She is really sad. All 8 in one shot. She often clean the tank and stuff with some bleach, no probs. This time I noticed the fish did not go sit on the bottom and school, but rather darted around the tank and stay near the top. By the time I looked closer, one or two were "hovering" and by the time I scooped them out, death. I figure chlorine in water is to fish like breathing clorine gas for air breathers. Wife is sad, does not want more fish, but I will buy some tomorrow and maintain them myself. Good idea, right?
Wife used bleach to clean fishtank. 8 dead fish.
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We use vinegar to clean our tank. It's probably easier on them if some residue gets left behind.
I use bristle nosed catfish.
Although I DID have an algae problem for a few months, which I tried to kill with an algae cure (dosed enough to kill my plants), then used "Aqua One" aqua stable to control the nutrients, then used the algae cure to polish it off.
Catfish then ate the residue.
Now my Platties have started breeding, and I've got a couple of young'uns in the tank.
Although I DID have an algae problem for a few months, which I tried to kill with an algae cure (dosed enough to kill my plants), then used "Aqua One" aqua stable to control the nutrients, then used the algae cure to polish it off.
Catfish then ate the residue.
Now my Platties have started breeding, and I've got a couple of young'uns in the tank.
Give me more details about your fish tank. Size (gallons), filtration, number and type of fish you wnat to keep, heated tank?, lights on the tank?, is it in direct sunlight at any time of the day?
This is something I know about.
Believe it or not, you don't want to do that thorough a cleaning of a fish tank. A fish tank contains and Needs a whole working biological ecosystem to stay healthy. Even if the chlorine of the bleach didn't kill the fish, having them in such a sterile environment could kill them.
Send me the details, and I'll give you my 2c on what to do/how to maintain it.
This is something I know about.
Believe it or not, you don't want to do that thorough a cleaning of a fish tank. A fish tank contains and Needs a whole working biological ecosystem to stay healthy. Even if the chlorine of the bleach didn't kill the fish, having them in such a sterile environment could kill them.
Send me the details, and I'll give you my 2c on what to do/how to maintain it.
My mother-in-law changed the water in her outdoor minnow tank (she fishes a lot) and forgot that tap water contains chlorine...she killed about $60 worth of minnows.
Sorry to hear that. I've keep fish for many years (fresh and salt). Bleach is OK to use for stubborn stains, but must be used in a very diluted solution. When I used to use dead coral in the salt water tank, I often used bleach to bring the white back. This would involve several dunks and drains in fresh water, followed drying then in the sun for a few days and rinsing again until the bleach smell was gone.
I assume this was a fresh water tank? Then for most cleanings, I like to use coarse salt. NEVER EVER use soap as it always leaves some residue.
I think that would be a nice gesture on your part to set it back up for her. Good luck!
I assume this was a fresh water tank? Then for most cleanings, I like to use coarse salt. NEVER EVER use soap as it always leaves some residue.
I think that would be a nice gesture on your part to set it back up for her. Good luck!
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I used to reseed the tanks with the mutant bacteria that we added daily to our biolagoon. We also added liquid nitrofiers (spl? nitra-sonomus - amonia eaters). Unfortunately, although it was fine for reseeding the tank, the organics that they were also designed to eat ..would digest all the color off my son's gravel bed. He had a yen for colored gravel. I perferred the natural look.
I had a very developed hostile tank where quite a few levels of the food chain were present without difficulty. I loved my Cichlids and head standers. They appeared really smart. One Oscar would play in and out of my semi cupped hand moving back and forth and was always happy to see me. It appeared to be a living mood ring with the way it could alter the hues of its color.
I liked Plecos for my algae eaters. Elegantly marked fish after you get over the initial look of them ..at least when they spread their fins.
Creating is one thing. Maintaining is another.
I had a very developed hostile tank where quite a few levels of the food chain were present without difficulty. I loved my Cichlids and head standers. They appeared really smart. One Oscar would play in and out of my semi cupped hand moving back and forth and was always happy to see me. It appeared to be a living mood ring with the way it could alter the hues of its color.
I liked Plecos for my algae eaters. Elegantly marked fish after you get over the initial look of them ..at least when they spread their fins.
Creating is one thing. Maintaining is another.
JHZR2
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Youre supposed to use dechlorinator for putting tap water into the tank during water changes - and thats a really low concentration. Residues are bad, and so what Ive dont when Ive had issues with algae, etc. is to change the light scheme, get an algae eater fish, and take out everything in the tank to scrub, dry, re-scrub, and then potentially replace!
JMH
JMH
Good advise on the light spectrum. Usually, algae problems stem from too much light, the wrong kind of light, or over feeding.
