Child’s first fish(es)
Discussion
Caddyshack said:
You cannot really stir up any toxins with a gravel cleaner....
Poor choice of words. Maybe not toxins as such but maybe pollutants?Although the filter in the gravel vacuum caught a lot of crud the water turned rather brownish after the gravel had been disturbed which I know is entirely to be expected. I just don’t think Marshmallow and Grace appreciated it.
Algae-eating shrimps.....any good? Think they’d be an entertaining and interesting addition.
So it’s been an up and down couple of weeks.
Took a gamble and introduced two new platys to replace the two that gave up.
Didn’t want to get in to a “It’s ok, we’ll just get some more” without getting to the bottom of the problem and at the same time didn’t want to just quit.
All was well. The ammonia level was up a bit so I did a hefty water change followed by increased frequency of regular water changes.
Worked a treat. The water cleared, the green fuzz reduced and the fish were more active.
This reignited CKFJnr’s interest.....so much so she dumped literally a fist full of food in the tank when we weren't looking
All three have become reclusive again, the water’s cloudy and it turns green overnight.
Nothing’s died yet. Just coaxing it all back to normality again.
The shrimps have thrived. Doubled in size in a fortnight.
Took a gamble and introduced two new platys to replace the two that gave up.
Didn’t want to get in to a “It’s ok, we’ll just get some more” without getting to the bottom of the problem and at the same time didn’t want to just quit.
All was well. The ammonia level was up a bit so I did a hefty water change followed by increased frequency of regular water changes.
Worked a treat. The water cleared, the green fuzz reduced and the fish were more active.
This reignited CKFJnr’s interest.....so much so she dumped literally a fist full of food in the tank when we weren't looking
All three have become reclusive again, the water’s cloudy and it turns green overnight.
Nothing’s died yet. Just coaxing it all back to normality again.
The shrimps have thrived. Doubled in size in a fortnight.
The tank is an admittedly small 35L self-contained Fluval jobby with a false back hiding all the built-in filtration.
Granted it’s all dependent on how many actual fish are in the tank, but I’d like to think they designed it such that self-contained is just that.
I have cleaned the filter elements and renewed the sacrificial bits. It has a combination of a foam filter with changeable ceramic and activated charcoal elements set in it.
Did another 25% water change this morning which has sent them all in to hiding (which is normal TBH)
Granted it’s all dependent on how many actual fish are in the tank, but I’d like to think they designed it such that self-contained is just that.
I have cleaned the filter elements and renewed the sacrificial bits. It has a combination of a foam filter with changeable ceramic and activated charcoal elements set in it.
Did another 25% water change this morning which has sent them all in to hiding (which is normal TBH)
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 24th October 12:12
that's clearly going to be an issue in most any tank]
So after this morning’s water change and general clean the fish have become the most reclusive and inactive I’ve ever seen them other than when they’re dead.
Literally sitting on the gravel barely flexing their fins, or hiding so far under the rocks in the tank that they’re all but buried. Needless to say, CFK Jnr has lost all interest because, basically, all we’ve got is an empty tank with a rock and some plants in it.
The more I try to sort things out the worse they get.
If they’re dead in the morning there’ll be an aquarium on eBay.
Bored now and am simply throwing money at the problem. Just seem to be flinging miracle cure after miracle cure in to the water with questionable effect.
Shouldn’t be this difficult or demanding.
Thanks for all the tips and advice. Regret to say none of it has really worked.
Literally sitting on the gravel barely flexing their fins, or hiding so far under the rocks in the tank that they’re all but buried. Needless to say, CFK Jnr has lost all interest because, basically, all we’ve got is an empty tank with a rock and some plants in it.
The more I try to sort things out the worse they get.
If they’re dead in the morning there’ll be an aquarium on eBay.
Bored now and am simply throwing money at the problem. Just seem to be flinging miracle cure after miracle cure in to the water with questionable effect.
Shouldn’t be this difficult or demanding.
Thanks for all the tips and advice. Regret to say none of it has really worked.
Edited by anonymous-user on Thursday 24th October 19:24
The shrimp are loving it. In fact, they’re the one success story in all this.
Nitrates and nitrites repeatedly come back as near-zero.
Oxygenation is good with moving water and bubbles etc.
Ph tested high a couple of days ago but nothing seems to change that.
