beginnig tank

[Soul]

yes, use FROZEN ~ not freeze dried ~ blood worms, they'll work much better...You might also try calling the shop you bought him from & asking them what they were feeding him

good~luck

 

[Bderick67]

Regarding adding more fish, once your "cycling" process is done you have to be careful on how quickly you add more fish. What you have to do is maintain the bioload(waste) to the benefical bacteria(filter). So if your filter has been cycled to the one fish and you add 4-5 more fish at one time, you've just increased your bioload 5 times but it will take your filter time to grow more beneficial bactera. It would be best is you only added 1 new fish every 2 weeks untill you get to the number you want.

regarding you penguin 170 filter, this is a older model and I was wondering if it does have a bio wheel on it?

I think your tank looks nice, but the only one that need be happy with the look of your tank is you.

Haven't seen any mention of water changes in this thread. To keep your tank healthy get in the habit of changing 25%(5 gallons) of water every week. you may need to increase that as you add more fish.

 

[pnoydlyte]

ok thnx for the help and ill try to get some frozen blood worms instead
and about the master test kits how much do they usually cost and wat do i look for in a good test kit??

 

[pnoydlyte]

regarding you penguin 170 filter, this is a older model and I was wondering if it does have a bio wheel on it?

not sure if its the older model or not but it uses a filter cartridge instead of a bio wheel

Haven't seen any mention of water changes in this thread. To keep your tank healthy get in the habit of changing 25%(5 gallons) of water every week. you may need to increase that as you add more fish.

for my water changes i was plannin on changin 15% for the first 3 weeks
then to 25% like u said to give time for the bacteria to form
dont kno if its a good idea but if anyone has any input to my plans feel free to correct me on it

 

[Soul]

ok thnx for the help and ill try to get some frozen blood worms instead
and about the master test kits how much do they usually cost and wat do i look for in a good test kit??

u r welcome...most fish stores will have them in a freezer, may have to ask at the counter.

the kits I have seen in stores run abt $30...they should have ammonia, nitrite, nitrate & ph at least...make SURE you get one for freshwater

 

[pnoydlyte]

ok kool hopefully i can get some by the end of the day
and is it normal for the yellow to fade a bit after not eating for so long
my fish is starting to look a little pale
and would a johannii be compatible with the electric yellow that i already have
and i was wondering if they could have the same diet

 

[Soul]

try doing a water change & see if that perks him up, u may have too much ammonia in there now.

as for the johannii, I would not add one to that tank...most I have had have been pretty aggressive

 

[Bderick67]

and about the master test kits how much do they usually cost and wat do i look for in a good test kit??

You will need to be able to test ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. Other water parameters are Carbonate hardness(kH) general hardness (GH) but aren't as important. The API Master test kit is good, also the 5 in 1 test strips work fine too but you will need to buy ammonia test seperate with them.

not sure if its the older model or not but it uses a filter cartridge instead of a bio wheel for my water changes i was plannin on changin 15% for the first 3 weeks
then to 25% like u said to give time for the bacteria to form
dont kno if its a good idea but if anyone has any input to my plans feel free to correct me on it

The penguin 170 is gonna be a problem, without the biowheel the only place the bacteria can grow is on the filter pad, so when you change pads you throw away your beneficial bacteria colony. I would look into getting a new filter as soon as possible. Check the link the Penguin 200 would work fine for you. and the Emporer 280 would be awesome on a 20 high.
http://www.petsolutions.com/200B+Penguin+Bio+Wheel+Filter-I-47450362-I-C-22-C-.aspx
http://www.petsolutions.com/Emperor+280+Power+Filter-I-47490039-I-C-22-C-.aspx

With a new tank you have an excess of ammonia and nitrites, for the fishes sake you should being do greater changes until cycled not lesser changes. There is more than enough ammonia and nitrites to get you tank cycled the lesser water changes won't speed things up.

 

[pnoydlyte]

so are u sayin i should replace my filter b4 my cycling goes any further??

 

[is300zx]

so are u sayin i should replace my filter b4 my cycling goes any further??

I think he meant to say you need to be doing more water changes. Did you bring a sample to your lfs? What were the results? You probably have a high ammonia and nitrite levels and so your fish is starting to feel the effects of it. Probably also why your fish doesn't eat.