this would be great. anyway i'm planning on putting live plants and fish in my tank eventually. my question is, after i put the nutrafin cycle in tonight for the last time, can i start putting in live plants and fish tomorrow? or should i start with plants first tomorrow then fish after 3 days? also do i need to do a partial water change when i put in the fish? thanks in advance for all the help.


----------



## SOUPNAZZI

Hi Jeff. Congrats on becoming an Aquarist..

First piece of advice, read and research on this forum...

First you need to establish thank.. Nitrogen cycle "Fishless cycle". where you introduce pure ammonia to start the cycle. You need to establish the 2 beneficial Bacteria colonies to handle the Ammonia and Nitrites in the water.

You will need a freshwater test kit, API's is a good choice.. You will need to test the water on a daily basis to keep track of the ammonia, Nitrites & Nitrates. I believe there's articles concerning the Nitrogen Cycle"Fishless Cycle location in this forum, please read them. and ask question to clarify

You had mentioned you wanted plants. Not all plants are the same, some require different lighting.. There's a section on this forum that you can research under and ask questions. There might be an issue with the airstones, introducing to much oxygen in the water will gass of the CO2 in the water. The plants will require CO2...

I hope this helps and to point you in the right direction.

Word of advice, to establish or complete the nitrogen Cycle will require patience. Depends on you do it may take a week(using the seeded method) or a month(fishless cycle) to complete..


----------



## Fish_Man

jeff1727 said:


> hi everyone! okay so i decided i wanted to get a fish tank cos i find them very cool and nice to look at. Ive never had any fish before and no idea at all on where to start. good thing i found this forum! so i've been researching and reading around this forum and going to different fish stores for a bit over a week now and took the plunge the other day and bought a starter kit from petsmart. i ended up getting the aqueon 26gal bow front, it came with a 100W heater, a filter, and flourescent light. i set it up and put water in two days ago and started the filter running since. i put the water in with nutra fin aqua plus and nutra fin cycle. the nutrafin cycle says i have to keep putting that in for three days, so i've put it in twice already then the last would be tonight. i also bought an airpump and put it in yesterday with two airstones. its a topfin pump, but i think i'm going to change it today cos i find it too loud. any suggestions on this would be great. anyway i'm planning on putting live plants and fish in my tank eventually. my question is, after i put the nutrafin cycle in tonight for the last time, can i start putting in live plants and fish tomorrow? or should i start with plants first tomorrow then fish after 3 days? also do i need to do a partial water change when i put in the fish? thanks in advance for all the help.


Allo and welcome!

I'm not too sure about the nutrafin cycle so can't help you on that.
But as for the airpump, I would go for tetra whisper, very quiet in my opinion.
First I would suggest getting a water test kit. Add the plants first and wait a few days before putting the fish. Only put a few fish in first (don't want a large bioload right from the start), not sure how much beneficial bacteria you will have from the nutrafin cycle.

Also, if you're planning to add plants, you will have to take a look which plants are suited for your tank. Some plants require more intense lighting, Co2, etc.

I'm not much help but hope that my limited amount of information makes sense. 

SOUPNAZZI beat me to the second post!! =P


----------



## jeff1727

thanks for the feedback guys! i think i'm going to the fish store today to get some test kits to see where my tank is in the cycle. do you guys know if big als sell used filters to help my tank cycle?


----------



## Fish_Man

jeff1727 said:


> thanks for the feedback guys! i think i'm going to the fish store today to get some test kits to see where my tank is in the cycle. do you guys know if big als sell used filters to help my tank cycle?


I don't know but people on here are willing to help out I'm sure.


----------



## ppaskova

Actually it not as hard as it looks. First of all you can test your watter for free (but not every day) in local PS or BAs. 
Get yourself better watter conditioner and Bio-support. I recommend www.seachem.com products like Prime conditioner and Stability new tank system or Big Al's products. I use both and very happy with it.
First put watter in the tank (preferably with conditioner) and let it run for 2-3 days with filter running and start adding bio-support right away. 
After add some plants. The easiest plants are low light plants (you will need to keep your fish tank light on every day for at least 6 hrs a day. so get a timer. Also you will need at least 1watt of light per gallon for them, figure out how strong light you need). I would recommend Java fern and windowlov as they easy to take care of. The only problem, they are slow growing. So use low light fast growing to mix with them, I recommend hygrophilia. Let them sit there for a week and see how they doing. In main time test the watter at least once a week. When you finish your bio-cycle (using Stability or so) introduce 1-2 fish and let them swim there for 1-2 weeks. After that you can introduce 2 more fish for 1-2 weeks again. By the end of the month if everything goes well (no fish dieing) you can start introducing more fish. In first 2-3 weeks you don't need to do any watter changes as you fish tank still establishing. After that it is a good idea to change 20% of the watter every week or so. Good luck !!!!