As for water changes/cleaning, some people go overboard and clean tanks too thoroughly and/or too often. This is stressful to the fish and disturbs the beneficial ammonia and nitrites bacteria colonies. Partial water changes (10%-20%) should only be done to keep nitrates in check. Organic build up on the bottom of the tank can be handled with a gravel cleaning siphon.
As for water changes/cleaning, some people go overboard and clean tanks too thoroughly and/or too often. This is stressful to the fish and disturbs the beneficial ammonia and nitrites bacteria colonies. Partial water changes (10%-20%) should only be done to keep nitrates in check. Organic build up on the bottom of the tank can be handled with a gravel cleaning siphon.
Ok, I am teh noob. We have a 5G Hex tank with a Bio-wheel. Our water is nice well water. She had Neon Tetra and probally cleaned too often. It was sorta my idea, but she went run-away with it. I got her Goldfish, 2 Calico and 2 Lionhead. Small...way less than a golf ball....Ping Pong ball, I guess. I don't know how much to feed and if gravel is ok for them. Still working to figure it out. Wife is a lil happier. I have a blue-ish tint light. Fish seem ok all around. clem, thanks for your personal advice, very kind.
Ok, The general rule for fish tanks is that you can have 1" of fish for each gallon of water. With your five gallon tank, you should be Ok with the four goldfish. Actually, by getting goldfish you've made your life a bit easier. They are cold water fish and tend to be hardier than tropical fish. They will not need heated water, room temp over 60 deg should be fine. However, goldfish are dirty. The tank will need to be cleaned a bit more often. When doing this, use a siphon and vaccume the gravel. This will remove their waste and water at the same time. Only remove about 1 gallon of water per cleaning, clean the tank maybe every two weeks, or less if the tank doesn't need it. Pre treat the fill up water with a dechlorinator to remove chlorine.
I would have recommended that you start with 1 fish, then add another every 4-5 days, until you had all 4 fish in the tank. This gives the bacteria in the tanks ecosystem time to grow and accomidate the waste load of the fish. Don't worry about that now, just for future refrence.
Don't mix tropical fish with goldfish. The tropical fish can't live with them. There may be exceptions, but most likely the tropical fish will die (goldfish are dirty).
Keep the filter clean. It can be reused, just rinse out with cool water, scrub by hand, don't use any cleaners or solvents. If the glass is dirty, clean by hand with a clean abrasive pad, one that will not scratch your tank if it is not glass. Keep the tank out of direct sunlight and limit the time the light is on. This will help prevent algae growth. Don't use snails for algae control, they multiply like nothing you've ever seen!
Feeding. Use floating goldfish food, allow them to eat for about 5 minutes 1 to 2 times a day. Remove any uneaten food after five minutes. This will do wonders in helping to keep the tank clean. Eventually you will know how much they will eat, so you can just add that, and not worry about removing uneaten food.
This is all I can think of for now. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Good Luck.
I would have recommended that you start with 1 fish, then add another every 4-5 days, until you had all 4 fish in the tank. This gives the bacteria in the tanks ecosystem time to grow and accomidate the waste load of the fish. Don't worry about that now, just for future refrence.
Don't mix tropical fish with goldfish. The tropical fish can't live with them. There may be exceptions, but most likely the tropical fish will die (goldfish are dirty).
Keep the filter clean. It can be reused, just rinse out with cool water, scrub by hand, don't use any cleaners or solvents. If the glass is dirty, clean by hand with a clean abrasive pad, one that will not scratch your tank if it is not glass. Keep the tank out of direct sunlight and limit the time the light is on. This will help prevent algae growth. Don't use snails for algae control, they multiply like nothing you've ever seen!
Feeding. Use floating goldfish food, allow them to eat for about 5 minutes 1 to 2 times a day. Remove any uneaten food after five minutes. This will do wonders in helping to keep the tank clean. Eventually you will know how much they will eat, so you can just add that, and not worry about removing uneaten food.
This is all I can think of for now. Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
Good Luck.
Golfish (water hogs) grow fast, so yes, they are messy. Just make sure you know what type you are buying because not all goldfish are cold water species. The fancy types will require a heater in most homes.
The hex while nice looking has a very low volume to surface area ratio, so the 1 fish to 1 gallon rule would be pushing it. Gold fish utilize a lot of oxygen so make sure you have good water movement to maximize air exchange. You might want to consider an air stone and a quality pump in addition to your biowheel filter.
Again good luck!
The hex while nice looking has a very low volume to surface area ratio, so the 1 fish to 1 gallon rule would be pushing it. Gold fish utilize a lot of oxygen so make sure you have good water movement to maximize air exchange. You might want to consider an air stone and a quality pump in addition to your biowheel filter.
Again good luck!
Our family has kept and bred tropical fish across three generations since the 1920s (when folks made their own tanks).
I don't mean to be hard about it, but what your wife did was completely insane.
