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Do I need a bit of a restock?

2K views 8 replies 3 participants last post by  samnoname2010 
#1 ·
Hello yall =D
Recently I'm afraid my fishtank has rather fallen into disrepair.., but now i have cleaned it out and re-landscaped it and everything, but i now only have 5 fish, whereas before i had 10, before i had two hill stream loaches, a Banjo catfish, three marbles hatchet fish and five tetras of wich i have forgotten the exact species :oops:, now i have 2 marbles hatchet fish, two hill stream loaches and one of the tetras, do you reckon i need a restock?, and if so what do you reckon i should get and how many?
thanks for any help, yours sincerely, me =D
 
#2 ·
To properly assist you it would be helpful to know
1) What's your tank size?
2) What's your water parameters (pH and KH)?
 
#3 ·
errm its 40 litres/9 gallons, and it is 60cmx30cmx30cm, and i don't know the water parameters at the moment, i need to get a new test kit, but I'm going to the fish shop later on in the week so I'll pick on up them (y)
 
#4 ·
The hatchets and tetras (whatever they are/were) need to be in a group to be free of stress and healthy; six is a good number as you have a small tank. But you need to decide if you want those fish or something else. If you like the hatchets, add 4 more. If the tetras are small (as adult) you could add 5 more. That would be the limit for a 10g (40 litre) tank. If you want to change fish then don't obviously buy more of what you have; perhaps the fish store will exchange. All characins must be in groups. The water parameters also come into this, that may be why you lost the others. These fish do not like hard water. We can help more when we know the pH and hardness.
 
#8 ·
Water conditioner does not affect water hardness; it removes/detoxifies chlorine and chloramine, possibly ammonia (depending upon the brand, some do and some don't) and detoxifies heavy metals but this does not include calcium and magnesium which are the minerals that make water hard.

I do not recommend using chemicals other than a good water conditioner. Tetra Easy Balance I most strongly do not recommend. Such products should never be necessary. They are chemicals, they effect the natural biology of an aquarium, and all of this means more stress on the fish. If you read the blurb on their website (at the link) you will see all the effects this supposedly has, and in my opinion this is not good. An aquarium should be allowed to settle into its own biological balance.

http://www.tetra-fish.com/sites/tetrafish/catalog/productdetail.aspx?id=110&cid=74

If your water is hard and alkaline, which it sounds like from your comments, this stuff shouldn't have as much imact on fluctuating pH and hardness (which is worse than a steady pH and hardness even if outside the preferred range for the fish) but it is still not necessary. I recommend you not use it again. A good water conditioner is necessary and all-sufficient.

The water change itself would not cause the death of the fish, but the change or increase in water hardness and alkalinity (pH) resulting from that change could and probably did. I've assumed all along that the tank is old enough to be cycled (2 months or more?). Let's get those numbers (the fish store will do water tests, but get the numbers from them) and we'll proceed.
 
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