----------



## jeff1727

so i went into the fish store yesterday and told them about my tank and what i wanted to do. the person there suggested to put a couple fish in to get the cycling started so i got two of those yellow fish with orange fins and mickey mouse dots on the tail, (dont remember what they were called). when i put them in one was swimming around like normal and the other swam around for a bit then would keep lying down on the gravel and not moving. but i still see his fins moving so i thought he was just sleeping. i woke up this morning and 1 was dead. anyone know what couldve happened to him?


----------



## xr8dride

this is why you were advised to do a fishless cycle using ammonia or a ready made liquid from a manufacturer. This forum can be a very useful tool if the advice is follwed. Your fish likely died of ammonia poisoning.
The number one step in becoming an aquarium keeper is research, number 2....The Nitrogen Cycle....without it, you won't be keeping any fish for very long.
Good luck


----------



## trailblazer295

I'd stop using the nutrafin cycle, it doesn't really get your bacteria growing, hence why you have to keep adding it. To get a proper cycle use pure ammonia (non scented). Wait for your readings to be ammonia 0 nirite 0 nitrate 10ppm. When you are ready to add fish do it slowly, leaving at least a week with only a few fish at a time. This will give the bacteria in your filter time to grow and handle the bioload (waste) of the fish. Also NEVER EVER rinse your filter media with tap water. Always use tank water to rinse it out.


----------



## BettaBeats

trailblazer295 said:


> I'd stop using the nutrafin cycle, it doesn't really get your bacteria growing, hence why you have to keep adding it. To get a proper cycle use pure ammonia (non scented). Wait for your readings to be ammonia 0 nirite 0 nitrate 10ppm. When you are ready to add fish do it slowly, leaving at least a week with only a few fish at a time. This will give the bacteria in your filter time to grow and handle the bioload (waste) of the fish. Also NEVER EVER rinse your filter media with tap water. Always use tank water to rinse it out.


nitrates might spike higher than 10.


----------



## jeff1727

thanks for the help guys, yeah when i went to the fish store telling them im cycling my tank with no fish in it the guy said its not cycling because i need fish in it to start the cycle. thats why i put fish in it. i think i get it now, the amonia was suppose to replace the fish because the fish's job to start the cycle was for it to produce amonia? the other fish i put in survived and looks healthier now cos its actually swimming around. i'm going to wait for the midnight madness sale on sat. so i can pick up a water test kit then i can check if my water is ready!


----------



## xr8dride

Yes the ammonia is used in place of the fish. Logic would insist that the bottled bacteria is a hoax and does not work since bacteria need both air and a food source to survive. In my experience, I have used these bottle bacteria and have had shorter cycle times...be it coincidence or not I couldn't tell you but save your money, get a test kit and go thru the steps of a fishless cycle using ammonia.
If you have a friend, or ask around GTAA nicely someone may be willing to part with some seeded substrate or even an old filter pad or something...that would speed along the cycle in no time...Days instead of weeks.


----------



## trailblazer295

Yes your right my mistake.


----------



## acropora1981

double post removal service.


----------



## acropora1981

the best way to start seed an aquarium with bacteria is to have someone squeeze out a sponge filter or filter insert into a bag of aquarium water, and put some in your tank. I use sponge filters with new clients tanks in order to shorten the time it takes to put fish in their tanks (most are impatient becauise they are excited)

If you need some brown water... anyone here should be able to oblige you lol


----------



## jeff1727

i posted in the buy sell section if i can buy someones used filter media, hopefully someone has to spare!


----------



## jeff1727

okay so i bought a laborett test kit at big als during the midnight madness and tested my water last night. my results were pH = 7.5, KH = 5.5, GH = 9, NO2 = 0.3, NH3/NH4 = somewhere between 0.25 and 1.5 so i'm going to guess 0.9. according to the test kit instructions these results were okay except the NH3/NH4 were a bit high. my first question is my plants are still dieing, why? i went to big al's and they suggested i try putting in this thing called flourish and root plant tabs, do you guys think this is good enough or should i also buy a plant gro c02 system? my second question is, with these test results is it okay to add more fish or should i wait til the NH3/NH4 to get lower and how do i lower it?


