Completely frustrated!

[Jennylynn99]

Ok, so I'm totally new to this whole thing. My boyfriend and I are so frustrated with our tank right now. He is not as new to this as I am, but we just can't keep our fish healthy.

We have a 25 gallon high tank. There was a large-ish piece of driftwood in it until a few hours ago. On the driftwood we had one anubius that was doing amazingly well and 2 java ferns that were doing ok. No special lights or CO2 for them. We took that out because our pH plummeted from slightly basic to very acidic. We have had goldfish in the past and had constant swim bladder and possibly fin-rot issues. The all died and we emptied the tank to start fresh. We were going to plant (hence the driftwood and plants) and decided that was too much work without CO2 and too much $ with it. (So, as a side note, we do have some lighting equipment that is brand new in the box. Never opened.)

When the tank cycled, we bought 5 or 6 rasboras and all but 1 of them died within a week and a half. After a while (we wanted the tank to cycle again) we bought 10 green tetras. All but 2 died within days. The we bought 4 more rasboras to do "an experiment with". We changed the way we introduce them to the tank per some forum suggestions. It seemed to be working. We also added a bunch of silk plants to the tank b/c we know they love to hide in that. Well, this morning, it looks like all of the fish have cotton mouth and won't eat. A green tetra has already died and the rest look TERRIBLE. What do we do?? The water if fine, as far as we can test. The ammonia is 0. The nitrates and nitrites are at perfect levels. The hardness is low and the pH is at 6. That is lower than we wanted it so we had to get rid of the driftwood. (I don't know all of the exact numbers b/c he tests the water and is much better at being involved than I am.)

He has had this tank for years (although not set up) and has had it set up numerous different ways with complete success. Could it be our town water? We live in north eastern MD. When we lived in NJ he had NO problems. We have friends there that don't even do water changes and they have totally healthy fish! What the heck?!*crazysmil

Sorry this is lengthy, but I need help!

 

[Jennylynn99]

So, I just thought of a few more things to add.
We have a Rena XP2 filter.
BF has been dosing melafix since yesterday.
We have had no problems with the current rasboras for the last week. It just happened out of the blue yesterday morning.
Have been adding small amounts of aquarium salt after refilling the tank after water changes.
Have been doing weekly water changes - about 10 gallons.
Bi-monthly filter cleansing and replacing when necessary.
That's all the info I can think of right now.

 

[OrangeCones]

Welcome, Jennylynn99!

When the tank cycled, we bought 5 or 6 rasboras and all but 1 of them died within a week and a half. After a while (we wanted the tank to cycle again) we bought 10 green tetras. All but 2 died within days.

How are you 'cycling' the tank? You said you cycled it before the first 5 or 6 rasbora, then waited for it to cycle again before adding 10 green tetras. Please describe what you are doing to cycle it.

The water if fine, as far as we can test. The ammonia is 0. The nitrates and nitrites are at perfect levels. The hardness is low and the pH is at 6.

Please post the actual numbers for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. I'm not sure what 'perfect levels' are. How are you doing your tests? If it is with the dip strips, those are not known for accuracy. It would be better to invest in a liquid test kit, like API's Master Freshwater test kit.

Your pH dropping is an indication of a buildup of organic waste in your aquarium. More frequent water changes are needed to remove the waste. What are you using for a dechlorinator? You said you do bimonthly filter cleaning and changing when needed. How are you cleaning the filter?

 

[Jennylynn99]

My BF is the one that's doing the work. I can't answer most of those questions. Sorry. I know that we did a fishless cycle. Maybe my calling the second waiting period a cycle was incorrect. We do have the dip-stick test kit. We went to an amazing aquarium store a few weeks ago with intentions to get the liquid kind, but they were out. As for the dechlorinator, I also don't know. I'm pretty useless. We are rinsing the pads like everyone on these forums say they do. He was changing the water twice a week, 3 if there is an excess of food. More than that? Really? That seems so high maintenance. He never had a problem keeping fish before. Uhg!

I know I don't have much info, but I hope someone has a suggestion. We aren't scientists! We just want to have a healthy tank like we did before!

 

[OrangeCones]

Without more information, there is nothing I could suggest other than the tank is not cycled or you are overloading the biofilter by adding too many fish at once.

 

[breebrry]

ok first off i am no expert here.. but you only have a 25 gallon tank and are changing 10 gallons of water at a time.. so even if you were starting to cycle you are breaking the cycle by getting rid of all the bacteria.. so i would do like 2 or 3 changes a week of like 5 gallons rather than 10.. wholey cow..

PLUS if you are changing the water so much you could be stressing the fish.. and stressing the fish PLUS no good bacteria in the water is causing their immune systems to be weak... and makes them vulnerable..

i am going to say something here that may cause trouble.. LOL.. I DO NOT OWN ANY TESTS AT ALL...well thats not true.. my mom gave me a PH test... lol i use town water.. start right.. stress coat.. and usually don't have problems.. i barely ever do water changes and when i do it's only a stir of some gravel and siphon out a few gallons.. just for some fresh water.. my ph is usually at like 7.6 and my tetras all seem fine...

perhaps you need to try some hardier fish like a few tetras and stop draining the tank so darn much.. go back to 5 gallons twice a week.. and just keep an eye on it.. good luck

 

[nanu156]

Goo Bucket will fix you

Hey Breebry!! I heart you!

Ok I don't know who got the crazy idea out there that HUGE HUGE water changes were a good idea. They are not.

Breebry hit it right on the head, all the fresh water is killing off your bacteria and your tank is constantly cycling.

I don't really plant my tanks, because my fish are molesters, but if i were you I would return your fancy schmancy light set up and buy an aquaclear 50 over the back filter. 35.00 if you have a pet supplies plus they have a discount card that you get a 5.00 coupon for signing up for.

