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Hey I need some help guys! I just got a new 10 gallon tank! i have it all set up with 2 golden barbs and 2 cherry barbs currently in the tank. It seems good so far. Does anyone have any good advice on what to add to improve a my tank and make me happy? I would appreciate it!

Peter

20 GALLON LONG CURRENTLY EMPTY ~~~~ 10 GALLON W/ STRIPPED CONVICT

HI Peter,

Welcome to Fishprofiles.com

Have you kept fish before? Your post sounds like you're new to the hobby.

If you are new to the hobby, you need to know about New Tank Syndrome. When we add fish to the water, ammonia is created from fish pee, poop, food, and respiration. It builds and a good bacteria grows that eats the ammonia. It is slow growing so ammonia levels can rise to lethal levels in the beginning. What happens next is that this bacteria produces another toxin in new tanks called, nitrIte. A second bacteria grows and consumes the nitrIte and it produces nitrAte, something less toxic and kept at low levels with periodic, partial water changes. Some do them weekly, if they have a max stocked tank. I do mine this way and remove about 20% of the water each saturday, replacing it with same temp, conditioned water.

Were you aware of this? If not, you will want to purchase some bacterial starter, if it did not come with your tank. BioSpira is the best, but harder to find. New and Improved Cycle is easy to find as is Stress Zyme. Fritz Zyme is another one. All of these contain live bacteria - the good kinds.

The object in the end is to have bacterial colonies in your tank that consume ammonia and nitrite as fast as they are consumed. Make sense?

You will want an ammonia, nitrite and nitrate kit to help you understand where you are in your nitrogen cycle. I watched daily until it was done so I would know if I needed to do a partial water change to dilute the toxins. The fish you have are not necessarily hardy to such toxins so that is why you need to dose a bacterial starter.

One thing I will caution you on is to watch your temperatures during water changes. Fish have strong immunity systems - until they are stressed by things like abrupt temperature changes, lights turning on suddenly (always good to have a room light on for 30 minutes prior to tank light and after tank light before darkness).

With temperature, it is easy to bring on an attack of ich or velvet, which are parasites they succumb to when chilled. A good rule of thumb is to match incoming water with the tank temp within +/-1F. In a ten gal it is simple. Store 2-3 jugs of plain tap water, conditioned, and set it in a couple inches of hot water for a few minutes to raise the temp. Give it a good shake after a few minutes and measure it using the tanks thermometer.

Did you let the tank run a good 24 hours or several days prior? What kind of filter do you have on the tank? Got fake plants in there to make them feel secure?

Diane

Last edited by Cory_Di at 01-Jan-2005 00:26

Last edited by Cory_Di at 01-Jan-2005 00:27

Diane!

thanx soo much! i am not so new to this whole tank thing. i have another 10 gallon as well. i have never heard of all this cycle in the 3 months of my starting in about august or september. i will look into this bacterial kit thing though! it was so nice to hear from you. c ya.

20 GALLON LONG CURRENTLY EMPTY ~~~~ 10 GALLON W/ STRIPPED CONVICT

Do so soon as the ammonia started to build the moment you put those fish in there. If you have an established aquarium, you can take a handful of gravel from that tank and scatter it into the new tank. If it is a different type of gravel, put some into a brand new ladies knee-high nylon. If there is room, drop this into the filter reservoir.

Here's more info:

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