Just took in some rescues.. advice needed!

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Jv90

Jv90

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 13, 2017
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Ok, so here's the deal. My neighbor moved out of his apartment and left his basic five gallon setup with no light, no heater and a simple air pump and stone for oxygen. No lighting. The fish were almost dead when I got to them and the water was Brown.

I'm on a budget for the next few days but i I did I %100 water change, added plants and decor, purchased a heater to keep the water at 80f. The fish are finally moving around and picking gravel for food... I ordered a high powered filtered (hob), and plenty of supplies through eBay but what until you here the community of fish in this setup!

The five gallon contains an Oscar roughly 3 inches, five tiger bards and one llevo about 3-4 inches. Personally I believe they will be ok for a other month with frequent water changes and a separation asap between the tigers and the Oscars.

Input?

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Good job on saving those fish, you Oscar and tiger barbs will eventually need to be separated beacause the Oscar will most likely eventually eat them. And you will need a major tank size upgrade for the oscar. Also judging by the pic of the Oscar he seems to have hole in the head, can you get some pics with better lighting of just the Oscar? But again, I give you props for saving those fish, they would have had no hope without you doing something about it.
 
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Skalper666 said:
Good on you. I would worry about upgrading the size of the tank first, and get a filter on there. Like tomorrow lol.
Click to expand...

I agree. On a tank that small with that many poop makers you will probably need to do a 100% change or more each day to keep the toxins down. Feed them very sparingly.

I would get a large tub, kiddie pool, or pond form from the hardware store if you can't access a large tank right away. Sterilite makes nice sturdy food safe containers which should be safe for fishies. I would aim for at least 55 gallons for now, you may want to separate the barbs into a different container (they may do ok in the 5 for now they seem very tiny). You will probably have to do a fish in cycle. Get some bacteria supplement if you don't already have it and stuff that gravel in the media pouches since it probably has some bacteria in it to help start the cycle. Just do the bottom bare, that way it is easier to clean. I would only feed once per day if even that for now to keep the ammonia levels down. I would treat all fish as though they have some type of disease. If you have other tanks do not cross contaminate, wash your hands and any shared tools well.

Add aquarium/kosher salt too, I guarantee they have ammonia burns if the water was that nasty or wounds from fighting. Use 1 tbsp per gallon. It will also prevent stuff like ich from spreading. Check them very closely for other signs of disease too. I would at least move the oscar. He may have the beginnings of hith from being in such crappy conditions and you want to reverse it asap. If you keep him for life you will need at least a 125 gallon. Same for that pleco, looks like a common to me. Start feeding him some decent veggie matter like cucumbers spinach and zucchini. Luckily plecos are tough as hell so I wouldn't worry about him too much haha.

Oh and I wouldn't worry about using that pH down stuff either, messing with pH too often causes more issues than it fixes. They should be ok without it, they are probably adapted to the city's tapwater if they were purchased locally by the guy.

Also that plant is probably a good idea. Looks like pothos. I would get more because it is dirt cheap and only requires very low light to grow strong, I would stick the leaves out of the top so it has more access to co2. A hardware store worklight should suffice, home depot has them for around 10 bucks with a 2 dollar basic cfl bulb. Running one on the top of my hob filter on my 90 and one on my other quarantine 10 gallon. Growing so much pothos I will need to get some flowerpots for it to put around the apartment soon.

Good on you for saving them! Most of my fish have been rescues, very rewarding, and easier on the wallet... sometimes lol :)
 
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Oh believe me I'm completely aware. I once had a half dozen adults, Oscars are one of my old time favorites. There are as smart as dogs lol! I'll may turn the 29 gallon into a tiger bars setup, they seem quite interestesting. And the Oscar will eventually make it into the 180.

Just right now, i have those two setup and this five. I've ordered a filter for a twenty gallon setup, i ordered more plans and will do $100 water changes on the daily.

So you're a fan of devils ivy as well?
 
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