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new to the fish keeping

2K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  willow 
#1 ·
Hello, I have a 20 Gallon tankthat my 4 year old duaghter got for the holiday's from her uncle (thanks) for 1 month now I set up the tank added what my brother recmended. I waited 1 week then added 3 zebbra danio's they have done great. Then my father-inlaw brings down 8 neons 2 small white catfish and a sucker fish that is about 3 inches. Now I think way to much to add at once form I have read. But you know how that went in go the fish. 1 1/2 weeks later we lost 6 neons and one cats fish.
I have just got a full test kit and my nitrites are high I have done 3 20% water changes since things started to die. And today I got 2 platty's the store says they are much more resiliat than those neons. My level for today are nitrite 1.0mg/L Nitrate 10 mg/L and Amonia.25mg/L and PH was good . I just got a gravel vacucum and did a 20% water change
I added some salt and some cycle today I think things are going Ok. We will see what happens. ANy help or advise would be great
Thank you
Tonfish :?
 
#4 ·
I hope your daughter took losing the fish well. Your tank looks like it is beginning to end its cycling process. Yes, you did add too many fish too quickly. The tank could not support the additional biological load(fishy waste).

I would recommend changing 5g at a time and no more than 10g. This should be done weekly, as a minimum rule of thumb. Watch doing gravel sweeps. Most of your bacteria bed is located in the gravel, so just be careful.

I would also surmise that the catfish were proboably cories. These are a great fish for the bottom of the tank because they are very active and consume alot of uneaten food. You may want a couple more.

Set up a feeding routine. Maybe 2-3 times per day and no more than the fish will consume in 5 minutes. A maintainence schedule is also mandatory.

Just be patient. It is key in any tank set up.

By the way is your brother/brother-in-law volunteering any labor?
 
#7 ·

i never hurts to test the water,you could even make a little folder for
yourself listing the water results,and the date that you did it,
i did this in the very begining and it was interesting to see
how long the cycle took,it can also make you aware of anything
possibly going wrong.i still test regularly,i just no longer write it down.
 
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