Alicat's Tropical Fish.

[alicat]

As some of you know I had a Tropical Fish Tank for my Birthday with fish and all the bits and bobs. I have never kept tropical fish before only Goldfish when I was a lot younger.

So this is a major learning curve for me, more so than gardening.

Rather than pasteing everything across from my Birthday thread you can click on here to find out what has happened so far.

autumnfruits.proboards78.com/index.cgi?board=birthdays&action=display&thread=2397&page=2

My tank is from LAC (R138) ( London Aquatic Centre Ltd)
It measures 380L x 250w x510H mm. Capacity: 41.8L
Lighting system 8w x 2
External top Filter 9w (300L/H)

My Fish( Danio's) are called :- Whiskers ( largest Zedbra Danio ) Bruce (The Boss) Largest Leopard, Srtipe (Zebra) and titch (Leopard) the smallest one.

Ok so now I have filled you in with the basics, I'll bore you with some pictures of my tank and fish.







Boy are they hard to photograph, so if your not bored yet here is a small video of them swimming. Please excuse the picture, I'm still learning to use the camera. :

s98.photobucket.com/albums/l255/alijane2006/My%20Fish/

If anyone has any suggestions help or anything else please post a message - I would love to here from you. - Good or bad.


Edit :- Ok - just checked if the video works and you need to right click Go to the top and click on open link that should take you to the video. - Fingers crossed.

[floweringcherry]

Hi Ali it's looking really good. Have enjoyed reading the other thread with all of the advice and info

I did try to right click the botton pic, but couldn't view video, it's probably me as not that used to using Vista ;D I'm sure someone else will tell you if it works.

[alicat]

Jun 6, 2008 21:53:22 GMT 1 @floweringcherry said:

Hi Ali it's looking really good. Have enjoyed reading the other thread with all of the advice and info

I did try to right click the botton pic, but couldn't view video, it's probably me as not that used to using Vista ;D I'm sure someone else will tell you if it works.

Hi FC - Thanks - Leave it with me, I might not have made my video's public. or it might be something else at the mo my video picture is not showing. Alicat very confused.

[alicat]

Ok I have had another go - try clicking this http.

s98.photobucket.com/albums/l255/alijane2006/My%20Fish/

It should take you straight to 'My Fish' album click on the first picture that has a film strip round it. Best I can do tonight. but please it's nothing special, so be kind.

[madonplants]

Jun 6, 2008 22:31:43 GMT 1 @alicat said:

Ok I have had another go - try clicking this http.

s98.photobucket.com/albums/l255/alijane2006/My%20Fish/

It should take you straight to 'My Fish' album click on the first picture that has a film strip round it. Best I can do tonight. but please it's nothing special, so be kind.

Video worked fine, Ali. Setup looks OK, love the piece of bogwood. I see what you mean by the chasing. Hopefully in a while, if it is still going on, you can add a couple of more danios, maybe one of each, which should help. Keep to the rule of one inch of fish to one gallon of water, when the fish are full grown and you won't go far wrong. You can normally up this a little, as that figure is normally erring on the safe side and as the tank is well filtered you can go slightly higher. 8 inches of neon tetras is not the same as an 8 inch Oscar, so it is a bit hit and miss. But six fish, 2 inches long (when fully grown), obviously is 12 and your tank holds 10 gallons roughly. When you do your water changes, use a proper aquarium syphon, so you clean your gravel of food that has found it's way down there. If not it will rot and cause problems.

I started writing this at 5, but realised the football was on, so finished this now, after seeing the end of the cricket, as well!!

[debidoos]

Hiya Ali, Just noticed this thread!

Congrats on a gorgeous tank!


Just thought I'd say the reason why you must rinse the filter out in tank water is because there are no harmful chemicals in it. If you rinse it under the tap the good bacteria which you need to keep your tank healthy will be killed off by the chlorine etc in the tap water. If you squeeze the filter sponge out in some tank water that you have just siphoned off, you will not kill the bacteria, but you will be able to get rid of the extra muck. Does your filter have activated carbon in it?

Like the bogwood/mopani wood!

Danio's were a good first choice fish too!! they're very hardy to any water fluctuations (ammonia/nitrite) and have good poo/wee for the filter too (apparantly!!)

I agree with Keith on bending the 1" of fish per gallon rule a bit too.

