ok so my convict is swimming around in a corkscrew manner. I couldn't find him and i had noticed that he hadn't been very active the past couple days.....just kinda hiding. What should i do....if there is anything. I can't see any clear marks that he's been beatin up or anything so i'm kinda confused. I have 10 fish in a 20 gal tank. (2 cobalts, 3 africans, 2 convicts ( a pink and a black...the black is the one messed up), a pacu and 2 plecos). Can anybody give me some advice. Thanks!
my convict is swimming around like a corkscrew
- Thread starter cornpops
- Start date
What are your water parameters? What is your tank maintenance schedule? I am sorry but the tank is very overcrowded.
HOLY ****
A 20g with that many fish WTF what are expecting them to all be a happy family gee whizz man you need more tanks or take back most of those fish because that is alot they will end up killing each other even if your new to this hobby that is just crazy wow i don't know what to say can they even swim freely wow just wow.
A 20g with that many fish WTF what are expecting them to all be a happy family gee whizz man you need more tanks or take back most of those fish because that is alot they will end up killing each other even if your new to this hobby that is just crazy wow i don't know what to say can they even swim freely wow just wow.
Also something else i would like to clear how could you force that many fish into that tank are they babies or what because how could you force that many fish in a 20G.
ok. I should have said a little more about the tank itself. All the fish I have are about 1.5 inches long except for the pacu and the 2 plecos. the pacu is almost at 2 in. and the 2 plecos are about 3 in each. All fish are juvenile. The convict that was in trouble looked like he was dead except occasional movements. I knew he wouldn't make it so i put him in a bag and slammed it on the concrete. (If this sounds bad im sorry but i didn't want him to suffer so i thought that would be a quick death.) I then took the other convict (pink) out of my tank and into my roomates 55 gal. tank. So, now I have a total of 2 cobalts, 3 africans, a pacu, and 2 plecos. So there are 8 total. Another issue I had been working on lately was my ammonia levels. they had been at about 3.5 which was really bad. my nitrite level read .25ppm and my nitrate level read between 5 and 10 ppm. So....i had thought about taking 4 gallons of water from my friend's 40 gal african tank (25 % of my tank size) and putting it into my tank to help with good bacterial growth. I bout 4 one gallon jugs of tap water and emptied them out. I then siphoned out the water from my friends tank. I transfered it to my tank and checked the levels this morning (about 12 hours later). My ammonia was about 1.6. My nitrite was still about .25ppm. My nitrate was 20ppm. So so far I think it's much better and my fish seem to be much more active. Comments are much appreciated.
You will not get any BB from your friends tank from the water. I suggest you create a plan for what you are going to do with your fish. That Pacu will get bigger than your whole 20 gallon tank. Research all much as you can.
What kind of filtration are you using? Even with massive filtration that tank will not cut it. Have you cycled the tank? It sounds like you have a better grasp on the nitrogen cycle than most begginers. I can't stress researching your fish enough before you buy or having the right equipment for them.
P.S- There are better ways of putting a fish down- research
What kind of filtration are you using? Even with massive filtration that tank will not cut it. Have you cycled the tank? It sounds like you have a better grasp on the nitrogen cycle than most begginers. I can't stress researching your fish enough before you buy or having the right equipment for them.
P.S- There are better ways of putting a fish down- research
As far as filtration goes, I am using a Tetra Whisper Power Filter 20 (made for a 20 gal tank). I also have a bubble stone so that my water gets plenty of fresh oxygen and circulation. I used 20lbs of crushed coral for my substrate and my pH is 7.9 (as of 1439 EST). I had read that you can put a fish down by putting it in a small container and adding some type of chemical that paralyzes it and shuts down the organs (sounded like lethal injection). I just felt that by the time i went to the store and back that fish would have suffered more than if i just put him out like i did.
cornpops;1549278; said:
I just read your other thread and it said the tank was set up around 2/16/08. The tank will take atleast a month to two to fully cycle, but with the current stock it will be a never ending battle with ammonia. I would see if a friend would let you use a filter pad from one of their tanks. This is where most of the BB is located. That filter will not be able to support all of those fish, even when cycled though.
As suggested from others in your other thread, I would highly suggest you return the Pacu. If you want to keep him, thats awesome, just make sure you know he will need a bigger tank in a matter of a couple months and a huge tank within a year
Clove oil is what you are refering to and can be found at any GNC for $5.
If it were me, I would return a lot of the fish or get a bigger tank.
Best of luck
LextacySC;1549350; said:
ok. I have a couple of questions. What exactly is a filter pad? Is it the bag with carbon in it? is it the sponge looking pad in front of the carbon bag pad? Also, do you think that it would be a good idea to get rid of one of my plecos or is it ok to have 2 since i have 8 fish total? I know pacu are supposed to get huge so that is an issue I'm trying to figure out. I might put him by himself in a 10 gal tank or something. Word up on the clove oil, i'll get that for sure if I have to put a fish down.