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Hi. I recently setup a 35 gallon fresh water aquarium and I've been having problems with my fish. I have a few slate rocks in the aquarium and within the first week i've noticed there are brown spots/markings all over them and even on some of the gravel. I don't know what it is or how it got there. Also, I've had the tank running for about 1 month now and so far 2 rasboras and 1 pleco have died. I currently have one red tail gourami who is on the verge of dying. She is struggling very much to swim and is just laying there. I placed her in a breeding box in hopes that she will heal. The water is clean and clear, the temperature is usually between 23-27 Celsius. What is a safe range of ammonia and pH level? Does the ammonia and pH level have something to do with the brown spots? If you could e-mail me back a.s.a.p with some information/advice, I would greatly appreciate it.

Here are some pictures of my aquarium, and the brown stuff. Should I take out the slate rocks? And Another weird thing is that my pleco always stays in one spot the whole day. He doesn't swim around or anything. I took a picture of it just staying in the same spot he always does. Hes been like this ever since I bought him. I've noticed that if i'm not in the room and I walk in he quickly goes to that same spot as in the picture.

Here are all the pictures

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/pierced_skins/album?.dir=9266scd&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph//my_photos

Welcome to FP!

Safe ammonia level is zero. The standard stats your looking for in a cycled tank is ammonia zero nitrite zero, and nitrate preferably under 40 ppm. Look on the species profiles to find the ph tolerance ranges of your fish species,most will be in the 7's, and the brown spots are diatomic algae that occassionally occur when new tanks are set up, or a mini-cycle has occurreed.

Often it just grows because of the presence of useable silicates, and that can just be down to silicates leaching from the gravel. Just scrub it off in the sink and over months the amount of it should reduce. If it grows on aquarium glass, scrape it back and then do a small water change, eventually most of it will leave the tank.

The problems youve been experiencing are because your fish didnt survive the ammonia and nitrate levels during the cycle, which usually takes 21 plus days. The tank is probably cycled by now, so hopefully no more deaths, but you'll need to read up on the nitrogen cycle in aquaria to better understand what happened. You probably just cycled a tank using fish unconsciously due to lack of info.Cycles can be done without ever adding fish, and that is the safer option. As youve discovered , some fish just cant take it.

Ok i don't know if my tank has "cycled" yet. Should i add a second filter? Right now i just have a aqua clear 200. I'm thinking about getting another aq200. My tank is a 35gallon.(and does it matter how low the filter intake is?)

I also wanted to get 2 parrot fish and 2 tiger oscars. Will they be ok together?

One more question I have is, when adding water to the tank, do i have to treat it with something before i add it in?

Now lets say my ammonia and nitrite levels are on the high side, what do i add to the water to lower them.

Im thinking about getting a freshwater master test kit, but is that all that comes with the kit, the stuff to test the water for specific things. Or does the kits also come with the stuff to rid the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and lower pH levels? I'm kinda new to this, so thats why im asking all these questions.

Thanks

Whpa, LOTS of issues here.

[1] Cycling. this has been covered in detail above, but the basics of the nitrogen cycle in aquatic environments have to be understood if you are to avoid similar woes in future.

[2] Looking at the pictures, I have to ask an important question - those light coloured rocks you have. The ones with brown spots on. Are you SURE they're slate? Only when someone mentions 'slate' to me, I think of dark grey material with a laminar structure that looks a LOT different from your light coloured rocks. Might be worth getting those tested for aquarium safety.

[3] I assume that by "Parrot Fish" you mean those hybrid Cichlids that I personally wish had never been bred in the first place ... if so, then I can tell you right now that in a 35 they'll be somewhat cramped even if there are no other fishes in there. As for the Tiger Oscars, three words - DON'T DO IT. The reason? A fully grown Oscar is TOO BIG TO FIT ON MY DINNER PLATE. And I have big dinner plates. You're looking at a 14 inch fish when adult, one with strong territorial instincts, and one which also possesses a high degree of native intelligence, therefore requiring not only a LARGE (as in 125 gallons and up) setup, but a stimulating one too. Putting even ONE Oscar in a 35 except as a temporary measure whilst acquiring a MUCH bigger aquarium is cruel to the Oscar. Do NOT do this.

[4] Water changes. You should use a dechlorinator with EVERY partial or complete water change. If you don't, you will expose your fishes to additional stress, potentially severe, possibly even life threatening if you use water straight out of the tap, depending upon how much chlorine or chloramines your water company/water authority adds for treatment purposes. Which they do for good reason - namely to stop you and thousands of other people dying of cholera. However, what's good for you isn't good for the fishes in this instance.

[5] If your brown spots are diatomaceous algae, then several Loricariid catfishes will eat them. Otocinclus are your best choice in this regard. One, because they are small, two, because they are diligetn, and three, because they are cute in a droll sort of way. I've had them for 13 years and wouldn't put any other algae eating catfish into a typical community aquarium containing small fishes. They're perfect for the job. However, acclimatise them with care as a lot of them are 'rough handled' at the wholesalers, and attrition rates can be horrific.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Hi,
Unfortunately, you have put the Cart before the Horse
and are now asking questions that should have been asked
before hand.

First, you have to know what the Nitrogen Cycle is. How it
occurs, and how to manage it.