Hope I haven't repeated too much!

[debbiem]

It's lovely Ali.

Zebra Danios mate for life you know.

[alicat]

Hi Keith/ Debbie – Keith Don't tell me you watched the video.

Setup looks OK, - That sounds polite for “I would do it differently” - Do you have any suggestions? I love the Bogwood too but even after soaking it for a week the water has an orange tinge to it.
I've got an aquarium syphon and what a laugh that was the first time I tried it. I emptied a third of the tank before I got to the gravel. : ;D 'R' later told me that the lower the bucket the faster the water flows. (erm thanks for telling me after the event.) :


Don't worry about how long it took you to reply I can guarantee you every time I think I've got time to myself someone needs me and I have to log off. I'm cheating tonight as I'm typing this off line so that if I get interrupted I can walk away without feeling guilty. ( which I just have as 'R' has come home and it's kids bedtime.)

Hi Debbie – Thank you. - I had been told that you rinse the filter in the old water because of the good bacteria, which I have been doing. - I'm not sure if the filter has activated carbon in it, I should imagine it does but I will check.

Thank you both for the quantity of fish I can have, although I am waiting to get the water right before I add any more. I do have one other problem though on Saturday one of our fish was missing(Bruce – The Boss.) We checked the whole tank, no fish floating, no fish lying on the bottom and no way that it could have jumped out . Our only thought is that maybe someone left the lid up and a cat had some supper. - very confused.


Hi Mrs B. - No I didn't, i'm not sure what sex mine are. Do you know how to tell with Danio's. ?

Just spotted the sea shells you've got in your tank Ali, it would be best to remove them as they are only really suitable in marine/salt water tanks.


Hi The witch - Thank you. Do you think the shells will still give out a salt residue.? I have had them many years in my bathroom as ornaments and the kids put them in the tank.(washed first)

So much for writting this offline, my quotes didn't seem to work properly Sorry, hope you can make sense of it though.

[madonplants]

I won't hit quote!!

Set up IS OK, just that I might have started with a bigger tank, that is all really, honest. A bigger tank just gives more scope for more fish, that's all! The orange/brown colour staining the water is the tanins coming out of the bogwood, which can actually help the fish feel more secure. It's like that in the wild, where they come from. There is two ways to stop this, if you want, and that is totally seal the wood to stop it leaching, then the wood will probably float, so you would need to weigh it down. Secondly, carbon or polyfilter can take out dyes that are in the water. Again whats the point, unless you want extremely clear water.

Re. the shells. Well spotted The witch! It's not the salt that's the problem, but the shells as they are full of calcium, can make your water more alkaline. The amount you have, probably won't cause a problems, especially as your bogwood will make the water go the other way, so they will probably counter each other out. The only way to be sure, is test the pH of the tank water with a pH test kit. Danios do prefer it around neutral, maybe 6.5. Sexing danios, the males tend to be more slender than the females. Look head on and the femals will have a deeper belly, so to speak. No women jokes here please!

If the filter does have carbon, doubt it really, due to the colour of the water not being clear, would need to be changed, not rinsed, every 4-6 weeks, as after a time what it takes out, it starts putting back in, which is why polyfilter is better, it holds onto what it takes out.

Can't help with the lost fish! I wasn't there, honest!!

It's taken me a while to write this, been watching a Bargain Hunt at the same time, recorded from earlier!

[alicat]

Jun 23, 2008 23:32:32 GMT 1 @madonplants said:

I won't hit quote!!

Set up IS OK, just that I might have started with a bigger tank, that is all really, honest. A bigger tank just gives more scope for more fish, that's all! The orange/brown colour staining the water is the tanins coming out of the bogwood, which can actually help the fish feel more secure. It's like that in the wild, where they come from. There is two ways to stop this, if you want, and that is totally seal the wood to stop it leaching, then the wood will probably float, so you would need to weigh it down. Secondly, carbon or polyfilter can take out dyes that are in the water. Again whats the point, unless you want extremely clear water.

Re. the shells. Well spotted The witch! It's not the salt that's the problem, but the shells as they are full of calcium, can make your water more alkaline. The amount you have, probably won't cause a problems, especially as your bogwood will make the water go the other way, so they will probably counter each other out. The only way to be sure, is test the pH of the tank water with a pH test kit. Danios do prefer it around neutral, maybe 6.5. Sexing danios, the males tend to be more slender than the females. Look head on and the femals will have a deeper belly, so to speak. No women jokes here please!

