FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Hi guys .. I baught two new fish today, Starting off small with a 5 gallon Hex tank kit, came with a filter, and I also added an air stone. The tank is not cycled just yet.. not sure what kind of fish one of them is.. any ideas? He/she is pretty small, and loves to dart arround the tank pretty fast. Looks neon orange along with some white stripes.. The other fish is a crowntail betta, the guy at the pet shop swore they would get along, and that the size of the tank was ok for both fish.. (not sure if that's exacty true either) I don't want to overstock so these two would be my limit .. and also I have a question about if one of them dies, do I have to start over and scrub the whole tank down and waite for it to cycle again? Or should I just do a 25 or 50% watter change? I'm not quit sure about that .. Thanks so much !! Here is a link!!

http://s216.photobucket.com/albums/cc8/nikoletaxoxo/new%20orange%20fish/?action=view&current=untitled.png

Looks like a dyed zebra danio.

Basically they take a zebra danio, dip it in acid (you know, the stuff that has warning labels on it not to get it on your skin) then dip it in a dye, and sell it for a whopping profit.
The alternative process is similar to tattooing and done on larger fish, imagine getting a tattoo done with a pencil.

Ok about your tank and how to care for the fish you already have (please dont buy any more of the dyed danios, get regular danios instead).

A 5 gallon hex tank is really really small. Hex tanks are even smaller to stock than a 5 gallon rectangualr tank because they have a smaller surface area which is where the water in the tank exchanges gasses with the air in the room at the surface. Adding that airstone will help a little, but not much.

You said your tank is not fully cycled yet, it's dangerous to add fish before a tank is cycled and may kill the fish you have. Here is a FAQ on cycling<<<<please read it!
Any questions after reading it please ask, we can help you and your fish through it. If you don't already have one, get a master test kit. At the very least buy liquid kits for ammonia nitrIte and nitrAte. Those are the main three used in the cycling process and the liquid tests are usually a lot easier to read than the paper dip strips.

No you won't have to scrub down the tank and start over if your fish dies from the cycling process, but it's cruel so we try and prevent it. There are biological additives you can buy and add to the tank, they help 'jump start' the cycling process. I've used Hagen Cycle in the past myself. Keep the air stone running to help circulate the water and exchange gasses at the surface. It doesn't actually put oxygen in the water, instead it allows there to be more surface area for the water and air to exchange. Depending on the style of the filter you can also lower the water level so that it splashes on the surface more doing the same thing.

Did the tank come with a heater? One of the most important things with keeping fish is to keep the tank at a stable temperature, this is why we use heaters. It's to raise the temperature when the room temperature drops too much to prevent rapid fluctuations. Smaller tanks will change their temperature much more rapidly than larger tanks. Depending on how much difference there is between your tank temperature and house temperature a 5-10 watt heater should work. Sudden drops in temperature can cause a disease called Ich (looks like little grains of salt on the fish). Prolonged and drastic drops in temperature in addition to Ich can cause the bacteria in your tank that you spent so long cultivating during the cycling process to die off.


Now, about your fish. Danios are schooling fish and fairly active. However your tank is way too small to have a school of them, they get to around 3" long though I have seen larger. Your tank will likely stunt them (which is not a good thing, look up Chinese foot binding ).
Danios are generally pretty peaceful, but they can be nippy, and a betta has lovely long fins to nip at. It really will all come down to the temperament of the two of them. Personally I say that the best option is to keep the betta in the 5gallon and get a 20 gallon or larger tank setup going for the danio, that way you can keep a proper school of them, say 5-6, and get some other fish like small corys, or rasporas and some plants.

I've moved your thread over to general freshwater where it should get a little more attention. Any questions just let us know, welcome to the site



^_^

Hello! Thanks for all your Help!! And thank you for welcoming me to the site, I havn't been on here in a while! I didn't even realize that this fish was dyed how creul!! Yess I do have a master test kit it's the one that comes with the different test tubes... I also have the stress coat for water changes. I do not however have a heater, I definitely have to get that, and the filter is a Biowheel.. Yes I do want to purchase a bigger tank soon, I also saw a link to cycling a fishless tank using amonia the other day, I will try that with my new tank! These two fish seem to be getting along fine, I did however see the betta try to attack him a few times today, thaught that was alittle odd since I've had them for a week now, and they seemed fine up until today.. So if one of these fish happens to die do I perform a water change, if so how much, would 25% be efficient ? Thanks again for all your help!!

