How to switch fish cycling bottle products?
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Hi, I just bought Seachem Stability fish cycling product a few weeks ago and have been using it up until now and I want to switch to Tetra safestart. How do I make the change? Should I just stop using seachem and start using tetra or do I have to wait to make the change? Thank you!
Answer:
Stability does (not) work.
It has the wrong species of bacteria. The bacteria in there is land based, and will drown in the water after a week, which will crash the seemly completed cycling. Which means if you want it to "work", you need to add it every week forever.
Tetra SafeStart works. <------------ (The only proven working live bacteria product for aquarium nitrogen cycle)
It has the correct type of bacteria for aquatic nitrogen cycle. Just get a bottle rated at least 2x of your tank size, and dump it all in at once.
I assume you have fish in there already right? If not, you want to add a source of ammonia to keep the bacteria alive.
For more information on aquarium nitrogen cycle and fishelss cycling,
http://petskeepersguide.com/fishless-cycle-nitrogen-cycle/
How to introduce my betta to my new tank?
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How long should I run the filter on my new tank? How should I put my water in? Should I turn the heater on when the betta arrives or a day before?
Answer:
You need to "cycle" your tank before you do anything. This process is necessary to prevent toxins from fish waste from building up and poisoning your fish. I suggest the fishless method as always, to prevent unnecessary deaths on innocent fishes.
The basic jist is you bring the ammonia up to 5ppm (add pure ammonia or a raw shrimp)
Let the tank filter, the heater should be in and plugged in.
Every week test for ammonia. You should see a spike in them.
Then, you will see a fall to 0, and a spike in nitrites.
Then, those should go to 0 and you will end up in a nitrates spike.
Change some water, and when nitrates are less than 20ppm, ammonia and nitrites are 0, you may add your fish with no worries. Float the bag for 10-15 minutes and net him/her into the tank.
Good luck!
Also, this process can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks, and can be sped up by adding some filter media from an established tank. Additional info: http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_fishless.php
How to care for my fish while traveling?
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I'm from South Carolina and I'm moving to Colorado in a few months. I have 3 fish tanks, 15 fish all together. (1 dragon goby, 5 guppies, 4 bala sharks, 3 glass catfish, 2 Senegal bichirs). I'm driving to Colorado, how can I care for my fish over the trip so that they don't die?
Answer:
Go to your local pet store and buy bags to hold your fish. When breaking down your tank, save the filter cartiage (keep it in some tank water) and leave the gravel with some tank water as well. This will help keep the good bateria when setting it back up. Every few hours, put in some distilled water into the bags (remove some water if needed). This will keep the oxygen and not add any harmful materials. Lastly, make sure the fish remain in a secure place with a stable tempature.
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To clear up, make sure you remove the gravel from the tank and have some tank water with the gravel. This will help prevent the bottom of the tank from breaking out from under you if you use a larger tanks.
How to make a vegetated aquarium?
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I've been fascinated by all those underwater landscapes and such that it makes me want to make something like that. What are some tips and hints? Are there any tutorials to show how to make one? Where can I get some aquarium plants to make them? I'm planning on getting a 10g+ aquarium and making it really nice for my fishes. My mom wants me to get a star fish and other sea creatures. Any tips on how to take care of salt water fishes? What items and materials do I need. What are some foods based on for them? Water temperature and such.
Answer:
You can't have a planted tank with salt water. It's either a saltwater or freshwater tank. Planted tanks are freshwater. You can get many real plants at Petsmart and Petco, but those plants suck. If you like the real natural looking landscapes, then look up some ADA tanks and iwagumi. Those are the most natural looking in my opinion.
For a planted tank, regular old gravel won't do. You have to get substrate. Eco complete is a good one that is easy to get. You can get it at Petco for a little over $20. ADA Aquasoil is one of the best substrates but there's a shortage on it atm so it's extremely hard to find. If you do find it, expect to pay a big load of $$ for small bag. Since you're a beginner, I wouldn't suggest going all out iwagumi style. Those tanks require lots of maintenance and $$ so I would suggest those tanks for more dedicated hobbyists.
Light is one of the most important things you need. Some plants require low light and some require high. Good lights for planted tanks are really expensive. I would suggest for you to go low light and buy a bunch of low light plants. Try getting a fluorescent light for your 10 gal. If I were on a low light budget, I'd prolly do an anubias tank. Anubias are very hardy and looks really nice when you have tons of it. Anubias is also pretty expensive - about 7 bucks for a regular sized piece. You would need quite a bit. After you have some, just let it grow and cut the rhizomes in half and tie on a different part of the driftwood. DO NOT BURY ANUBIAS. They will rot. The best way to grow anubias is to tie it on a piece of driftwood with some fishing line or sewing thread.
Many people will say you need fertilizers. If you're doing low light, I wouldn't worry too much on that. For high light planted tanks, you would need CO2 and fertilizers.
