I have had a 15 gallon fish tank for a lil over 6 months. I had it set up and added all the regular stuff you would add when setting up a new tank except fish. Well, I finally decided to get some fish and petsmart sold me the above amount saying that this would be max capacity. I now wonder if I may have overdid it. I am having a heck of a time with ammonia levels and cannot get them to a normal level. I am having to do partial water changes every two days and the levels still do not drop down past 3.0. I am using API test strips. I have the marineland bio wheel filter. I began using ProQuatics bacteria starter and water conditioner and proper ph 7. I then switched to Wardleys 3 in 1 water conditioner for 7.0 ph, ammonia neutralizer, and chlorine/chloramine eliminator. Another store told me to switch to aquasafe and ph up and use ammo chips, but I have read that Ammo chips keep bacteria from growing. My nitrates and nitrites are perfect according to Medley 5 in 1 strips. HELP
Answers:
You had it running/set up for 6 months with no fish. Did you use an ammonia source to start the cycle %26 maintain it for the 6 months? If you did, when you added the fish, it was too many at once. If you didn't use anything to start the cycle, it's cycling now.
See if your pet store has BioSpira. It will instantly cycle your tank. That ProQuatics and Stress Zyme and Cycle are crap and don't work. The bacteria in those bottles are more then likely dead by the time you buy them. The BioSpira has to be refrigerated, and is really the only one I've heard of that actually works, but expensive and hard to find. If you can't find it, stick to the small daily water changes.
No ammo chips, and stop using all those other chemicals-especially the ph up/down. Get some Prime by Seachem. Kinda pricey but lasts a long time. Use it when you do water changes, it removes chlorine/chloramine, and detoxifies ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates and won't disrupt the cycle process. That's the only chemical I would use.
Return the neons, they aren't hearty fish at all, and stress very easily, I"m actually surprised they're still alive with those ammonia levels lol. Return the catfish for now, if it's a cory cat, they prefer groups of at least 3, and you're tank is too small for 3. If it's another catfish, tank is too small for it. Not sure how well AD frogs handle ammonia, don't know what to tell you there. I'd stick with the mollies/guppies. After the tank cycles, get a couple of snails for algae control. If you still want the neons, 6 would be fine, but add them after the tank is established for a bit. Neons don't put out much of a bioload, unless they die under something and you don't notice lol.
Good luck!
yes. they'll live a shorter life.
I have a lot of fishtanks.. you need to use KORDON AMQUEL.. and do regular water changes for about 2 weeks, do not use any anti bacterial products in your tank. After your biological filter (the de-nitrifying bacteria that live in your tank and filter) is established, it should be able to cope with the ammonia levels in it self. keep using the proquatics bacteria starter.. but dont try too hard to maintain the ph at 7.. the fish should be fine at a higher PH, the acids you add to maintain PH could stress out your fish.. If at all, i would suggest you get a marineland millenium 2000 filter, because it has a plate in the back for bacteria to grow, i have never had a problem with this filter and it does a wonderful job of keeping ammonia levels down.
ammonia->bacteria->
nitrites->denitrifying bacteria
nitrates..waterchange gets rid of the nitrates.
try kordon amquel. add a few capfulls.. then do a water change.
also know that water changes cause the temperature of water to rise and drop dramatically depending on the temp of water you are putting in.. this sudden surge of temperature can stress your fish resulting in a nasty infection called ich.
A tip-
Whenever you set up an aquarium, get one of those feeder gold fish 1-2 of them should be good for an aquarium about 2 gallons.
Feed them frequently in your new aquarium for about a week. This will start establishing an ecosystem in your tank and promote bacterial growth. after that week, you can remove the 2 fish and add fish slowly - like one at a time - what you did was "shock" the tank with the crazy amount of waste and leftover food from your fish. It will take a while for the bacteria to be able to cope up. but things should be fine in a month. Hopefully none of your fish die.
it does sound a little cramped try getting a larger tank
this will increase your life expectancy of the fish and will help prevent disease from spreading
No it is not too much for a 15 gallon. Throw all that crap away that the pet stores sold you. This is what you need.
Aquarium Salt: to keep your PH and ammonia levels safe
Gravel Vacuum: to syphon the waste from the gravel. Rotting waste in the gravel will cause your PH and ammonia levels to rise. Vacuum gravel every week, at the same time as cleaning the gravel, it will do a partial water change as well. You don't have to take the fish out when you do this either. If you can get a hold of crushed coral it will help keep you PH and ammonia in check as well. I have had many, many, aquariums and breeding tanks, etc. This is a very cheap and effective way to maintain an aquarium. When you get into all the chemicals and stuff, it gets confusing and to tell you the truth, it doesn't work. Please give this a try. Aquarium salt will run you about $5 and should last you 6 months or so. A gravel vacuum will be about $15 but it is a must for every aquarium. Crushed coral is a little more expensive, not sure exactly how much, but you don't have to have it. Its just an added bonus and it looks nice in the tank too. Good Luck! Hope this helps.
I started my aquarium about 7 months ago, %26 I got everything from petsmart too. I had the same problems. I finally got a 40 gal. aquarium %26 moved my fish, frogs %26 shrimp into it. Everything has been doing much better. Good luck!
That is quite a bit of fish. A larger tank will help the fish to live longer, and grow larger. The more room you give them, the bigger they will get. Fish need room to swim. All of those fish could be causing your problems with getting the levels right.
get rid of the neons and you'll be fine. they're hard to take care of anyway.
you might want a few live plants/ java ferns to add to the decor and help with cleaning the water a little.
