Help!

[MissFishy]

I had a successful fish tank many years ago and was so excited to start a new one! I bought a ten gallon tank, set it up with a sponge filter, heater, lid, rocks, etc. But I am having problems keeping my fish alive! I've been reading and reading about fish, and am still having trouble. I started out with the following:
2 female guppy
1 gold zebra danio
1 glassfish
1 red wagtail platy
1 siamese algae eater (the one I have doesn't match any of the pictures I've seen,but this is the closest I've seen, he doesn't bother anybody)

The danio started picking at one of the guppys, he ate almost her whole tail off! And after I isolated her, she died. The next morning the other guppy died. After about a week I added 1 white calico platy and 3 ghost shrimp. SO then I had:
1 gold zebra danio
1 glassfish
1 red wagtail platy, 1 white calico platy
1 siamese algae eater

All were happy for a week, then the red wagtail began acting funny. Lethargic on the bottom of the tank, it was really odd, he would float with his head up and tail on the bottom of the tank, I coudln't find those symptoms anywhere. He was also glancing off of the rocks in the tank when he swam and not eating. Then the white calico started glancing off, but acting normal otherwise. I read up on it and thought it might be ich, so I salted the tank with 1 tbs per gallon. The red wagtail died, but the white calico stopped glancing off of objects in the tank. THEN just a couple days ago, I noticed the glass fish not eating (he is usually first one up!). I took a closer look with a penlight, and noticed that he had red streaks inside of him (very light) and black spots near the top of his head on each side. I then saw a small white thing sticking out of his gill. Must be flukes right? How could it have happened so quickly? I know he was fine the day before, because I stare at my little fishies all the time. However, before I could get some medicine (was worried about putting medicine in the tank because of the filter), he died the next morning. I was very sad. Now I only have the other platy, danio, algae eater, and ghost shrimp. Should I be worried about the other fish getting what the glassfish had? Should I do something to the tank? Wait to add more fish? Any insight would be helpful.

 

[silver dollars]

Ok the problem is that alot of the fish are not good tank mates, and they get to big for the 10G. Here are some options that you can do:

6 rummynose tetras
3 ottos
3 panda cories

or you can do this:

5 guppys
4 panda cories
3 guppys

Also, they could carry a sickness from your LFS that you bought them from. Where do you get your fish from?? There is a book out that you can buy called "The Aquarium and Pond fish encyclopedia" by David Alderton, it tells you how to set up tanks, and has information on Freshwater fish, Saltwater fish, Pond fish, and Plants. By reading this book mabey then will you be able to get more information on good tank mates.

And make sure that the fish you buy for future tanks are able to live there and not grow out of it.*thumbsups

 

[silver dollars]

And the book tells you how to recognize and treat sicknesses.

 

[PlecoCollector]

Have you looked over this forum's stickies? Right now, your tank is going through its cycle, which is when your tank establishes bacteria. During this time, the water can become too high in ammonia and nitrites for some fish to survive.

Don't add more fish. It really won't help anything at this point in time. The best thing you can do is do water changes every few days to make the water a little less toxic for the fish. It would also help for you to get a test kit so you can test the water for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH. You really have to ride out cycles; they usually last about a month. I wish you the best of luck with your new tank!

The beginner stickies can be found here: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/freshwater-beginner-information-questions/31669-freshwater-beginner-stickies-read-me-first.html

 

[silver dollars]

I agree with Plecocollecter. Make sure you know abotu cyceling before you add fish.

 

[MissFishy]

I've had the tank set up for about a month now. I dropped in an ammonia tablet (made by jungle?) a few weeks ago because I was worried about the ammonia levels, the ph is fine. I am more concerned about the sickness the glassfish exhibited? And which fish weren't compatible? The only ones the danio seemed to pick on were the guppies, and those are long gone. The glassfish, platies, and danio got along fine?

 

[JustOneMore20]

Danios are schooling, so best kept in a group of 6 or more. They are also nippy, so shouldn't be kept with fish that have long fins, like fancy guppies.

Glassfish are also schooling and are actually brackish water fish, not freshwater, so they need salt in their water, while the others don't. Click for a profile.

IMO platies get a little big for a 10g. They are best kept in a 20g or bigger, with other platies. 2-3 platies could be kept alone in the 10g, but you'd have to return the danio, because it won't be happy by itself and a 10g isn't big enough to have a school, plus the platies...so you'll have to choose.

Read the stickies on cycling. This is a site on the Nitrogen Cycle. You can find profiles of different fish on many websites. Its best to research fish and plan what you are going to have in a tank, the best you can. Make sure the fish you want will be able to live in your tank. Find out if they need a school or a small group or alone, etc....research goes along way.

I would first go out and buy a test kit. Get a master kit that tests for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAtes. Monitor your water and see if you are showing ammonia or nitrIte. If you are, you should do daily water changes.

Go with the danio (plus 3-4 more) and 2 ottos or the platy (plus 2 more) and 2 ottos.

Does your algae eater look like this: click for picture again, (notice the little fang like things) if so it is a true Siamese algae eater. If not, does it look like this: click or again? That is a Chinese algae eater and will outgrow the tank (gets around 8 inches and fat), stops eating algae as it gets older, and may turn to eating the slime off your fish (which will kill it). They are nasty little fish IMO that are best kept in groups in a cichlid tank where they are put in their place.

If its not either of those, can you post a picture to ID it? Most algae eaters get too large for a 10g...these include the Siamese and Chinese algae eaters.

 

[MissFishy]

Yeah, I've been trying to identify this algae eater since I got him. He most closely resembles the true siamese algae eaters, but his tale markings are a bit different. I know for sure he isn't a chinese. I'll try and get a good pictre of him tonight and post it, maybe someone on here can help me with it?

 

[GIS Guy]

Nites tend to have more traffic in the forum. Post the pic and you'll probably have the answer tomorrow morning.