Oscar Died. What did I do Wrong?

[astrocreep]

alright. Thank you all so much for all the advice. I just have two questions:
1. What is a FAT water change?
2. The only person near me that keeps fish is my brother. And he just has a low tec tank with goldfish, mollies, sword tails, guppies, and plecos. And he has a hang on the back filter that has one of those mesh bags, not a sponge. So how do i obtain cycled media from his tank?

By "FAT" I basically meant a lot of volume. If you have a 40gal, I would change 25-30 gallons daily, this should keep the ammonia levels tolerable. But still you want some established media in your filter to allow bacteria to start colonizing your filter media.

Its actually great that he runs actual media in a mesh bag. Ask him if you can take about half of it (depending on how much he has) and go buy him some new media from Petco to replace it. His remaining media will seed the new media with little issue to no issues for his fish, and his used media will seed your filter and immediately start helping your situation.

If your ultimate goal is to keep both Oscars as well as other tankmates, realistically you need to start looking for at least a 5 foot long 120gal or a 6 foot long 125 gallon.

No need to look for a 55, then a 75, then a 90, because they will demand more space than that.

 

[Zak03]

By "FAT" I basically meant a lot of volume. If you have a 40gal, I would change 25-30 gallons daily, this should keep the ammonia levels tolerable. But still you want some established media in your filter to allow bacteria to start colonizing your filter media.

Its actually great that he runs actual media in a mesh bag. Ask him if you can take about half of it (depending on how much he has) and go buy him some new media from Petco to replace it. His remaining media will seed the new media with little issue to no issues for his fish, and his used media will seed your filter and immediately start helping your situation.

If your ultimate goal is to keep both Oscars as well as other tankmates, realistically you need to start looking for at least a 5 foot long 120gal or a 6 foot long 125 gallon.

No need to look for a 55, then a 75, then a 90, because they will demand more space than that.

So I should take some of the carbon from his mesh bags and add it to mine? also, is using some that bacteria in a bottle from the store a good idea while i have fish in the tank?

 

[astrocreep]

So I should take some of the carbon from his mesh bags and add it to mine? also, is using some that bacteria in a bottle from the store a good idea while i have fish in the tank?

oh its just carbon in his mesh bags? Im not talking about carbon, Im talking about filter media that the bacteria grow on like this....

 

[astrocreep]

Bacteria in the bottle is kinda like a kick starter for a new tank I think. May help, may not. Personally I wouldn't waste the money. You're gonna run through de-chlorinator a lot more for awhile until you can get a handle on this tank.

 

[AKBlueJacks]

What I would recommend for you at this point it to go online and google “biologically established active sponge filters”. There is a web sight that sells cycled sponge filters. It is what I did the second time I got into the hobby. My first start was just like yours now. I never did get it figured out and a gave up. It seems like every time I suggest this, there are those who don’t like the idea, but if I was ever starting over again I would do the exact same thing. Do massive water changes until it arrives. Then put it in and you will have a cycled tank right away - much less than 6-8 weeks. The only thing extra that you will need is an air pump and air line. Good luck.

 

[astrocreep]

What I would recommend for you at this point it to go online and google “biologically established active sponge filters”. There is a web sight that sells cycled sponge filters. It is what I did the second time I got into the hobby. My first start was just like yours now. I never did get it figured out and a gave up. It seems like every time I suggest this, there are those who don’t like the idea, but if I was ever starting over again I would do the exact same thing. Do massive water changes until it arrives. Then put it in and you will have a cycled tank right away - much less than 6-8 weeks. The only thing extra that you will need is an air pump and air line. Good luck.

This is also a good option in this case. +1

I think most people would be reluctant to use a cycled sponge filter from online because who knows what the tank conditions were, but in this case, it is a viable option to get your tank under control.

 

[astrocreep]

Yeah dude they are less than 10$ bucks!!

I'd order one right away

 

[Ulu]

. . . google “biologically established active sponge filters”. . . .

This is a really good method if you can get a good one.

I put extra ones in my established tanks so that I would have active sponges later on when I needed them.

I have 8 various ones from 2" to 6", and this is how I start all my new tanks now, no matter what kind of filter system, by first putting an active Sponge Filter in the tank.

 

[AKBlueJacks]

I put extra ones in my established tanks so that I would have active sponges later on when I needed them.

I do the same thing. Almost all my tanks have a HOB filter and a sponge filter. Just pull a sponge filter when needed and drop it in another tank.

 

[duanes]

If your friend has had the carbon bags in his tank for a fe months, it will be colonized by bacteria, and putting the bags in your tank, could help your situation.
If your friend has had any major diseases in his tank throughout that time, it may pose a risk to your already weakened fish, although probably no worse than the ammonia toxicity you have at the moment.