My fish keep dying.I took a sample of the water to petco and they said it was fine.How many fish can I put in there?Besides the filter and the bubbles, what else do they need in there?How often should I clean it?My brother has a 10 gallon and doesn't even have a filter nor a air pump and when he cleans it, he removes the entire water.The thing is that his fish never die, he's had'em for 3 yrs now.I'm a rookie and I have no idea what to do.I do clean the water, and I do feed the fish once daily.The water also gets cloudy after the 2nd day of cleaning it. I ran out of ideas.Please help!!!
2007-03-17 06:29:15 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
It sounds like maybe your tank isn't cycled yet. You need to allow it to sit with only a very few (2-3) small fish in it for a month or more to develop the proper bacteria to provide a healthy environment. You should also have a heaer in the tank if you want to keep tropicals.
Cleaning is basically a 25% water change once a week, cleaning out the gravel as you remove the old water. A gravel siphon from any pet store will do a great job of this. How much water you change can vary depending on what kind of fish you have and how many, but 25% is a really good rule of thumb.
the clooudiness you see in the water after cleaning the tank is a bacteria bloom, that's related to the cycle I spoke of earlier. It will stop happening once you get the tank cycled and on a regular cleaning routine.
As to how many fish you can have, that really depends on what kind of fish you want to keep. While your tank cycles, spend a little time with a fish book or reading on various websites about different types of fish and pick something you really like. Learn about them and their requirements to see if they are suitable to your tank. With 42 gallons to work with you can keep a wide variety of fishes so the choice will basically be yours.
MM
2007-03-17 06:47:16 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Not knowing what kind of fish you have it's really hard to help much. Make sure you do 20-30% water changes and vac the gravel weekly. Rule of thumb is no more than an inch of fish per gal of water, but you need a lot more room than that for goldfish and fish over 3 inches. Also, some fish like higher ph levels than others.
Do some internet research on the types of fish you have and find a good aquarium shop instead of petco. Petco is OK but I am sure you will find that an aquarium shop would be much more helpful (the fish will generally be healthier also)
Good Luck
2007-03-17 13:40:17 · answer #2 · answered by Fish Lover 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
As magicman116 mentioned, it sounds like your tank isn't cycled. He has given you good advice on what to do to solve your problem. I will suggest what I believe to be the best fish forum on the Internet. It is below. I got into fishkeeping a little over 2 years ago and that forum got me through the beginning stages. Everyone there is friendly and helpful and very knowledgeable. I also have a pinned thread on there about how to do a fishless cycle. That link is below also. Good luck.
2007-03-17 14:13:26 · answer #3 · answered by rdd1952 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I don't know if this helps or not but finding a good fish forum will help.
I can't make a response based on the vague information you described.
I like aquariacentral.com. Rapid responses and very knowledgeable people.
2007-03-17 13:34:29 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