Anyone here an expert on fishkeeping?

I

IslandGal

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Three weeks ago I bought a 10 gallon tank along with 3 fishes. I must say it is really hard with cycling and one of my fishes died this morning :( I was told that the water in my tank will be clear of its cloudiness in a few weeks time but how long will that really take? I have learnt from soneone that a bigger tank is much better and easier than a smaller tank so I am planning to get a 55 or 75 gallon tank soon. Before I go ahead with the bigger tank I want to learn more about how to cycle a tank. Can anyone help me? I'd appreciate it so much :ty:
 
make sure u use clean water from walmart or anyplace to fill jugs than use ur sink water. and, do not drain all of water from ur tank, just 1/4 of water.. cuz ur fishes used to the their water. Which i learned from fish expert from aquarium. cloudiness, must be cause too much feed, or filter need to replace. Hopefully it helps.. Beside I have 48 gallons, and had for one years. Had no problems. Good luck..
 
Thank you, Sherry, for your reply :)
The guy at the pet store told me to put in some water conditioner whenever I used my tap water. He also told me to take out 10 to 20 percent water only if the water starts to stink. Maybe I should use water from the store besides tap water? I only feed the fishes once a day and I recently changed the sponge filter. I am curious, how long was it before the water in your tank cleared up?
 
moslty take one day to 2 days to clear up. Yeah i did tried water conditioner, but seem much help.. and u can also try to put in coat stress and salt (freshwater) that will help stop stress on fishes. anyway, tap water, is okay but alots risk. Better get water from the store. more safe side. Feed once a day is good, sometime feed every other day.
 
I don't know too much about this subject but it is best to ask pet stores and aquarium salesmen ( Make sure to ask them what really works and ask them not to sell that product because they need money but ask what really works ) also ask families who own fish in their home for more advice too. Hopefully this time around keeping fish will be a much more better and an enjoyable experience. God Bless ..... :angel:
 
Out of curious, what kind fishes u have?

Mine is South America Cichlids (4 differents kinds) I know they re expensive but beautiful colors. Beside, can't afford salt water, they re too way work and expensive. I used had 20 gal tank for about 2 years. then got 48 gals tank for a year.
 
Right now I have 2 African cichlids. I like the South American ones which are more beautiful and I hope to get some one day after I learn all about the fishkeeping :)

Today I went and bought a test kit to test the water. The ammonia in the water was pretty high and I just did a 25 percent water change. The people at the pet store that I went to seem don't know much about fishes. That's why I am posting in here to ask for advices and suggestions.
 
One of my friend know about fishes anything cause he work in fishes store maybe I will ask him to tell you how to use it :)
 
DeafMonkey said:
One of my friend know about fishes anything cause he work in fishes store maybe I will ask him to tell you how to use it :)
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Oh thank you so much!!
 
I am no fish expert here but I know a girl from high school years ago. She had fishes that tolerate in salt water. I had seen her cleaning the tank million times when I was over her place. She said that the most important thing for fishes to survive in the water is exact amount of salt and tempearture. If less or too much, they will die.


Hope it helps.
 
Cichlids get big and are territorial. 10 Gallons will never due. Right now I have 8 African Cichlids in a 75 gal. They need lots of hiding places. Cichlids are one of the dirtier fish so they are going to be hard to cycle with. I would have recommended you get a couple cheap goldfish to cycle with then give them away and get your cichlids. Oh well, to late now. You will just have to be religious about weekly water changes for awhile. If you have any specific questions for me IM me. Both myself and my husband have managed a pet store that carried fish. Good luck and have fun. Oh by the way Cichlids like their water a little hotter than most tropicals. If you have a thermometer go for the high side of the safe range about 85 degrees.
 
what type of filter system and did you check if your heater doesn't have a crack in it?

sometimes the heater will have a crack in it even tho its brand new
 
zookeeper4321 said:
Cichlids get big and are territorial. 10 Gallons will never due. Right now I have 8 African Cichlids in a 75 gal. They need lots of hiding places. Cichlids are one of the dirtier fish so they are going to be hard to cycle with. I would have recommended you get a couple cheap goldfish to cycle with then give them away and get your cichlids. Oh well, to late now. You will just have to be religious about weekly water changes for awhile. If you have any specific questions for me IM me. Both myself and my husband have managed a pet store that carried fish. Good luck and have fun. Oh by the way Cichlids like their water a little hotter than most tropicals. If you have a thermometer go for the high side of the safe range about 85 degrees.
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The guy at Pet Supermarket never told me that the cichlids were not suitable to cycle with! :(

Should I do daily or weekly water changes to keep the ammonia down? Today when I tested for ammonia it was at 8 ppm so I did a 25 percent water change. I also tested for nitrite and nitrate. Both were at 0 ppm.

Originally Posted by Sugar Addict
what type of filter system and did you check if your heater doesn't have a crack in it?

sometimes the heater will have a crack in it even tho its brand new
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I have a Whisper power filter.
I had a heater but it got broken :(
Right now I do not have a heater but I plan to get a new one. What kind of heater would you suggest me to get?
 
I read all the posts..

myself have experienced with fishes but they are Koi(s).. (japanese goldfishes).. they do get dirty and hog... even they grow BIG..
we have hard water.. I had to leave 30 gal out from tap water and leave it out for 24 hours with container and aniomia treatments..

then they will be fine.. WHATS more.. just be sure, dont let the sun direct to the tank, it caused cloudy..

And.. dont changing.. water yet.. cuz you have container and aniomia treatments are working .. it takes up to a week.. but follow the directions, a drop for per gal.. means you need 10 drops for 10 gal.. .. something like that..

wish you the best..
 
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