Plz hlp why is my tank so messy?!?!

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Wow, tough crowd. At least you are finally getting good advice. Get some UGF plates to get your new gravel cultured. When you go back to school, take the gravel with so that the fish don't have to go through this again. To keep the bacteria alive during transit, use battery powered air pumps.


And use your time off to learn about the nitrogen cycle and keeping your fish healthy. Apparently this far it has been dumb luck, but you don't want to continue down that path. It will be your fish that have to pay the price.
 
Angelfish17;2564695; said:
your fish are to big for the tank. BTW i suggest you try getting a snail or two.
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emily, DO NOT give advice on stuff you dont know. This tank is way to big for snails to make a dent in the problem, besides snails dont eat fish crap.
if its algae and uneated food, get a few Plecos. (unless you already have)
not the best algae eaters but i wouldnt put Goldfish, Ottocinclus, or Chinese Algae Eaters in that tank.
But yeah, youre overstocked
 
another thing is that if your gravel is old it could need to be washed really good or replaced. That was the problem for me is I needed it replaced. What works well also is a pictus cat. my freind has one and it eats alot and dosent poo as much as a pleco.
 
morph667;2589072; said:
another thing is that if your gravel is old it could need to be washed really good or replaced. That was the problem for me is I needed it replaced. What works well also is a pictus cat. my freind has one and it eats alot and dosent poo as much as a pleco.
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Sounds like you fell for the oldest trick in the book. Gravel does not get old.
 
no i didnt mean old exactly. sorry what i ment was that it might be old(used) and not cleaned and so it has fish waist and other things stuck to it from last time you used it. i used my dads tank gravel and he didnt have a working filter on the tank so it all collectedin the gravel and then he put it in tubs and left it in the basement and didnt clean them after taking all the water out. so it had old grime on it. and that can ruin your water. so you run water on the gravel and lightly run your hands through it to move the grime around and let it runn through a drain. but i didnt know that it was dirty at first so now i got new gravel and im gonna clean the rest.
 
WOW... There is WAY too much bad advice around here... So many members on MFK and so many with alot of knowledge but none of them came to read this thread...:grinno: The best option if the fish are still alive is to keep doing waterchanges everyday. Feed sparingly only 1 time a day. DO NOT add pleco's or pictus or snails or ANY other fish as some people suggested. DO NOT add chemicals to the tank as some people suggested! If anything I would trade the fish into a lfs and just get some new ones when you go back to school. I highly doubt you will find a lfs to hold them for you. JD and O's are cheap and can be replaced. Don't let them die. Do the right thing.
 
I agree with above poster, beantickler. The tank is overstocked and it is dismal news. The only things to do are to decrease the amount of waste and that includes 2 unthinkable options:

1. Rubbermaid tub suggestion (you bigger will need a tank regardless unless the fish are traded in)
2. Trade in suggestion (there are plenty of things comfortable in a 30 gallon)

Regardless of what you chose, a daily or every 2nd day change is mandatory until the fish are moved to a bigger tank.
Trading in is not always possible, some people might not accept trade ins, you could put an add somewhere if you feel it must be done. I dunno what to do. A while ago people gave me doom gloom kaboom stories about how I need a 1000000 gallon tank, I managed to give away a few of my fish. Tanks don't magically appear and they cost MONEY. Not everybody can get one at moment's notice, I have wanted a 150 gallon + tank for 2 years give or take and am not allowed to get one, I also don't have the money.

Here's the deal: Don't buy any animals to add. It is a bad idea. ALL ANIMALS produce waste. NOTHING eats fish poo except bacteria and live plants.

ALSO: snails and plecos are no exception. They eat algae, (which actually absorbs a bit of waste... it thrives in high nutrient water) they don't eat fish waste... They don't "clean up."




Oscars make chow out of snails. I tried adding one a while back when I had an oscar and it vanished so I added another and saw him attack it. I discovered a good treat for him at least.

There is another thing that is bothering me; there is more than one kind of pleco and not all of them get gigantic. The zebra pleco, bristlenose pleco, and those butterfly ones are all relatively small. The rest get pretty big, the most common gets over 1 foot. Those brown-black ones often sold as "suckerfish" or "algae eaters" are the the cheapest ones.
 
aeri;2552740; said:
- tank too small
- too many fish
- introd too many fish at the same time
- ugf sucks
- no filtration
- % water change? new tank with new water from the tap?
- cycling? parameters?
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UGF sucks eh ? Ignorance is bliss buddy :screwy:
 
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