Here's some cool anubias/low light tanks -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOiVetldyFw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rs0HmAGWonU
If you want to look at some very nice natural looking scapes, just look up iwagumi or ADA style tanks.
EDIT - Oh, I apologize. I don't know anything about saltwater. Had no idea you could have plants in it. Explains why there are plants at the beach lol.. I'm not sure if he's looking for a saltwater landscape though. The way he asked the question seems like he wants a natural valley type looking scape..
How to clear up my cloudy fish tank?
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My five gallon filtered fish tank is starting to get a little cloudy, what should I do to get it back to normal?
The water is yellowish, so that means that it has amonia. What should I do to get it back to normal?
Answer:
By cloudy do you mean white silty cloud or yellow colored? 5 gallons is a small tank and will be more prone to water issues. Did you recently do a water change? That will make it milky colored. If the water is yellow, then its ammonia. There is something you can buy at the petstore for cloudy water, but chemicals should be a last resort; figure out what is going on with the tank first.
How to filter a large 250 gallon aquarium?
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I built a homemade 250 gallon aquarium, it holds water and does not leak. Im new to fish aquariums so i would like to know what im going to need to do the make this tank inhabitable for my fish. I plan on going with a freshwater tank, and i already know how to ballance my Ph levels, and cycling a tank before adding my fish, but i do not know how to filter a 250 gallon tank, nor do i know how to airate it. Thanks. Jonathan
Answer:
I have a 300 gallon tank and i run 2 Fluval FX5s on mine they are large canister filters .
You don't need air pumps if you have a Good filter.
That is my recommendation for a tank that size but others will have other Ideas.
How to keep goldfish alive in a bowl without a filter but Tetra food is kept?
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i got 2 goldfishes from a carnival. I have tetrafin food but just a small vase. Do i need a special type of water? I have so much questions plz help me!
Answer:
I'm assuming the goldfish are common goldfish. You need a 140 gallon tank with a filter, otherwise their growth will be stunted, they'll have ammonia poisoning, and they won't be happy. Just give them to somebody with the right tank size or a pond.
How to know if your male betta fish is depressed?
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I just got a new betta fish (male) and he is swimming around and eating, but how do I know if he is happy or sad?
Answer:
I have has a lot of them and if there swimming around and eating they are a very happy fish trust me if he's doing all that your doing a great job good luck to you and your fish
How to make sure my pleco gets enough to eat?
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Ok so i have a 2 inch bristlenose pleco that i just added to my 20 gallon long community. I bought some sinking pellets for him, but when i try to feed him all my other fish get to it first and eat it all. Even if i feed them all at the same time. What do i do? i don´t want him to starve.
When i say pellets i mean big round like wafer thingies
Can i feed him lettuce?
Answer:
You need to feed him in the evening, you should offer a variety of foods,
sinking omnivore wafers, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, raw, blanched,frozen then unthawed veggies, spinich, etc... he will eat when hes hungry enough and when he smells somthing he likes. He is probobly still settling in, he will be fully capable of competeing for food once he is settled. "assuming you dont have larger bottom feeders"
Those small fish food pellets are not ideal for plecos, they like to suck on larger things like wafers and shrimp pellet sticks.
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hikari+shrimp+pellets&um=1&hl=en&sa=N&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&biw=1024&bih=625&tbm=isch&prmd=imvnsfd&tbnid=_oDGgUrw-JKLYM:&imgrefurl=http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm%3Fpcatid%3D5018&docid=u30kCqR8PW8HZM&imgurl=http://www.drsfostersmith.com/images/Categoryimages/normal/p_610224_FS13314Z.jpg&w=311&h=315&ei=4Wl7T9DHD-X30gHIqdClBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=344&sig=114106679600467345309&page=1&tbnh=129&tbnw=127&start=0&ndsp=16&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0&tx=48&ty=38
http://www.google.com/imgres?q=hikari+wafers&um=1&hl=en&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&biw=1024&bih=625&tbm=isch&tbnid=qPEUyFmXguRmSM:&imgrefurl=http://www.aqacenta.com.au/hikari-wafers.html&docid=x3axZH-hZPlsSM&imgurl=http://www.aqacenta.com.au/images/hikariwafers-980x480.jpg&w=980&h=480&ei=Z2p7T5CPIeLq0gHVw9SvBg&zoom=1
How to treat an emerald green cory that was suffocating for 10 minutes?
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Long story. How do I treat him. He's on his sides sometimes, swimming is kind of difficult, somewhat rapid breathing.
I don't have Melafix but I put Stress Zyme. I put an airstone, decreased the temperature on my heater a bit, and turned off the lights. I hope he lives. Is there anything else I can do?
Thank you for responding. I am still surprised that the other two lived for ten minutes without air and came out almost fine.
Answer:
In addition to the things you've already done, I'd suggest you turn off the lights in your tank and make the room dark. Light can cause fish to become more stressed, the dark will help relax him. If you have any stress coat I'd also add that to the tank.
EDIT:
You've done all I can think of.. He might live, fish can be surprisingly hardy.
