help me TANK EMERGENCY! please?

Question

i disenfected my 5 gallon aquarium today with vinegar (red wine vinegar) some sea salt non iodized and bottled water. i spent 10 minutes making sure i got EVERYTHING out. i want to transfer my new african dwarf frogs. i have a 40 gallon aquarium with a full grown black moor in it. and everytime i ad in new fish they die evern though they have everything! filters, air, light, wter change about 25 % every 2 weeks. i set them in the ate for 30 minutes when i get them. so i just set up my 5 gallon aquarium.. there is someting in my 40 gallon auarium that my black moor and first african dwarf frog is immune to. but whenever i add anythign else in they die after about 2 weeks. even the pH nitrate and phosphate levels are okay. i always treat the water.

okay! so i just set up my 5 gallon aquarium. when can i add in my african dwarf frogs into the 5 gallon aquarium?how many days or hours? the aquarium has ligths a filter and an air pump? peopel earlyer toldme to "cycle" it what does that mean

when is it safe to transfer the frogs? into the 5 gallon aquarium. i dont want to send them into shock or anything... =\

i just set up the 5 gallon aqauriaum about an hour ago...

i dont know if they(frogs) or the remaining fish (an algae eater and another goldfish oranda rykuin sp?) will be alive for that long.... =( well i have a feeling that the goldfish wont be alive that much longer.. hes acting liek the one that died yesterday. and one of my frigs just died not to long ago. the 40 gallon aquarium has been set up for alomst a year,. but whatever is in iit my full gorwn black moor and the first african dwarf frog are immune to it...

is thre anything to speed up the process and what not?...=\

both aquarium have the proper filter sfor their tank size and both are trreated for the metals as well as dclorination. i have not had a problem with my african dwarf frogs in cold waters before.. i usualy leave the ligth on all day and only turn it off at night..

both aquarium have the proper filter sfor their tank size and both are trreated for the metals as well as dclorination. i have not had a problem with my african dwarf frogs in cold waters before.. i usualy leave the ligth on all day and only turn it off at night..

both aquarium have the proper filter sfor their tank size and both are trreated for the metals as well as dclorination. i have not had a problem with my african dwarf frogs in cold waters before.. i usualy leave the ligth on all day and only turn it off at night..

the black moor is VERY friendy. he has never attacked anything.. the fish are just keeling over. i added in feeder fish to the aquarium and he dint do anythgin about it.. the black moor isnt territorial at all. he usually sits at the bottom all day since he is so large. but when i add in new fish he seems to swim around more offten but never chases them. or anything there are no torn up fins on the fish or anything..

SHOULD I ADD IN HALF OF THE 40 GALLON TANK WATER AND HALF NEW WATER IN THE 5 GALLON AQUARIUM??? SO IT WOULD BE LIKE A 50% WATER CHANGE?

i disenfected the tank int he first place cause I let my friend put her turtle she found in the parking lot at work in it ( i told her she shouldnt keep it since it was wild but she didnt listen) so i just wanted to disenfect it since it was wild and didnt know what bad baacterias or diseases it had on it. i have only been adding in other types of goldfish/ i know that i cannot mix tropical and gold fish together as they would not do well....

Answer 1

It might be something comeing off the filters. I've never heard of such a problem. Hope you get it solved.

Answer 2

1. red wine vinegar shouldn't be used next time, salt and hot water alone are ideal. (should be OK but not advisable.)
2. Black Moores are super aggressive so not surprising that you're losing everything you ad to the tank. (the surviving frog has just learned to survive the Wrath of the black Moore, all new comers will be fair game to an aggressor.
Tip: whenever adding new tank mates...turn off lights(less stressful)& re arange a few things, which alleviates the territorial behavior.
3. 25% waterchange every 2 weeks is perfect, but when you did this disinfecting, I assume it was a 100% water change?
This is hard on most fish, but especially for African dwarf frogs as unlike fish, they lack protective scales and are therefore more suseptible to disease. You should always leave whats called "Seed" bacteria, so your tank doesnt have to re-cycle!
To cycle a tank... you start the aquarium off with some good hardy fish so they have a fighting chance to make it through the ammonia spike, these fish will eat and excrete for 4-6 weeks producing a cycle (takes way too much time to go into detail) but your pet store should have a handout or at least be able to explain. Always use a water conditioner? declorinater.
African Dwarf frogs do best on high protein diets such as tubiflex worms, but they are so non assertive, you really have to make sure they're getting their share. Hope this hepls, you soubd like a good fish parent,have fun!

