fish problems?

Question

a lady at the shop said befor getting tropicl fish i need to get a couple of coldwater fish so the water gets used to fish is this true and who waited the longest until their nitrite levels went to zero

Answer 1

This is wrong. You can't mix tropicals with coldwater (goldfish). She is implying you need to cycle your tank, which is true, but can be done with a few hardy fish like White Cloud Mountain Minnows and StressZyme or Cycle with water changes if ammonia gets too high. You can add fish once you've dechlorinated the water. Alternatively, look into fishless cycling.

Answer 2

a nicely stocked tank is worth waiting for.
do not put coldwater fish into a tank that will keep tropicals, in this set up a coldwater fish will grow fast and have a shortened life span.
you should have had 'the cycle' explained to you, in brief, the filter in your tank is there to keep the water cleaner for longer, the bacteria that colonise the filter does the work.
when you first set the tank up there are no bacteria so you introduce a couple of smaller fish (neons, corys, danios) depending on which type you wish to keep....these first fish will cause levels to rise, then fall, then rise again etc...until the bacteria grow in numbers, once the levels balance out, a couple more fish can be added.
ie: too many fish at once = dangerous nitrate levels that will at the very least stress the hell out of fish, more likely it will kill them.
there are products on sale to help boost the process, but i feel the slow introduction of fish is by far the best way, once the tank is filled, let the filter and heater run along for a few days (some say one day, some say two days, as i said it is worth waiting for) i prefer to leave it a week before buying any fish.
would also use a dechlorinator and a general tonic for the tank during this week.
from here i would go against convention slightly, i do not do water changes until my tank is fully stocked and the filter is matured

Answer 3

I bought my girlfriend a tropical Biorb for christmas, and even now we get some problems with it. The manufacturers advise that you should set the water up, get it to the right temp, then leave for at least a day, but a few tips that we've learned along the way are as follows;
1. Make sure you have the tap water treatment
2. Get yourself a water testing kit. Especially in the early stages, this can be crucial in making sure the fish (and the tank) are adapting properly
3. Only buy a small number of fish at a time, so ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels don't rise too rapidly and kill the fish. With our 30l Biorb, we only got one at a time, and limited the overall number to 3 decent sized fish
4. Filter bacteria are a great way to speed up the activation of the filter, meaning ammonia levels etc are brought down more quickly
5. As soon as you see anything wrong with the fish, ie cotton wool growths, treat it immediately

That's all I can think of at the moment, but hopefully you'll have better luck starting out than we did!

Answer 4

What we usually do is the bag that the fish comes in, we float it in the top of the fish tank so the fish can get used to the water. Even in the bag, the water in the bag will get to the temp of the water in the tank....so go get your fish, take it home, leave it in the bag floating in the tank for a while. Maybe an hour or so, then you can take it out and let the fish roam in the water out of the bag. Thats how you get the fish to adapt to the new temps! Good luck...

Answer 5

I set my tank up two weeks before adding fish and then bought some nice hardy zebra danios to help cycle the tank and cultivate the bacteria. They have been in there 18 days and the nitrates and nitrites are at zero, but my ammonia is still high. Waiting for it to come down before I can get my next batch.

Answer 6

As long as the water is clear and at the right temperature, the fish should be OK. You have to do what we called "float them in". This means that when you buy a fish and get it in a plstic bag, you should float the bag in the water for a while, till temperatures are even. Then cut the bag and float the fish in gently.

Answer 7

You do not have to do this, but some people pick fish they do not like and use them to see if the water is safe by whether or not they live. It is not something necessary and as long as your p.h. levels are good and the temperature is right your fish should be good.

Answer 8

no thats not true, you need to cycle your tank by doing water changes for 3-4 weeks, and adding dechlorinator and other things. After that, you can add whatever fish you want to.

Good answer REME, but dont poor water from bag into tank, that mixes other chemicals in and stuff, and its dirty water.

Answer 9

Set up your tank and run it with no fish in for at least a week. Then buy something like neon tetras, which I find are a hardy fish. If they are ok then go for it.

Answer 10

no thats not true, but you do need to set up the tank for at least a week before adding the fish