New fish lover in spanaway

Hello all, I'm Tim. I am new to keeping fish but loving it already. I found what I hope to be a good starter set up (30L) and hope it's adequate for the fish that came with it. Two eight inch red bellys, a couple 4-5 in goldfish, and two 4-5 inch plecos. They are in a holding tank till tomorrow when their new tank is safe. I had to start from scratch with this one, as it was very cloudy/ nasty. I Worked on the tank for over 8 hours. So, these lil guys have all new stuff now and (hopefully) I did it right, according to the info I got from friends/google/forum lurking. I am open to all suggestions/ comments/ criticism. I am your noob to mold and I hope to learn alot here as I go. Pics will come soon when the fishies get in their new house.
-Silky

hey tim, welcome to the forum. We're very glad to have you

Welcome SilkyT
PM sent to you.

Welcome to the site!

Honestly, I think that is too much fish for that tank. especially with the Red Bellies, as they will grow HUGE and produce a lot of waste. What kind of filtration are you running?

Welcome to the forum! Sounds like you have quite the crowd. Care to post pics in our show and tell section?

Yeah, unfortunately it is a lot of fish for the tank, but it was a take all or nothing deal. If I found someone looking for a couple red bellies I would be willing to part with them so they could have a larger home. Right now the tank has the tetra whisper 20-40g it came with. I'm open to any suggestions. Thanks for the warm welcomes, this is gonna be fun.
Silky

Welcome, now are these red belly pacu or the other red belly?

Yes, theyre Pacus. They are beautiful fish, just gettin too big for this tank.

Check out the equipment for sale on the forum.... I know I have a tank listed and is a pretty good deal. Anyway, welcome to the sight, maybe we can get you a bigger tank cheap. this forum is filled with great deals! Dont hesistate to ask questions, and post some pictures.

Welcome to the site! The goldfish actually have a big ammonia load to, and depending on the type can get up to 9", I wouldnt reccomend putting them in anything smaller than a 55 unless you have a HUGE filter.

I've had a pacu chomp a fish in half after being together with it for about a year. The fish it bit in half was a good 5 inches and much faster than a gold fish.

I would definitely have to agree that the bioload is too large for that tank. You can filter the heck out of it for now, but I would strongly advise finding homes for those huge Pacu. I would recommend a minimum of a 55 gallon for those big boys.

Ok, so I'm in the process of looking for a bigger home for these guys. The local fish store said they don't have room but to check back again. Anyone care to help me interpret my water tests from tonite? Ph is 7.2. Ammonia is 0.25 ppm. Nitrite 0.5 ppm. Nitrate 10 ppm. I did a 25% water change after the tests.

SilkyT wrote:Ok, so I'm in the process of looking for a bigger home for these guys. The local fish store said they don't have room but to check back again. Anyone care to help me interpret my water tests from tonite? Ph is 7.2. Ammonia is 0.25 ppm. Nitrite 0.5 ppm. Nitrate 10 ppm. I did a 25% water change after the tests.

Do another test and tell us what the paramaters are after the water change too. Also, is the tank cycled or not?

I will go do more tests and post the results. As far as the cycle, I used about 10 gallons of their old water, the established filter, rocks, and toys. So maybe? I'm obviously new but trying to learn and do the right things. Test results to come shortly...

Post water change parameters: ph 7.2 ammonia looks between the 0 and .25 color. Nitrite .25 ppm. nitrate 10 ppm. What say ye experts?

Looks good for now, I'd just do another water change and test in a few days again. As long as you have objects (substrate, decor, filter media, etc) from the established tank in your current tank, it should make your cycling a lot faster. Here is an in-depth article that is great at explaining how to cycle your tank if you already have fish in it:

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/articles/53

If you have any more questions about water chemistry and/or cycling your tank, please post in Chemistry and Aquarium Equipment.

Hey Tim,

Here is a good article on water chemistry
This is a good read.
http://www.freshwater-aquarium-fish.com/water_chemistry.htm
These numbers are survivable for your fish but you really want them at zero. Except PH. The PH is good. It may raise when the water parameters get better but dont try to raise or lower with additives. Do water changes.
Your tank is going to have to cycle for the water parameters to stablize and get these readings to zero. When ever you disrupt a tank, it is going to re cycle. You never want to reuse the substrate unless you clean it extremely good first. Dirty substrate will mess up your water quality real bad. Like I mentioned, since you have fish in the tank, and so not to stress out and kill the fish, it is going to take longer to get thru it, but it will cycle. You will want to do regular water changes during this cycle to keep the readings low. Add stress zyme. It will help with completing the cycle. Do the small water changes every couple days and watch the test #s. If ammonia or nitrites start to rise do a small water change.

And Note " Many older aquarium books and most fish retailers tell people to cycle the tank using one or two hardy fish. This is not only unnecessary, it's cruel. The water in a brand new aquarium is nowhere near adequate for supporting aquatic life!"

Oh and dont think its too much work and decide to give it up. Once the cycle completes and the water parameters are good and stable, it will be more enjoyable and well worth the initial work to get it going. We can all attest to that.

Honestly, Amonia should be 0, and nitrite should be 0.... Your nitrate is good, so I am disagreeing with lilfishie on that... you need nitrate to break down the amonia and nitrite, its the good bacteria you get when a tank is cycled, so obviously the tank is cycled, its just too much fish, fish waste, and I dont know how much food your giving them, I would cut that down too... this will hopefully slow growth, and they wont create as much waste..... keep food at a minimum until you get hooked up with that bigger tank....
Your first post said 30L, wich would be under 10gallons, did you mean 30gallon tank??? If you dont have the room for a new tank, just create a new post for the larger fish under the Free stuff, or even try to sell them under the freshwater fish sale topic.
If you just waiting for $$ to get the new 55gal + tank.... then continue doing a 25-30% water change 3x weekly, and cut the food down like I said earlier until you can afford your new home for them. better make it quick, with nitrie and amonia in the tank your fish wont last very long at all.

To clarify, it's a 30 gallon (long). So far, two local shops said they don't have room for them. I guess it's ad posting time. Thanks for everyones help, I'm learning alot in a little time. I'll get pics up in the show and tell soon.
Silky

sandnuka wrote:Your nitrate is good, so I am disagreeing with lilfishie on that... you need nitrate to break down the amonia and nitrite,

Just FYI, Quote from RedSea Nitrate Test Lab. Nitrate concentration should be kept below 20 ppm, but one should always strive for a zero reading.

High levels of nitrate will stimulate algae growth.

All water test kits will recommend 0 ppm on ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. We strive for that, but fish can survive with a trace of nitrates.