Answer 3

1. red wine vinegar shouldn't be used next time, salt and hot water alone are ideal. (should be OK but not advisable.)
2. Black Moores are super aggressive so not surprising that you're losing everything you ad to the tank. (the surviving frog has just learned to survive the Wrath of the black Moore, all new comers will be fair game to an aggressor.
Tip: whenever adding new tank mates...turn off lights(less stressful)& re arange a few things, which alleviates the territorial behavior.
3. 25% waterchange every 2 weeks is perfect, but when you did this disinfecting, I assume it was a 100% water change?
This is hard on most fish, but especially for African dwarf frogs as unlike fish, they lack protective scales and are therefore more suseptible to disease. You should always leave whats called "Seed" bacteria, so your tank doesnt have to re-cycle!
To cycle a tank... you start the aquarium off with some good hardy fish so they have a fighting chance to make it through the ammonia spike, these fish will eat and excrete for 4-6 weeks producing a cycle (takes way too much time to go into detail) but your pet store should have a handout or at least be able to explain. Always use a water conditioner? declorinater.
African Dwarf frogs do best on high protein diets such as tubiflex worms, but they are so non assertive, you really have to make sure they're getting their share. Hope this hepls, you soubd like a good

Answer 4

Well, your current fish seemed to have adapted nicly to your old tank, but the fish seem to be a little mismatched with your frogs. If you keep gold fish they prefer tempratures between 65°-72° F. Where as dwarf frogs tend to like water 72 - 82 F. since these are cold blooded creatures coming from a warmer tank (presumably) then they might be shocked in the transfer. On the other hand the black moor being a hardy goldfish might have acclamated to the warmer tank and this could cause a shock/death of your other fish. Make sure when adding anythign to a tank you follow porper proceedure, let the bag flot to get the water close to the temprature in teh tank. then add one cup of tank water to the bag every 3 mins. then after 20 - 30 mins Net the fish into the aquarium, never put pet store water in your tank.

Since the ADF will be in a new smaller tank amke sure it isnt over crowded and there is ample hiding places, try not to kee to many things in a five gallon tank it will require alot more cleaning and work.

Answer 5

Why did you use red wine vinegar? You should only use white if that's what you're going to use. Why are you disinfecting the tank anyway? What was the prior emergency that warrented that?

How long as the "clean" tank been cycling. If your moor is full grown (which is 14 inches) AND you have a frog in there (which is not a suitable tank mate) why are you putting anything else in? You're already reaching biomax compacity.

Did you say you feed the fish when you bring them home? That alone can kill them, as well as the giant goldfish just by mouthing it, as well as the vinegar if you did not let the tank dry 100%.

How did you get a 14" goldfish and not know how to cycle your tank?

Aquariums primary filtration is biological. You NEED your beneficial bacteria in your substrate and filter to keep the tank stable. If you are setting it up without additives, it need to run for 6 weeks without any life in it. If you are using additives, a live bacteria, like Cycle (your water conditioner does not do this) you need to let it run a few days minimun before it is safe to any life in it.

What is your full spectrum readings? PH, ammonia, nitrate/nitrate, GH, KH and temp? (Those are your basics, I'm not really concerned about the others right now.)

If you don't know how to cycle a tank, how do you know your readings are ok?

Please educate yourself more before you buy anymore living things.

Answer 6

It will be safe to transfer the frogs once the 5 gallon tank has been cycled. This on average takes 4-6 weeks, but can go longer.

Sounds to me like your 40 gallon tank is suffering from a case of old tank syndrome. Do you change water weekly? If not, nitrates and minerals will build up over time, the fish will adapt with it, but new additions will not adapt at all.

Answer 7

I would never disinfect a fish tank...first of all you are killing all of the beneficial bacteria. Bacteria are essential to the nitrogen cycle. They help break down ammonia and other harmful waste products. Do you have a heater on your tank? Goldfish do not need a heater and as a general rule you do not want to mix goldfish with tropical fish. Tropical fish need a heater. Do you use a chlorine remover like stress coat? Most tap water is treated with chlorine and that can kill fish. Where are you getting your fish from? Maybe they just don't have healthy fish. When you cycle your tank you are building up a good bacteria base. Any uneaten food and fish waste decompose and create ammonia. There are 2 essential bacterias that need to grow in your tank. One breaks down ammonia to nitrites. Ammonia and nitrites are harmful to fish. Both bacterias break them both down to nitrates. These are harmless to fish and actually are great food for algae and aquatic plants. When you start the cycle you will have a buildup of ammonia in your tank. After a bit of time the ammonia levels will go down and nitirites will up. After a bit more time the nitrites will go down and nitrates will go up. After a complete cycle you should have very little ammonia and nitires in your tank. The bacteria keep it in check. Whatever you do do not use distilled water in your tank. It is basically "dead". Use regular tap water or spring water.

http://www.aquariumconnection.com/saltsol/ssoln12.html

I would recommend taking a sample of your tank water to a fish store and have them test it for you. They can usually tell where you are in the cycle. I would add maybe one or two very hardy fish to the tank to start the cycle out. After 2 weeks to a month you should be close to a full cycle.

What kind of fish do you add that die?

Answer 8

Do you use dechlorinator and do you have proper filtration? These could be major sources of the problems. Also, African dwarf frogs are tropical and need warmer water while goldfish need colder water since they are coldwater fish. not cycling the tank can also be causing the problem because goldfish are horribly dirty fish and create so much ammonia and waste. Good luck!

Answer 9

I have been told to let a new tank cycle (water flowing through water filter) for 72 hours before adding new fish. And to gradually add water from your new tank to the old one with your frogs (like a cup every half hour) so your frogs can get use to the change in water gradually and not go into shock.

Answer 10

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