If the filter does have carbon, doubt it really, due to the colour of the water not being clear, would need to be changed, not rinsed, every 4-6 weeks, as after a time what it takes out, it starts putting back in, which is why polyfilter is better, it holds onto what it takes out.

Can't help with the lost fish! I wasn't there, honest!!

It's taken me a while to write this, been watching a Bargain Hunt at the same time, recorded from earlier!

I won't hit quote!!

;D ;D Thanks.

Sorry I hope you didn't think I was being rude, I couldn't think how to word my writting and I sensed a but........ The size well I think money had a little to do with it plus as we are so new to looking after fish, start small and build up from there if we get on/enjoy it.

The Tannins leaching out is fine if a little unsightly, if the fish are happy it's fine. - Will get the PH levels checked again. As for the sex of the fish, if they stay still long enough I'll have another look and will also check out the filter.

Thanks for all your help it is very much appreciated.

A.

[madonplants]

Jun 24, 2008 10:24:07 GMT 1 @The witch said:

With regards to ph Ali - buy fish to suit the ph of your set up, don't try to change the ph to suit fish you would like to keep.

Too true, The witch. I stopped buying those fishkeeping magazines, as I was getting fed up with the letters pages. You know the questions I mean. I have just bought 'x' fish, what conditions does it need and what do I need to feed it/them with. If the only advice you take, Ali is this. Find out about a fish, 'before' you buy it. This could be the salesman selling it in the first place, not just through books and other people's advice. The fish Pimelodus Pictus for example, is a lovely fish, but very predatory towards neon tetras. How many people buy a 'common' plec only to find out, it can grow to 24 inches!!

[debidoos]

Jun 23, 2008 22:37:58 GMT 1 @alicat said:

Hi Keith/ Debbie – Keith Don't tell me you watched the video.

Setup looks OK, - That sounds polite for “I would do it differently” - Do you have any suggestions? I love the Bogwood too but even after soaking it for a week the water has an orange tinge to it.
I've got an aquarium syphon and what a laugh that was the first time I tried it. I emptied a third of the tank before I got to the gravel. : ;D 'R' later told me that the lower the bucket the faster the water flows. (erm thanks for telling me after the event.) :


Don't worry about how long it took you to reply I can guarantee you every time I think I've got time to myself someone needs me and I have to log off. I'm cheating tonight as I'm typing this off line so that if I get interrupted I can walk away without feeling guilty. ( which I just have as 'R' has come home and it's kids bedtime.)

Hi Debbie – Thank you. - I had been told that you rinse the filter in the old water because of the good bacteria, which I have been doing. - I'm not sure if the filter has activated carbon in it, I should imagine it does but I will check.

Thank you both for the quantity of fish I can have, although I am waiting to get the water right before I add any more. I do have one other problem though on Saturday one of our fish was missing(Bruce – The Boss.) We checked the whole tank, no fish floating, no fish lying on the bottom and no way that it could have jumped out . Our only thought is that maybe someone left the lid up and a cat had some supper. - very confused.


Hi Mrs B. - No I didn't, i'm not sure what sex mine are. Do you know how to tell with Danio's. ?

Just spotted the sea shells you've got in your tank Ali, it would be best to remove them as they are only really suitable in marine/salt water tanks.


Hi The witch - Thank you. Do you think the shells will still give out a salt residue.? I have had them many years in my bathroom as ornaments and the kids put them in the tank.(washed first)

So much for writting this offline, my quotes didn't seem to work properly Sorry, hope you can make sense of it though.

I've had fish disappear completely in my tank in the past. I think my Banjo catfish have been the culprits with a few smaller fish, but I have had larger ones disappear too, an Angelfish and a blue gourami.

It isn't stuck behind the filter is it? I've found the odd carcass lurking there in the past.

[alicat]

checked the ph and other water contents today everything seems fine and within the limits So i'm hoping to buy some fish this weekend I will check with the salesperson at the pet store first to make sure we are doing the right thing. - I'm thinking of some more Danio's and maybe an angel fish, but I will listen to the salesperson.

