Fish dying. Need help!!
- Thread starter jarrett181
- Start date
There is a Koi in there and I did find out that they do better in cooler Temps so I am giving him to a friend that has a Koi pond. I have 1 Koi, 3 guppies, 4 silver dollars, 1 Pleco, and 2 dalmatian mollies. The filter is a HOB. The tank was up and running for two days before fish went in but I had no idea about the cycle it needed to go through so I did not add any source of ammonia. ThE ONLY place here that anyone can buy fish from is walmart unless we drive about an hour and a half away and I know walmart is not the ideal place to buy fish from.
And also a male betta(which I did buy a separate 5 gal just incase he needed to go in there because the worker did say he may mistake a guppy for another betta) but he doesn't bother any of the other fish and they don't bother him.
Alright. . . so . . . first the safe start is fine to be added. Water changes are necessary to do in large amounts when you have that much stock in an uncycled tank. You should be more worried about what the ammonia levels are doing to your fish than what the water changes are doing to the cycle. Your fish are swimming in their own waste at the moment, its like living in a porto-potty (except you have to sit in that nasty water instead of have a barrier between you and it) and the filter is only a fan circulating all that nasty air around. Water changes are like opening the door. Except its worse than that even. Your tank will still cycle because the fish are always producing waste. You need to keep those levels low though to save the fish. I hadn't realized the tank was a 55 gallon until I went back and reread (I hadn't had coffee yet), so you may not need to do 50%, 30% may work. But it can be hard to tell without knowing the exact levels.
Secondly, your stock will not work in the long run. The silver dollars are nippy and will likely end up picking at the bettas fins and will get large enough to eat the guppies. Mollies and bettas are of more concern to me than guppies and bettas, but it can work for some people.
Secondly, your stock will not work in the long run. The silver dollars are nippy and will likely end up picking at the bettas fins and will get large enough to eat the guppies. Mollies and bettas are of more concern to me than guppies and bettas, but it can work for some people.
I am worried about the ammonia levels but I am also worried about establishing the bacteria colony so trying to counter both in I wasn't too sure the amount of water I should be changing but from reading posts online the majority was saying 25% so that's what I went for.
So far everyone seems to be getting along very well. But if it comes to it would the 3 guppies and betta be too many fish in the 5 gal? I'm hoping there will not be any issues later on cause the silver dollars are very shy and run when anything spooks them and they stay off to their selves. They have basically claimed the complete opposite side of the tank that the guppies are on. The betta did flare up on one of the mollies when they first got in there but since then I've never even seen them in the same area(Im one of the newbies that watch the aquarium a lot)
So far everyone seems to be getting along very well. But if it comes to it would the 3 guppies and betta be too many fish in the 5 gal? I'm hoping there will not be any issues later on cause the silver dollars are very shy and run when anything spooks them and they stay off to their selves. They have basically claimed the complete opposite side of the tank that the guppies are on. The betta did flare up on one of the mollies when they first got in there but since then I've never even seen them in the same area(Im one of the newbies that watch the aquarium a lot)
The ammonia levels and the stress of that will make the fish not act in their normal fashion. So, the behaviour that you are seeing now will more than likely change when the fish establish. The 5 gal will be too small for that many fish IMO. Silver dollars grow quick and will get pretty big rather rapidly and are fairly active fish. Once they get used to your tank and the ammonia levels are not stressful they will change their behaviour and become much more active which could stress less active fish, such as the betta.
If you haven't I recommend reading this sticky on cycling
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/freshwater-cycling.84598/
Its hard to say how much water to change without a test. But keeping up on regular water changes until you get a test kit is going to be the best way to go.
If you haven't I recommend reading this sticky on cycling
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/threads/freshwater-cycling.84598/
Its hard to say how much water to change without a test. But keeping up on regular water changes until you get a test kit is going to be the best way to go.
Watching your aquarium is a good practice, because you will be familiar with how your fish act and will be able to spot if something is amiss.
Tiff is right about the silver dollars, they get huge, and also prefer to be in larger schools.
Doing regular water changes will not hurt the cycling process. There will always be an ammonia source in your aquarium because the fish excrete it through respiration. Right now your biofilter is still establishing itself, and the bacteria hasn't colonized the tank yet. This doesn't happen overnight, and sometimes it can take a month or longer. However, not doing water changes will allow the ammonia to reach toxic levels, which will do serious damage to your fish. Your tank will still cycle with regular water changes, even with daily water changes.
A 5g is fine for a betta. If he's not currently squabbling with the guppies, then they all should be fine in the 5g. Some bettas are more mellow than others, and usually the only problem is other fish nipping at the betta.
Tiff is right about the silver dollars, they get huge, and also prefer to be in larger schools.
Doing regular water changes will not hurt the cycling process. There will always be an ammonia source in your aquarium because the fish excrete it through respiration. Right now your biofilter is still establishing itself, and the bacteria hasn't colonized the tank yet. This doesn't happen overnight, and sometimes it can take a month or longer. However, not doing water changes will allow the ammonia to reach toxic levels, which will do serious damage to your fish. Your tank will still cycle with regular water changes, even with daily water changes.
A 5g is fine for a betta. If he's not currently squabbling with the guppies, then they all should be fine in the 5g. Some bettas are more mellow than others, and usually the only problem is other fish nipping at the betta.
The cycle may take weeks to finish (4-6). I hope the BIO-Spira helps and may shorten the cycle, but have no experience with it. You will need an Ammonia test kit, and will have to do daily WC to keep ammonia down.
You "MAY" be able to find some ammonia remover at the LFS, but again, have no experience with that either.
You "MAY" be able to find some ammonia remover at the LFS, but again, have no experience with that either.
I used Prime to detoxify the ammonia while I was cycling a 46 bow a couple years ago. Prime just detoxifies, it does not remove ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate. You still have to do water changes. Prime is my "go to" water conditioner, and I've used it for years.
I'm trying to get a cycle started on my new 180, and have around 30 rosy red minnows in it. Added SafeStart directly to the tank and sump several days ago, haven't changed out any water yet, but I'm basically getting no ammonia and nitrite, and negligible nitrates. There's no way this tank is cycled, but I do have a lot of plants in it.
I'm trying to get a cycle started on my new 180, and have around 30 rosy red minnows in it. Added SafeStart directly to the tank and sump several days ago, haven't changed out any water yet, but I'm basically getting no ammonia and nitrite, and negligible nitrates. There's no way this tank is cycled, but I do have a lot of plants in it.
I wish I knew how to keep plants but I couldn't tell you a single thing about plant health....I know they are beneficial to the fish and water quality but if I tried I would almost certainly kill every plant in the tank.
