How soon after a 50% water change can I add new fish? Are particles safe for fish during gravel cleaning?

Question

I have a 55 gallon with 3 2" cichlids, 1 6" jack demsey, an algae eater, and a narrow black fish, don't know what it is but he has a hammerhead and my son calls him a shark, but he's not the typical silver type mini shark. He's 5" --> anyone know what he might be called?.

I have few fish & I haven't done a water change in quite a while -- about 10 months. We have very hard water so I know the water gets harder if you don't do water changes and just keep topping off the tank, however, all of the fish were happy anyway & I had no fatalities.

(1) I did a half tank water change 2 days ago. How soon can I add new fish?

(2) While vacuumming the gravel, as you can imagine, tons of particles fog the tank during my cleaning. I felt really bad. Is this bad for this fish? Is it hard for them to breathe?

(3) Is it normal for fish to open and close there mouth inside the tank? I never noticed but am nervous

(4) Can I add Oscars to my cichlid/jjack demsey tank?

We have hard well water. (no chlorine)

Answer 1

I would not add a Oscar for when a Oscar reaches it's adult size it needs at least 55 gallons by itself as far as when can you add fish you can do it now as long as the tank is cycled just leave the new fish floating in the bag in the aquarium for 1 hr. so that they can adjust to the water temp or quarantine them first in case they are sick and as far as the water changes it depends on the size of the tank and how many fish and how hardy they are I would recommend a 50-70% water change weekly or at least every other week by the way how is the parameters and how often do you check them?

Answer 2

Do not add an oscar, oscars need a 55 gallon to themselves minimum because they're messy and grow so large. I wouldn't add any fish to your tank, especially if you're not going to maintain it properly. This is probably falling on deaf ears, but you really should do weekly water changes, about 20%, or at the very least every 2 weeks of about 35%. That would avoid the particles and other junk floating around fogging the fish tank, and maintain all around normal levels.

As far as the black fish, is it this?
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=1083

Answer 3

okay here goes:

1.) tanks need to be vacuumed once a month. fish produce ammonia as waste, which is toxic to the fish. bacteria in the water transforms the ammonium into nitrates and nitrites, which isn't as toxic but still not good. the only way to remove this chemical is by vacuuming the tank. since you did the 50% water change just two days ago, i think that's too soon to add new fish. your best bet would be to take a sample of water from the tank to your local pet store (like petsmart) they do free water testing. they will tell you if it's okay to add new fish.

2.)it is hard for the fish to breathe with the particles moving around the tank. but they should settle out with normal filtration. there's also chemicals you can buy and put in the tank that make the particles bond together and precipitate out to the bottom of the tank. but i'm really not an advocate for putting more chemicals in your tank than neccessary. besides, chemicals alter the pH of the water, and this stresses the fish.

3.) yes, fish will open and close their mouths. did you notice this after you did the water change? it could be because of the fine particles in the water. also, do you have a bubbler in the tank? that might help aerate the water and help them breathe.

4.) NO you cannot put oscars in with the other fish. oscars are south american cichilds, which it sounds like you already have, but they are very aggressive, eat other fish, and grow very fast. they will soon outgrow all the other fish and if they haven't already killed the smaller guys, they will eat them.

i hope this has helped. good luck! :)

Answer 4

What kind of filter do you have on your aquarium?

You should do water changes every 7 days to the tune of about 10 gallons each time, and add appropriate Dechlorinating Water Conditioner.

I would hold off on adding more fish at this point, and I would definitely recommend for you to get your own water testing kit (so you can check on a daily basis what the Ammonia, Nitrites, pH/kH/gH are looking like).

Good luck!

Answer 5

Use dechlorinating water conditioner to make faucet water secure for fish. you will get it at exceptionally much any puppy save. it is not a terrific thought to boil the gravel out of your fish tank. in case you do so, you will kill most of the useful micro organism interior the tank, by way of fact the gravel is the place maximum of them stay. If the gravel is extremely grimy, in simple terms rinse it in a bucket with water which you have remote from the tank. Then replace the water you bumped off with the recent water from the sink, to which you have added the water conditioner.

Answer 6

you can addd new fish after 24 hours or instantly if you use water clorinator. particles wont hurt them try using insta clear. about 3 bucks at walmart and makes water crystal clear in 2 hours. can be added while fish are in tank. also keeping light on 24/7 causes algae build up.