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> okay so i bought a laborett test kit at big als during the midnight madness and tested my water last night. my results were pH = 7.5, KH = 5.5, GH = 9, NO2 = 0.3, NH3/NH4 = somewhere between 0.25 and 1.5 so i'm going to guess 0.9. according to the test kit instructions these results were okay except the NH3/NH4 were a bit high. my first question is my plants are still dieing, why? i went to big al's and they suggested i try putting in this thing called flourish and root plant tabs, do you guys think this is good enough or should i also buy a plant gro c02 system? my second question is, with these test results is it okay to add more fish or should i wait til the NH3/NH4 to get lower and how do i lower it?


did you mean NO3? I'm surprised your kit can detect 0.3ppm Nitrate, when most kits grade by 10s of ppm.

NH3 of 0.25 to 1.5 is pretty high. When I was cycling my planted tank, I never got ammonia higher than 0.25. Did you get any Nitrite?

In any case, none of that matters for your plants. Ammonia is a source of food for plants. If your plants are dying, DO NOT start putting fertilizers in. Instead, step back and ask yourself, "what could be wrong?"

What kind of plants do you have? What is your lighting? _How_ are your plants dying? Any algae in the tank?

Oh, and do NOT add any more fish! Your tank is not cycled yet.


----------



## jeff1727

thanks for the help, i'll hold back on putting in the flourish i got from big als. how can i lower the amonia? should i do daily water changes? they also told me to put in this thing called superbac so i did that the other day, could that be the cause of high amonia? i'm not sure what the name is of my plants but i did notice them dying when i changed my light. i put in this T5HO light that they suggested and i dont see any algae. i turn the light on for 5 hours a day. should i have used a special kind of gravel for plants?


----------



## jeff1727

here's a picture of my tank, not sure what these plants are called


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> here's a picture of my tank, not sure what these plants are called


Your plants look fine in this pic. You might want to take a pic of problem plant. I can barely see it at the edge. 

5 hours of light sounds pretty low. Try 12 hours.

Don't put in superbac, it's useless.

What do you have in there? I see only one fish and some shrimps? Your existing plants should be fine supporting that bioload. I would just take out the dying plant, do a water change, and don't put in superbac. It might be that that's contributing to the high ammonia.


----------



## Zebrapl3co

For starter, you may have made your research but definitely not in the right direction. Read the first sticky post in the beginner's circle section:
Fishless Cycle - An Idiot's Guide
If you feel overwhelm by the number of post, just read the first one. It's good enough to help you avoid the most common beginner disasters.
Please don't add anymore fish.
Stick #4 So you want to keep fish in an aquarium? has a very good link in the first post: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/kumar_nitrogen.html
Hope that helps. If you are confuse, I can explain further ...

*Never pay again for live sex! | Hot girls doing naughty stuff for free! | Chat for free!*


----------



## acropora1981

jeff jeff jeff... Slow down bro! Sit back, and stop fiddling with the tank for two weeks, and let it get established. Hands off the tank. Go. Do.


----------



## Cravenne

I'd suggest the same thing...PATIENCE!!

Read forums, look at pictures..stare at your tank, but stop messing around in there! Adding chemicals and additives before your cycle is even complete is just wasteful and will likely postpone the process and give you more headaches.

Instead, read about the fish you intend to buy, or other options you might want to explore...and wait!!

Sometimes plants have some die off when added to a new tank. Remove the dead leaves and try and be patient. 

Also..before you add anything to your tank, I'd really advise you to come online and post your question here, or on another forum. Sometimes the employees at LFS don't know enough to offer the best advice.



Good luck and enjoy!


----------



## jeff1727

thanks for the advise guys. i think this is the hardest advise to take!!! i'll hold off and not put anything in my tank and just leave it alone. one question tho, i've been testing my water and it said my ammonia is high. in the instructions that came in my test kit it said if my ammonia is high i should do a daily water change. should i continue with the daily water change and keep testing my water daily?


----------



## acropora1981

jeff1727 said:


> thanks for the advise guys. i think this is the hardest advise to take!!! i'll hold off and not put anything in my tank and just leave it alone. one question tho, i've been testing my water and it said my ammonia is high. in the instructions that came in my test kit it said if my ammonia is high i should do a daily water change. should i continue with the daily water change and keep testing my water daily?


