dbutler19

Ok, I have a new aquarium and it had been giving me worlds of trouble. I have a 2.5 gallon fish tank that hs 2 neon tetras and 2 afrian swarf frogs. I know many have told me that it is crowded and for that I am buying a 6 gallon eclipse fish tank. Right now however I have many questions before I make the switch. For one, the water clarity in the fish tank I have now is terrible, and I want to know what to do to stop it before I do the new expensive tank. It looks like pond water right now even with my power filter filtering everything. I have been trying not to overfeed and have switched to feeding frozen brine shrimp( just getting a knife and scraping the cube and getting a little and putting it in the tank.) I was told that the fish and the frogs would immedietely go after it but only the fish have gone after it and it appears like it is making the water even worse when my intentions are to make it better. can someone please help me and tell me how I need to feed them, how much, how often, and what exactly i need to be feeding. Second, what do i do about the water clarity. I have tried a 25 percent water change and that did nothing. I went to petco and they said that right now the tank should not be having water changes cause of the new growing bacteria, so I have put water changes on hold. I have tried tru clear water conditioner and it makes it better for a few hours then gets really cloudy again. I look at so many clear fish tanks and want it so bad! What am i doing wrong. Thirdly, how should I go about setting up the new tank and putting the fish into then new tank? Fourth, what chemicals should I put in the tank, how long do i need to leave it running, and what do i do to prevent the cloudy water from coming back. I really just want a clear tank that is healthy and fun. Please help. Lastly, I want to be able to put more fish in the new 6 gallon aquarium. How many more can i put in there and what kind should I get.

Last question.... I have another tank with a betta and I saw him lying on the gravel yesterday and it really spooked me. I just got him and he was swimming great when i put him in but now he hides and stays on the bottom some and swims some, What do i need to to about him. I have lots of problems so please somebody help me get my aquariums in order...

Thanks

Lucy

Wow, sorry you're having problems, I'd continue to change the water, 50% daily until you got the new tank. I wouldn't keep adding chemicals. Only a dechlorinator when changing the water out.
The bacteria doesn't live in the water, it lives in the filter, on the filter media, on the gravel and decoration so don't worry about effecting the cycle.
When are you getting the new tank? Even the 6g isn't big enough for the frogs and neons. If you want more fish, you should consider at least a 15g.

The neons don't eat much, their stomachs are only as big as their eye. I feed mine sinking tetra pellets. Just tiny bit in the morning and in the evening.
The frogs are so much slower than the neons, you have to make sure they're getting food. It might help if you had a little dish in the bottom and put their frog pellets or blood worms in that while the neons are busy eating.

What size tank is your betta in? Is it cycled? What are the readings for ammonia nitrite and nitrates?
The answers will help other's help you.

Good luck.

dbutler19

ok i will do the 50 percent water change daily but do i do it while the filter is on or off? And just add a little dechlorinator right? I get the tank sometime next week... the betta lives in a 2 gallon aquarium with an undergravel filter with plants and decoration etc. I feed it once every other day like the thing says when you buy it.

dbutler19

i heard the bettas are extremely tough is that also correct?

pepetj

Hi dbutler19:
I guess it won't hurt to turn your filter off during water changes, I do keep mine running though.

As for your third tank: try going fishless-cycle with ammonia solution -the one you could find at a hardware store, that if shaked would form bubbles as drinking water; if bubbles remain discard it and check another brand.
Easy to follow directions: Turn lights on 24/7, increase temp to 84F, keep the filter running at max speed, as well as airstone, add plants -or not, and then just add Xdrops of the ammonia solution until ammonia reaches 5ppm, add that dose daily until nitrites spike, at that point add half Xdrops daily, until nitrites and ammonia go to zero, do a water change, add treated water and ready to go, should take you around 12 days).

As for feeding every-other day I don't think it will hurt your Betta or neons, don't know about frogs.

What's your Betta's name? I assume your Betta's 2gal tank is cycled since you know about the Nitrogen Cycle. Bettas can stand a lot of maltreatment and abuse, that's unfortunately true, but they do suffer the consequences -e.g. muscle atrophy.

I'm glad to hear you're taking good care of yours! Make sure you turn lights on/off in a somewhat regular schedule (no need to be perfect) both plants and fish need the day/night cycle.

Bettas do get bored and need some changes in their environment from time to time. I have a female Betta with a school of young Zebra Danios (8, 4 of them Glowfish) and three Fancy Guppies in a 10gal, which is also overstocked, I move things around (decor, some plants, even one of the airstones). However, the water in that tank is really clear since I provide extra-maintenance and extra-monitoring of water parameters.

I guess all you need to add -in case it is not included in the etcetera- to your Betta tank is a small heater since you are providing good care for him (filtration, plants, decor, etc.). Just keep in mind that the smaller the tank, the more unstable water parameters will tend be.

