New Tank User

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hi,
I am from India. I was always very fond of keping fish and my boyfriend has recently suprised me with 2 black moors. A friend gave me an algae sucker, and  my boyfriend went and bought 2 angels as well as another algae sucker. I had 6 altogether. Now my angels are dead just 3-4 days after getting them. One dies and a day after the the other angel died too. I was sad so hes got me 2 more fan finned (I think) half gold half silver goldfish. WE put chlorine removal drops and feed them with the small pellets as well as frozen dried bloodworms.
We r very new to this. I read your article on New Tank Syndrome" and had no clue that I had to prepare the tank before adding my fish. My boyfriend is a neat freak and as soon as the water looks a bit cloudy he changes the water almost every alternate day, and empties almost 3/4 water every other day when hes not removing the leftovers. I now know thats WRONG. Theres no Gravel in my tank!!! Is that OK? The black moors n the algae suckers seem to be quite happy, and the other two goldies have just been put in today. We have an underwater filter but there are no products available here to check ammonia and nitrite levels here in India. I love these fish...
What should I do now that the fish are all in the tank? Will my fish die?Please HELP CHRIS!!

Lov Sanam
Answer -
Hi Sanam;

What size tank is it? You may have too many fish for the tank. Especially to start it out.

Also remember that goldfish are cold water fish and are not compatable with tropicals like silver dollars and angels. Does the tank have a heater? Tropicals need one, but goldfish shouldn't have one at all.

Feed the fish less food so there are no leftovers. All food should be totally gone in 5 minutes after feeding.

What does your filter look like? Does it run from an air pump outside the tank hooked to a skinny air hose? Does it have its own water pump inside of it? What do the filter pads look like?

How long have you had the tank set up with fish in it?

Let me know about these details as soon as you can and I can help you figure out how to handle it........

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Come on over and join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/questionsanswers/a/naavigateforum.htm

My member name is ChrisR62. See You There!

Hi Again..
Thanx for your response. Well the tank is 1 1/2 feet.. I dont know how many gallons. Yes the filter has an air pump outside and connected to a skinny plastic hose . the filter pad is a black spongy thing. i dont have a heater., its quite warm here..do i need one? the tank has been setup 2 weeks back, but both the black moors were put in then and the tank has been cleaned every other day , as i had mentioned.
i however havent cleaned it now in 3 days since i read your article about New Tank Syndrome., and it surprisingly hasnt become cloudy....again, is gravel required? i am ready to do whatever i need to so please help me...I LOVE MY FISH!!!
Answer -
Hi Sanam;

Goldfish don't need heaters so you are fine there. (Black moors are fancy goldfish). The tank is still in the break-in period and needs time to finish. It will be cloudy off and on for another 4 to 6 weeks. Don't clean the filter at all during that time. The sponge part of filter is where the beneficial bacteria is trying to grow and take care of the waste that causes cloudiness in your water.

Your tank is too small to have any other fish in it besides the black moors. Goldfish, including black moors, get 6 to 8 inches long and are very messy fish. They are deep-bodied too so they need plenty of room to grow and thrive without being sick or killed by the toxins they produce. It would help them if you had a power filter on there too. With as messy as these guys are, the sponge will probably not grow enough bacteria to consume enough of their waste. Power filters are a self-contained filter that has a water pump inside. It hangs on the back of the tank. It sucks water into the box and through a filter pad. It then overflows the filtered water out of a spout into the tank again. They work great and may help reduce the cloudiness a bit. Use it along with the sponge filter so you still have the newly developing  bacteria colony to keep the break-in period on it's way.

You can add gravel if you want to, but it isn't necessary. A bare bottom tank will help you see wastes and to easily tell if you have overfed the fish. Gravel can get pretty dirty and pollute the tank when waste and food gets stuck in it.

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

Come on over and join us on the freshwater fish forum at About.com to get even more information too;
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/questionsanswers/a/naavigateforum.htm

My member name is ChrisR62. See You There!


Hi Again!!!
My 4 goldfish & 2 algae suckers are doing well and seem to be very happy. I have not yet changed the water and am allowing the break in period to set in. Its been more than 3 weeks now.The water seems to be pretty clean, except on some days its cloudier than others. What I wanted to know was , how do I clean the filter after the break in period, so that I don't kill the newly grown bacteria in it? Please help like you have...Your advice is the greatest!!! Thanx a ton Chris..

Answer
Hi Sanam;

I am so glad they are doing well. After the break-in, rinse the filter sponge in a container of aquarium water. Squeeze it a few times and replace the water if it is especially dirty. This will help get the waste out but most of the bacteria will still be clinging to the sponge.

Here also is my article about new tanks;

Followups welcome

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins