Some basic help needed

[nathanp2007]

Ok so as carl knows i have been having lots of issues with my 40gal FW. It was fine for a few months, then had the brown algae issue, then got super cloudy and didnt go away for months, until i had to resort to cleaning my gravel (boiling water poured on it). So to update you all, i did that, and it was still cloudy for 1-2 weeks, i then did a 25% water change , and all of a sudden after that, it has been super crystal clear ever since.

So now i feel like i am ready to restock the tank. Currently in there (that survived the onslought of issues) is my Siamese algae eater, and 4 tetras. I feel like for now, i just want to buy tetras...they have been strong and safe. Im thinking of buying 5, is that to many to add to my tank?
As far as upkeep is concerned. Will consistantsy be the key to not having my tank have problems in the past? Iv always read that larger tanks were EASIER to take care of cause things affect them slower...but my 5 gal has never had a issue, and my 40 has had issues for months and months.

So basically just 25% changes a week(siphon cleaned), and not over feeding? 1-i really dont want to have more fish die again 2- i really dont want to have my tank be ugly again.
Any advice and tips would be helpful. I just want my tank to be stable..and pretty with healthy fish in it.

[bikeguy33]

regular maintenance is the key. it is an odd coincidence that the 40 causes lots of grief....cause the larger the tank the less problems it usually is.check your water source and make sure out of the tap its good. other than that......just keep up vaccuuming and water changes. btw, you could add quite a few more tetras than 5. they have lil waste and are happiest in numbers.

[bikeguy33]

also.....the location of your tank could be causing issues as well. check direct lighting etc from windows.

[nathanp2007]

Oh well ya it is right at a window, but that doesnt affect it cause i keep the shade down and when i do put the shade 1/2 way up, i have cardboard blocking the sun from the half of the window that would have sunlight hit the tank. I havent had full on GREEN algae problems (besides from to much aquarium light exposure)

Well i plan to have like 25 tetras (maybe 10 regular and 15 silver tip tetras) but i figured i can only put in 5 at once

[bikeguy33]

5 at once is the most as the tank cycles

[murdock6701]

you're not the 1st to have this happen Nate - took mine a couple of months after I set it up to look clear

[murdock6701]

forgot to mention went thru the brown crud cycle too - salt really helped! glad you're on the road to a nice tank! congrats!

[cashay]

I am not one who could say anything, I am kinda thinking the oppsite of you right now.. lol ( how ironic) because I have tetra's in a 5 gallon tank and for the last few weeks have had trouble keeping my water parameters stable! Only last night I got it right.... for now but I had to add a lot of Buffer to get it right, and today I have decided to go ahead and by the bigger tank, in HOPES it will be easier to take care of! Good luck with every thing and keep us updated because I will be reading and hoping to learn something!

[8 in the Corner]

Nathan,
A larger tank is definitely easier to maintain than a small one, once it has cycled and is supporting fish. However, the larger the volume of water, the longer it will take to cycle in. The cloudiness is a natural part of the cycling process and it will clear on its' own eventually. If you have fish in the tank now, you should be doing 10-20% water changes every few days (4-5) to keep the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates in check (don't want any spikes to kill your fish).

Adding 5 tetras should not be a problem. Always add fish a few at a time and you should be fine. I would add only 4-5 every 5-7 days. The bacteria should be able to keep up with that schedule, tetras are typically small and don't put a very big load on the system. If you notice the water getting cloudy again, wait until it clears (keep doing your partial water changes) and then wait a little longer between fish additions.

If you are going to do a tetra tank, you should consider getting some serpaes, they are very pretty fish. The longfinned variety is particularly striking... IMHO . The longfinnned black skirts are very nice too.

I would not do gravel siphoning for at least a month. Give the beneficial bacteria a chance to do some multiplying. Then only do half the gravel each month after that.

You don't say how big your filter is, so I will just say that it should be able to cycle the water in your 40g tank through the filter at least 8-10 times an hour. Gallons per hour (gph) are listed on the box the filter comes in. You would need 320-400 gph for your tank. More is better...

John

[nathanp2007]

To answer you quickly, i have the pengiun filter (200gph) and a sponge filter from AmericanAquariumproducts. Can serpaes be found at the big chain fish places? (petco/petsmart) Just curious.

[goldenpuon]

Serpeas are indded a nice fish but they are fin-nipper and they are not recommeneded in groups any smaller than 6. Also, make sure teh other tetra species you have is compatable.

As for brown alage, it should clear up in time, just add a few fish at a time. Hope that helps!

Renee

[bikeguy33]

in my experience...they do nip a lil....but really no more than any other tetra i have dealt with. 8 is right tho...they are beautiful lil fish and they are quite hardy...

