community tank take 2... hopefully!

[FirstTimeFishMommy]

back in december i got a 20 gallon tank, cycled it for 3 weeks and started buying fish. against my better judgement and my research i listened to the "guy" at petco and bought several fish at once. if i remember correctly we had 2 angel fish, 2 tiger barbs & a catfish. to say the least i think all of this caused major stress on the fish because within a week all but the catfish had died! i had the water tested after each death and all the levels were right on. so it def wasnt the water. i floated all bags for 20-30 min each and spaced each fish entering the tank by 30 min. but nonetheless after a week i had my catfish. later a neighbor bought me 2 blue gouramis. each was about an inch long. after a few weeks i noticed one gourami (now the significantly larger) nipping at the other smaller one and would never allow him to eat. it even got so bad that all his beautiful stripes were no longer visible. it got to the point that i would have to catch the larger one in the net to feed the smaller one. the craziest thing within minutes of him eating his stripes would be visible again. he also took very closely to the catfish. often the smaller gourami and the catfish would stay in the same tank deco together all day. he pretty much became nocturnal. a short while later even with all of my pampering and special attention he too died. i had just about given up on this aquarium thing and gave my catfish away to a friend with a much larger tank. today i still have my one LARGE gourami and his is doing just fine. but how boring, 1 gourami in this beautiful 20 gallon tank. i chose to do this to be able to watch my fish swim and interact and all my "fats domino" as i call him does is slowly swim around occasionally. so i am hoping to add some new fish to the tank. i look to all of you as experts and i am thinking of adding 6 zebra danios and 6 xray tetras. according to the aqadvisor i should be ok with this setup.

"Recommended temperature range: 75.2 - 75.2 F. [Display in Celsius]
Recommended pH range: 6 - 7.5.
Recommended hardness range: 5 - 15 dH.

You have plenty of aquarium filtration capacity.

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 139%.Help on Filtration capacity
Recommended water change schedule: 28% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 94%. [Generate Image]Help on Generate Image "

any suggestions on how i should go about this? when do i add the new fish? how many at once? how long between?! please i cant bear to tell my son about more dying fish!

sorry all of this was so long winded its after 1am here and i have had a glass or 2... of wine. LoL. any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Newman]

lol my one advice point to you would be to go get the API Master Freshwater Test Kit. it's a liquid water test kit and will really help you save your fish instead of relying on your LFS employees.

 

[OrangeCones]

any suggestions on how i should go about this? when do i add the new fish?

You can add new fish once your water test shows your water to be: ammonia 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate <20.

how many at once? how long between?!

I would do 2 at once (of the same species) and wait 2 weeks. Keep testing water and if it still shows ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate <20, then its ok to add 2 more.

please i cant bear to tell my son about more dying fish!

Test the water. As Newman suggested, buy the API Master Freshwater testkit. Lasts a long time and worth every penny to avoid heartache and deaths.

 

[FirstTimeFishMommy]

oops!

i followed your recommendations (partially). i went straight to petco after the 2 suggestions to purchase the API Master Freshwater Test Kit. i was so excited to walk straight to the isle found it immediately! i rushed through the store purchased a few other odds and ends and returned home. i didnt even take my coat off before ripping open the package to read the instructions and get started. only to realize i purchased the SALTWATER version. my heart sank immediately. at this time it was already 6:30 and the petco closes at 7 on sundays. so off to petco first thing in the morning to exchange it! thanks for teh advice!!

 

[Newman]

don't worry that's a common mistake.

 

[FirstTimeFishMommy]

finally got it right!

so after purchasing the saltwater kit i went in to petco today and exchanged it for the freshwater kit. only to get it home and realize i recieve 2 nitrate bottles and no ammonia #1 bottle! which was so odd because the package was obviously factory sealed. so after a 3rd trip to the store i came home with a full correct freshwater kit! *celebrate i checked all of my levels and found my ph is a little high 7.6 and within an hour of putting api ph down my ph was down to 7.2!! so according to the directions i will add more tomorrow. thanks again for the recommendation. i like this kit so much better than the silly strips. there is no guess work involved! clear straight forward results! thank a million times!

 

[bassbonediva]

I wouldn't mess with your pH. The one time I did that (on the LFS recommendation) I had a bacterial bloom the likes of which I'd never seen before. Usually the fish you get from your LFS are acclimated to whatever the pH is of your local water, so they'll be good in your water with just the dechlorinator added. It's up to you, though.

 

[Newman]

I will 100% agree with bass, DO NOT use stuff like pH up or down. 7.6 is just a fine pH and I keep my tanks at around that pH (but since mine are planted the pH often reaches the low 8s)

7.6 pH is perfect for most fish. it's the acclimation process that you use that counts.