R.I.P Felix and new stocking ideas

[Fishman1995]

Felix is dead, i noticed last night 2 or 3 of his scales were protruding from his body and he was kinda bloated and this morning my lil buddy was dead

Now i need some good freshwater stocking ideas, initially i was going to make it a SW Dwarf Seahorse tank, already joined a saltwater forum and been discussing it, but im not quite sure if im ready to go saltwater until i can get a pretty hardy SW fish. Sooooooo lol what i read last night about stocking my 5.5 gallon is kinda cool. On www.badmanstropical.com this lady left a comment saying her good rule of thumb is the maximum fish ADULT size shouldnt be over 1/6th the length of the tank and about 3/4th to half the depth. what do you guys think of this rule, this would mean the biggest fish i could get could be about 3'' (2.7'' if you go exact) I can provide the link if you'd like so you may read yourself and decide write back soon plzzz

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

I recomend taking a break, fully researching and then getting something easy and small for a 5.5 gallon. Just because someone has a "rule of thumb" does not mean it is gosspel. I am sure Karen or Russ or someone will tell them they are wrong and that you can not keep a 3 inch fish in a 5.5 tank.

 

[Fishman1995]

figured lol, actuay i may just do my lil seahorse idea, been working on it for awhile lately

 

[misterking]

Your fish clearly had a disease, I can't believe you want to just jump straight back in there without working out the cause (which, btw, sounds like dropsy). I suggest tearing down the tank and cleaning everything fully before you even think about restocking it.

That "rule of thumb" also sounds pretty rubbish. By that logic you'd be able to keep a dwarf cichlid in there which is totally ridiculous. As I've said to you countless, countless, countless, countless times over the last year or so, it's not what would "fit", it's what would be happy.

I think we should just stick to what we know here considering you've now had 2 unexplained deaths in the last couple of weeks (actually 3, didn't your other betta give up the ghost too?), I'd personally leave it til you work out what's going wrong.

 

[misterking]

figured lol, actuay i may just do my lil seahorse idea, been working on it for awhile lately

By "working on it" I assume you mean reading about it? Do you have any idea how expensive all the equipment for a saltwater set-up is? You're not having success with freshwater, don't move onto salt until you're better equipped and able to look after them.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

You are going to do what ever you want, but sea horses are very delicate and unless you have a ton of experience with nano setups and have a very well established tank, you will more then likely fail. Sorry for being so harsh, but it is the just the truth

 

[Thyra]

"She also doesnt like me doing water changes because it costs to much Aquasafe. I cant use the gravel vacume either because my tanks are in my room so that makes it even worse"

I have been curious about this since you wrote it - why can't you use the gravel vacuum in your room? Is there a problem with getting rid of the water? Also, I am not familiar with Aquasafe (I use well water), but Paige was only spending about $11 for 6 mo for all her tanks and that doesn't seem like a lot to me compared to other expenses in this hobby. I did notice on the last picture you posted it appeared you had enough brown algae to be concerned. It may not be harmful to the fish, but it sure takes away from the beauty of the tank.

 

[misterking]

"She also doesnt like me doing water changes because it costs to much Aquasafe. I cant use the gravel vacume either because my tanks are in my room so that makes it even worse"

I have been curious about this since you wrote it - why can't you use the gravel vacuum in your room? Is there a problem with getting rid of the water? Also, I am not familiar with Aquasafe (I use well water), but Paige was only spending about $11 for 6 mo for all her tanks and that doesn't seem like a lot to me compared to other expenses in this hobby. I did notice on the last picture you posted it appeared you had enough brown algae to be concerned. It may not be harmful to the fish, but it sure takes away from the beauty of the tank.

I don't see how he can expect to be able to look after seahorses when he's not allowed to do water changes. Lame excuse IMO.

