Water testing & control: What to do?

[Punkrulz]

Hey guys,

Myself and my girlfriend have acquired a 10 gallon tank quite awhile ago. We set it up, in the beginning had some problems. We let the tank cycle (not for the entire cycle period). We bought some fish. For some reason 2 weeks later my girlfriend bought some more fish (still wasn't over-crowded) and they all died. Since then though we have had the same 5 fish for quite some time.

We have been feeding them once a day, sometimes though accidentally my girlfriend feeds then more than they need, so it will clutter up the bottom at the gravel. Last night we purchased 2 Tiger Barbs, an emerald cat fish, and an algae eater. So far they seem to be doing fine. We primarily bought the cat fish so that he could clean up the bottom of the tank, at least what we read is that they also help keep it clean.

Anyways, I have been researching online about various tank websites, I'm looking around for ideas on what to do for mine, and how to take better care. I'd love to get a larger tank, but I do not have the money for one... One of the things I have been reading a lot about is taking care of the water, between the ammonia and nitrate and nitrite that come into play. I haven't read enough about them though to make me feel comfortable going out to buy something and going on.

What do I need to purchase, exactly? Would a standard test kit be sufficient? We recently moved which instituted completely draining, cleaning, and refilling the tank... unfortunately I couldn't let it re-cycle for another 6 weeks because we still had the fish... but again they're still doing fine. I should be draining at least 10% of water / week, correct?

Please fill me in... I'm completely new at this. I want to get as much accurate information as possible... heck I'm even rambling in this post!

 

[JWright]

Get test kits for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. The "drop based" kits are much better than the strips.

How many fish are there in the tank right now? (And what kind are they?)

When you say you let the tank "go through the cycling process", did you add ammonia, or just let the tank sit with water in it?

I'm guessing your tank is probably pretty well stocked, so I would say you should be doing more like 30% a week.

~JW

 

[Punkrulz]

Thanks for the reply JW. I am fairly certain that we have the following fish:

(2) Zebra Fish
(3) Unknown... small though. Light in color... without them in front of me I can't describe them great.
(2) Tiger Barbs
(1) Cat Fish (small)
(1) Algae eater

We are pretty well stocked and due to the size I know I shouldn't add any more fish as we would be exceeding the space for the 10 gallon (1" of fish for every gallon).

When we did the cycling, we let the tank sit there with the heater / filter running moving water throughout, no fish. We did not add anything at all to the tank.

 

[JWright]

Unfortunately, running the tank with just the water does nothing to cycle the tank.

Check out this link (http://www.myfishtank.net/fishless-cycle/) for some more information about cycling process, and what a fishless cycle is. In a nutshell, "cycling" is the growth of bacteria in your filter which consume the chemical waste your fish excrete (ammonia). Without fish (or artificially added ammonia) in the tank, there is no reason for the bacteria to grow, and all you have is a glass box full of water...

"Cat fish" and "Algae eater" are two fish that could potentially be very bad news for a very small tank like yours. Many catfish and algae eaters get very large (think football sized...)

Zebra Danios need to be in groups of 5-6 to be comfortable, same with the tiger barbs. As far as the unknown, I'm gonna guess they're some kind of tetra, which also need to be in groups.

I would pick one of those types of fish, return the others, and expand that group to 5-6. I know that sounds like a boring tank with only one kind of fish, but trust me, the fascinating behavior you'll see your fish exhibit when they're comfortable in the tank will more than make up for it.

If you could confirm what kind of cat fish and algae eater you have, that would be great.

 

[Punkrulz]

I do not think I will be able to confirm the cat fish nor the algae eater until I return to the pet shop... I am pretty certain that the catfish is a sort of "emerald" cat fish. The algae eater for some reason I just want to say that it didn't have any particular title...

Just out of sheer curiosity, I'm not saying that I will not get a school of fish, but for a tank my size, if I was to go with assorted fish, what kinds of fish are typically good for that situation (don't need to school / don't need 5 or 6 of them). Any recommendations?

Also, I was curious about Aquarium salt. A lot of the fish I saw in the pet store, a lot of the more visually appealing ones (sword tails, there was also another kind of red fish I liked... and the black mollies). The sign said they require salt. I spoke to the representative at the store, and he said that those fish will be able to live in a fish tank that utilizes aquarium or conditioning salt. Is this true? I read on the package, and on the site that 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons of water... will that enable me to get those kind of fish?

Even if I don't get those fish, do you recommend getting conditioning salt anyways? How often should I apply it to the tank? I read that it relieves a lot of stress on the fish, so that's why I'm curious.