To give you an idea, I do twice a week partial water changes for my 5.5gal and 10gal or nitrates could/would rise to harmful levels (I keep 3 ghost shrimps in the 5.5gal, will add at least two more!). All other tanks get the weekly routine.

Have you considered keeping the frogs the six gal? You could keep 5 or 6 neons in a 10gal, but without the frogs; if you like the combination, aim at 15 or 20gal tank.

Good luck, keep us posted

Pepe
Santo Domingo

Lucy

I turn my filters off when I clean the tanks, but like pepetj, other's leave their's on.
Yes, that's right, add the dechlorinator to the new water according to the directions on the bottle and make sure it's about the same temp as the tank before you add it.

Every other day isn't enough for the betta. I feed mine 3 or 4 pellets in the morning and 3 or 4 pellets or blood worms (not both)
Here's a betta care sheet Chickadee wrote up, please take the time to read it, she's the betta mommy of all us betta parents lol:
Welcome and Betta Care Guide - Please Read First!!!


Becareful with the UGF, it can really collect some nasty stuff under it and your tank will be in trouble before you know it.

dbutler19

what can people tell me about eclipse aquariums? I just bought the 6 gallon and want to know details about them. Good purchase?

Alessa

yes, they are decent aquarium setups but you really have a limited amount of fish you can put in there...

dbutler19

in a six gallon aquarium how many fish can you keep in there... like how many tetra and guppy etc. snails etc..

sirdarksol

Not much. In fact, due to its lack of swimming space, the list of fish I would suggest for it would be pretty minuscule. A dwarf puffer, or a colony of shrimp, or, I think, killifish. A betta would be an okay one, but I prefer to keep them in tanks no smaller than 10g (most folks around here say 5g, so you'll get little argument if you go with a betta).

Alessa

You cant really keep anything but one betta in that reduced space.

Blub

Guppys, Dwarf gouramis and Neons need AT LEAST a 10gal tank to thrive. In a 6gal, they will SURVIVE, but never THRIVE. A Betta on its own would stock a 6gal - Otos would be a bad move because if the Betta is aggressive, they have much less places to hide.

Blub

Don't advise it then!

Alessa

Ok. I deleted all my posts so that there is no room for confusion. and I just mentioned it because it was asked "how many" fish could be kept there. just to clarify I was not advising it to be done. And I would NOT recommend it to be done at all. Im really sorry if I left room for misinterpretation.

pinky93

To help with the water clarity i would suggest that you do 50% water changes and use a bio bag filter media in the filter they work wonderfully

Devon

From what I understand, ADFs need 5 gallons of water, so yes your 2.5 gallon is extremely overstocked. Putting those little critters in something bigger will no doubt help your water clarity issues. Also, neons are schooling fish and will not be happy campers without several friends and adequate swimming space (the magic numbers for groups of tetras seem to be 5-12, but 6 or more of a type is recommended). The neons count for 1.5" of adult fish each -- or 1.5 gallons apiece when going by the small fish-to-tank-size rule. To accommodate a small, happy school of tetras and two ADFs, you'll want a 15-20 gallon tank, as mentioned before.
Neons will eat from the top of the tank, but as Lucy said the frogs are going to forage near the bottom and are very slow to notice food on the surface. It's best to get them food that will sit on a plate at the bottom so you can put it in front of them at feeding time and they have a chance to see the food before the neons do.
I would really recommend moving your betta to the 6 gallon and keep his temp at 79F. 2 gallons is too small to heat (the temperature fluctuations from a heater in a tank that small would do far more harm to your betta than good) but your betta, being a tropical fish, is happiest when his tank is 78-80F. He also is susceptible to boredom and depression -- bettas are inquisitive, active fish when given the space, and you will enjoy him a great deal more if he has more room, just as he will enjoy his new-found "stretching" room.

Annabelle

One thing to bear in mind is that as a general rule amphibians are generally more sensitive to water quality as thier skin is extremely permeable. Most definately keep up the water changes and dont add chemicals (except dechlorinator of course). Also, correct me if im wrong but dont most amphibians produce alot more waste than your average fish? If this is the case I would go for a bigger tank. Get the largest one that you can reasonably afford to buy, run and maintain, it will mean less work in the long run and happier pets.

Keep your Betta in the 6 gal and he will be much happier. I have two Bettas, one is in a 5 gal (till I can wheedle my way into getting something bigger) and the other is in my 2ft community tank (20 something gal) and they are both so much happier for it. They are so much more intelligent and full of personality than most people give them credit for and they will show it all if you give them the space and the stimulation. Heating for them is crucial, I lost one of my Bettas to lack of heating before I knew better.