my tropical tank

Question
QUESTION: i have recently set up a tank. i am a beginner i started around 5weeks ago. i have two fish in my 5 gallon tank so far. i placed in my room.i have 1 albino barb and 1 gold barb. My albino barb keeps gliding across the rocks like its rubbing itself against it everytime it passes the rock. what is wrong with my fish, is this normal? does it change if i take out the rocks? and can i add more fish in?
how can you tell which is male and female for both of my fish? i want to have a try of breeding them soon. thank you
ANSWER: Hi Hazel,
The first thing I would do is to test my water for ammonia,nitrites and nitrates. If ammonia or nitrites are too high it can cause fish to become very sick. Nitrates are not as harmful to fish as ammonia and nitrites but you don't want them to get too high either. Sometimes if there is anything wrong with the water fish will act as if they are itching themselves on the gravel or decorations. Check the water first. Then make sure you are doing regular frequent water changes. Change at least 1/3 of your water once a week and be sure that the replacement water is the same temperature as the tank water and that you use a good water conditioner to eliminate chlorine and chloramine.
Since your tank hasn't been set up for very long it could be that it is still going through cycling and if so then ammonia or nitrite levels could be fluctuating some until the beneficial bacteria has established itself well enough to handle the fish waste. Don't overfeed so your tank doesn't have to handle more than it is able to at this point.I wouldn't add any fish yet until you check the water and then don't overcrowd or add fish too fast.
If after checking your water and if ammonia and nitrites are at 0 then if your fish are still behaving unusual get back with me just in case they have developed any disease that may be needing medication. Hopefully, it is only a matter of the water possibly not being quite right and causing them the problem.
As for raising fish, you usually can tell the females from the males since they are a little larger and plumper. I am sending you a website that will explain a little more on how to raise them and how to feed the fry.
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Minnows,%20Gold%20Barb.htm
Hope this helps,
Karen

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: thanx for the info!
how do u check for ammonia and nitrites?
i also have 4 new angel fishs, sometimes their near the surface, trying to chase the bubbles that the pump makes. is this normal? and i saw them lip locking once, does that mean they are fighting. my angels are quite small.
and when a fish is not swiming well like their on an angle, does this mean they will die after a few days, is there treatment for this?
thanx^^
ANSWER: Hi Hazel,
You can buy a water test kit at your local fish store. They have various brands. I would get the type that is a liquid test not the ones that are only dip strips. The liquid seem to be more accurate. You will find many different types of things to test for but for now I would only test for ammonia and nitrites.
As for your angel fish chasing bubbles--they could be mistaking the bubbles for food. Sometimes I have seen fish do this. Whenever fish are doing the lip locking they are trying to establish their ranks in the aquarium. It is sort of like it is with chickens. I don't know if you are familiar with chickens but since I have chickens also, they always have to establish a pecking order. It's almost like who is going to be the boss!
If your fish is swimming at an angle I would check the water as I said before. Sometimes, if there is something not quite right with the water a fish will act really weird. Could your water current be really strong and this could be causing the angle swimming? I just thought that since you said they were small that maybe they were gettting pushed around by the current. Check the water and if ammonia or nitrites are too high, do a water change. If you haven't done a water change in a while immediately do one. You would be surprised how quick the water can change and the fish will start to suffer.Oh, and don't forget to siphon the gravel too since it can hide alot of decaying food and fish waste. If your angel doesn't seem to do any better with a water change then get back with me and we will try to see what is going on. I don't like to always medicate if it can be avoided since sometimes it can be hard on fish and the good bacteria in your aquarium.Sometimes a fish will recover with regular water changes. Angelfish can be very sensitive to water that isn't very clean. I know since I raise angels. I have to do alot of water changes. It also helps small angels to grow faster and they are alot healthier. Also, make sure that the tank temperature is warm enough. I keep mine at about 80F. When the temperature is around 80F their immune system is supposed to be better therefore they can hopefully resist more disease. Best of luck!
Hope this has helped,
Karen

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hey!thanx
my small angel fish is currently in a 5 gallon tank, they are small.  is this too small for them? my house is currently renovating a new room at the back so i cant have a new bigger tank yet.
and when they are chasing bubbles does this mean their hungry? i see 1 of my angels go at itself at its own reflection, like swimming up and down, is this normal?
oh i also took both my barbs into a 45L tank (just swap them around), they seem to be happier with more space, but my gold barb sometimes go on the glass and chases itself (like the same thing as my angel does) is this also normal? do all fish tanks need lighting?
thanx for the big help!

Answer
Hi Hazel,
If your angelfish are really small you could temporarily keep them in the 5 gallon as long as you do frequent water changes since there will be more fish waste and it will cause the water to get dirty alot faster in a small tank. You will need a larger tank since they will get very long fins and their body itself will get large.  Also, the sooner you can get them into a larger tank they will grow faster too.
If they are chasing bubbles they could be hungry but if you think you are feeding them enough then I wouldn't worry about it. Fish can be really tricky about acting like they are starving and it is easy to overfeed them. Just don't overfeed since this is harder on your water conditions and it really isn't good for them either.
I have had alot of my fish looking at their reflection and even trying to fight their own reflection. Sometimes it helps to add plants and that way they can't really see themselves as well. I think sometimes they see themselves and probably think that there is another fish in their territory and don't like it.
As for lighting--it is good to have lighting ,either fluorescent or incandescent. You can just have natural lighting either but sometimes algae will grow more. Most of the time you should never have a tank near a sunny window due to the chance of overheating or the sunlight causing algae to grow. I have several of my tanks in a room with alot of windows and some sunlight gets to all of them at some point. I have very little algae growth so you will just have to decide for yourself if you want to use natural light. I also use fluorescent lighting in most of my tanks for several hours a day. It is sometimes good for some fish to have lighting but others don't like too much.I don't think your particular fish would mind having a light on. It also helps to see your fish better and to be able to notice any thing unusual on their skin or fins that you wouldn't see as well without lighting. You will also be surprised at how beautiful your fish will look with really good lighting.
Best of luck!
Karen