Just leave it man. Doing water changes over and over is just going to keep knocking your bio filter down again and again. No more water changes(for now of course, later many water changes...for the rest of your life), just let it work itself out. It will all be ok in a week or so.

Also, long term for your plants to do really well, I'd suggest getting into CO2. Not NOW, but go research the CO2 systems. I personally won't do plants without a full pressurized CO2 system, because I've been in the hobby for 20yrs and I just hate fiddling with anything that isn't automated and easy to use, and I demand really perfect results. Just my 2 cents, but if you like the live plants, get CO2. Try the yeast system if you must, but pressurized CO2 is just...perfection


----------



## Cravenne

If I remember correctly you still have a fish in there...? If yes, you're going to need to do daily water changes to minimize the ammonia, as much as possible, for the fish. Feed very sparingly and don't touch the gravel when you do the w/c...just suck out the water and put treated water back in.

If the fish is gone, then leave the tank alone


----------



## solarz

acropora1981 said:


> Just leave it man. Doing water changes over and over is just going to keep knocking your bio filter down again and again. No more water changes(for now of course, later many water changes...for the rest of your life), just let it work itself out. It will all be ok in a week or so.


He's still got fish in there and high ammonia is deadly to the fish. Jeff, you definitely DO need to do daily water changes and keep your ammonia level as close to 0.25 ppm as possible.

Don't worry about cycling: having 0.25 ppm ammonia means that there is a surplus of ammonia production compared to your bacteria population. Having 0.25 ppm ammonia or 1 ppm ammonia makes no difference to your cycle, but is a question of life or death to your fish!

You will be needing to keep up with the daily water changes for a while: after the ammonia goes down, you'll get a nitrite spike, which is also deadly. You'll have to wait until both ammonia and nitrite are down to 0 before you can stop with the daily water changes.

Actually, did you ever get that used media? If not, send me a PM and I can give you mine.


----------



## jeff1727

yeah i still have fish, i've done daily water changes the past three days, i think the ammonia is going down a bit, i test it every morning and night. no luck with used media yet. i tried posting in the buy sell forum with no luck. it would be great if you can help me out with that, i would really appreciate it. i'll send you a pm, thanks!


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> yeah i still have fish, i've done daily water changes the past three days, i think the ammonia is going down a bit, i test it every morning and night. no luck with used media yet. i tried posting in the buy sell forum with no luck. it would be great if you can help me out with that, i would really appreciate it. i'll send you a pm, thanks!


How many fishes do you have in there? How much water change do you do?


----------



## jeff1727

i have 1 platy and 3 zebra danios. i do 25% water change


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> i have 1 platy and 3 zebra danios. i do 25% water change


That's more bioload than I had when I started, but you also have more plants. 

I would do 40-50% water change daily. The key is making sure that ammonia stays as close to .25ppm as possible.


----------



## jeff1727

cool, my last test said i was pretty close to that. yeah i'll start doing bigger water changes starting tonight. how often should i be feeding them? right now i feed them in the morning and at night? should i decrease that?


----------



## jeff1727

oh another question, since i'm going to be doing a bigger water change tonight, i figure i should move stuff around cos i'm not completely happy where i initially put my stuff like the heater and stuff. does it matter where the heater goes? can i put it near the filter?


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> oh another question, since i'm going to be doing a bigger water change tonight, i figure i should move stuff around cos i'm not completely happy where i initially put my stuff like the heater and stuff. does it matter where the heater goes? can i put it near the filter?


1. Definitely decrease feeding. I was feeding once every 1-2 days while I was cycling. Also don't feed too much. Never let any flakes fall to the bottom.

2- The heater ideally should be right beside the filter intake, since the water circulation helps distribute an even temperature. Always place your heater at the bottom of the tank, NEVER allow it to go out of water when it's plugged. You need to be careful of that when you do water changes. The thermometer should be placed in a easily readable place as far away as the heater as possible.


----------



## jeff1727

did a big water change and got a used media and put it in my filter! cant wait to test the water tomorrow! 

thanks for the help!!!


----------



## solarz

check your nitrate level: if you get a decent amount of nitrate, it means the cycle is happening.