Did a 1/3 water change a dew days ago, followed by 1/4 changes every other day.
Like I’ve said before, the harder I work to remedy things the worse they get.
Can’t deny it’s been one big disappointment and just a massive source of hassle now.
Early in the thread someone mentioned that the best thing they ever did was give it all away. Totally get that now.
Nitrates and nitrites repeatedly come back as near-zero.
Oxygenation is good with moving water and bubbles etc.
Ph tested high a couple of days ago but nothing seems to change that.
Did a 1/3 water change a dew days ago, followed by 1/4 changes every other day.
Like I’ve said before, the harder I work to remedy things the worse they get.
Can’t deny it’s been one big disappointment and just a massive source of hassle now.
Early in the thread someone mentioned that the best thing they ever did was give it all away. Totally get that now.
Fish came from a well known superstore type chain which I appreciate will draw mixed reactions but....
I did call in regularly in the weeks/days leading up to purchase to check their stock was ok and not mysteriously changing overnight. And the staff are genuinely helpful and not just after sales as there have been a few “You don’t need to spend money on that” discussions.
They’re as baffled as I am.
I did call in regularly in the weeks/days leading up to purchase to check their stock was ok and not mysteriously changing overnight. And the staff are genuinely helpful and not just after sales as there have been a few “You don’t need to spend money on that” discussions.
They’re as baffled as I am.
Sway said:
Very odd.
I'm now wondering if there's something wrong with them - either internal parasites or disease.
I think that may be quite high up the list.I'm now wondering if there's something wrong with them - either internal parasites or disease.
They just seem weak. The last survivor from the original three just hangs in the water, gently sinking until it’s resting on the gravel. It’ll swim away if provoked (which I’ve resorted to a couple of times just to confirm it’s not dead) but eventually it just sinks again, barely moving and eventually being drawn to the filter intake.
budgie smuggler said:
Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not having a go at you, but the first bit of advice I gave at the top of page 1 was "cycle the tank before adding fish", then the next thing we saw was a picture of the fish in the brand new uncycled tank.
Please don’t take this the wrong way either, but that’s not quite the sequence of events, although it may appear that way on screen.The water was tested (by the retailer) prior to stocking and after maturing for a week, and was deemed suitable and although that may not constitute fully “cycling” the tank it struck me, as a relative beginner, to be sound advice. Yeah I know....they would say that, they want to sell stock but really? For a couple of quid of Platy?
For water testing and prep I’ve used a variety of products. Mostly Fluval and Seachem.
Please don’t suggest any more bottles of anything. The cupboard’s full of them.
budgiesmuggler said:
You have been dealing with problems since then because of that. Like I said I also think the filtration is marginal so any minor errors such as overfeeding are causing problems.
It’s been running for four and a half months now with frequent, high volume water changes, the gravel has been cleaned and the filtration cleaned regularly. I’m afraid I don’t buy it that the severe decline in the fish’s behaviour is still down to the initial set up. If it’s that precarious chances are it would’ve toppled by now anyway, irrespective of how spot on the first fill was or wasn’t.The two replacement fish have been added to what is now a mature tank that’s been cycled multiple times.....Same result.
Regards the filtration, d’you mean marginal in terms of flow or surface area?
Not much I can do really as it’s all integral and built in to the rear of the tank but I’d like to think in doing so they got it at least nearly right.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 25th October 11:50
otolith said:
it's one of those "you don't want to start from where you are" situations.
This hits the nail on the head.I’m beginning to think I might as well bin the lot.....the tank, all the filtration, the decor and the poor bloody fish and start all over again if so inclined.
The water’s been changed numerous times, the gravel and filter have been changed/cleaned....still no improvement so something else, somewhere is still contaminated/polluted/not right.
I’m in the situation now where I’m just throwing time and money at it and hoping something.....anything happens. I’d like a positive reaction but right now any reaction at all would do and there just isn’t any.
Totally false economy hence my increasing despondency.
Regards feeding, they’re getting the aforementioned tiniest pinch once a day.
They dart out from hiding, hoover it up, then dart back out of sight.
I did read on a slightly quirky fish forum about a guy who added a teaspoon of Vodka to his tank to pep the fish up with impressively surprising results apparently.
I’m rapidly approaching that on the basis it can’t make things any worse.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 25th October 12:44
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