It's not dyed, it's genetically modified. It's a glofish. Which is still a zebra danio, so what was said about their schooling habits and whatnot is still true. Just not the part about being dipped in acid (although some fish are dyed like that, and you'll want to be aware of that when you go to purchase fish). This fish was made in a lab where DNA from something else (jellyfish, I think) are spliced into theirs to make them that color.

><>

Glowfish! I totally forgot about them!! !
We lucked out there! But there are plenty of shops that sell dyed fish, usually they're called slightly odd names, and usually you can tell. Especially if they're in a tank with or next to a standard fish. For instance white skirt or black skirt tetras may be in a tank right next to pink and blue skirt tetras. The pink and blue just being acid dipped varieties of the white and black. A little research before hand can end up being very valuable.


Once you have an established tank you usually don't need to worry too much about doing a fishless cycle (ammonia cycle) but you can if you wish. If you have a fully cycled tank it's just a matter of running the new filter on the old tank till the sponges or wheel get a full colony of bacteria then moving it over to the new tank (possibly with some substrate or decor which also has the bacteria on it) then slowly stocking the new tank.

If one of them does expire, it will depend on how soon you notice how much water you need to change 20-25% should be enough considering they're both small fish. But if you're away for the weekend and they've been decomposing for longer you may need a bit more of a water change. I'd suggest doing the 20% then retesting the water to see if levels are low, wait a few hours and see how the remaining fish is acting. If it's at the surface gasping for air excessively it may be time to do another 20%. Keep in mind of course that a betta being a surface breather will be at the surface breathing, but you can usually tell a difference if you watch closely.

So long as the room the fish are in keeps a constant temperature it will be ok till you get a heater. I'd not use the light (since even a fluorescent can heat the water) till you do get one.

Adding a few more live plants like java fern tied to a piece of driftwood will help give them their own spot to hang out. It can also reduce the effects of cycling since plants will use up the ammonia the fish put out.
I noticed you do have some plastic plants, some look like they may rip at your bettas fins if he gets caught up in them, so just keep an eye on that.

I suppose it's welcome back then! I hadn't noticed your sign up date.

^_^

My Betta ended up having Ick. I ran to the store to get him some medicine, and bye the time I got back home, he was a gonner! Any who I still treated the tank with API Super Ick Cure since my glow fish is still swimming arround in there, although he/she has no signs of Ick..

On a happier note I purchased an Aqueon 20 gallon Deluxe fish tank kit!! I am soo excited about it !! It is 24"L x 13"W x 17"H ... came with a Quiet flow power filter, fluorescent light, submersible heater (which I may buy a different one, since there isn't a temperature setting on it, just a plus and minus knob .. and I'm also going to get a beter thermometer, the one it came with is more like a sticker ..I baught gravel, and fake plants and an air stone for areation. It's pretty much all set up since yesturday.. anywho my question is do you think my whisper 10 (120 volt) air pump is efficient for this 20 gallon tank? I'm thinking of purchasing a different air pump, and I'm cycling the tank before I add any fish . I treated the tank with API Stress Zyme Plus to help jump start the cycling process .. (I also have stress coat too but havn't added it in just yet, since there are no fish in the tank) When I do add fish, should I be using both products? And how often should I be performing water changes, along with cleaning the filter and gravel? Once a week at 25%? I'm not so sure.. also I'm not sure on how often to change the carbon filter cartridge Is it every 4-6 weeks?

My glow fish is still swimming arround in the 5 gallon tank that has been treated w/ Ick medicine (api super ick cure) I'm thinking of waiting till tomorrow (48) hours before puting him in the 20 gallon, but he doesn't have Ick at all .. not sure if I can just throw him in the 20 gallon as is or not? I'm worried about cantaminating my new tank .. I'm thinking of maybe waiting untill it's cycled, but I'm not even sure if the 5 gallon is even cycled at this point, I havn't tested the water since I got it 2 or 3 weeks ago or so.....

And also I am debating weather or not to go salt water on this one?? lolol can my glow fish live in a salt water enviornment? Probably not .. lol !! I would have to reaserch that lol !! How about Angel fish? is a 20 gallon big enough? also do you have any suggestions as to links or websites that describe what types of fish are compatible with one another?
~ Thanks for all your help !!

Ok so I've decided to stick to a Fresh water since I am pretty much a biginner at this. And I added my glow fish into the 20g tank yesturday! He seems very happy in there! And no signs of Ick at all .

Sounds like a good plan, saltwater is a whole other ballgame, and no the fish can't switch back and forth!

Glad the ich cleared up, sorry you lost the betta. Do keep an eye on the tank for the ich returning. It can appear to be gone but that's just part of the life cycle of the parasite. Ich is always present, so it's best to wait. At this point just keep a very close eye on it.

