Fish Questions, Round Two

[OhioYJ]

Ok guys, I'm pissed off at the fish, and yes it is the fish fault... :D Ok the other day we had the water tested, and the ammonia levels were off the charts. Put some stuff in that was supposed to bring the ammonia down, it didn't help a day later our ammonia was still off the charts. We tried changing part of the water, we tried adding more anti-ammonia stuff. We tried cleaning the gravel more. Nothing would bring the ammonia down.

So I decided, against what everything recommends, I'm gonna do what we used to do when I was a kid. I'm changing all the water. We transfered most of the old water to another tank, put the fish in there, then we empty their tank, cleaned everything, put back in a very very minimal amount of gravel, added some water, water conditioner, anti-ammonia stuff, and cycle which is meant to help speed up tank setup. Then I filled it the rest of the way with fresh water. Then put the fish in.

They where gonna die with the high ammonia levels, and they still may die, but at this point, they are gonna decide whether to live or die, stupid fish.

So if my 4 fish die, what do you guys recommend trying after the tank runs for a week or so, I'm thinking about a school of zebra dinos, I've heard they are super easy to take care of? I've heard both the algae eaters and frogs will pretty much live through anything, so I don't think I'm too worried about them.

[Mean Max]

Originally posted by OhioYJ:
So if my 4 fish die, what do you guys recommend trying after the tank runs for a week or so. If it were me, I'd empty the water out, put some plants in it, cover it with a lid & make a terrarium out of it. If you still want fish after all of that, I'd head on over to Long John Silver's!

graemlins/49.gif

[MudSlut]

sea monkeys???


on a serious note, when i was in middle school, i saved my allowance, bought a tank maybe a 10 gallon and got an Oscar, that thing was cool, very mean. Was fun to dump the gold fish in and see him go nuts. I then got some other fish that was about half his size but big enough that he wouldnt eat him and they got along fine. It was really a lot of fun and they both lasted a very long time.

[squareface]

The same thing happened to me with the ammonia and all, I no longer have fish, and the tank is in its box in the basement. Dogs are better.

[Knuckelhead]

Originally posted by OhioYJ:

So if my 4 fish die, what do you guys recommend trying Carp...

[beaker]

Long story short, start with fewer fish for a good several weeks. There's an ammonia cycle that starts up as bacteria take hold in the tank. That will convert the ammonia to nitrites which later get converted to nitrates. By putting too many fish in the tank at once, the bacteria can't convert that much ammonia, resulting in the high levels.

The Zebra Danios are pretty hardy fish, start with 4-5 of them for a couple of weeks. Watch the ammonia level go up & come back down to near zero over those first couple of weeks, and you should be set to add more fish. Also, a good rule of thumb is ~ 1" of fish (length-wise) per gallon of water in the tank.

-mike

[ZmarkZ]

i bought 3 baby piranah (sp?) a few years back, they ended up living for over 5 years and were the size of my hand. they were very cool and mean looking.......i had to get rid of them when we had kids - there was no way they were going to lose any figers over them fish.....(the piranah bit through nets when transferring them and could gobble up a catfish in minutes).

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/111/268969256_50171d8d0c.jpg?v=0

[tinknocker]

Originally posted by OhioYJ:
put back in a very very minimal amount of gravelDo you have an undergravel filter? If you do the more gravel you use the better. You get more bacteria build up if you have more gravel. More bacteria kills more amonia.

[OhioYJ]

Do you have an undergravel filter? If you do the more gravel you use the better.No, currently I'm using a bio-wheel filter. I've read the undergravel filters trap stuff under them.

I don't know currently the fish seem to be doing great, they are out and swimming around again.

Who knows, maybe they'll be fine, and the water is cyrstal clear, The tank looks sweet right now.

[GPER]

Are you still feeding them twice a day????????? Feed them once and not so much.

[OhioYJ]

Are you still feeding them twice a day????????? Feed them once and not so much. No I'm only feeding them once a day now.

[PB2]

Let them die. What do you want fish as pets for anyway? Are they happy to see you when you get home? Can you pet them or take them for a walk? Fish are stupid pets.

[Mike 95 Wrangler]

OhioYJ the only advise I can give you is that it sometimes takes a few weeks up to a month for a tank to stabilize. Just relax and wait. If the fish die then replace them. Some people say that you should start a new aquarium with starter fish like goldfish and then add the nice fish when the water is stabile. High levals of amonia are normal in a new tank, they will come down.

I'm looking for a bigger tank does anyone know where I can find one for cheap. They are so much $$$ 40 gallon or bigger.

[we3jeepers]

Originally posted by PB2:
Fish are stupid pets. but make a great snack.... graemlins/aaa.gif