new tank. need some advice

[frankenfish]

on reading all about this after i got the tank up and running i realize i probably jumped into this too quickly. i have a 5 gallon tank with 3 neon tetras and 2 orange things (lol i forgot what they were called). tank was looking good until about 2 or 3 days ago when the water got cloudy white. i did some research and found that it was most likely a bacteria bloom due to the newness of the tank. i read also that this will cause the ammonia levels to spike which could result in the death of my fish. today the water appeared a little clearer so maybe i'm coming out the other side? i should also mention that my fish seem healthy and active. they are eating normally as well. so my questions are these:

1: if the water seems to be clearing and the fish appear fine do i still need to worry about the ammonia levels? if so what could i be doing to save my little buddies?

2. do i need substrate at the bottom? the filter is doing a great job of cleaning up the poop and there really isnt much left over food. they're hungry little buggers. i have read articles that say you don't need substrate but if it would help this little tank survive somehow i'l get some.

3. could i add 1 or 2 more fish? keep in mind the tank is only 5 gallons and i don't want to overcrowd. the tetras are so small it seems that 1 more couldn't hurt.

4. what kinds of plants/rocks/decorative things would be best? if i chose not to go with anything like gravel on the bottom can i still have live plants?

please forgive me it these questions are epically nooby. i did my best to hunt around the forum for answers before i posted this.

actually now that i think of it you guys could probably tell me what kind of fish these orange things are:

http://img188.imageshack.us/g/fish1s.jpg/

here's a picture of my whole setup:

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/4255/tanki.jpg

 

[Stillness]

OK, first from what it sounds like you didn't cycle the tank. Tanks NEED to be cycled in order to keep you fish healthy. Read about it here: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/fre...hless-cycling-everything-you-wanted-know.html -- or you could do just a quick forum search.

I do believe your unknown fish is a platy.

Before you worry about your other questions you should really read about cycling.

You need to get a good quality testing kit. Good means the drip kind. Actual name escapes me. But there are dropper bottles and test tubes. You definitely need that.

Also, thank is to small for the neons. They are schooling fish and should be kept in groups of 6 or more. They are really active and 5 gallons, IMO, really isn't enough space for them.

 

[homebunnyj]

Your tank had high ammonia before the bacteria bloom. The bloom was a good thing. It meant the ammonia-eating bacteria were multiplying to try and deal with the ammonia.

You do need to test for ammonia and nitrite now. Keep ammonia under 1.0 to help your fish survive, and also keep nitrite under 1.0. If either value is higher, do enough of a water change to get it down to those levels. Be sure to match the water temp and use dechlorinator at each w/c,

Your tank will cycle whether you understand cycling or not, but you need to read up on it to understand how to help your fish survive, and also to know the things not to do, that could disrupt the cycling process. That is important.

You don't need substrate. You can keep plants in pots or saucers set on the bottom without having a substrate. You need low-light plants. Hornwort might be a good first choice.

No more fish. The above post is correct, the tetras need to be in a school and so are inappropriate for such a small tank. Two platies is probably about right.

 

[frankenfish]

thanks for the help guys. i think what i'l end up doing is getting a 10 or 15 gallon tank once i can scrounge up enough money (it sucks being an unemployed high school senior). do you think 10 or 15 gallons would be enough for the two platies and 5 or 6 tetras? possibly either 1 or 2 of something else as well? i can't really get a bigger tank than 15 due to space constraints. and when i do get this new tank should i put the old water from 5 gallon into the new tank or should i start fresh. again i hope these questions aren't too noobish but i'd like to get my facts straight before i end up with a tank full of dead fish.

 

[Stillness]

Yeah 10 would be good, 15 even better! Don't forget to cycle the new tank. Old filter media, gravel and gravel from an established tank will speed up the process exponentially.

Best of luck!

 

[Newman]

just a word of warning, just cuz you add established gravel and filter media from an established tank, dousnt mean that you will be 100% sucessful and can add a huge amount of fish at once. There is a good chance that you will still go through a mini cycle, as long as you have fish in there (which is what you want, or you can add pure ammonia instead).

For example:

I've added established gravel, tank water, and sponge filter media from my 40 gallon, to my brand new 2.5 gallon, and put a few snails in there. Changed 50% of the water every week. i fed them two times a week, and guess what happened? 1 week ammonia was about 0 and nitrite was .25ppm (is was like that from the 40gal's water). 2nd week ammonia was at 0 and nitrite was at .5ppm 3rd week ammonia was at 0, BUT Nitrite spiked up to 5ppm. I must also add that i have live plants in this tank from the start and theyre doing fine, but even they wont absorb a big amount of the ammonia and nitrite.

just showing that it can still happen, so dont go crazy with fish at first. maybe add a max of 3 fish to start. do not overfeed either during the first month.

But generally the idea is that established stuff from another tank will shorten the cycle by perhaps 2 weeks or so.

Go with the 15 gallon. its better to have more voulme to play with, and any mistakes you make wont be as fatal as in a 10gal.

I just dont want you to loose fish from the start, and want you to have a pleasant experience thats all

 

[Stillness]

I didn't mean to suggest that just b/c you add established media and such your tank wouldn't go through a cycle, just that it would be quicker. Sorry if I wasn't clear.

 

[Newman]

Nah, stillness you were very clear, I just randomly wanted to throw in a warning in there, since i had just had this happen a few days ago.

 

[bmoraski]

again i hope these questions aren't too noobish but i'd like to get my facts straight before i end up with a tank full of dead fish.

asking the basics is not noobish, we have all been there. and this site has helped me lots. as far as size of tank, the bigger you go the easier to maintain.
good luck and keep asking questions !