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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Goldfish / May 2005What have I done wrong?
A few weeks back I accidentally cracked my existing fish tank. It wa only quite a small one so I decided over the weekend to treat our fis to a bigger and better tank. On Sunday I bought an Elite System 3 tan - it may not be a big aquarium but it's big enough for our 3 fish (1 Litres) So, I proceeded to fill the tank, add the correct dosage of tap saf and started the pump. Yesterday morning I added some friendly bacteri (initial the dosage as stated on the bottle for new aquariums) I then left the tank for another 12 hours at least before transferrin the fish from the old tank to the new tank. Now, I know what mos people will say at this stage (and maybe they are right) - I've no left the tank long enough to mature - but I've previously done ful clean outs on the existing tank and the fish seemed happy enough in th crystal clear water. The fish seemed fine when I went to bed last night - swimming aroun exploring. I gave them a bit of food which they ate so everythin seemed normal. I then got up this morning to find them all just lying still on th bottom of the fish tank - a sign which I've seen before to indicat things ain't right in there. Was a nightmare trying to get them out a they kept swimming into the new ornaments in the tank. Have transferred them back to the old bowl - luckily I kept the ol water just in case - and they seemed to recover immediately. What have I done wrong? Is there anything anyone can recommend I buy to test the environment i the new aquarium? I've seen a number of tests available but what shoul I be testing for? Any help anyone can give would be very beneficial to me. Cheers -- The G Man What sort of fish do you have? Have transferred them back to the old bowl - luckily I kept the old water just in case - and they seemed to recover immediately. What have I done wrong? Is there anything anyone can recommend I buy to test the environment in the new aquarium? I've seen a number of tests available but what should I be testing for? Any help anyone can give would be very beneficial to me. Cheers. ~ The G Man Have you tried talking to them? Plants appreciate that. 3's a crowd, 2's nice. Sometimes Love Birds perch nicely en pairs, A yin, a yang, weds harmony. Or perhaps, They, just, sick of contamined water. > A few weeks back I accidentally cracked my existing fish tank. It was > only quite a small one so I decided over the weekend to treat our fish [quoted text clipped - 32 lines] > > Any help anyone can give would be very beneficial to me. Cheers. I don't know what your experience level is, so forgive me if any of this stuff seems elementary to you. Geezer's right that your fish will want a lot more space, but if they're still fairly small then you may be able to get away with a smaller tank for now. A good rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per four litres of water, for a rectangular tank. Your notion of "old water" being good is intuitive but incorrect. Fish - goldfish especially - release wastes into the water: filters transform the waste through bacterial action. The bacteria grow on every available surface. What makes an older tank healthier is the presence of the bacteria on the tank and filter surfaces - the "old water" itself is less healthy. Testing is very important and very easy to do. Go to a pet store and get some strip tests - those are the easiest to use. You definitely want some ammonia tests, since ammonia is the most likely problem in a new tank. You can get a combination test strip that measures nitrates, nitrites, pH, and alkalinity; that's a good one to get as well. If testing shows ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates as too high, start doing water changes (say, 30%) until they fall to safe levels and remain there. If your pH or alkalinity is off by a lot, then your tap water is probably unsafe and you'll need to treat it before adding any to your tank. Incidentally, a larger tank will be a easier; if you plan to keep these fish for a while you might invest in the larger tank now, since you'll have to eventually. -Peter  SignaturePull out a splinter to reply. > Geezer's right that your fish will want a lot more space, but if they're > still fairly small then you may be able to get away with a smaller tank > for now. A good rule of thumb is 1 inch of fish per four litres of > water, for a rectangular tank. I'd counter that and say (for goldfish) 1 inch of fish per 3 gallons. 1 inch per 1 gallon for trops though (typically). Try acclimating your fish VERY SLOWLY to the tank water. As everyone has already told you, you will need a bigger tank. BUT, changing the fish from the old to the new, then back again, indicates to me that you had a change in PH or some water difference that sent them into shock. If they recovered when you put them back into the old water, it wasn't anything toxic - I don't think, anyway. So try this. Empty much of the water from your "old" container containing your fish (Save it). Then, SLOWLY - like 1/8 cup at a time -- put the "NEW" container water into the old container with the fish. Wait 10 minutes, then add a little more and repeat until about 70% of the water is from the new environment. Go slow. If no changes and the fish seem OK, go ahead and add them to the new tank. Good luck. n Maybe you needed to put the water from your old tank into the new tank, because the condition of that water was what the fish were used to... |
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