----------



## acropora1981

doesn't sound like you're taking my advice


----------



## jeff1727

its so hard to just leave it alone! i havent touched it for 2 days now since i've done the big water change and put in the used filter. ammonia seems to be going down everytime i test so i held off on the water changes and just waiting to see what happens. cant wait to add more fish and plants!! i bought a co2 thing from petsmart and its just sitting in my room waiting to be installed! only thing i've done is everytime i see leaves turning black i take it out. also i'm starting to see algae, what do i do? should i just let it grow?


----------



## acropora1981

jeff1727 said:


> its so hard to just leave it alone! i havent touched it for 2 days now since i've done the big water change and put in the used filter. ammonia seems to be going down everytime i test so i held off on the water changes and just waiting to see what happens. cant wait to add more fish and plants!! i bought a co2 thing from petsmart and its just sitting in my room waiting to be installed! only thing i've done is everytime i see leaves turning black i take it out. also i'm starting to see algae, what do i do? should i just let it grow?


lol its cool man. Sounds like things are coming along. You may as well hook up the CO2, that shouldn't cause any problems with the cycle.

Is it a yeast based system?

Algae is pretty normal, especially in the beginning. Algae loves ammonia too. Hooking up the CO2 should help suppress the algal growth as well.


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> its so hard to just leave it alone! i havent touched it for 2 days now since i've done the big water change and put in the used filter. ammonia seems to be going down everytime i test so i held off on the water changes and just waiting to see what happens. cant wait to add more fish and plants!! i bought a co2 thing from petsmart and its just sitting in my room waiting to be installed! only thing i've done is everytime i see leaves turning black i take it out. also i'm starting to see algae, what do i do? should i just let it grow?


Have you checked your nitrates and nitrites?


----------



## jeff1727

yeah everything like the ph, gh, and kh stayed the same but my nitrites went up and ammonia went down. i'm hoping thats good. the kit i got doesnt have anything to test nitrate  is that something i should be testing for? should i go buy a nitrate test?


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> yeah everything like the ph, gh, and kh stayed the same but my nitrites went up and ammonia went down. i'm hoping thats good. the kit i got doesnt have anything to test nitrate  is that something i should be testing for? should i go buy a nitrate test?


that's good, it means the cycle is working. What is your nitrite level though, because that's pretty toxic too. You'll want to do water changes to keep nitrite low as well.


----------



## jeff1727

how long is the nitrite level suppose to be high like this? wont it hurt my fish?


----------



## jeff1727

4th day of 0 ammonia and high nitrite? how long does this usually last?


----------



## acropora1981

jeff1727 said:


> 4th day of 0 ammonia and high nitrite? how long does this usually last?


It lasts however long it lasts. It could take a day or two weeks. No touchie.


----------



## ohmyfish

jeff1727 said:


> 4th day of 0 ammonia and high nitrite? how long does this usually last?


For my 12 gallon aquarium, I also used 3 zebra danios and Nutrafin Cycle. It took 33 days to fully cycle. For a couple of days, I would add the Nutrafin Cycle but I've heard that it is a useless product. Perhaps it helped by giving the cycle a _little_ boost. It is very important, Jeff, that you have patience. As I understand it, you're starting from scratch so you cannot ideally start adding a lot of fish to your tank. After the cycle is complete, the tank needs to "mature" also. Have you gotten any used filter media yet from a pet store or friend? That would save you a lot of time and effort.

Somebody get jeff some media!


----------



## jeff1727

yeah i've been testing my water daily still and i just started seeing the nitrite go down the past few days, yeah with all the different opinions and techniques i've read here and other places online on how to cycle i think the one most consistent thing everyone says is BE PATIENT! lol...been trying to leave it alone and i think it's finally paying off! i got used media from another gtaa forum member already! that helped a lot! thanks! everyone here is so helpful


----------



## ohmyfish

jeff1727 said:


> i got used media from another gtaa forum member already! that helped a lot! thanks! everyone here is so helpful


Glad to hear that someone helped you out with the used media. We have some nice people here.  And Boxing Day is coming up so you're just in time for some good deals for your tank. Cheers!


----------



## jeff1727

my tank is finally done cycling!!! cant wait to add new fish!!!!


----------



## acropora1981

Congrats!!!

You may already know to do this but; to keep your tank from 're-cylcing' follow these general principles:

1) When doing filter maintenance, always clean your biological media with water from the aquarium, NOT tap water. 

2) Don't exceed 50% water change in one day, max. 

3) Do filter maintenance and water changes on different days; that gives the bacteria in your tank a chance to recover.

Enjoy!


