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Hey - can someone reccommend a good, inexpensive gravel vac?

It's 5 PM here, so another 12 hours or so.

Did you ever put salt in your tank? Its just that fungus doesnt usually turn green, saprolegnia is white, although its possible necrotic flesh under the infection might get a greenish hue, but the flesh would be literally falling off by then. Angels react by getting green or brown patches when exposed to high levels of salt for too long, they can be a bit salt intolerant.

BTW , its perfectly fine to feed your fish many times a day, feeding 3 times a day is actually a good thing to do, but you must control the amount carefully so as not to overfeed. Most fish benefit from being fed more than once a day, its actually something that could be considered a finer point of fishkeeping, but you must only give them in total the same as you would in one big feed. Think of it as breaking the portions up to help digestion. Its particularly useful for young or small fish, fish with swim bladder issues, and other sick fish. Little and often is a good thing!

ps, whats the other readings ie: the nitrite and nitrate?


As for the gravel vac , cheap and cheerful will probably do they are all much of a muchness, but make sure you choose one the right size for your tank capacity, ie not too slow to make cleaning last ages, or so big that it empties out too much water before you get the cleaning done.

ps a 16 gal is far too small for angels.Unless babies they should really be in a 30 gal, and preferably a tall 55.

Can you post a pic of the remaining angel, I could probably diagnose it on sight quite easily.


Ive used melafix many times before and it doesnt kill the filter bacteria unless you completely overuse it, in that regard its much safer than most other meds. Unfortunately is not as reliable as a cure as other meds either.


Should the cause not be salt poisoning, and since the water quality is most likely downright toxic, theres a good chance of the patches being a complication based on the fungi and bacteria that cause fungus and finrot. Try getting some meds for this asap, because there is a good chance your other fish will be affected too, even though they may not be showing symptoms yet.The tank will need 30% water changes every three days for three occassions and then probably about 25% every week after that, and you should think about rehoming the remaining angel, you simply cant care for it in that tank. I suspect the tank will be cycled, but its just overloaded, the bacteria in the water are taking advantage of the food leftovers that the filter cant possibly handle. You should be gravel vaccuuming with every water change, and they should be weekly.

I know everyone is eager to help and everything, but can we hold off on the caps statements, especially when they arent correct? Pretty please?

How long has this tank been setup? Is it even cycled? That would add a big problem along with the overstocking and overfeeding. You can feed more than once a day but you'd need to feed tons less than you are now. About half what your giving at one feeding is probably all they need daily. At that size most of those fish only need a couple flakes each depending on the size of the flakes. A few mouthfuls and a fish will survive just fine but they never really seem to feel full. They just continue to eat and eat for as long as your willing to stand there feeding them. Well feed fish can also go weeks with no food and be completely healthy.

Most of the fish you mentioned like angels and gouramis would do best with a tank of 29-30g or larger. My angel actually looked a bit ridiculous in a 29g when he got close to fully grown. They get to be very tall fish. Most of the common gouramis are also best off in a tank at least that size and for multiple gouramis or angels you'd be better off with a 55g. That will pose problems in the future if the angel recovers and you don't get a bigger tank.

Well, since 5 PM, the situation has changed. All fish are erratic. The livebearers are racing to the top, shimming down, and back again. I'm really discouraged, and feel like I screwed up bad. I waited 3 weeks before adding fish. I'll try and take a picture.

I waited 3 weeks before adding fish

If there were 0 fish in the tank and you weren't adding any ammonia then waiting 3 weeks before adding fish is pointless. The nitrogen cycle gets started by bacteria that turn ammonia into nitrite but if there's no source of ammonia then nothing is going to happen at all. If you added all your fish at once plus the overfeeding it sounds like a very big ammonia spike.

Ok. Just keep in mind that I'm a complete novice here. Feeling more guilty by the moment.

Its ok, a lot of people have a hard time understanding how everything works at first. Get yourself a good test kit so you can find out exactly whats going on in the water(ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH). It sounds like a good water change might do you a lot of good. If the fish seem like they're doing better then that might just be your cycle turning everything a little less hazardous.

