And yes I took a pic.of the bacteria supplements so you guys would know I'm trying
Just took in some rescues.. advice needed!
- Thread starter Jv90
- Start date
I think the pleco should be fine for now. Siamese algae eaters in a school might be a good choice as you stock around the new guys since they eat more algae types than that pleco. They get about 6" long and swim very fast so I wouldn't worry about the oscar munching them until he is an adult. I have some as dithers/cleaners. The 29 gallon would be big enough I think, grew mine out in a heavily planted 20 long with mollies!
Malaysian trumpet snails are a great clean up crew for substrates.They have very little impact on the bioload and don't take up any tank space.
Credit to you op for your efforts to help these fish.Its highly commendable what you are doing.
Credit to you op for your efforts to help these fish.Its highly commendable what you are doing.
Why are we all ignoring the fact that his Oscar might have hith? Judging by one of the pics of that Oscar he looks like he might have it. Do you mind uploading more pics of the Oscar in better light op?
Good job dude, the Oscar will eventually eat the TBs, u are right about that, but they can go into a different tank than the Oscar and Pleco, I suggest. As stated, I would keep an eye out for HITH/LLE and keep the water conditions pristine as possible
probably because the pics aren't clear enough for anyone to be sure 100% yet, but I agree its possible
I thought that was just bubbles on the glass infront of the Oscar,you can see it on the plant too.
Maybe it is, I didn't realize that, but some better pics so we can confirm he doesn't have hith won't hurt.
agree w/ almost all of this, except the Salt treatment should be 1 TABLESPOON PER 5 GALLONS OF WATER, not 1 per gallon.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
Sterilite makes an "Unbreakable" RUB tub that would be perfect for these guys for now at about $10. IDK all the sizes, but I have a 16.5g that I use for my live-bait tanks during fishing season and it works well and HOB filters fit it fine.
It is strong enough that I used it for my Anacondas back when I had them until last year (Feb/March 2011 - June 2015) and THREE 7-8", 15lb Anacondas used it all the time and I still have the same RUB - virtually unbreakable really MEANS virtually unbreakable.
I think the OP said he has a 180g tank, so he could just seed the new tank w/ Natural Bacteria from his current filter and siphon the gravel to fill the filter w/ muck for now. I would personally rinse his current filter media and pads in a bucket of water and slowly pour it into a reservoir of a HOB and let it run for 24 hours and it should be cycled after that. 25% old tank water and 75% fresh water would be my choice
Agreed.
Last edited:
