Me & My White Cloud Mountain Minnows Need Some HELP!

[FAcT_oR_FiCTiON]

Hey everyone,

Sorry if this is a stupid post, but I'm kind of buggin out a bit. We got some White Clouds, 2 of them to be exact, just about 2 months ago. To be honest with you, I have no idea about how to take care of fish. When we got them from a coworker, I immediately tried to do some online research to get a very general idea about what to do. Now I think I'm paying for not going to the pet store and learning more.

Anyway, we've had the 2 White Clouds in a tank similar to this one. The tank was given to us and we basically have a ton of small pebbles all across the bottom and a plant that grows in the water for the fish. Also, we have a little air device that makes bubbles at the top of the water surface (air filter?) and constantly provides some surface movement. We also have a light that we use at the top of the tank (within the lid). There are also about 10 little snails in the tank (they eat flakes, not the plant) and a Mussel at the bottom (which the original owner said would act as an organic filter, lies, lies, lies).

I feed the fish about twice a day. I give them fish flakes and I break them up into really small pieces when I feed them. A good pinch of food is probably how I'd describe the amount. We don't have a filter for the fish, so we've done substantial water changes maybe 2 times. We've added water here and there throughout, but again, only 2 substantial water changes have been made including tonight (probably around %45 percent of the water).

The reason we did the water change was because one of my minnows is extremely struggling. He's having a hard time staying afloat it seems, and is sinking sort of quickly whenever in his rest position. He's such a tiny little guy and hes really working on staying up by bobbing (or jumping sort of) as he keeps flapping his fins. I think he may have what some people call "swim bladder disease" but I'm not sure.

I want to go to the store tomorrow morning and fix this by getting a new tank, or at least getting a filter device to help keep this tank clean. I also want to get a heating device, and some chemical agents to help fix the nitrate, chlorine, and all that junk. It's not the dirtiest tank in the world but all the food particles that I saw float around when we added new water has apparently taken its toll on the quality of the water at large.

My question basically is, what should I do? I want to start from scratch so these guys are ok (the other fish seems fine and healthy). Would it be totally bad to dump all of the water and give them all new water in a freshly cleaned tank tomorrow? Could this help my minnow? Maybe remove all the snails and add a heater as well? I would hate to see this little guy die and I really want to make sure their living environment is right from now on. I'm a newbie, so help me out if you guys can. Then I can buy some new minnows because I've heard that they like to hang out in groups. Hopefully he'll still be alive in the morning. :help:

Appreciate it!

 

[doreenjoy]

First thing I recommend you buy at the fish store is a good liquid test kit like the one made by API. Use it to measure the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in the tank. If the ammonia or nitrite are over 0.25, do a partial water change to lower it.

Also, when you do water changes, try to match the temperature of the tank water, and make sure you're using a de-chlorinator.

Don't let them talk you into a bunch of chemicals at the fish store. It's likely you're seeing a 'mini cycle' in the tank, or that the fish is suffering from some kind of shock (ph shock perhaps).

You also might want to read the Sticky posts in this forum called "Read this before you get fish" and "About Freshwater cycling".

 

[FAcT_oR_FiCTiON]

Thanks for the info about the chemicals. I read the fish cycling section and it seems helpful for future use. I'm just worried about my current fish and his living conditions due to his constant attempt to stay afloat as he continously sinks (not like a rock, slowly but still obviously). That's why I changed the water. When I saw this I got kind of freaked out. I definitely want to change the living conditions in the tank all together and start from scratch (while keeping my current fish and allowing them to thrive in a new and better environment).

The water seems pretty poor, despite the water change. The fish seem to stay near the top of the surface, probably due to high nitrate or nitrite levels? I'm not sure. I also added the new water without dechlorinator, which I only heard about until I got on here, so now I'm worried about that. I know minnows are pretty resilient, but I cant stand to see this little dude struggle. So any immediate responses I could take to help him?

 

[doreenjoy]

Get some dechlorinator in the tank asap.

Do you have a source for dechlorinated water, or distilled water? If so, move both fish into it temporarily until you can get the dechlor. If not, get dechlorinator into the tank as soon as possible.

Chances are the original problem was a mini-cycle or ph shock. The reason the fish are both hanging out at the surface now is probably from chlorine in the water.

 

[FAcT_oR_FiCTiON]

Yeah, I actually don't have a source for dechlorinated water. I mean, I have a brita in my fridge but that water is probably too cold for now. I could possibly let some water sit for a few hours and then hope that it decholorinates. I'm sorry if this is a stupid question but doesn't pH shock occur once you add new water? The problem with my fish was that he was experiencing from what some describe as "swim bladder disease". I feel like the new water has actually hurt my fish as he seems to be struggling even more now (at the top of the surface).

I'll go the store early in the morning (its 1 am here in Seattle) to get dechlorinate and add it to the water (directly to the tank?). But my biggest worry is this swim bladder disease. How should I treat it?

 

[razon]

white clouds like cold water

 

[razon]

haha.. my first "tank" was a 16 ounce bowl with 6 white clouds. now they are in a 29g

 

[doreenjoy]

I'm not sure it's swim bladder disease. The symptoms you describe can be caused from other problems. It's possible the water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph) were off prior to the water change. Many of my fish exhibited those symptoms prior to dying.

Definitely get the dechlor and add it straight to the tank.

 

[FAcT_oR_FiCTiON]

haha.. my first "tank" was a 16 ounce bowl with 6 white clouds. now they are in a 29g

^Haha, yeah, when I was really young I had won a goldfish at a carnival and he was kept in huge peanut butter jar lol (the jar was cleaned of course lol).

Thanks Doreenjoy, can do. That'll be my first task in the morning, along with getting some supplies to figure out the water situation. After that, say the water is just too terrible. What should I do? Move the fish to a bowl with some water and then clean the tank (scrub it, wash it, etc.) Then should I add water and add the fish back in?

I already added so much new water tonight. Hopefully this could help with the nitrate, ammonia, and nitrite levels. I figure that I'm going to buy a filter and place it in the tank anyway, so I should probably add all new water (with dechlorinate). Then again I'm just thinking out loud. Any other suggestions would be great too.

 

[OldMan1947]

If the water is just too terrible, do a 50% water change, wait a few hours and test again. After doing this 2 or 3 times the water should be as good as you will get from the tap which should be good enough.
Be sure the water you are adding is the same temperature as the tank and you use a dechlorinator. You can get temperature right by using your hand to measure it. You may not know 70 from 80 by feel but if you go right from one to the other you will notice a 1 degree error.