New fish tank

Question
I just bought a 20 gallon fish tank, and filled it with a few goldfish, then transferd them into a smaller, older tank i had. Then i put three tiger carps , and two zebra dannios.

How do i make sure that all of the levels of my water are where they should be?

AND

What other fish do u believe would be most compatible with these types of fish?

thanks.

Answer
Christina,

You need to return the goldfish to the pet store asap.  All goldfish require 20 gallons for one goldfish and 10 gallons for each additional so if you bought 'a few' or 3, you need a 40 gallon tank.  And if the older, smaller tank you put them in was smaller than 40 gallons with an 80 gallon filter you're in for a lot of problems with them.  Ammonia will build up far too fast in a tank that wasn't cycled before fish were put it in, in a tank that is overstocked and in a tank that had 3 heavy bodied fish dumped in it at once.  Ammonia is highly toxic to fish and will cause them disease and finally death.  There would be no way to control it in that small tank.

As far as the 20 gallon tank is concerned you're going to have problems with it as well if it was not cycled first.  Every new tank has to go through the nitrogen cycling process.  This is where the beneficial bacteria accumulates and breaks down the fish waste, or ammonia and nitrites.  Without the bacteria the ammonia and nitrites burn and suffocoate the fish, causing illness and finally death.  It's never advisable to put fish in a tank that hasn't been cycled or is cycling.  This process takes 8-12 weeks but can be done in a couple of weeks with raw cocktail shrimp as long as you have no fish.  If you already have fish it's much more work.  You have to do daily 25% water changes and double dose the Seachem's Prime and this still may not work and if they die you have to start the process all over again.  Plus, you need to purchase a liquid drop test kit and monitor for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates.  Ammonia and nitrites should always be 0 and nitrates should always be 5-20 ppm.

Also, if you bought tiger shovelnose catfish, which are sometimes referred to as tiger carp, you can forget the 20 gallon tank.  Each one gets to be 5 feet in length and needs a 180+ gallon tank for one.  If you meant tiger barb that is different, gets to be 4 inches, but both barbs and danios need to be in schools of 4-6 of their own kind to be happy and healthy and so that they don't pick on their tankmates.  You could get max 4 danios and 4 tiger barbs in a 20 gallon tank.

Good luck : ) April M.