A bit worried, please help

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DigginDirt

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 27, 2011
38
0
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Pennsylvania
Not sure where to put this, so here goes...

As far as experience goes, I'm rather new to this. I've had several tanks in the past for a year or so at a time, but never longer than that. Part of the reason for this is the ARMY, and a deployment to Iraq that interrupted my hobby for a bit.

Years later, I got a new Piranha ( 6" Serrasalmus Scapularis ) and it's been about a year now with no troubles. A few months back I set up a breeder tank for guppies to get my little man off the goldfish that I understand will eventually kill him...

I got some chubby happy guppies at the nearest family owned fish store (about 40 mins away) and threw em in a new 30 gallon tank set up to sustain my one Piranha, and things were great for a month or so. The store only sold em in pairs, so I eventually went to PETCO to get a few more female guppies for breeding, and I believe that's where things went wrong...

They gave birth to some cute little fry, but about a week later they were all stuck in the filter and the adults were starting to turn white. I went out the next day and got some ich/fungus treatment, but when I got home it was too late... The lady at PETCO said she wasn't ordering any more guppies because they keep dying on her... :irked:

Here lies my problem... I purchased a few fancy plecos last week to live in my breeder tank to be delivered this week. Spent a lot of time picking them out and making sure everything was ok for them, but apparently it's not, and it's getting close to their arrival... What should I do?

I did a 100% water change in the tank. (50% from my chomper tank and 50% new conditioned water) Boiled my driftwood and all the fake plants, gravel and slate tunnels/sheets. Essentially apart from the 50% water from Piranha tank that tests ok, it is a new tank.

Will this be ok? I don't mind losing $30 worth of fancy guppies to learn a lesson (quarrantine fish in a separate tank before introducing to main tanks) but I'd be really upset (and so will my wife) if I kill some fancy plecos before they even pick a spot in my tank.

Please advise... Any advice on fixing current situations or further keeping fancy plecos would be appreciated. I don't want my new guys to go belly up... Thank you in advance, and thank you to MFK for being here to ask these type of questions!

-Dustin
 
Hey Dustin, welcome to MFK! Thank you for your service...

Have you been testing your water with a Master Test Kit? It sounds to me like your parameters have been out of control to be honest.

Fish "turning white", dieing, etc. are all pretty obvious signs that your ammonia, nitrites or nitrates are really high. Ich is more like white spots on your fish.

Feeding your messy eater live fish will contribute to your out of control water parameters. Uneaten bits of fish will begin to rot in the tank adding to your ammonia levels. Not cycling your tanks will start you off in a bad position from the beginning.

I suggest you pick up a Master Test Kit and check your water. You might have to do some water changes to control your parameters as your beneficial bacteria colonizes and helps maintain the nasties.

You may want to consider feeding your Piranha prepared food...and to vac the substrate often. It will go a long way in helping control your water parameters.

Good luck!
 
I've been using some 6-in-1 test strips to be honest.... chlorine and chloramine reading between 0.5ppm and 0. Nitrates a bit high, but not out of control, maybe 20-40 PPM. Hardness is about 150 PPM... bit worried as I understand plecos prefer soft water... KH = 60 or so, and PH = 7.0 or so with regular 25% water changes.
 
Hey Dustin,

To start with, I suggest you pick up some Prime to add in when doing your water changes. It will take care of your chlorine worries.

Good job checking parameters. The test strips are OK, but they're not really very accurate. For as much as they charge for them, you're much better off picking up a Master Test Kit. Out of all the parameters to worry about, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates are of the most concern, and in that order. You really need to check Ammonia and Nitrites. Both are toxic at even very low levels. Nitrates you can deal with by doing water changes. Hopefully your tap water has low nitrates.

Without checking Ammonia and Nitrites, you're literally walking down a dark alley blindfolded.

Not trying to spend your hard earned cash, but I am confident that a small bottle of Prime, a good test kit and a bit of work on your part will cure your problems.

Good luck :)
 
+1! And CLDarnell gave you some excellent advise. It can take up to 6 weeks to cycle a tank, during which time you will need to be ready to change 50% of the water each day if needed. The only way to know if you need to is to test for the nitrite and ammonia.

Seachem "Prime" will take care of the chlorine and will turn the ammonia and nitrite into forms that are less toxic to the fish. That will be your best freind until the cycle has finished.
 
So a good course of action would be to get a master test kit, and test daily until things are under control?

I've been using Aquasafe by Tetra Aqua for my water conditioning. Is Prime a better product?

You're all welcome for my service, and thank you all for your help!
 
Good morning...

There has been a few comparisons between Aquasafe and Prime here at MFK. I don't remember the results to be honest, but I know that Prime is used by an overwhelming majority here.

You shouldn't have to do daily water tests, but you can of course. I bet if you use one today, you're going to find at least one parameter really high. Water changes will bring it back under control and then you can continue to monitor as your tank cycles.

The good news is, you're thinking about it and doing something now. If you stay on top of it, I am sure everyone's going to be just fine :)

Good luck!
 
Just started using prime, but i must admit...effects are almost instant.
 
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