 

[JWright]

Swordtails, Mollies, and a couple other common livebearers could stand for some salt in the water, but will do just fine without it.

Unless you want to go with a slightly brackish tank with Mollies (which would mean getting rid of your other fish), I wouldn't bother adding any salt to your tank.

I really can't think of any good "assorted fish" setups for a 10 gallon. A "large" group of one type of fish is always better looking than an assortment with 1-2 of each type of fish. Just my opinion, but I've looked at a _lot_ of tanks in my day.

~JW

 

[Punkrulz]

I see... there was a huge assortment of fish that said they needed aquarium salt in the tank to live... are you saying that for the most part I can disregard that? Or should I just put a little bit in and everything will be happy? There was this really deep red fish I couldn't take my eye off of... I can't remember the name, but they resembled the swordtails.

 

[cchase85]

Most of the common livebearers can use salt in their water. However, the vast majority of LFS' do not use salt in their water and most of these species are fine without any salt in the water. Most people do not use salt with these species.

That's not to be confused with brackish species... which DO need salt, but marine salt, not just aquarium salt (which is just table salt).

Most people on this forum believe that aquarium salt is no more than a gimmick. I haven't seen many people use it except as part of a medication for a tank with ick.

JWright is probably correct in saying that the fish you have work better in shoals. However, if you are happy with the way your tank looks in terms of stocking, and the fish are not being harassed and there is no aggression, you should be alright. Danios, especially, don't seem to care about being in a group in terms of their behavior. The only risk you run is that they might chase around other fish trying to get them to "play".

 

[MissFishy]

If you have drained this tank and refilled it, it is essentially going to be cycling again which means you should be doing way more water changes then 10% per week. If you read through the cycling stickies and are still a bit confused, you can check out the link in my signature that has some basic information on it. Since you have dried everything out in your tank then started it over again, you can just assume you are starting from scratch with a "fish in" cycle.

 

[Punkrulz]

Thanks guys... I'll take note not to buy the salt... unfortunately with my stupidity level, I'm still going to be very unaware when I go into the pet store, see the fish I want, it says they need salt... how will I know if they are a "brackish" kind of fish or not? I already read that mollies are brackish... but then again, they need marine salt... I will let you know the kind of fish I was looking at and we can go from there.

Tonight I had an unfortunate event occur. I turned on the light so the fish could have some, and I noted that we were short a fish... it turns out that one of my barbs have passed on... which btw, the receipt stated they were red glass barbs? He was stuck between where the filter has the tube in the tank, and the back wall... I can't say what his causes were, however I feel there was a distinct possibility that he got caught back there and possibly couldn't get out... don't know.

 

[JWright]

More than likely he died of other causes and was sucked there by the filter. Healthy adult fish rarely get stuck on their own...

Have you gotten those test kits yet? It's important to know what your ammonia and nitrite levels are, so you can how many water changes you need to be doing.

~JW

 

[Punkrulz]

No, I am going to order the $15 one that was recommended in this thread. Unfortunately though this couldn't have come at a worse time, as I will be going away for a week.

Edit: I meant the master fish test that MissFishy recommends in her guide...

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Freshwater Master Test Kit at Big Al's Online

I will be ordering that.

 

[MissFishy]

Do a large large water change before leaving, like 75% or more in case there is ammonia or nitrite in there.

 

[Punkrulz]

Will do! I'll get that taken care of tomorrow night.

 

[Punkrulz]

I've tested out my water the other day, and I think I'm pleased with the results. I have 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and 5.0ppm Nitrates. Would everyone else agree that's good, and if not, recommendations on what should be changed?

 

[Lotus]

Yes, those are good results

 

[HMarcks]

I'm not sure what kind of fish store you are going to but it kinda sounds like some kind of chain store. You should see if you can find a smaller privately owned fish store, or one that specializes in just fish (not other pets).
I found this to be the most help to me being a beginner, because you can usually find pretty knowlegable people that like to help and teach the customers. It is really hard to find someone who truelly knows what they are talking about at the chain type pet stores. Picking up some books helps too(I would give you some titles that helped me but they arn't with me right now).
It can be alot easier to ask questions in person where the fish you are curious about are right in front of you, then to go to the forum and try to explain your trip to the fish store. Now don't take this the wrong way this forum and ones like it are great, but for me it was a bit easier to do it in person at first.
Hope you can find a good place not to far away, but keep in mind that some fish stores are worth a long drive to visit.