Hello. I have just recently started my first fish tank (55gal) in december. I evenetually bought two tiger oscars, 1 red hook, in Jan. i also have 2 cat fish, and two pelcos. I noticed that the red hook was swimming sideways, the best diagnosis that i have come up with was a swim blatter infection and i treated him with an antibotic. he still swims like that once in a while but immediately swims normal at feeding time. I change the water at least once a week and i don't know if that is two much or two little my concern is that im doing something wrong. last weekend i noticed that one of the oscars was swimming weird as well so i did and emergency water change and it seemed to help my main problems seem to be nitrates and Ph if anyone has any suggestion it would help me out.. you can e-mail me reluctantrenegade50@yahoo.com or IM me at farmer22348 thanks
Having problems balancing newer tank
- Thread starter farmer22348
- Start date
It is impossible to diagnose your problems without further information. It appears that you have a heavy fish load.
We need info:
Primary:
Ammonia?
Nitrites?
What filter(s) are you using?
How large are all of your fish (list individually)?
Secondary:
pH?
KH?
Nitrates?
I think you may have more fish than your 55g can hold. All of those fish produce a lot of waste, and that can wreak havoc on your tank's biological filter. I would certainly get rid of at least one pleco, regardless of size. You said you have 2 catfish? What kind?
We need info:
Primary:
Ammonia?
Nitrites?
What filter(s) are you using?
How large are all of your fish (list individually)?
Secondary:
pH?
KH?
Nitrates?
I think you may have more fish than your 55g can hold. All of those fish produce a lot of waste, and that can wreak havoc on your tank's biological filter. I would certainly get rid of at least one pleco, regardless of size. You said you have 2 catfish? What kind?
also...you say you change water every week, how much water each week? like 10%, 30%?
Also..you say your nitrates and pH seem to be the problem...how so?? If you're putting anything in the water and adjusting your pH, that could very well be your whole problem. Fish like a stable pH, no matter what that number is. The only way to lower nitrates is to use plants... or water changes. Those are pretty much the only two ways to deal with a nitrate situation...and like Avalon said, if you have too large of a load for your tank the the nitrates will pile up faster than you can get rid of them. If your tap water has nitrates then its probably just compounding your issues...
Swim bladder is usually a water quality issue....
Also..you say your nitrates and pH seem to be the problem...how so?? If you're putting anything in the water and adjusting your pH, that could very well be your whole problem. Fish like a stable pH, no matter what that number is. The only way to lower nitrates is to use plants... or water changes. Those are pretty much the only two ways to deal with a nitrate situation...and like Avalon said, if you have too large of a load for your tank the the nitrates will pile up faster than you can get rid of them. If your tap water has nitrates then its probably just compounding your issues...
Swim bladder is usually a water quality issue....
the fish are realatively small, the 2 oscars are only about 2inches, the catfish are angelic cats and also about 2inches long, the plecos are about 2 1/2 - 3 inches and the red hook is maybe 1 1/2inches in diameter. the nitrates spike higher than 40 ppm thats why i constantly do water changes. the Ph is pretty steady its at 7.4 constantly i was just concerned because a local pet store employee told me that it had to be neutral i've added ph raise but it doesn't seem to raise it.. i read that you should raise it in small amounts to keep the fish from going into shock, i added the raise once a day for three days and it didn't seem to help but it does stay pretty stable. i am using a whisper tetra filter i've also bought these seprate white filters that you put in the main unit (on top of the carbon filter) that removes ammonia and metals which have deff seemed to help the ammonia. if the ammonia spikes the water changes deff help them i usually do around a 25%water change when i do them. when i vaccum the tank sometimes its a little more 30-40%. i will deff get rid of one of the plecos i have notices that they produce a lot of waste.. I'm not sure what the Kh is cause i don't know what it is.. i use a tap water conditoner and put in cycle with every water change the cycle also for weekly maintance.
ok, may want to come here for advice after hearing something at your lfs. Don't add pH anything! your fish prefer a stable pH as opposed to a flux. It is impossible to add pH up or down on a constant basis and still keep it stable. Your fish will adjust to whatever pH you have, REALLY. (do a search on the website for pH problems and see what others have said as well) water changes are the best way to control your nitrate problem. take the ammonia remover out of your filter and can them. If you have ammonia it will give you false results. A 55G probably could use with a little more biological filtration, like a power head with foam on the opposite side of the tank, and once your biological filtration builds then this should take care of the waste once you tone down your poopers.
also, check your tap water to see if there are nitrates already in your water. 20-30% water change weekly is a little high, but if your nitrates are 40ppm, then might want to continue until they are down. may want to back up and listen to froggy. Good luck
also, check your tap water to see if there are nitrates already in your water. 20-30% water change weekly is a little high, but if your nitrates are 40ppm, then might want to continue until they are down. may want to back up and listen to froggy. Good luck
Just throwing in my 2 bits.
I have a pair of oscars, and a Plec also, and they doubled in size every three months for the first 6 months so far. Right now they are in my 80 gallon, but destined for my 220 gallon this winter.
Plants and Oscars don't mix (Oscars rip the up), so they are not going to help you Nitrates. Your going to need about a 75+ gallon tank, and pretty soon for a few reasons:
- Water volume: You need more water to keep the nitrates diluted from the large amounts of waste Plec's and Oscars generate.
- Moving room: Oscars get to 9" easily in body size. A 55 is only 12" deep, a 77+ is usually 18" deep, giving your oscars enough room to turn around without constantly bumping.
- Breakage: Oscars are heavy, big bodied fish that tend to bang into the sides of the glass when scared. 1/4" glass on a 55 is not as safe as 3/8" glass on the 77+ sizes.
Things you can do right now to make things better:
- Get a 2nd filter, a high-flow canister (like my Rena XP3) which keeps the water a lot cleaner than just 1 whipser filter. That or get a 2nd Whisper of the same size, so you just need to stock 1 type of filter.
- Change the floss filter every 2nd week. Oscar/Plec poop is large and plugs up filters quickly.
Things you should plan for:
- Keep your eye on your local bargain finder for a larger tank. Summer is moving time, and there are a LOT of good deals on larger tanks because people don't want to move them. About $2.00 per gallon is not a bad deal used, but less is better
Keep us posted & welcome to the tank!!!
I have a pair of oscars, and a Plec also, and they doubled in size every three months for the first 6 months so far. Right now they are in my 80 gallon, but destined for my 220 gallon this winter.
Plants and Oscars don't mix (Oscars rip the up), so they are not going to help you Nitrates. Your going to need about a 75+ gallon tank, and pretty soon for a few reasons:
- Water volume: You need more water to keep the nitrates diluted from the large amounts of waste Plec's and Oscars generate.
- Moving room: Oscars get to 9" easily in body size. A 55 is only 12" deep, a 77+ is usually 18" deep, giving your oscars enough room to turn around without constantly bumping.
- Breakage: Oscars are heavy, big bodied fish that tend to bang into the sides of the glass when scared. 1/4" glass on a 55 is not as safe as 3/8" glass on the 77+ sizes.
Things you can do right now to make things better:
- Get a 2nd filter, a high-flow canister (like my Rena XP3) which keeps the water a lot cleaner than just 1 whipser filter. That or get a 2nd Whisper of the same size, so you just need to stock 1 type of filter.
- Change the floss filter every 2nd week. Oscar/Plec poop is large and plugs up filters quickly.
Things you should plan for:
- Keep your eye on your local bargain finder for a larger tank. Summer is moving time, and there are a LOT of good deals on larger tanks because people don't want to move them. About $2.00 per gallon is not a bad deal used, but less is better
Keep us posted & welcome to the tank!!!