----------



## BettaBeats

I've done 90% WCs and they haven't had much effect on mini-cycling. The plants, gravel and filter all had established bacterias. it was a very established tank though.

Water changes during the cycle can help save the fish, and as long as ammonia is present the bacteria can generate and break down the toxins.

Furthermore, adding CO2 to a non-fully cycled tank can cause problems as the good bacteria are aerobic - meaning they like oxygen. If their colonies are not fully established then the CO2 could slow down their multiplying.


----------



## BillD

I agree that water changes greater than 50% will not cause a cycle. I often do changes larger than that.


----------



## acropora1981

well i've seen it cause problems. So...i think its a good precaution.


----------



## BillD

Sometimes water changes of more than 50% are necessary. I often change 75% or more, and have yet to see a problem. In fact, I rarely do only 50%, especially if the tank is heavily stocked. Changing water and using a dechlor should have no effect on a cycled tank.


----------



## acropora1981

BillD said:


> Sometimes water changes of more than 50% are necessary. I often change 75% or more, and have yet to see a problem. In fact, I rarely do only 50%, especially if the tank is heavily stocked. Changing water and using a dechlor should have no effect on a cycled tank.


Heres why I don't recommend it to people new to the hobby:

Aquariums are often neglected. Sometimes for a few months at a time. Doing a 50%+ water change (using a gravel washer) on a tank that hasn't had a water change in 3+ months is dangerous. It causes a huge change in the aquariums chemistry, and I've seen it lead to tank crashes. Thats all. In a well maintained aquarium a larger water change causes no problem, because the change, even a large change, reflects a minor adjustment to water parameters rather than a large swing. My advice is directed towards a newbie.


----------



## jeff1727

thanks for the advice guys! right now i'm doing around 30% every week, seems to be working fine for my tank. sometimes i do twice a week if i see lotsa poop on the gravel.

new question, i'm really liking the yellow shrimps igor sells...how hardy are shrimps? will minor swings in the water chem kill them? also would any of my other fish eat them? right now i have 5 guppies, 1 sword tail, 1 platty, 3 zebra danios, 3 gold plecos. all of them are about an inch or less except for the plecos which are probably an inch and a half, i'm scared they might eat the shrimp if i buy.

thanks!


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> thanks for the advice guys! right now i'm doing around 30% every week, seems to be working fine for my tank. sometimes i do twice a week if i see lotsa poop on the gravel.
> 
> new question, i'm really liking the yellow shrimps igor sells...how hardy are shrimps? will minor swings in the water chem kill them? also would any of my other fish eat them? right now i have 5 guppies, 1 sword tail, 1 platty, 3 zebra danios, 3 gold plecos. all of them are about an inch or less except for the plecos which are probably an inch and a half, i'm scared they might eat the shrimp if i buy.
> 
> thanks!


check out this thread about my shrimp-eating guppy:
http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17870

Nowadays, my 20 gal community tank has 6 amano shrimps, and 5-6 cherry shrimp that I put back in as experiment. Surprisingly enough, the cherries are still around, though I can't be sure that they're still all accounted for. The Amano shrimps can take care of themselves.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend putting yellow shrimps in the community tank. I got my RCS at 25 for 10$. Yellow shrimps are going for, what, 10 for 25$? That's pretty expensive live food.


----------



## jeff1727

yeah...i was thinking of putting in cheap shrimps first to see if my fish will eat it. but i just saw the the iq3 is on sale at big als for $69 so i'm thinking of getting that and putting just shrimps in there. not sure if its too small tho


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> yeah...i was thinking of putting in cheap shrimps first to see if my fish will eat it. but i just saw the the iq3 is on sale at big als for $69 so i'm thinking of getting that and putting just shrimps in there. not sure if its too small tho


LOL, I just bought an IQ3 yesterday, and I'm planning on using it for my cherries.


----------



## jeff1727

lol i guess we both had the same idea! let me know if you have any tips on turning the iq3 into a shrimp tank! i have no idea what substrate and all that to use. i think i'll put live plants in it as well


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> lol i guess we both had the same idea! let me know if you have any tips on turning the iq3 into a shrimp tank! i have no idea what substrate and all that to use. i think i'll put live plants in it as well


well, I'm using the flourite black as substrate, and I haven't decided yet what plants to put in. The main issue is the LED light. I'm not sure what kind of plants it can support.