I remember once about 40 years ago, a reckless teenage house guest tossed a shot or two of liquor into one of my father's larger breeding tanks, between 40-50 gallons. Wiped out the tank. Between twenty and thirty recently born red tiger oscars were gone in a matter of a couple hours. That was a lot of effort and money lost even then.
I don't mean to be hard about it, but what your wife did was completely insane.
I remember once about 40 years ago, a reckless teenage house guest tossed a shot or two of liquor into one of my father's larger breeding tanks, between 40-50 gallons. Wiped out the tank. Between twenty and thirty recently born red tiger oscars were gone in a matter of a couple hours. That was a lot of effort and money lost even then.
I've got 3 chiclids and a couple plecos in my 42 gallon tank. I used to have more, but I had a fungus outbreak a while back and I lost a couple of my bigger chiclids (d*mn wal-mart fish) and the remaining big chichlids (they're 3-5") ate my smaller (1") chiclids. I also recently had a black algae(?) bloom that I took care of with an algae bomb.
I do love my fish, but mainenance can be a real PITA at times... I would LOVE to have a water-make up setup on it.
I've read this thread with fascination.
I've had my one goldfish for almost 8 years. I keep him in a regular gold fish bowl. His water gets changed about every 7 days, and I use bottled spring water. I have an extra bowl, so when I change the water, he just gets scooped out of one bowl and goes right into the other one that has clean water. I've always used regular dish detergent to wash the bowl out, and I rinse it thoroughly several times with scalding hot water to get all the soap out of it.
As he's gotten older, he sleeps a lot more than he used to. And he gets constipated every so often, which messes up his buoyancy. But 8 years for a goldfish is pretty good, no?
I've had my one goldfish for almost 8 years. I keep him in a regular gold fish bowl. His water gets changed about every 7 days, and I use bottled spring water. I have an extra bowl, so when I change the water, he just gets scooped out of one bowl and goes right into the other one that has clean water. I've always used regular dish detergent to wash the bowl out, and I rinse it thoroughly several times with scalding hot water to get all the soap out of it.
As he's gotten older, he sleeps a lot more than he used to. And he gets constipated every so often, which messes up his buoyancy. But 8 years for a goldfish is pretty good, no?
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The only problem that I had long term with my Oscars was, what I would describe as, "hole in head disease". They grew to be massive (relatively speaking - about from the tip of your spread hand to near mid forearm). As long as my tank wasn't near a window, I managed to not have to displace the fish to keep it clean ..at least for a very long time. Typically I screwed up in the "creating" and too many fish ended up getting too big for the tank. I used power heads for the gravel bed filtration and a Magnum. That, along with the bacteria that I used, made if fairly simple ..but it was still like owning a swiming pool, you could never get too far without fiddling with it.
I had fry tanks with guppies and half moons (which appeared to be born pregnant) with floating fry grass. I'd use these for feeders. It was to the point where I could harvest enough out of the tanks that they were , more or less, a true breeder reactor for the food supply.
One of the supervisors at work and I played with some of the poly filter material at work. His father owned a decent size pet store and his brother owned an outdoor pond business.
He opened Emperor Aquatics I really should have bugged him for a job for all the brain storming we did.
My tank was so hostile that I managed to have a snakehead that didn't attack the other fish in the tank. Nasty fish. It got so that it would actually pounce on dried brine shrip. It really wasn't the right environment for the fish so I eventually gave it its own tank. I had a facination with head standers for a while. Leporinus fasciatus were very entertaining. A tropical salmon that could not be bred in captivity (naturally ..it's a salmon). Ano-anos, however, were nibblers on the larger fish. One channel cat was a favorite snack for this one ano-ano. Annoying little fish.
GMan. I'd say for being kept in a bowl, 8 years is a good long life. My retired dentist down the street has gold fish (well, carp) in his outside small pond. He just cuts back on the feeding in the winter. He's had some of them for as long as I've known him (it seems like over 20 years)
We've had our first tank for about 8 months...10 gallon "Aqua One" system with bio filter in the top.
It's got a couple of platties (they've bred and there's a few more coming along well), two bristlenose catfish, four neon tetras, a couple fo gold tetras, and some little fish with orange stripes.
Aside from a filament algae problem, and then a snail invasion, it's been pretty plain sailing.
Only fish we've lost was a Golden Ram. (after that, I doubt an aggressive tank would suit the kids).
It's got a couple of platties (they've bred and there's a few more coming along well), two bristlenose catfish, four neon tetras, a couple fo gold tetras, and some little fish with orange stripes.
Aside from a filament algae problem, and then a snail invasion, it's been pretty plain sailing.
Only fish we've lost was a Golden Ram. (after that, I doubt an aggressive tank would suit the kids).
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