flossy salt
- Thread starter grepo
- Start date
Well first of all, the salt isn't hurting anything, but there's no need for it, despite your probably having read or been told to the contrary. You can safely ditch the salt. There's something else wrong in your tank.
You say water tests are ok. Please be more specific and post up the readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. 'Ok' is a matter of opinion or education, but numbers don't lie. These numbers are the basis for the detective work involved in identifying the problem.
Also, please describe the history of this tank. How long has it been set up? How long do the fish last? How many of which types of fish do you have in there? Do you have a heater in it? If so, what do you keep it set at? What sort of filtration do you have? What else do you run on/in the tank? What sort of substrate?
Please describe your maintenance activities. How do you do water changes? Do you use dechlorinator? Do you match the water temperature? Do you attempt to adjust the pH? Do you vacuum the substrate/ scrub the tank and ornaments/ clean the filter? If you clean the filter, how do you do that?
The reason I ask all these questions is that I am guessing that either the nitrogen cycle of your tank has never properly established, or there may be something toxic affecting your fish. The answers should help narrow down the possibilities right away.
If you are not familiar with the nitrogen cycle and how it becomes established in a fish tank, please read the stickies at the top of the freshwater beginner forum. They're very enlightening.
Welcome to the tank! BTW, are you in Australia?
You say water tests are ok. Please be more specific and post up the readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. 'Ok' is a matter of opinion or education, but numbers don't lie. These numbers are the basis for the detective work involved in identifying the problem.
Also, please describe the history of this tank. How long has it been set up? How long do the fish last? How many of which types of fish do you have in there? Do you have a heater in it? If so, what do you keep it set at? What sort of filtration do you have? What else do you run on/in the tank? What sort of substrate?
Please describe your maintenance activities. How do you do water changes? Do you use dechlorinator? Do you match the water temperature? Do you attempt to adjust the pH? Do you vacuum the substrate/ scrub the tank and ornaments/ clean the filter? If you clean the filter, how do you do that?
The reason I ask all these questions is that I am guessing that either the nitrogen cycle of your tank has never properly established, or there may be something toxic affecting your fish. The answers should help narrow down the possibilities right away.
If you are not familiar with the nitrogen cycle and how it becomes established in a fish tank, please read the stickies at the top of the freshwater beginner forum. They're very enlightening.
Welcome to the tank! BTW, are you in Australia?
homebunny-my tank has been set up approx 2years first tryed with goldys&mollys for 6months no luck had a hang on fluval&a cnrbox filter with gravel &floss inside took out fluval as to much water movement &then got rocks,gravel&water tested at LFS all ok.set up again with u/g &cnr box filters submerged got acouple ofguppys & plattys they lived &bred for about ayear some deadens (thats life)started to add goldys after acouple of months they went took water sample intoLFS he said all ok(no readings) went to second shop ok again but suggested to put charcoal in cannister?did this a month ago iuse asyphon for w/c have gravel substrate abit of mangrove wood with java fern on it & some elodea& just added plastic plants&ornaments ido my own ph test which is dark blue&means about 7.5/7.8 tryed to lower with ph downbut nothin changed so give it amiss i put the heater in winter may /aug set at 26 -28deg thats about my story on fish
How many fish do you usually have in your tank? It's really only big enough to support maybe 10 platies/guppies.
To be honest, your tank isn't really big enough for more than one goldfish on its own. They get very large, and need more like a 100 liter tank for one goldfish. Goldfish should live for 10 or 20 years if well cared for.
To be honest, your tank isn't really big enough for more than one goldfish on its own. They get very large, and need more like a 100 liter tank for one goldfish. Goldfish should live for 10 or 20 years if well cared for.
That's too warm for goldfish. You'll have much better success with tropical fish with your setup.
PH: leave it alone. Swings in pH do much more harm to fish health than a steady pH, just about any pH.
Get your own test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. That's really about all you need under normal circumstances. Never mind pH. Seriously. You can get a master kit that has ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate tests in it along with a couple of others. Do NOT get those crappy little strips that test for nitrite and nitrate but not ammonia. When you get your tests, follow the directions carefully and post up the results. That will help us see what's going on in your tank, plus you'll need to use them whenever anything seems a bit off.
