missi

Hi! I am new here. I got a biorb as a present and It was horrible. I didn't know anything, and I got too many fish. Then they started dying off. (I had a dwarf frog, 3 tetras, 3 ghost catfish, and two fancy guppies) All of the catfish died with no signs of illness. My frog ate a tetra, and then one of the remaining tetras got Ick. The tetra that was not ill died, and the frog then ate the tetra with ick. After all of this, the last catfish died. I treated the tank with something the fish store gave me (it turned the tank blue) but I was simply not enjoying the Biorb as you could not touch it without it scratching and I could not get the ammonia down even with daily water changes.

SO. I got a bigger tank. I got a 37 gallon Marineland tank that has a biowheel hood filtration system (I still do not know much about this) I put the remaining friends in the new tank after I had set it up (about 4 hours after as I returned the previous tank, and had no where to put the frog and two guppies) Everything was great until about 4 days after, a guppie got ICK. I didnt like the chemicals, so I read about treating with warm water and salt. I added salt, raised the temp and did daily water changes, and now he is fine! It has been about 4 days since everyone was symptom free. I added more fish on Friday when I had my water tested and everything was perfect according to the guy at the store. I probably got too many, but everyone was VERY small except the gourami. I got two mollies, two platys, one unknown orange fish as he is too young to know what he is yet, 4 algae eaters (not sure what kind. very small. had 5, frog ate one first chance he got), and a neon blue dwarf gourami. Since then one algae eater has died, and one is sick. I am going to get some algae wafers, as this could be the problem (I dont have any yet...)

I am going to buy wafers and a test kit of my own this afternoon, but any general advice on this would be appreciated! I will add pictures and more info later on! If you read this far, thank you so much!

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!! I dont think the tank is cycled and you can read about that here
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

MOST fish stores will tell you things are fine to get a sale of new fish..

if you can get an API liquid master test kit, you will always know your own readings without relying on others

you need to do daily water changes with some prime or stress coat + as it will neutralize the ammonia that will show up in the tank if it hasnt already...this will be done until the tanks cycled ....unless you used an established filter or tetra safestart, its almost impossible to have the tank cycled by now...it takes weeks with fish in it ....goodluck with things and once its all done, you will love the tank and want more!

Lucy

Hi Missi welcome to Fish Lore

What a terrible introduction into a wonderful hobby. I'm really sorry you experienced so many deaths.

I'm going to give you a link to follow....it's got several good beginner links to read. If I try and type it all, I'll probably confuse you. I tend to ramble. lol
Beginner links

The other thing is, what kind of Dwarf Frog do you have? African Dwarf Frog or Dwarf Clawed frog?
I'm suspecting it's a Dwarf Clawed Frog. African Dwarf Frogs are small and peaceful. While they will eat things that fit in their mouth, it's kind of unusual it's eaten that many fish.
If you follow the link in my sig, there's pics of my African Dwarf Frogs.
The difference between the two is ADF's have webs on all 4 feet and the ACF have webs on the back and claws on the front.

Good luck

Dojo

Hi

it doesn't sound like your new tank has had time to cycle, what were your water test readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate that the guy at the store said it was fine?
What symptoms is your algae eater showing? Wafers are a good idea and defo important to have your own test kit, try get the liquid test kit rather than the strips as they aren't very reliable.

missi

Amonia: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5ppm
Nitrite: <0.25ppm (slightly darker than 0ppm)
pH: betweeen 7.2 and 7.6 on the chart

My frog is an African Dwarf frog, he has webbed feet on all four feet.

My algae eater is an otocinclus. I looked him up. He is laying on his side at the bottom, but attached to the side of the tank. the rest are all swimming around (the rest as in 2) and sucking on everything they can get a hold of!

ANy advice would be appreciated greatly!

Shawnie

the daily water changes with the prime or stress coat plus + ...not plain stress coat....you are close to finishing tho so keep the patience in check which is sooooooo hard to do i know

missi

I use Prime. That is good right? Should I still add salt to make sure the Ick doesn't come back (I have read that you should do it 3-10 days after it is gone according to different sites, it has been gone for about 4)? I did a water change today, but the guy at the fish store said to only do it every other day, and the water was icky, so I did it in a day and a half. I will definitely be doing it again tomorrow, I got a lot of poo and other out today, but I want to dig around in that gravel some more and see if I can get any more out.


Water temp is 84 degrees. Should I lower it now that the Ick seems to be gone? What should I try to keep it at? 78 deg?

Lucy

Something I think we missed is the salt.
Cats or frogs don't do well in salt. Your nitrites are a little raised. I go ahead and do a series of daily water changes to get the nitrites down and reduce the amount of salt in the tank.

Before adding new fish, it's best to quarantine them for at least 2-3 weeks. If they carry an illness, it could infect your whole tank.
Also only add a couple at a time so you don't overwhelm the cycle.

I love otos, they're great little fish. Your frog is feisty! Is he getting enough to eat with all those fish? They're carnivores so you have to be sure he's getting frog & tadpole pellets or thawed frozen blood worms.

Edit: For the ick, leave the temp raised for about 2 weeks, increase aeration to make up for the lack of oxygen in the warmer water a do a good gravel vac to pick up all the ick spores.
Prime is a good water conditioner.

missi

I certainly hope my frog is full! I was originally told to feed him freeze-dried bloodworms. That is when he started eating fish, go figure! In the past month and a half he has eaten 3 fish. One in the past 3 days. I am now feeding a half cube of frozen bloodworms daily, just before bed, and after the light has been off a bit. So far he ignores them. The other fish eat them before he seems interested.

I have a airstone tube that goes across the bottom and is always on so they should have enough air... I hope!

So...
I will:
Stop adding Salt
Leave temp at 84 for about 2 weeks more
Daily water changes (which I have done except for one day since Tuesday, so no change there!)


Is there anything else I should add other than Prime when I do water changes? I was told that should take care of it all. I use tap water, that is hard.

ALSO... I live in an apt. I have no where to put a second tank (though I would if I had a place!) Any suggestions on that? I mean, I could keep one in the closet, but not set up all the time. Would it work to just take water out of my big tank when I need to use a smaller one?

Lucy

ADF's are really slow to find their food, most times the fish will get it first and the ADF can face starvation. I guess in your case he resorted to eating fish.
Freeze dried blood worms can cause blockages. It might be best in your situation to hand feed him with a turkey baster or very dull tweezers. Look into getting him some HBH Tadpole and Frog Bites and of course thawed frozen blood worms.
I have 2 in a tank by themselves. I really enjoy feeding them, they're lots of fun.

You don't need to add anything else except the Prime.

Here's a link to a quick and easy Q tank a member came up with. They don't need to be set up all the time.
Quick Quarantine Tank