 

[skjl47]

Two observations; 1) I clean a glass tank that has had disease with a paste made from table salt that does NOT contain iodine. (I get it at local grocery stores or supermarkets.) I add just enough water to make a paste and use a soft cloth or sponge, dedicated for use only in my tanks, to rub the paste all over the inside and outside of a tank. (After removing any substrate and ornaments, I always rinse the tank with a hose to flush out as much stuff as possible. This dampens the scum layer on the glass and there is usually enough water in a corner to make the paste. )(note - If the algae and crud are damp it will clean off easier.)( Also - be careful not to get a bit of gravel or anything hard in the paste as it will scratch the glass. The salt paste does not scratch glass.) I then allow the paste to dry out before rinsing it away. My thinking is that this will dessicate most bacteria and parasites without leaving a dangerious residue in the tank.
2) The five gallon can be used as a quaraintine tank for your new fish.

 

[ryanoh]

Sorry you lost fish, and I hate to harp on it like everyone else... but you should find out what's going wrong before you get more fish. Out of curiosity, how much did you pay for your 5 gallon?

 

[achase]

Sorry about your loss! I agree with everyone here you need to clean your tank and then re-cycle it before contemplating getting a new fish for your 5 gallon.

I also wouldn't recommend a seahorse (sensitive) or doing a nano saltwater tank. Newbie's to saltwater should always aim to start with a larger tank (30 - 50 gallons) as it's easier to maintain the water parameters. From the research I have done on seahorses a 5 gallon tank would not be ideal as they like to be kept in pairs or more.

 

[Fishman1995]

Not sure on price of the tank. Also, Romeo did die for some reason in his 2.5 gallon which i tore down and is put up and my 5.5 gallon is going down tommorow and being put away somewhere. when my 20 gallon fails if it does, then it'l be tooken down and put away until i get my own house for the tanks. And the reason i cant do gravel vacume is you need a faucet to hook it up to and it wont hook to my bathroom faucet and the kitchen is to far away to reach into my room therefore how am i supposed to use it?

 

[sweetpickles7]

go old school and use a bucket. pump the old nasty water out into it then wash it out and refill the tank. pour the water through a strainer of some kind so the water doesnt mess everything up in the tank. Dont forget aquasafe when u add new water.

 

[Thyra]

Fishman, probably most of us don't have that kind of vacuum. I have the siphon kind that you put one end in the tank and the other end in the bucket and squeeze the bulb a couple of times and it siphons into the bucket while you vacuum the gravel. Then I have a couple of 4 liter containers that drinking water came in and use those for the refill. If they don't fit under your bathroom or kitchen faucet use the shower or tub faucet. Its good exercise. I think I paid $9.95 for the siphon at Petsmart. The whole thing is really pretty simple and quick. I use my kitchen instant read thermometer to check the water when refilling.

 

[Thyra]

One other thing - if you already have that kind of vacuum/pump affair like a Python, I will bet you can unscrew the diffuser on your bathroom faucet and get an attachment so you can use it. Just ask at the fish or hardware store.

 

[ryanoh]

Yeah, that's what I did with the adapter. I hate to say this, but I'd say that lack of water changes is more than likely what killed your fish...

 

[bassbonediva]

go old school and use a bucket. pump the old nasty water out into it then wash it out and refill the tank. pour the water through a strainer of some kind so the water doesnt mess everything up in the tank. Dont forget aquasafe when u add new water.

I go the old school route and use a bucket...with TEN TANKS totaling 231 gallons of water...at 20% water changes every week, about 46 gallons of water changed each week...with a five gallon bucket...and a torn rotator cuff on my dominant shoulder (I've tried lugging with my other arm, but it's awkward). If I can do that, including mixing saltwater for my FOWLR tank, you can use a bucket to do about one 5 gallon water change per week.

 

[achase]

I only use the old school method (bucket) as both of my tanks are located in my bedroom. My bathroom is down the hallway and my kitchen is down stairs. I didn't actually know there was another method! Lol! The bucket method is also a good way to fit a mini workout into your day.

Now Bass that it what I can dedication! Do you do all your tanks on the same day or rotate days?

 

[ryanoh]

I've been using buckets ever since my tragedy with the hot water and the python. I have to use buckets to take water out anyways since my tank water level is below my faucet level and water won't siphon that way.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

With only a 20 gallon tank weekly 50% water changes are a peice of cake with the "old school" method. At .05 per gallon you are spending about .50 weekly on water. Try to explain that to your mom so you can keep up on your tanks.