I responded to an add on craigslist yesterday. A guy was giving away for free a 20 gallon tank with stand, heater, filter, light, and fish. It was free so I thought I'd see if I could get it. I call the guy within about 10 minutes of him posting the add and convince him to hold it for me for a few hours.
I pick up the tank and...ugh.
In this 20 gallon tank there was 2 silver dollars, a red-tail tinfoil barb, a pleco, and another catfish (looks like a cory but I don't think it is).
These fish were huge, and the tank was filthy. The guy said he was moving and didn't want to take the tank with him. I asked him how long he had been in town - he said 3 years. Well, the fish all looked to be at least that old. The pleco is 10-12 inches long, the silver dollars the size of my palm and the barb at least 6 inches.
I don't think he had done a water change in 3 years. I think all he did was replace the water that would evaporate. he had a gravel siphon, but it looked brand new, and the gravel was pure filth. He had a tetra filter, I'm not sure which size, but definitely did not produce enough water flow for all the fish in there. I also noticed in the supplies he gave me he had some water conditioner that claimed to neutralize ammonia, so I'm guessing thats what he did instead of changing the water.
When I got the fish home (the tank was 40% full when I moved it) I filled it up with treated tap water. I didn't test the water, didn't really see a point as I knew it was bad and needed to be changed. After I filled the tank back up I replaced the filter cartridge and added aeration via airpump and stone.
After I was able to get the mess to settle, a few hours later, I replaced 5 more gallons siphoning the gravel.
The barb and pleco look relatively healthy. The pleco might have "hole in the head" but it might also be a scar from being in such a small tank. The barb looks good, but is missing a few scales, no apparent infections though.
I haven't seen much of the small cat that is in the tank so I don't have much to say about him.
The 2 silver dollars are in horrible condition. One has no tail and almost no fins. It has a few dorsal rays and thats it. The other's fins are rotting away and will soon be in the same position as the first.
Today I'm taking the pleco (and possibly the barb) to my LFS. I'll continue to do daily water changes and keep siphoning the gravel. Once I get a more stable environment, I'll start treating the silver dollars.
Any suggestiions on what to treat with. I have melafix, formalin, API parasite powder, and some fungus tabs by "jungle'. I had the melafix and formalin, the others came with this tank.
I'll update the progress of the silver dollars as they improve.
I pick up the tank and...ugh.
In this 20 gallon tank there was 2 silver dollars, a red-tail tinfoil barb, a pleco, and another catfish (looks like a cory but I don't think it is).
These fish were huge, and the tank was filthy. The guy said he was moving and didn't want to take the tank with him. I asked him how long he had been in town - he said 3 years. Well, the fish all looked to be at least that old. The pleco is 10-12 inches long, the silver dollars the size of my palm and the barb at least 6 inches.
I don't think he had done a water change in 3 years. I think all he did was replace the water that would evaporate. he had a gravel siphon, but it looked brand new, and the gravel was pure filth. He had a tetra filter, I'm not sure which size, but definitely did not produce enough water flow for all the fish in there. I also noticed in the supplies he gave me he had some water conditioner that claimed to neutralize ammonia, so I'm guessing thats what he did instead of changing the water.
When I got the fish home (the tank was 40% full when I moved it) I filled it up with treated tap water. I didn't test the water, didn't really see a point as I knew it was bad and needed to be changed. After I filled the tank back up I replaced the filter cartridge and added aeration via airpump and stone.
After I was able to get the mess to settle, a few hours later, I replaced 5 more gallons siphoning the gravel.
The barb and pleco look relatively healthy. The pleco might have "hole in the head" but it might also be a scar from being in such a small tank. The barb looks good, but is missing a few scales, no apparent infections though.
I haven't seen much of the small cat that is in the tank so I don't have much to say about him.
The 2 silver dollars are in horrible condition. One has no tail and almost no fins. It has a few dorsal rays and thats it. The other's fins are rotting away and will soon be in the same position as the first.
Today I'm taking the pleco (and possibly the barb) to my LFS. I'll continue to do daily water changes and keep siphoning the gravel. Once I get a more stable environment, I'll start treating the silver dollars.
Any suggestiions on what to treat with. I have melafix, formalin, API parasite powder, and some fungus tabs by "jungle'. I had the melafix and formalin, the others came with this tank.
I'll update the progress of the silver dollars as they improve.
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