Oh... we have two new residents in our tank which only appeared yesterday - 2 water snails guess they were hiding in the plants. Still no sign of Bruce and she /he is not in the filter. - still

[madonplants]

Jun 27, 2008 0:22:38 GMT 1 @alicat said:

checked the ph and other water contents today everything seems fine and within the limits So i'm hoping to buy some fish this weekend I will check with the salesperson at the pet store first to make sure we are doing the right thing. - I'm thinking of some more Danio's and maybe an angel fish, but I will listen to the salesperson.

Oh... we have two new residents in our tank which only appeared yesterday - 2 water snails guess they were hiding in the plants. Still no sign of Bruce and she /he is not in the filter. - still

I was just about to say hi on the BB, but thought you had gone. So this is where you were hiding?

What was the pH? Angel fish maybe a bit big for your tank, Ali. I had some in a five foot tank, but I used to put a pair into 28 inch tank for breeding. How are the other fish doing? How about some small corydoras catfish to occupy the lower water levels? There are lots of tetras you could look at, too. Take a water sample to get the shop to check, but when you add more fish, add some more of that beneficial bacteria you have.

[madonplants]

Jun 27, 2008 8:28:04 GMT 1 @The witch said:

I agree with Keith - Angel fish need large tanks, they can be bullies too! Stay away from Tiger Barbs too which are rightly named IMO.

Check which fish like the ph of your tank then buy accordingly.

Cherry barbs will be OK, or if the danios are OK (they can fin nip, but not too common) then how about a couple of dwarf gouramis? Maybe you should just go to your aquatic dealer and look at the tanks and see what you like, then ask someone there if they are suitable for your setup. Or come and ask us, we'll help if we can.

[debidoos]

The Pentazona Barb who looks like the tiger barb (ok it has one more stripe) would be ok, if you like the look of the tiger barb but you do not want the trouble

[madonplants]

Jun 27, 2008 17:53:32 GMT 1 @debidoos said:

The Pentazona Barb who looks like the tiger barb (ok it has one more stripe) would be ok, if you like the look of the tiger barb but you do not want the trouble

Not heard of that one, unless it's the five banded barb with another name? Just wondered if the Penta, gives it away!

[debidoos]

I think it is the same difference.

[debidoos]

Yep, same difference. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentazona_barb

[alicat]

Hi Sorry I never replied before, I took your advice and took a water sample with me to the pet store, the PH level is between 6.8 and 7.2 A very nice lady at the store said everything was fine but good second fish to choose were Guppies or Gourami's (sp for both) so I chose 2 Guppies and 1 Gourami. Sadly after a day I lost one of the Guppies again no sign of him so I think the other fish ate him as they would do in the wild, which is what I was told by the lady at the pet store.
Just want to tell you something at this point that I noticed about this Guppie, He seemed to spend a lot of time swimming in one spot or swimming in the flow of water from the air inlet. Was this a sign of an ill fish ? That I should look out for next time.

The other fish are fine and the Danio's have settled down and do not seem to be chasing each other as much. I also did another part water change this week and gave the plants and glass a good clean, yet again I had fun with the syphon and ended up sucking the water through - Yuk Yuk Yuk but it worked and the gravel got a good clean also. Which means that the water is very slowly getting clearer.

Can't think of any more to tell you but thank you for you suggestion's of fish to choose from although I don't think I can have barbs due to my PH levels.

Keith, I now see what you mean about the size of tank, I am already thinking of a bigger tank.

Thanks again for all your help. - Please keep it coming.

Alicat. x

[madonplants]

Jul 5, 2008 23:46:58 GMT 1 @alicat said:

Hi Sorry I never replied before, I took your advice and took a water sample with me to the pet store, the PH level is between 6.8 and 7.2 A very nice lady at the store said everything was fine but good second fish to choose were Guppies or Gourami's (sp for both) so I chose 2 Guppies and 1 Gourami. Sadly after a day I lost one of the Guppies again no sign of him so I think the other fish ate him as they would do in the wild, which is what I was told by the lady at the pet store.
Just want to tell you something at this point that I noticed about this Guppie, He seemed to spend a lot of time swimming in one spot or swimming in the flow of water from the air inlet. Was this a sign of an ill fish ? That I should look out for next time.

