Tag Archives: nitrates

Too many fish? Too much food?

Posted on January 10, 2011 by admin| 5 Comments

have a 45 gallon tank that is running really well. All my parameters are normal for a tropical tank. Not too much ammonia, nitrites or nitrates, good stable PH, good temp, clear water… the tank has been up and running a couple months. My fish get fed bloodworms, brine, shrimp pellets, algea pellets for the bottom feeders and crisps.

I have
8 adult tiger barbs
1 adult rainbow shark
3 adult dwarf gourami
5 green cory (3 adults and two albino babies)
1 upside down catfish

No one fights, theres lots of decorations and plants so they are always swimming in and out and playing, everyone seems perfectly happy.

I had a friend come over who said my trank was overstocked. Is he right?

Also, how do I know if I am overfeeding the fish? Whenever I come up to the tank all of the fish swarm up to the top like carp they act so hungry, and will even come up and nip at my fingers if I put them in the tank. One person told me to only feed an amount as big as their eye, but then someone else said to let them eat as much food as they want for 5 minutes then stop feeding them.

Let me tell you, these guys SCARF food down- I will put two peices of frozen bloodworms, a pinch of crisps, an algea pellet and some sinking shrimp pellets, and they attack it like they havent eaten in a month, and it will be gone in moments. If they keep coming back for more, do I keep feeding them? How do I know when to stop?

Thanks for any help!

Rainbows do not grow over 6”, and most top out at 5. Mine is already 4.5” and is several years old. Even if he hits 6” that will not be too large for my tank. He is not going to get huge.

Thanks for the info- I think I will take the baby albino cory out and maybe one of the gourami and transfer them to a new tank, just in case.
Filter is a biofilter 100gallon filter running on med/high, ammonia/nitrIte levels are at 0, Nitrates are at 10 I think. PH is 7, on the dot, temp is 79. The crisps are definitely for fish, LOL, not human crackers… its just regular tropical fish food but they are small bits that sink instead of flakes that float. They call them crisps, I dont know why :)

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fish dying fast…all gone…now what?

Posted on August 3, 2010 by admin| 5 Comments

I have a 6 gal freshwater tank, it had 8 fish in it for 7 months. One small neon died. Some were showing stress with blood spots. I thought they were nipping at each other b/c I was underfeeding them (feeding once a day, sometimes twice). Frequently added salt. I did a 20% water change and bought 3 more fish, then all of a sudden my fish started dying. Nitrates were high and I lost all but 3 fish. My dealer (Petco) said I shouldn’t feed flakes, I should feed blood worms and brine shrimp or something. Tried that and fish didn’t eat it. I did another water change to get the nitrates normal. Then I lost the last 3. This all happened within a week. I tested the water with strips after they died. Nitrates were safe but pH and ammonia was too low. Where did I go wrong? I feel like I get mixed information from Petco all the time!! Now that my tank doesn’t have any more fish what should I do? The water is still flowing. Should I do a 80% change, wait 4-6 days, add 2-3 fish & start again?

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Marine Setup and Help?

Posted on May 15, 2010 by admin| 2 Comments

I have decided to switch to saltwater fish keeping, and hope to get started next spring/summer. I am buying a Seventy Five gallon tank, and need some help with the equipment. What is crucially needed, and what is not? I know I need a powerful marine designed filter, as well as a brine shrimp breeding tank so I can feed the fish live fish along with their diet. I’ve heard the actual water setup takes up to a month to settle before you can add fish, as all the elements have to be just right. What should the readings for salinity, nitrates and nitrites be if you know off the top of your head. I would love to know exactly what equipment for maitenence and daily care I need, as I would honestly hate to waste a lot of money on unecessary items. As for the fish, I realize healthy stock are the most important part after teh tank is cultured, and have found a reliable dealer that is less than 15mins. from my home. I plan on keeping smaller Dwarf Angels, Gobies, maybe a Jawfish, Clownfish, etc.
It would be great to kow what product brands are most reliable, and sites urls where I can order them as well. What kind of fish do you keep, I am interested in knowing about your experiances and what you have learned through the trials and tribulations of saltwater aquaria. Would you recommend any certain species, products, etc.? I was interested in the Live sand for the tank too, but there are so many kinds, crushed coral, carribean sand, pacific, tahiti, etc. etc. What about a Moonlight setting on the powerhead, as well as an evening and daylight one, are the first two needed or just fancy doodads? Any help at all would be appreciated, please do not say ‘I don’t know’, that is not an answer. Answer only if you have a saltwater tank, or have had one. Thanks, feel free to email me if you need to.
I thought the Protein Skimmer was a filter, [it's more than expensive enough to be] So why do I need one along with the filter? I will get one of course, just wondering… lol Would you recommend using dead or live rock? I know both need to be cycled seperately as they can mess with the tank water once it is done cycling and all. That was the word I couldn’t remember last night. Cycling. lol. Is it safe to purchase pre-cycled water, or is that a scam?

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