Your tank is going through it's cycle. If you've had it set up, but have had no source of ammonia, you have no nitrifying bacteria built up. I'd take the fish back if you can, it's doubtful they'll survive the cycle. The next thing that will happen after the ammonia spike is a nitrite spike, which is very toxic and deadly. Once your tank finishes cycling (ammonia 0 and nitrite 0, some low nitrates ok) you can start adding fish, but don't add all at once. A few fish every couple of weeks so your biofilter can keep up with the new additions.
If you can't take the fish back, keep up with the water changes. You can also get BioSpira or Stability to help quick cycle your tank and minimize loss. If you have a friend with fish, ask them for some of their gravel, put it in a stocking, then put it in your tank. It'll be full of good bacteria. Same with an old filter that has been in an active fish tank.
Once your tank is cycled, the fish you mentioned may be a lot of upkeep, but it is do-able, except the catfish. Cories are very sensitive to water changes and need to be in groups of 4+. If its a pictus cat or other catfish, it will get too big and may eat the other fish in the tank. You'll need to stay on top of water quality and do biweekly water changes. The mollies will get a bit big.
FYI, it's usually better to not mess with the pH, it can lead to pH swings that can easily kill fish. A pH a little outside of the ideal range that is consistant is better than a pH that varies. I only use a chlorine/chloramine neutralizer and stability. The less you use the better. Good luck.
Won't your catfish outgrow then and end up eating the rest of your fish? They're usually aggressive.
They say 1 inch of fish per gallon is the max.
The best rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish for every gallon of water.
Yes! I notice they didn't sell you any type of fish that eats waste or algae--i hate petsmart.
The rule is 'one inch of fish per gallon of water'. So if you have a 15 gallon your allowed 15 inches of fish (i.e. one 5 inch fish, two 3 inch fish and one 4 inch fish ..or you could have six 2 inch fish and one 3 inch fish .and so on and so on). You want to make sure you take into account, how big your fish will get too. If your fish are small now, they may get bigger and outgrow the maximum. That will cause stress on your fish because they are cramped and their water gets dirty quicker and your ammonia levels get higher. You should get rid of some fish or do like we did and keep buying more tanks.
I agree with much that has already been said to you. Your problem is too many fish, too fast, in an uncycled tank. Cycling from scratch with fish takes at least 6 weeks. You nitrate and nitrites probably look good because you are in the beginning of your cycle and neither of these have had a chance to rise yet. Your ammonia will look terrible if you test it.
Get an ammonia test kit!!
Points that bear repeating-
-Get BioSpira. It will help you get your nitrifying bacteria levels to where you need them and should greatly shorten your cycling time.
- Returning the neons . . . it isn't a bad idea, at least temporarily. I actually think your tank could handle that much stock if you have plenty of live plants, but keep in mind that your guppies and mollies will breed and drop babies all over the place.
- Add live plants. They help to create a more biologically stable environment, and they look great. Make sure to remove any parts of the plants that brown as soon as possible. Go for plants that require "medium light" as opposed to "bright light". I actually like the ones that come as bulbs. You don't accidentally get snails overrunning your tank and they grow well in regular light. If the bulb floats, chuck it, it's a bad one and will only rot in your tank.
- pH is always going to want to be whatever your dH and kH cause it to be. When you add a chemical to change the pH, it is just going to bounce back to it's base level. Fish are more harmed by these bounces than they are by a pH that is not quite in their range. Fish can be quite adaptable and will tend to adjust to a stable pH so long as it isn't too far out of their range. Do some research on the fish you wish to keep. Let your pH settle, see what it is, and if it's not grossly outside the parameters your fish need, leave it be.
Neons like a neutral pH, but guppies and mollies do best with a higher pH and hard water. They also prefer some aquarium salt in their water. Actually, they are brackish fish that happen to do well in fresh water. While you do not have to give them brackish water, some aquarium salt will do them good.
The addition of calcium (someone recommended coral) to the substrate will bring your kH and dH up, causing a higher pH and harder water.
As to water conditioners, I prefer Prime.
- I agree it's probably best to get rid of the catfish if it's not a cory, but there are smaller cories that can be had, and if you got rid of the neons, you could probably get 3 smaller ones. Do some research. Neither catfish nor cories do well with salt in their water, so that's a consideration as well. Ghost (glass/grass) shrimp can handle some salt, tho, and are good bottom feeders as well as algae eaters and make an interesting addition to a tank. Your frog will want to eat them tho.
As to getting a fish that "eats waste", I do not know of any such thing. There are bottom feeders, such as cories, that will eat up any food that goes uneaten by your other fish, but that's food, not "waste". There is no such thing as a fish that will eat the waste of another fish. The plants will go far in doing that, but you still have to use a gravel vaccumn and get the solid waste out of your tank.
Lastly, your frog. He will be much happier and more active and interesting in a little fishbowl all his own. He doesn't need filtration, and given how they hunt for food, it will be very hard to see to it that he gets enough food in your tank with all those fish.
You won't be trying to cycle the fishbowl. Do complete water changes every week.
Here are 2 links on ADFs!
http://allaboutfrogs.org/info/mypets/dwa.
http://www.flippersandfins.net/adfcaresh.
Best of luck!
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