natureboy12

i just started my tank a few days ago, i cleaned it out, rocks and everything. i filled it and let it sit for 24 hours. after that i brought my water in to petco and they tested it, everything was good. so i got one dwarf gouramis, two little rasboras, and three neon tetras. they all seem to be doin fine, except the gouramis. they've been in there for a little over 24 hours. and from the beggining the gouramis has been wierd. at first it just sat on the bottom all night. it seemed to be breathing rapidly also. the next night it was swimming around for a little and i was relieved, because i was researching that gouramis like the surface of the water. anyways after a while i came back and noticed he is just floating on the top with his mouth nibbling the surface constantly. i did a very small water change to see if it helped and a little after he started to move around some more but still only staying on the top of the water only going down a tiny. all the other fish are acting normally. im thinkin maybe he needs a friend or something. or maybe i should get some real plants since all mine are fake. i read they like plants especially floating ones. im just scared he might die and i dont want that, anything helps. thanks.

aquarist48

Hello Natureboy and Welcome to Fish Lore. I've moved your thread to the gourami/dwarf gourami section of the forum. It will help you to get more responses. You can always click on "my threads" to find your thread.

I'm afraid that your fish may be suffering from ammonia poisoning. According to your aquarium information you have just set up the tank and you are unaware of the nitrogen cycle. Link :The Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle This is crucial to fish keeping.

I recommend doing daily 30 to 50% water changes and adding a water conditioner called Prime or Amquel + to detox the ammonia for a 24 hour period until it's time for the next water change. A test kit, API (liquid) Master Test Kit is what is most recommended on this site. It will test for everything mentioned in the nitrogen cycle. Although you add the conditioner to detox the ammonia, you may still get a reading for ammonia but it won't be toxic to your fish since you've added the conditioner.
You need to continue the daily water changes until you have readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and under 20 nitrates.

I know this is a lot of information being thrown towards you but it's necessary to keep your fish alive. We're here to help you any way we can so don't hesitate to ask questions at any time.

Best wishes.
Ken

natureboy12

ok, so i just got a bottle of conditioner and some tablets to get rid of the ammonia. the conditioner said it would remove chlorine and chloramine and so i got the tablets just in case for the amonia. i treated the water for both accordingly. how long will it take before i notice anything? the fish got even more lathargic. it seems he is barely conscience. for a sec i thought he was dead.

alright the gouramis is dead. thats depressing, but i do understand the importance of understanding the nitrogen cycle now, im gonna do my research before i buy another fish. my other fish are doing fine however. i will purchase a test kit first thing after work tommorrow. thank you for your help.

Hello Nature. I merged your two posts to save some space.
Thanks. Ken

aquarist48

Oh no! So sorry you lost him Nature I'm not familiar with the ammonia tablets you've mentioned. Once you get your test kit and know your readings then I would start on the water changes. Check to see how long the tablets detox the ammonia. I would think it would be for at least 24 hours. Do your test before adding more tablets. If you have the means I highly recommend the Prime or Amquel + water conditioners over the items you've mentioned.
Keep us posted!
Ken

natureboy12

alright, i went to the pet store and got a "master" test kit. its not impressive at all, its got the five in one on one srip and then a vile for the ammonia. the pH is reading high at a little higher than 8.5. and the alkalinity is also reading high a little less than 300. the hardness is right in the middle at about 110. i am having a problem with the nitrates and nitrites though. the color chart has pinkish red to campare with but my strip was clearly showing greenish and eventually just turned grey. im thinkin the test kit is faulty or maybe there is something with my water. i did the test about an hour and a half after a 30 percent water change. i wanna go back and buy a better test kit but i dont know what one i should get, any suggestions would be great. my fish seem to be doin great i have three neon tetras who always stick together and these other two fish which i cant remember what they are. lol. sad, but im new i guess. lol. they are really active though and they play with each other so... they seem to be good, especially right after the water change.he amonia levels are perfect at 0. barely even visible. but also sad cuz that means the cycle will go slow huh?

Diggly

You need to do water changes every day until the ammonia and nitrItes are both at zero and nitrates are at around 10.

I believe you can buy a poduct called prime out there, use that to condition your water and detoxify ammonia between daily water changes ,

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore natureboy!!

im also sorry for all your issues I do hope they get better soon! but with fish keeping, patience is something they dont sell in a bottle and you will learn as you go....

the 5 in 1 test strips arent reliable and I wouldnt trust what the readings are at this point..they could be way off or not ...its just not something to rely on at this point.how did you get an ammonia test as most strips do not include an ammonia test on them? ..if you can find an api LIQUID master test kit, it is much more accurate and gives you hundreds of tests....not to mention it has everything you need in there....then you can test and we can go from there....at this point I would return the new strip test, and see if you can find the api liquid kit, and also pick up either some prime or amquel+ water conditioner...using one of those with your water changes, will detox the ammonia/nitrites for 24hours and keep your fish safe until your next water change...you will probably have to do this for a few weeks to save the fish and yes , it will slow down the cycle process, but keep your fish alive......good luck!

natureboy12

ok.. im gonna get one of those liquid kits tommorrow. i get paid tommorrow. lol. im broke. anyways, last night i was checkin in on my fish and there were these little white marks on the inside of the glass. like on the aquarium, not the fish. some marks looked like little streaks and others were just little patches. they were gone by morning and the fish seem to be fine. the only thing that i can think as to why is i realized earlier that i was over treating the water with water conditioner stress coat stuff. i was puttin 1 tbl spoon every five gallons when it said 1 tbl spoon every 10 gallons. i corrected myself on the last water change. im just hopin that didnt hurt anything. but does anyone think that might have caused the white marks?