[nathanp2007]

im thinking il stick to regular tetras (like 10) and then 10 silver tip tetras, considering they are 2 inches each , and i got a 40 gal tank, i figure any more than that would be over stocking my tank.

[bikeguy33]

the rule of an inch per gallon is 99% of the time WRONG. tetras like...or dare i say NEED to be in groups.in a 40, it would sustain 50 or more tetras such as cardinals or neons or 30 or 40 black skirt size without a overstocking issue. with your small HOB and and internal you should be okay for filtration as well

[8 in the Corner]

Oct 24, 2008 13:26:21 GMT -5 nathanp2007 said:

To answer you quickly, i have the pengiun filter (200gph) and a sponge filter from AmericanAquariumproducts. Can serpaes be found at the big chain fish places? (petco/petsmart) Just curious.

The Penguin is not nearly big enough by itself. Having an additional sponge filter, as you do, is better but I would still say that you are underfiltered. You should upgrade to a larger filter in the future as you add more fish.

Serpaes are typically found at all the major pet supply chains. We always have them at Pet Supplies Plus.

[nathanp2007]

Ok good to know about needing some more filteration going on, thanks. Whats new now is so i bought 5 tetras and a betta(M), the betta for my 5 gal and the tetras for my 40. When i looked in my 40 a tetra was laying on my rock breathing hard, im betting he will die no matter what i do, its just odd that when my fish die, its one by one, never more than that.
Like all of them are fine, eating and swimming fast, but then one will be breathing hard in a corner, then 1-3 days later its dead. I would think if i had a disease or something that most would get symptoms at once, not one by one very very slowly.

Here are my water perameters: (done with the mardel test kit, as of right now)
Nitrate-0
Nitrite-0
Hardness-120
Buffer- 80-120
pH-6.8
Ammonia- .50

I will say death due to stress is possible for this tetra and some in the past, i have noticed the tail fin being gone/eaten from my siamese algae eater, he nips and stuff, and i havent had my plants in due to their needing to be cleaned.

[goldenpuon]

When you say no plants, do you mean live or plastic plants? Because live plants don't need to be cleaned and even help with water quality as well as giving fish a place to hide. Do you have hiding place for then in the 40? Unless there is something wrong with the tetras or their environment, they shouldn't be dying much. Your tank parameter are good except the ammonia which is high. Though your ammonia could be worse, but still, having it at .5 may be enough to stress the ones already in the tank and even kill some of the weaker new ones you add. For reference, when one of my tanks is cycling, I always wait for the nitrite and ammonia to hit 0 before I add any new fish. Ammonia nad nitrite are extremely toxic to fish
so having it at 0 when you add fish is key so the levels don't get so high your fish die.

Hope that helps. And don't worry, I remember cycling my first tank which was a nightmare., Even now, sometimes it can be a little hard.

[bikeguy33]

.5 isnt a bad ammonia reading. i think it is a lack of hiding places is stressing them out....

[nathanp2007]

Well i put all the plants (fake) back in cause i cleaned them, the 20:1 bleach helped but in reality what i probably NEEDED to do was scrub the plants to get the stuff off them, but i was to lazy, but theres only a lil bit on one or 2 of the plants. Ya so im guessing that the way to go now is every 3-5 days i should do a 15-20% water change (not cleaning the gravel though) for...a few weeks?

[8 in the Corner]

Oct 25, 2008 16:48:59 GMT -5 nathanp2007 said:

When i looked in my 40 a tetra was laying on my rock breathing hard, im betting he will die no matter what i do, its just odd that when my fish die, its one by one, never more than that.
Like all of them are fine, eating and swimming fast, but then one will be breathing hard in a corner, then 1-3 days later its dead. I would think if i had a disease or something that most would get symptoms at once, not one by one very very slowly.

That sounds like pH shock to me. The weakest of the group will die first. Then the next weakest and on up the line until a strong one might survive. Sometimes pH shock takes a week to kill a fish.

How do you acclimate your new fish? Do you just put the bag in the tank until the temp is equalized, then add the fish to the tank, or do you add tank water to the bag every 15 minutes for about an hour and a half?

If the pH in your tank is not the same as what is in the bag, you need to equalize it by slowly adding tank water to the bag. The bigger the difference, the longer you should take adding water to the bag. I have taken up to 4 hours with very expensive and delicate fish. When you invest your money in a pet, you should do everything you can to help them get a good start in your tank.

Also, never dump the water from the bag into your tank. Net the fish out and throw away the fish store water. There are hundreds of fish (many may be sick or have parasites) in their water and who knows what kinds of nasty little critters came home with your new ones in the bag water.

John