Filter: Do NOT replace your filter pads frequently. Nitrifying bacteria colonize there; they keep the ammonia and nitrites under control so as to avoid toxic conditions in your tank. When water flow seems a bit sluggish, rinse the filter pads out in dechlorinated water and put them back in. You only need to replace them when they are falling apart or so nasty you can't get them rinsed enough to allow water flow.
Charcoal is only good for a couple of weeks, so you should remove or replace the charcoal from last month. I only use it if I've treated the tank with meds and am trying to get all the last bit of the meds out of the water after having done large water changes. I don't run it on a regular basis.
Do you vacuum your gravel? If not, you need to. A gravel vacuum is pretty inexpensive and easy to use. You can do it along with your weekly water change. Waste accumulates in the gravel and rots, fouling the water.Try to get up under the wood and ornaments if you've not vacuumed before.
Are you still running the corner box filter? Is it the right one for your size tank, and is it your only filtration? I've never had good success with those; I much prefer a good hang-on-back filter or a canister filter. That could just be personal preference, though. Do you still have the fluval? If so, what model is it? I'm totally not familiar with any fluval HOB filters. Good water flow is important.
If you read the beginner stickies at the top of the freshwater beginners forum, you may get some clues as to what is going on with your tank. At any rate, you're sure to find it educational; there's a wealth of information there.
PH: leave it alone. Swings in pH do much more harm to fish health than a steady pH, just about any pH.
Get your own test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. That's really about all you need under normal circumstances. Never mind pH. Seriously. You can get a master kit that has ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate tests in it along with a couple of others. Do NOT get those crappy little strips that test for nitrite and nitrate but not ammonia. When you get your tests, follow the directions carefully and post up the results. That will help us see what's going on in your tank, plus you'll need to use them whenever anything seems a bit off.
Filter: Do NOT replace your filter pads frequently. Nitrifying bacteria colonize there; they keep the ammonia and nitrites under control so as to avoid toxic conditions in your tank. When water flow seems a bit sluggish, rinse the filter pads out in dechlorinated water and put them back in. You only need to replace them when they are falling apart or so nasty you can't get them rinsed enough to allow water flow.
Charcoal is only good for a couple of weeks, so you should remove or replace the charcoal from last month. I only use it if I've treated the tank with meds and am trying to get all the last bit of the meds out of the water after having done large water changes. I don't run it on a regular basis.
Do you vacuum your gravel? If not, you need to. A gravel vacuum is pretty inexpensive and easy to use. You can do it along with your weekly water change. Waste accumulates in the gravel and rots, fouling the water.Try to get up under the wood and ornaments if you've not vacuumed before.
Are you still running the corner box filter? Is it the right one for your size tank, and is it your only filtration? I've never had good success with those; I much prefer a good hang-on-back filter or a canister filter. That could just be personal preference, though. Do you still have the fluval? If so, what model is it? I'm totally not familiar with any fluval HOB filters. Good water flow is important.
If you read the beginner stickies at the top of the freshwater beginners forum, you may get some clues as to what is going on with your tank. At any rate, you're sure to find it educational; there's a wealth of information there.
yep! read allthe feedback&i/ll stop adding with this last goldy but i think it will last &in replyto homebunny ido syphon vacume&the cnr fiter is the old plastic box with the airstone&filter floss on top gravel & just added charcoal on the bottom .i/ll report back but i would like to keep goldys &acomunity tank together i know others that can do it .thistank (80ltrs)has platys &guppys about adozen &four big fat fantail goldys that feed off any fry that are unlucky &very rarely has probs
Of course, everyone can DO it. I could put saltwater fish in my freshwater tank, they just wouldn't las very long. Same thing with your setup. Goldfish live in cold water, community fish live in warm water. You have to decide which kind of fish you want; salt or fresh, warm or cold? The point is, it's not good for your fish's health and they WILL die.
My solution: get another tank!
My solution: get another tank!
In an 80 liter tank, which is about 21 US gallons, or a 72 liter tank, which is about 19 US gallons, (you've listed it as both in different posts), your dozen platys and guppies would be fully stocked. Add in the 4 goldfish and you are WAY overstocked. Yes, they fit, but like everyone else has said, mixing cold and warm water fish is not ideal. In my opinion, mixing 4 goldfish and 12 platys/guppies is like putting 4 Alaskans and 3 Hawaiians in a dorm room and setting the temp at about 85. They all fit, and some of them might be comfortable temp wise, but no one is very happy. Personally, I would look into re-housing the goldys into a coolwater, much bigger, setup.