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I will be adding a small school of Von Rio Tetras to my 10 gallon tank today. Is it okay to add the water from the pet shop to my own tank?

What is in your ten now?

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it is not advised to do so because there may be harmful things in your dealers tank that could infest yours though the water. besides, you should really quartine new fish for a few weeks before adding them directly to your tank.


chris

katieb:

Earlier today I had no fish in my tank. The tank had already been cycled, but I've had it set up w/ no fish for almost a month.

Today I added 5 Von Rio Tetras and 1 Otto. When I added these fish, I set the fish (in their bag from the pet store) in my aquarium and left them there for about 20 minutes so that the water temperatures would equalize. I them removed the bag and poured the fish into a net over a bowl so that I would add only the fish and not the pet store water to my aquarium.

I added the fish at around 4:00. It is now almost 7:00. The fish are all so cute and seem to be doing just fine. I did notice however, that my Tetras do not have the black stripes I've seen on them in pictures...maybe it takes a while for these stripes to show up??

they dont have color, b/c they are nervous, they have just been moved, i would stay away from any more fish in that tank, and i think u also wanted a AFF in there, but ur tank is full now.

sounds like you did a good job then


chris

Never add the LFS water in your tank & give them some time to settle. Maybe you can add some more Otto's to make them a small school.


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Few things -- First, no, it's not a good idea to add water from the pet shop to your tank for reasons mentioned above.

Second, you started off acclimating your fish correctly, then made a grave error. You are correct in letting the bag sit on the top of the water to equalize temperature. However, you've still done nothing to equalize the pH, hardness, and many other water parameters that fish are sensative to. To do this, you would cut open the top of the bag they came in while it's floating (don't let it fall over and exchange water freely), and then add a few ounces of water from your tank to the bag every 10 minutes or so for an hour. You would then do what you did before, putting them in the net then the tank. Not acclimating them could result in severe shock and sometimes death.

Third, if your fish tank had been cycled, but has had no fish in it for a month, it's not cycled anymore. You'll be starting off from scratch now.

I advise you to return your tetras and oto for a hardier fish to cycle with, or cycle fishlessly. Your tetras may not be able to handle the level of toxins associated with the process.

With your fish being new, just introduced to a tank, and not being properly acclimated, they'll show signs of being stressed by not showing stripes, lighter colours, and hiding.

Fallout:

Why would my tank have to cycle all over again? First, it has been more like 3 weeks...not quite a month. I was told to wait this long because there was a very bad case of ick with the last fish we had in the tank. Second, although the fish were removed there were still plenty of plants to cultivate bacteria. And in fact nothing else was removed besides the fish. I’m confused on why it would have to cycle once more.

Additionally, I did not feel it was necessary to acclimate the fish to the conditions (other than temperature) of my water because I used the information on the profile section of this and other sites to make sure my water was ideal specifically for the Von Rio Tetras I added.

My Tetras do not seem to be showing any other signs of stress besides not having their black stripes. Their bodies are bright gold in color with red tails and fins. They swim actively as a school and eat very well (they loved the small amount of frozen bloodworms I threw in this morning). They are very fun to watch.



Bettachris:

I’m not quite sure why you noted that I could keep only 5 Von Rio Tetras (which only get to be 1.1” to 1.3” each, according to this and other sites) in a 10 gallon tank. I know there are factors to consider besides the size of the fish, but still I am not sure why this would hold true. If my LFS is able to stock the American Flag Fish I think he would be a perfect addition to my tank. Why would this be a bad move?

"Second, although the fish were removed there were still plenty of plants to cultivate bacteria. And in fact nothing else was removed besides the fish. I’m confused on why it would have to cycle once more."


