on reading all about this after i got the tank up and running i realize i probably jumped into this too quickly. i have a 5 gallon tank with 3 neon tetras and 2 orange things (lol i forgot what they were called). tank was looking good until about 2 or 3 days ago when the water got cloudy white. i did some research and found that it was most likely a bacteria bloom due to the newness of the tank. i read also that this will cause the ammonia levels to spike which could result in the death of my fish. today the water appeared a little clearer so maybe i'm coming out the other side? i should also mention that my fish seem healthy and active. they are eating normally as well. so my questions are these:
1: if the water seems to be clearing and the fish appear fine do i still need to worry about the ammonia levels? if so what could i be doing to save my little buddies?
2. do i need substrate at the bottom? the filter is doing a great job of cleaning up the poop and there really isnt much left over food. they're hungry little buggers. i have read articles that say you don't need substrate but if it would help this little tank survive somehow i'l get some.
3. could i add 1 or 2 more fish? keep in mind the tank is only 5 gallons and i don't want to overcrowd. the tetras are so small it seems that 1 more couldn't hurt.
4. what kinds of plants/rocks/decorative things would be best? if i chose not to go with anything like gravel on the bottom can i still have live plants?
please forgive me it these questions are epically nooby. i did my best to hunt around the forum for answers before i posted this.
actually now that i think of it you guys could probably tell me what kind of fish these orange things are:
http://img188.imageshack.us/g/fish1s.jpg/
here's a picture of my whole setup:
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4255/tanki.jpg
1: if the water seems to be clearing and the fish appear fine do i still need to worry about the ammonia levels? if so what could i be doing to save my little buddies?
2. do i need substrate at the bottom? the filter is doing a great job of cleaning up the poop and there really isnt much left over food. they're hungry little buggers. i have read articles that say you don't need substrate but if it would help this little tank survive somehow i'l get some.
3. could i add 1 or 2 more fish? keep in mind the tank is only 5 gallons and i don't want to overcrowd. the tetras are so small it seems that 1 more couldn't hurt.
4. what kinds of plants/rocks/decorative things would be best? if i chose not to go with anything like gravel on the bottom can i still have live plants?
please forgive me it these questions are epically nooby. i did my best to hunt around the forum for answers before i posted this.
actually now that i think of it you guys could probably tell me what kind of fish these orange things are:
http://img188.imageshack.us/g/fish1s.jpg/
here's a picture of my whole setup:
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4255/tanki.jpg