PH in my 55 gal.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Awesome, thanks man! Stopped in today and I noticed the last few rosey reds were nowhere to be found, and the tiger was moving around quite a bit! he Definitely munched em down haha.

Things are looking up! Just checked my PH etc and everything looks pretty good, ammonia liquid test was a little yellow/light green but not really. Nitrite and nitrate levels looked good from the liquid test and the strip test, did a 10 gal water change anyways.
 
Would it be beneficial to stir up the substrate allowing pieces of food/debris and wastes to enter into the filters, and would it speed up beneficial bacteria?

Noticed a strange "fishy" smell, you know the kind I mean...is this an indicator that there is BB present with the fishy smell?
 
NO don't stir up the substrate you may get a spike don't over clean ,that may do more harm than good. Also stay away from ph altering chemicals they belong in the garbage. If you are seeing food wast than you are overfeeding only feed every other day and smaller amounts until your tank is cycled and stable you are at risk of ammonia spikes.
 
I agree that you should leave the substrate alone. Are you vacuuming the gravel? You should be doing this during regular maintenance anyway. A cheap one will run you about ten bucks, so it's even less of an investment than the test kits!

As for the smell, I don't know what it represents other than a tank that's not quite right! An established, cycled tank does have a slight odor, but it smells more like a pond or something than fishy. So, for now, don't worry about it, and when you're completely cycled, you may find that it goes away altogether. If not, we'll figure it out. What foods are you feeding, and are you ensuring that it's all eaten? Normally, all the food being eaten is no problem with an Oscar, but since yours is a little under the weather right now, make sure there's none sitting around at the bottom after he eats. It'll only make things worse.

Also, the rosies that were in the tank can officially be the last feeder fish he ever gets. It won't hurt him. In fact, it will lessen his chances of getting disease or illness brought in by disgusting pet store feeder fish, and reduce the problems associated with thiaminase, and ensure he's getting a good-quality diet. He'll eat so much more that there's really no reason to continue with the feeders.

Here are some links on some problems that commonly occur with Oscars and with feeder fish. You can become educated about them before they ever become a problem!:

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/thiaminase.htm

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167891&highlight=thiaminase

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwhllefaqs.htm

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/FWHLLEf2.htm

If you haven't noticed the number of these links that are coming from WetWebMedia, I'd like to point that out. This site is absolutely amazing. I've been reading for about 2 years, and I still haven't covered everything! It's a great site to bookmark for quick reading about pretty much any fish or any illness.
 
ill def have to take a look tomo when I am off from work, I plan on bringing back the oscar tomo since he is sick, that will leave me with one albino cichlid in the tank...the smell is gone due to the head of an uneaten feeder that I noticed today and removed, yes I do vacuum the tank out slightly once a week, but not 100%...i was actually thinking about getting two WILD oscars which I think are a GREAT color...heres a link

http://www.aquascapeonline.com/prodList.asp?item=WILD Oscar&idCategory=167

I was thinking about getting a couple...sincethey are on sale...my friend said I should not "waste money" since my tank is not 100% established but I wanted to know what you guys thought, the feeder fish were fine until they were eaten,the cichlid is active as hell and looks very healthy as well! Ammonia levels are nil and everything seems spot on, would it harm anything in having those two WILD oscars and a cichlid? Or would you guys advise waiting? However the price may be back up to $20-25 in a month if I wait...whats your opinion?
 
I'm still wondering what cichlid you've got there! It's probably a good idea to find out.

The problem with moving on to wild fish at this point is that you're still sort of figuring out the basics when it comes to this stuff. Wild-caught fish are going to be a lot less forgiving when it comes to water chemistry (pH, KH, etc.).

I'd stick to more hardy fish until I had a better idea of what, exactly, is going on in that tank. What's your nitrate level now?

It might be best to run your tank with just the unknown cichlid that you have for a month or two. I know it's hard to resist new fish (believe me, I started with a 20 gallon two years ago...) but you really need to get the tank established and build a good knowledge base before you dive into wild-caught fish.
 
booooo lol but I will take your advice! As far as I know he is a albino african cichlid? White with a red eye...besides that the ammonia levels are low, prob about .1 ppm? Just a guess right now since I am not home to test...not sure about hte nitrate and nitrite levels.

So just roll with the one fish for now? Or get 3-6 of something hardy since its a 55 gal. I know you said just go with the unknown cichlid for now, but wasnt sure if 3-4 other misc. fish would encourage the speed of BB...wont hurt my pocket really for 20 cents a piece haha.
 
I'd stick with what you've got.... wait for ammonia and nitrite to be zero, and have some measurable nitrate. Then do a water change. Then wait another week and test again LOL. Then buy fish, and stock slowly.

What the fish is will determine how you can stock the tank... how large it gets, what its temperament is, what water chemistry it requires.... basically everything! Maybe you could post a photo and ask for ID in the cichlid forum...
 
yeah I will have to try that! Pretty much I was HOPING to eventually have maybe 1-2 carniv. fish that are mean mofos lol SINCE piranhas are illegal without a permit in NY unless one was to..."travel" to a destination and buy some and bring some back...but thats out of the question since it is against the law.

But yeah maybe by next month or the month after I will have a pretty oscar in the tank! I would love a dragonfish as well since they are pretty mean looking...anything that has behavior like a pack of piranhas? I am sure you guys are asked that question alot...Always been a fan of aggressive pets like red tailed boas (for the most part they are docile until feeding) savannah monitors etc.
 
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