Also, in regards to pH: It is possible to have negative pH as well as pH above 14. Very concentrated HCl has a pH of about -1 and concentrated NaOH can have a pH near 15. Nothing restricts pH to being between 1 and 14 its just that 99% of the time it lands in that range and pretty much anything naturally occurring will be between 1 and 14. Although I am positive you have not produced such conditions in your home aquarium, your fish would have been dead a long time ago.

You dont have to feel so guilty, allmost all beginners make some sort of mistake when starting their first tanks, and even more experienced fish keepers make some mistakes that ultimatly cost them some fish, what matters is that we learn from our mistakes and endevour not to repeat them.

What is your aeration and filtration situation ?

That cloudyness you spoke of, If it is in fact a bacterial bloom, may be consuming the oxygen in the tank faster than it is being replaced.

Oxygen levels are not usually a problem in an average fishtank, however many people under estimate the amount of oxygen a bacterial bloom can consume, in fact if you do indeed have a bacterial bloom I would suspect that the bacterial bloom is consuming more oxygen than the fish are.

Low dissolved oxygen levels would certainly explain the death of your angelfish and the other fish gasping and continually moving to the surface of the water in search of more oxygen rich water.

Water at the surface is naturally higher in oxygen than the water at the bottom, where possible the water from the bottom of the aquarium should be moved to the surface or viceversa.

This can be simply acheived by using an airstone, but is more effective if the airstone is located in a plastic tube that reaches from the bottom of the tank to the surface of the water column, the air needs to be going as fast as you can get it, as in effect this method uses the airflow itself to drive the lower oxygen water through the tube returning it to the surface with a higher oxygen concentration.

I hope somebody can identify your green fuzz and find a remedy in time to save your fish.

GT

Ask what you will, silly questions are easier to deal with than silly mistakes.

Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

They are still alive this AM! What a night. I'm going first thing as soon as the LFS opens

Jake as you have found out that 3 weeks with no load on the water the tank wasn't cycled but now that you have fish in it you need to protect them.

First get your test kit
Second get cycle or biosphere additive.
Third do a 20% Water change ASAP this will help. Don't put you buck away you will need them tomorrow or the next day.
Forth Add the cycle or biosphere> This is just to help the cycling along it will not eliminate the time. Maybe shorten it by 10 days.
Fifth add a air stone you must increase the oxygen in the tank
Six check you water again, it will be lower but not perfect.
Seventh get up in the morning check it again, go to work come home check it again. when the levels are dangerous again change the water 20%. No Lie you may have to change the water everyday for a week or so.

Keep adding the cycle make sure you shake the bottle first.
Add it to you filter if possible so that it get in your bio-filter for sure.

Good luck, You are not the first and you will not be the last person to do this. They have a name for it call new tank syndrome. A good cycle tanks 6 to 8 weeks and then every time you add fish it will do a mini-cycle. research it on the web to get a better understand or look here I'm sure there has been an article on it.

Djrichie
"Don't Panic"

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Okeedokee. I posted this somewhere else though, messed up. Here is the second check of the day:

Ok, here are the levels.

Amonia - 2.0 ish - which is significantly down from this AM.

Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: .5
GH (hardness): between hard and very hard (what to do?)
Chlorine: 0
KH: 120 (it says ideal)
PH: Between 7.8 and 8.4 - (Again, what to do?)

Fish seem hungry, but per LFS guy, I'm doing one flake per fish. Is that right?

I hear you about the angel fish. If he doesn't kick it, I'll give him away. Since the LFS knows about the tank problems, they are not likely to take him back.

Gourami - it's a dwarf. No worries there.

Again, thanks so much. Another day of fish trauma!!

You need to do a very fast water change. Do a 30% to start also is your tank near a window or how long do you leave the light's on? Try not to give the tank any light for to day's clean your gravel but not all at once just spot's of it that way your tank wont go into a cycle. You do have to meany fish for that tank the is even to small for 2 angel's if they grow large. What kind are they kio angel's or another kind. In my 55 gal I have 5 angel fish in my 30 I have 2 In my 40 I have 2 pair divided from each other. All my live bear's are in there own tank.How long has it been since you cleaned the gravel? And how long have you had the tank up and runing? For the gravel cleaning lol you get what you pay for we bought what they call the python it is grate cleans and fill's the tank just hook's up to the tap.If I were you I would bye a master test kit there drop's you use and very good.

edith