----------



## jeff1727

so i went to big al's and saw the IQ3 in person, i didnt realize how small it was! then the guy there told me i should put this certain type of substrate if i wanna do shrimp and live plants but the bag was $40! so instead of paying $110 for the IQ3 and the substrate, i got a tank from aqua inspiration. they had a kit there with the starfire tank, ada1 substrate (suppose to be really good), filter, and i upgraded the lights for $140+tax. also picked up a piece of driftwood. also ran into a fellow GTAAquaria member there named jimmyjam! helped me out picking a tank! thanks!!! i'm so glad i found this forum, everyone seems to be very helpful! cant wait to set this up so i can start getting shrimps!!


----------



## jeff1727

i just realized, i dont have a heater for my shrimp tank. do i need a heater for shrimp with live plants tank?


----------



## jeff1727

i woke up this morning and my favorite guppy was dead  also my swordtail and my platty seem depressed, they arent swimming around like they usually do, they're just staying in one corner. what could be wrong?? i did a water change last night...could that be it?


----------



## jeff1727

and they're not eating


----------



## solarz

test your water parameters, anything amiss?


----------



## jeff1727

everything seems to be the same as last weeks test results...


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> everything seems to be the same as last weeks test results...


what was your last week's results? Are ammonia and nitrite both 0? What's the nitrate level? Are you using a liquid test kit or a strip test? If liquid, did you shake the nitrate test bottle long enough?

Also, what's the pH?


----------



## jeff1727

nitrite and amonia are 0. my kit doesnt have anything to test the nitrate, i'm using the laborett tetra test kit. my ph is at 7.


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> nitrite and amonia are 0. my kit doesnt have anything to test the nitrate, i'm using the laborett tetra test kit. my ph is at 7.


Has the ph changed recently? I'm surprised it's at 7, are you using any additives? The ph of my tap water is usually 8. What about temperature?


----------



## jeff1727

it was usually at 7.5 before then went down to 7..not sure why...

i just noticed one of my female guppies have white stuff all over her, looks like fungus! could that be it?? should i take her out of the tank?


----------



## solarz

jeff1727 said:


> it was usually at 7.5 before then went down to 7..not sure why...
> 
> i just noticed one of my female guppies have white stuff all over her, looks like fungus! could that be it?? should i take her out of the tank?


yikes, sounds like a disease, possibly columnaris.

The fact that your pH went from 7.5 to 7 suggests that you're having a pH crash, likely due to overfeeding. The guppy probably developed her disease due to the water quality.

At this point, I would do the following:

1. Take the sick guppy out ASAP and put it in quarantine. Make sure to use your tank water. You don't want to shock it.

2. Google "guppy salt bath", and follow the instructions found in order to treat the disease. Make sure to use NON-IODIZED salt!

3. Check your other fish carefully: if they also show signs of disease, you may need to treat your entire tank.

4. Check your testing kit instructions, make sure you've followed ALL the instructions TO THE LETTER. I really doubt you would have a pH crash and a disease outbreak with good water quality. If everything is fine, then maybe it's the nitrates: what is the frequency and quantity of your water changes, and how much have you been feeding? If you've been overfeeding, or not changing water enough, then your nitrates might be over the roof.


----------



## jeff1727

okay...so i think thats what caused it, over feeding....my guppies had babies the other day so i was feeding them more food cos there were more fish in the tank...i guess i over did it. i took the sick fish out today, i will try the salt thing when i get home.


----------



## jeff1727

so i did the salt water treatment last night but they still have the white dots. i think its fungus. i found this pic online, this is what it looks like.

http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=...&ndsp=29&ved=1t:429,r:23,s:0&biw=1680&bih=777

i think i'm gonna go to big als later and get some medicine


----------



## acropora1981

White dots are ich (that pic you posted was of ich - a parasite) - fungus is more like a white fuzz, and is usually related to chronic stress, as opposed to acute. Most commonly caused by low temperature. Here is a picture of a live bearer with fungus. See how its all fuzzy? Fungus is very distinctive. As is ich. Ich looks like the fish is covered in salt grains.

What you have is more likely ich, and the best meds I've found are Kordons Rid Ich. It uses 2 different meds blended together, and cures in just a few days. I used it this summer on some rainbowfish in quarantine.

I hope it all works out, you were doing so well! Its a learning process. Remember that when you're done feeding, there should be really nothing left floating around or on the bottom. If there is, you need to siphon it out.


----------



## jeff1727

my fish seem okay now, i dont see the white dots anymore and they're swimming around and eating again! thanks for all the help everyone!


----------