The heater should be fine. Even with a +,- reading all you need to do is get the temp to the temperature you want it at and leave it there. Only turn a very small amount each day and verify 12 hours later what the temperature is. Floating glass thermometers are the best, those sticky ones on the outside of the tank I have my suspicions of.


The airpump should be fine. It all depends. Pop an airstone in and see if it is strong enough get bubbles out.


Weekly you should change about 20% of the water, and clean (gravel vac all the way down to the bottom glass and wait till the water in the tube runs clear of any waste build up) about 1/3rd of the substrate. Visually divide your tank into three sections and only do one each week, this lets the bacteria that you've been working hard to grow stay in the tank and not risk losing too much of it during the water change. When cleaning your filter media (sponges or floss) only do one if you're running two sponges. Same if you're running sponge and floss or carbon (or all three). Only squish/ rinse one out a week into the water that you've taken out of the tank (never use tap water!). Then that water can be put on plants in the garden. They'll love it! Pretty sure you'll need to continue using both, though once you've cycled the tank stress zyme plus can be used once a month or every other week. It's simply boosting bacteria numbers, but the fish are doing that anyway. Some people add it regularly, others only if they've treated the tank with medication or added new fish (both can send the bacterial load out of balance). Personally I'm not a fan of stress coat, I don't like the idea of adding aloe to a tank (it rots causing a spike in ammonia causing the bio load to go weird) and almost never use it. Any quality tap water conditioner is fine. Check for ones that remove chlorine and chloramine. Most these days also will mention the heavy metals. Keep the stress coat on hand or use it till you get a new conditioner though, not using a conditioner is not a good idea. You always need to use something to remove chlorine (and chloramine if your water supply uses it, most these days do)

Check out the profiles link at the top of the page ^^^ for info on compatibility. It's a very basic compatibility estimator though, you will have to use a great deal of common sense. Post up here or start another thread in general once you've got some ideas of what fish you'd like to try.


HTH!


^_^

Thank you sooooo much for all your help!! I so appreciate it! I am loving this fish tank! My glowfish loves to play in the air bubbles. I ended up buying a 20 gallon air pump seems to be very strong with pushing out the bubbles (verses the 10 gallon pump I had prior)...

~ I scrubbed down the 5 gallon with very hot water and cleaned it all out, I hope that was sterile enough, I'm not going to be using it at this point as an aquarium any way. I was just wondering what the propper way was to clean out an old aquarium? I didn't use any soap in hopes to not contaminate it with any harsh cleaners, as of now I am using it as a bucket for my water changes!

~ My heater has been keeping a stedy temp at 78 degrees (fahrenheit) I baught a new one w/ a dial on it ... although it's been getting realy hot out .. I'm worried about the shooting temperature today it went up to 82 degrees fahrenheit ... Not sure what I can do about that as of now I don't have an air conditioner in my room.


~ Yess! I purchassed API tap water conditioner that helps dechlorinate the water/ removes chlorine, chloramines and detoxifies heavy metals.. Everytime I do a 20% weekly water change (I threw out the Stress Coat) I'm also using Stess Zyme Plus (helps improve the development of the biological filter, as well as cleaning a dirty aquarium. It breaks down Organic Compounds that can cause dangerous conditions such as Ammonia and Nitrite poisoning and low oxygen levels)

~ * Any Idea as to when I should test the water?? I usually test it once a week, right after a water change .. Not sure if it maters or not, Or if thats the correct time to be testing it..

~ I do have a question about the carbon filter cartridge also, this unit only comes with one, I have been rinsing that one out (with the tank water) once a week along with cleaning 1/3 of the gravel. How ofteen should I change the cartridge? Once a month? Yes I have a gravel vac and I love it

~ And also How do I measure how long a fish is? Do I go by the length from the tip of the head to end of fins? Or just the body of the fish? I have no clue ... lol !!
I know I'm filled with questions!! hahah!

~ And also I'm looking into adding plants into my tank, that require low lighting .. Do I need to buy food, or fertilizers for the plants? The guy at the pet store said I have to make sure my tank is cycled before I buy any plants which I'm sure bye now it is, results are as follows as of 5/26/12

PH: 7.4
Amonia: 1.0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Temperature: 80 degerees Fahrenheit (was hot today)

Again Thank you so much for all your help! I sooo do apprecitate it!!!

Messing with the genes of a natural species to create a pink wonderfish is just as bad as dipping them in Acid in some peoples opinion.