Plants cannot cultivate bacteria because they cannot produce ammonia. When the source of ammonia is removed the bacteria colony that feeds on it dies and the nitrogen cycle stops. To get the colony back, one would have to re-cycle

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I see. I feel there is so much I still have to learn. Every source says something different. If the plants were dying would this produce any ammonia? I did end up having to remove one plant becuase it was pretty much dead to the point where it could not have been salvaged.

i think u dont know that the smaller the tank is the more problems u can have. anyway i wouldn't go with alot of tetras b/c they will need there own space, of course ina 10 gallon u shouldn't have over 8-9 fishes that can get to 2 inches each.

the tetras i think can reach under 2 inches, but i still wont add anymore fishes to the tank, given that the ten gallon doesn't give u much room to play with. the tank is fine as is, and no more fish should be added.


and let me tell u a story, i had a large pair of angels that were about worth 40 dollars(hehe only got them for a buck) and they were fine for a long time, but then i added one small angel, and wow, the tank went crazy, illness going around everywhere(but in the tank was only those three angels) and they all died, my point is that unless u are going to QT ur new fish first it is very risky to add new ones in, and tetras aren't the hardiest among them.

i have been noticing that u have alot of questions about this ten gallon, about bettas/gouramiess/paradice/tetras/bottom, i hope these aren't going in the same ten gallon.

Last edited by bettachris at 22-Oct-2005 17:36

Why would my tank have to cycle all over again? First, it has been more like 3 weeks...not quite a month. I was told to wait this long because there was a very bad case of ick with the last fish we had in the tank. Second, although the fish were removed there were still plenty of plants to cultivate bacteria. And in fact nothing else was removed besides the fish. I’m confused on why it would have to cycle once more.
You are quite right. If the filter was running and you have plants in there with some decay (leaves, etc.) that decay would produce ammonia just like fish waste, etc and the tank would cycle or continue to cycle.


Additionally, I did not feel it was necessary to acclimate the fish to the conditions (other than temperature) of my water because I used the information on the profile section of this and other sites to make sure my water was ideal specifically for the Von Rio Tetras I added.
On this one you are quite wrong. Even if your conditions were close to their profile. A big question here is what where their conditions in the bag? All fish should slowly be acclimated to a new tanks conditions by taking small amounts of water. I actually acclimate fish for up to 2 hours this way before putting them in the tank.

As far as fish load, your probably pretty close all though those fish are small waste producers so depending upon the size of your filter, etc. you could probably add a few more. More of the same species is always better for the fish, so I would add some more otos.

Last edited by tetratech at 22-Oct-2005 18:01

My Scapes

Congratulations on your new fish.
Keep close eye on the water parameters,
and start testing for ammonia and nitrItes.
Keep an eye on it see if it cycles.
Most tetras will not survive a cycle.
Also, when acclimating fish, Fallout is very right.
Heres what I do for any fish except the most sensitive:
Open bag right away.
Float in Tank.
After 10 minutes add 3 ounces of water to the bag.
After another 10 minutes, add 3 more ounces of tank
water to the bag.
After another 10 minutes remove 3-4 ounces of water from bag and use to water houseplant. Add another 3-4 ounces
of tank water.
Your conditions may be very different from the the condition that the store has kept them in. This is why you should always be concerned of PH differences and hardness values from stores versus home.
After 1 hour I net the fish from the bag and add to the tank. By this time I have pretty much removed most of the water and replaced it with my own.
For more sensitive fish I do a much longer slower acclimation. When I acclimated my Discus I did over 3 hours time as I was concerned for their health.
I have lost only 2 fish after acclimation in 3 years, and they were probably sickly to begin with.
Good luck with your tetras, they are gorgeous little guys!


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Thank you everyone for the very helpful advice. I am still so new to the hobby and feel I am learning more and more all the time.

bettachris:

Nope, not all my questions have been concerning the same tank. Most questions I've posted have been hypothetical. In other words, I wanted to get information before I decided on the fish I would eventually keep in my 10 gallon. I also asked a few questions that my room mate needed answers to, and a few about my boyfriend's 40 gallon aquarium as well.

Right now I have only my 5 lovely Von Rio Tetras and 1 Otto. I did have my tank previously set up with 4 Tiger Barbs, but I realized that my 10 gallon was not the best home for them. Anyway, the Barbs were returned a while ago and I am now starting over w/ an attractive little bunch of Tetras.