Aquarium Catastrophe

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#1
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#1
I posted a little about this in a previous thread, but I wanted to start another one that really focused on the issue at hand. My community tank smashed to bits yesterday, and I've been overwhelmed with the aftermath of it. It's not very fun to grab at your fish whilst they swim (literally) across the floor. As of right now, all but my long-fin zebra danio are counted for and alive, thank God. I'm concerned about a few things though.

I have them all housed in a 10 gallon tank I hurried and bought last night. I know that this is horribly overcrowded, but I don't really have any other option. The platy in my QT is sick, so I didn't want to put any of them in there. I bought a 60 gallon tank a couple of days ago, but I didn't think it was beneficial to put them in there because the filter I have can't handle it (the Emperor 400 is in the mail.) What should I do to keep the stress level down and the water quality good?

Some of my fish have been beaten up by this whole ordeal, which can only be expected. It took me over an hour to find my female swordtail. She was trapped under a garbage bag with some water and somehow managed to stay alive. My danio is in the worst shape of all... its caudal fin is missing. It doesn't seem to be having TOO MUCH trouble swimming, but there's an obvious struggle going in. Is it ever going to come back from that, or should I not be expecting a recovery?
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#2
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#2
I am sorry for your catastrophe! While your 10g tank is full, as long as your checking the water and changing probably about 25% of the water you should be okay. Obviously is it is a new tank, it isn't cycled and neither is the 60 g, but a filter isn't absolutely necessary. There are people with successful tanks that don't use filters. Your big concern will be testing your water daily until your tank is cycled.
 

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#3
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#3
I kept the filter cartridge I was using in hopes that the bacteria on it would cycle the tank quicker. Should I be doing these water changes every day? I'm going to be gone for the weekend, but my mom will be around. She's not going to be able to check the parameters, but she can do water changes. She's also probably not going to know whether the fish are acting odd or not since she doesn't really know their usual habits.
 

skjl47

skjl47

Large Fish
#4
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#4
Hello; I concur with Thyra that a filter can be done without if needed. I have done this myself in the past. Several setups have had only a bubbler for a good while due to odd circumstances. I have also run setups for a very long time with what would be considered under filtration by many. I find that filtration is perhaps better sized to the bio-load of a setup rather than the size of a tank. When I started keeping fish the available filters, for the most part, had considerbly less flow than those sold now.
An undersized filter on the 60 gal for a time should be fine. Putting the fish in an uncycled 60 gallon with an undersized filter should likely give a better outcome than being overcrowded in an uncycled 10 gallon. Done soon enough the benefical bacterial in the old filter may not have died off all together. Good luck
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#5
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#5
And I concur with skjl. They will be better off in the 60g while you are gone for the week end seeing as how neither tank is cycled. There is a bigger margin for error in 60g than in 10g. Do a water change Friday and then again when you get back. If possible don't add the fish you are getting from your friend until you are able to get control of things.
 

Persistency

Persistency

Large Fish
#10
Dec 14, 2011
229
0
0
WI
#10
Help!

My molly has been very upset since this whole ordeal happened last week. He hasn't been acting himself and has been hiding a lot. I just found him resting on the bottom of the tank and breathing slowly. I've been changing the water every day and the parameters are reading normal. What could be the cause of his behavior?
 

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