The other fish are fine and the Danio's have settled down and do not seem to be chasing each other as much. I also did another part water change this week and gave the plants and glass a good clean, yet again I had fun with the syphon and ended up sucking the water through - Yuk Yuk Yuk but it worked and the gravel got a good clean also. Which means that the water is very slowly getting clearer.

Can't think of any more to tell you but thank you for you suggestion's of fish to choose from although I don't think I can have barbs due to my PH levels.

Keith, I now see what you mean about the size of tank, I am already thinking of a bigger tank.

Thanks again for all your help. - Please keep it coming.

Alicat. x

Ali, have you thought about contacting the shop about the guppy? They might do you a replacement. Cherry barbs are perfect for those levels, 6.5-7.5, I think. Hang on, I 'll check. Yep, they are fine. Found one site that said 6.0-8.0, not sure about that, though. What gourami did you get? Was it a dwarf one, if so, it would help if they were in pairs.

The guppy could have been weak and moving to a new tank took it over the edge. Without seeing it, would be hard to diagnose the problem. Could be anything really, even bad luck! Did you chose the fish yourself and were they swimming OK in the shop's tank?

Glad you understand what I meant about the tank, the bigger it is, the more possibilities you have as to what you can stock it with.

Take care, I'm off to bed, Jennifer's up already!!

[alicat]

Hi Keith

Yes I had thought of going back to the shop but I was so embarressed about loosing the fish in the first place it took me all my courage to tell all of you.... as far as I could tell all the fish were fine in the tank.

I can't remember which Gourami it was will check and get back to you.

Going to bed now myself sleep well. x

[debidoos]

Did they check the nitrite level at the same time as the ph? if you had a low level of that in your tank, that could cause a prob with the fish when you add new ones, your fish you had got in there already would be sort of immune to a low level of nitrite, but if you add new ones they might not have been. Does that make sense?

I'd've gone back to the shop.

[madonplants]

Jul 6, 2008 1:35:41 GMT 1 @alicat said:

Hi Keith

Yes I had thought of going back to the shop but I was so embarressed about loosing the fish in the first place it took me all my courage to tell all of you.... as far as I could tell all the fish were fine in the tank.

I can't remember which Gourami it was will check and get back to you.

Going to bed now myself sleep well. x

Don't be embarrassed, Ali, I've done it before. The embarrassing thing was the bit beforehand. We lost a sailfin 'plec a few days after getting it, but we found it so late in the morning before we went to work, that we decided to put the body into a seperate tank, that had no fish in it. I phoned the shop when I got to work, who suggested I put the body in the freezer, wrapped up in clingfilm. No one was at home except for Jennifer's parents, so guess what we had to do?? Yep, her mum had to take the dead fish and wrap it in clingfilm and put it in the freezer!! We took it to the shop, who couldn't find anything wrong with it or our water, so they swapped it for another one, which is still doing well.

I was going to ask about the nitrite, but thought the shop would have done that at the same time as check your pH, unless of course you only asked them to check the pH. Did you add some of that beneficial bacteria, at the same time as adding the new fish, like I suggested?

Don't be embarrassed about losing fish, we've all done it!

I did it with my first Redtail. We were moving house (never!!) and as we had a few weeks of having the new house (it was rented) before we moved, I decided to buy a spare 4ft tank to go into the new place, with one of my seeded filters running in it. We would use this as a community tank, afterwards, but unfortunately we broke it moving back out. When we moved, the catfish went in with no problems and stayed in it for about 6 weeks. When we got the proper tank up and running, I transfered the fish over. Now, all parameters were the same, as mostly I had used water from the other tank, gradually, to seed the proper one. I had checked temperature, pH, hardness, nitrate levels all all were the same. There was no ammonia or nitrite in either tank. Within a few weeks it was dead, what went wrong? I had a chat with the man at the shop and he said I had done everything OK and the only thing he could think of, was that the 'quarantine tank' was kept behind the settee, so wasn't used to disturbance from people walking past. It had to go there, as the house was only a stop gap until our new house was built, and we were quite cramped. I had even bought a koi tube to do the transfer from one tank to the other, even though there was only about a 4ft gap between the two tanks.

It still upsets me, as in my eyes and the experts, I had done everything right, so what did happen?

Any photos of the new fish??

[cheerypeabrain]

My lad used to keep cold water fish...and had a sealed globe with shrimp in (a present from Barbados) that was lovely....but his OH kept everything when she chucked him out...