K so next...

Call your AWESOME fish store that you really like, tell them you were wondering if you could have some of the waste from their filter media. Hopefully they are AWESOME and say yes. (tell them you are buying fish when you come in)

Bring a big bucket to the fish store. Pick out the fish that you like from said fish store.

Have them give you a gallon or so of water from the tank, then ask them to swish their dirty filter media (pads/sponges/what-have-you) right out into the bucket of water (the 1 gallon they just gave you) It should make the water super nasty.

Take your bucket-o-goo and your fishies home.

Dump said bucket of goo into tank, the super grossness from the goo will go away in a couple of hours, in the mean time your fish actually prefer cloudy water.

Soak fish (20 minutes or so in the bag) then release the fish.

This should balance your tank.

now do a 20% water change once a week. that is 5 gallons +/- if the tank is a 25H.

If you get the aqua clear filter before adding the new fish, just set it up and turn it on, then rinse your pads from your old filter out into the tank water (see above bucket-0-goo directions, only do it right in the tank) then toss the old filter.

Honestly you should not be having this much trouble, i think your tank isn't cycling properly. The bucket o goo will really jump start the whole thing. I dislike using household ammonia for a "fishless cycle" as I have never had much luck with it. But goo buckets always work well.

On a side note you need to make sure the goo doesn't get too hot or too cold, it has live bacteria in it, and honestly you need to put fish in the tank with in about 2 hours of swishing the goo out of the pet-store tank. The fish need the bacteria, but the bacteria also need the fish.

Bacteria in a bottle NEVER EVER seems to work for me. Don't let them sell it to you, im convinced it is a scam.

 

[breebrry]

i always seed my tank with "bucket-o-goo" too.. use a dirty filter pad for a few days. NEVER wash the bio fiber in the filter and always use some water/ gravel from an extablished tank.....

if you can't seem to make the thing do what we are telling you stop buying $3 fish.. get some quarter feeder fish to cycle with.. if they make it cool then put them in a bowl and give to the neighbor kid or keep.. lol.. but i wouldnt waste big money on fish until you get yourself established

i heart you nanu

 

[numberonebikeslover]

I SALUTE your determination to fix the problem and not giving up. I’m new in this business but I think bacteria play a major role and that is what was missing in this puzzle. I don’t have any useful suggestions though, just a Good luck from me.

Naeem

 

[blue_ram]

Ok, so I'm totally new to this whole thing. My boyfriend and I are so frustrated with our tank right now. He is not as new to this as I am, but we just can't keep our fish healthy.

We have a 25 gallon high tank. There was a large-ish piece of driftwood in it until a few hours ago. On the driftwood we had one anubius that was doing amazingly well and 2 java ferns that were doing ok. No special lights or CO2 for them. We took that out because our pH plummeted from slightly basic to very acidic. We have had goldfish in the past and had constant swim bladder and possibly fin-rot issues. The all died and we emptied the tank to start fresh. We were going to plant (hence the driftwood and plants) and decided that was too much work without CO2 and too much $ with it. (So, as a side note, we do have some lighting equipment that is brand new in the box. Never opened.)

When the tank cycled, we bought 5 or 6 rasboras and all but 1 of them died within a week and a half. After a while (we wanted the tank to cycle again) we bought 10 green tetras. All but 2 died within days. The we bought 4 more rasboras to do "an experiment with". We changed the way we introduce them to the tank per some forum suggestions. It seemed to be working. We also added a bunch of silk plants to the tank b/c we know they love to hide in that. Well, this morning, it looks like all of the fish have cotton mouth and won't eat. A green tetra has already died and the rest look TERRIBLE. What do we do?? The water if fine, as far as we can test. The ammonia is 0. The nitrates and nitrites are at perfect levels. The hardness is low and the pH is at 6. That is lower than we wanted it so we had to get rid of the driftwood. (I don't know all of the exact numbers b/c he tests the water and is much better at being involved than I am.)

He has had this tank for years (although not set up) and has had it set up numerous different ways with complete success. Could it be our town water? We live in north eastern MD. When we lived in NJ he had NO problems. We have friends there that don't even do water changes and they have totally healthy fish! What the heck?!*crazysmil

Sorry this is lengthy, but I need help!

Java Fern and Anubius are low light plants and do not need C02 or special lighting.

Depending on how many plants you have, the plants are most likely using up all the ammonia before the filter can convert them. In essence, a planted tank never cycles.

The photosynthesis process uses up calcium as does the nitrogen cycle. Calcium is known as a buffer and when depleted the ph of the tank can suddenly drop (hence the low PH and low hardness). The nitrogen cycle also creates acids (IIRC it is carbonic acid) that when combined with a depletion of calcium, can cause what is known as "old tank syndrome" and cause the filters bacteria to die. Water changes work, but you need to find a way to reliably bring the hardness up. A small piece of lace rock, old seashells and old coral will slowly disslve and help keep the hardness up without raising PH too much and would be offset by the driftwood.

The dip in test strips are not reliable, get an api kit with the drops and glass vials.

Godlfish are dirty fish and need a large tank and extra filtration in order to keep them healthy. If fish have been sick in the tank before, it is likely that the tank is contaminated and you will either have to let the tank be completey dry and empty for 30 days or heavily medicate the tank for fungal and bacterial infections. Sunlight is a good disinfectant and a few days in direct sunlight will kill off any bad things in the tank, gravel and filter if you do not want to wait 30 days.

If you must use fish to cycle the tank, use zebra danios, they are the only species of aquarium fish that can regenerate gill damage caused by ammonia.

 

[OrangeCones]

If you've been doing weekly 10gallon water changes, I would doubt that anubias or java fern could deplete your water of calcium.

Just my 2cents.