Read this:
http://www.fishprofiles.net/faq/begin-cycling.asp

Essentially, as the fish eat and pump waste into the tank
bacteria form that thrive on their waste products. First
bacteria form that love ammonia, and they turn the ammonia
into nitrite, a couple of weeks or so later a different
bacteria forms that eats nitrite and forms nitrate.
When the ammonia and nitrite readings are both zero, then
and only then has the tank cycled. Ammonia and nitrite
directly affect the gills of the fish. The chemicals will
burn and scar the gill tissues and will affect the fish's
ability to exchange oxygen with the water. In essence,
they are drowning. If you have ever seen a diaper rash,
that is what is happening to the fish.

To successfully keep the fish you need a test kit, and the
one you mention is probably one of the best. As the
Nitrogen Cycle progresses toward completion, the ammonia
reading will climb to about 6. If you have too many fish
in the tank, and you do, then it will rapidly rise to that
value and perhaps even higher, before the bacteria can
start to make a dent in it. As the cycle progresses
your nitrite reading will rise from zero to 10 or more.
Again, with too many fish this will occur too fast and
the fish will suffer as they are now.

If you have a small number of fish in the tank then the
bacteria will grow at a normal rate and the cycle will
progress without harming any fish in the tank.

Get a test kit, read the instructions, and intervene
by following the instructions on "what to do" if the
results are too high.

As far as the "brown stuff" is concerned, that is perfectly
normal. It is an outbreak of diatoms. They can be gotten
rid of by water changes and cleaning (scrubbing) off the
stuff in the sink. It is not the slate that is causing it.

As far as the Tiger Oscars and the other fish are concerned
you must understand that the Oscars will grow large enough
to feed your family for dinner. 10 inches nose to end of
body (not counting tail) and 3 inches thick is normal for
these fish. At that size they will eat anything that they
can fit in their mouths. A fish that size must have a
much, much, larger tank than you have now. One around
100 gallons would be fine. Yes they start out small, but
they don't stay that way, and if they survive, they will
be stunted in their growth. Remember, they did not get
their name "Tiger" just because of their good looks!

Honestly, you need to back off, and really should start
over. Take the fish back to your Local Fish Store (LFS)
or give them to a friend who already has a setup
and running tank with no problems, and then read
through the various Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) and
then start anew with smaller fish and more hardy fish
that can live through the rigors of starting the Nitrogen
Cycle. You really, kind of, jumped into the deep end of
the pool.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Im thinking about getting a freshwater master test kit, but is that all that comes with the kit, the stuff to test the water for specific things. Or does the kits also come with the stuff to rid the ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and lower pH levels?

No they dont,your paying purely for a chemical measuring system, but you will need to know at least your ammonia nitrite and nitrate readings, without them you wont know if your tank is a death trap or not, or be able establish a reliable maintenance regimen of water changes based on any qualititive judgement.

Chemical control for ammonia and nitrite is unecessary, since you just keep the level low with periodic water changes, and many products that are designed to calm the worst effects often prolong the cycle making the exposures of ammonia and nitrite even longer, in effect sometimes actually making things worse for the fish. Such chemicals are for emergencies only, and even then, not to be over-used.

Nitrate control is expensive, and while nitrate reactors, and RO filters and others are available they are usually far too expensive to consider for a smallish tank like yours. Nitrate is kept low by the completely unavoidable water changes that you should be doing weekly after the cycle has completed, and for the life of the aquarium. 20% of water changed out per week is about right for a tank with average stocking.

As the others stated, dont even consider going near the parrot cichlids or oscars yet, your not close to ready. The parrot cichlids grow to the size of a cooking apple and will need a tank twice the size of yours, plus they will need a quality of water excellence you are not used to providing, nor will be for quite a while.

Oscars will need a tank at least four times larger than yours, are e to diseases you have no experience of, plus they will treat your other fish as paltry bar snacks.They would also kill the parrot cichlids, and they usually fight among themselves, often lethally, and you have to be in a position to be able to seperate them even when you do finally have a big enough tank and experience.They require massive filtration too,are you ready to shell out $200 plus for a filter yet, perform 40 gallons of water changes per week, and offer them the most varied diet possible,including live, pellet, cichlid formula and meaty foods?

Don't do it. Ask questions here, read a few good fishcare books, whatever, but dont buy more fish yet.

Pull right back, do the reading, and then choose again.

Ok so those fish are out of the question then. What kind of fish would you guys suggest? I like the small sharks. Is there any sharks that would be ideal for my tank?

And today I took out %50 of the water and added new water and added the proper amount of water conditioner.

Ok couple of things, why did you swapout 50%? Thats rather a lot and could destabilise a recently cycled tank.

Next, sharks are not usually small, often get territorial and may eat or damage small fish, especially when they go ballistic at night.

Might I suggest the first two things you need to buy are a test kit and use it, and a good fish book, and read it , and cool off about more fish. Get the tank nice and steady, give it time, and increase your knowledge. You buy fish now you might just kill them. Check that, probably will kill them. You need to learn about species, aggression, territory, diet, and obviously size. Theres no shortcuts to this, at least read the info in the fishprofiles. You dont really want fish in that tank with a body length of over 4 inches, and much smaller would be more humane as regards room to move.

New fish comes last.