NOOB!! Given wrong info to buy fish.

Mazdamarc

OK i have already messed up but untill i get the money to get a bigger tank im stuck. i was given a 20gal fish tank i bought a submergable heater,filter and bubble bar. i didnt start the tank right i knew nothing about cycleing a tank so i didn't do it. OK i have two Oscars and one catfish in the tank i was given wrong info to buy them because i didn't know that they grew so big now i know they do i will not be able to get a bigger tank until later. I test the water daily and for ph,nitrite,nitrate,hardness, and alkalinity with the 5 way test strips.

Angel079

Hi there & Welcome to the forum!

Bring the Oscar's back!?
Sell 'em on aquabid?
Buy a used tank (a VERY big tank)?

Do you have any high NO2/3 readings yet? You'll be needing to do a lot water exchanges till that's properly cycled now, sorry to tell ya.

CamryDS

please tell me you didn't buy it from a petsmart or anything of the kind. I walked in one night and an old lady said that we needed 48 hours to properly cycle a fish tank. my head spun.... and I thought 48 hours only!? wow -- more like 4 weeks!

Angel079

yea they do indeed have some "good advise" there don't they!?

aunt kymmie

Hi Mazdamarc- Welcome to the forum! If I were you (and I'm not) I'd go with Angel079's first suggestion and take the fish back. If the store protests I'd be very insistent!
I'm sorry you were given such poor information on your first foray into fishkeeping.

SinCrisis

I would suggest more research on your part also Mazdamarc. Its unfortunate that pet stores have uneducated staff, but its also up to the hobbyist to do their own research before jumping in. There is also the option of trading the fish with other people in your area.

Mazdamarc

OK bad news i woke up today and my small Oscar and cat fish was dead. Is there anything that could cause them to suddenly die like that?? i know its bad on my part for not doing my home work. So now i only have my bigger Oscar about 3.5 in. What do i need to do to the water to make sure everything is right??

Angel079

Test your water strait away, bet your nitrit & nitrate are too high. If so do a large water exchange strait away to rescue the remaining fish.

Mazdamarc

nitrite-0
nitrate-0
total alkalinity-40
ph-6.2

anything else i need to do?? when i do a water change should i take out the fish/ add the water and conditioner then put the fish back in?

Angel079

No ammonia, nothing, how odd...
Then the only other thing I could think of is that your remaining Oscar crewed up the other 2...

No, you leave the fish where he's at. Just suck some water out into a bucket, dump it, refill bucket with clean water & the conditioner and add it to the tank (slow don't dump all in 2 sec).