wakingupnow

Hello,

I'm very new to owning fish and I just got 2 guppies, 2 platies, 2 mollies and 2 tiger barbs. All of the fish are about half an inch except for the mollies that are 1-2 inches. The 8 gallon tank was set up yesterday within an hour before the fish (in the bag) were set in there for temp. stability.

I put in some API stress zyme to help the water (bottled drinking water) and I have a Tetra waterfall filtering system as well.

Today when I woke up, I noticed that the water was slightly cloudy (it is night now and is the same). One of the barbs has a big stomach (I don't remember if it was like this before) and sometimes swims nose down.

Unfortunately, I had absolutely no idea about the nitrogen cycle until I cam across this site today looking for an answer as to why the water was cloudy and what I could do about it.

It's really terrifying knowing that I can't take the fish back until I get transportation and I want to help these fish as soon as possible if they indeed need help. Also, I do not own an aquarium test kit (i tried using urinalysis strips but not sure if this is accurate) and I do not have a quarantine tank.

By the way, I think this site is so insightful and soaking with great information.


EDIT- I forgot that the tank also has a stinky smell to it.
Thanks.

Mike19

Hello and Welcome, your aquarium profile says the tank is twenty years old but the fish have been in their for two days, im assuming that your tank was filled with water 2 days ago also correct me if im wrong.
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Your tank has not completed the nitrogen cycle a lot of fish owners don't know about it and make the same mistake as you its very common so dont feel to bad, what you need to do is perform daily water changes using a product called prime it detoxifies ammonia for 24hrs enough time for your next water change do this until ammonia=0 Nitrites=0 Nitrates=Some (Less then 20).

as far as what you have stocked, your tank is overstocked tiger barbs need to be in schools of at least 5+ and need 20gallons also the guppies and mollies need larger tanks you might also find that the tiger barbs will nip at your other fish especially in such a small sized tank. If you could get a larger tank or exchange them for something that will fit within that size tank that would be great.

also, what water conditioner are you using, what are your water parameters and what test kit are you using.

Also I'd like to welcome you to fishlore

agabr123

first, if you have a male and female of either the guppies, platies, or mollies they WILL breed, the guppies and mollies can breed too as a crossbreed (i think called a muppie?). you'll end up with lots of babies, so be prepared!

second, tiger barbs need to be in groups of at least six, they have to establish a hierarchy in order to keep down the aggression (if you end up getting the group, they'll be aggressive towards each other for a few days until they establish their order).

third, the 8 gallon is probably overstocked, and will be overstocked eventually. a guideline but not a rule to die by is one inch of adult fish per gallon, and right now you'd have about 20 inches of fish, which is definitely overstocked, and you'd need to get more tiger barbs if you kept them, so you'd definitely be overstocked then too.

fourth, good job on reading about the nitrogen cycle. in order to keep your fish healthy until you can A. get a bigger tank or B. return them, you'll need to do 50% water changes daily with prime added (a water conditioner, this detoxifies ammonia for 24 hours, making it safe for the fish but still accessible to the biological filter).

fifth, i'm assuming that you added salt for the mollies, but only some mollies are brackish and the rest of your fish are not. the mollies can easily adjust to freshwater, so if you plan on keeping them that would probably be a better option.

sixth, welcome to fishlore! we've all made beginner mistakes, so don't hesitate to ask lots and lots of questions

Nick G

Welcome to Fishlore! Don't panic, everyone makes mistakes when first starting. The cloudy water is most likely an algae bloom, which shows your cycle is starting. The best thing to do is 50% daily water changes and use a water conditioner (prime is good)until the tank is fully cycled. On another note, some of the fish that you have are going to grow too big for an 8gal tank. They'll be ok for a while but you might want to think about getting a bigger tank. Check out the freshwater beginners and nitrogen cycle articles on the homepage, these will help! Good Luck!

Lucy

Hi welcome to Fish Lore

We're glad you're enjoying the forum and have done some research.

It would be a good idea to get a test kit. The API Master kit is highly recommended. Avoid the strips, they're not very accurate and are more costly in the long run.

Bloat can be caused by a few things. Over feeding, constipation or feeling the effects of a cycling tank.

It would be a good idea to start doing daily water changes to keep the ammonia levels down and use Prime or Stress Coat+ to detox the ammonia. They're water conditions.

Cloudy water in a new tank is usually caused by a bacterial bloom, but I'm not sure you'd be seeing it so soon.

Good luck

Wow 'd by everyone! lol

wakingupnow

Hello and thank you.

Oh my. Yes, the tank itself is 20 years old, but as you assumed I just filled the tank up 2 days ago.

As for the parameters, I have none because I don't have a test kit as of yet (going to asap) and the lady at the pet store told me nothing about primers or conditioners so my fiance just picked up API stress zyme and that is it.

I am going to go back there as soon as possible.

agabr123

i'd definitely invest in some prime, it will be your best friend if you have to do a fish-in cycle! it detoxifies ammonia for 24 hours but still makes it accessible to your biological filter

Mike19

Just a guess but your tank maybe cloudy from dust that may have gathered inside or on the tank during the last 20 yrs. how did you clean it?

wakingupnow

Well, I used wet paper towel and had to scrub it to get old water stains off of it. It was quite clean and also yesterday the water was very clear and nice.

wakingupnow

Thank you for the answer.

I would like to know how to go about taking out and putting in the 50 percent of water. 1) Do I take the fish out of the tank? 2) Should I add more API stress zyme for now (no matter if i just put some in yesterday) since that is all I have?

Also, I have no put any salt in the tank since I read that they can adapt.

agabr123

Hmm, merely because of the size of your tank and the # of fish that you have, i'd recommend taking them out beforehand. you should buy a gravel vacuum, it will make your life SO much easier. they look like this...

http://www.americanaquariumproducts....iumvacuum.html

(this is the kind i have, there are different sizes depending on the size of your tank)

I'm not sure about the stress zyme, i have no experience with it, but if you're going to use prime, you add it to the new water before you add any of it into your tank.

Butterfly

I would not recommend taking the fish out to do tank maintenance or water changes that would be very stressful. You can siphon water out into a bucket and return it by pouring dechlorinated ,same temperature tap water very slowly back into the tank
Stress zyme is touted to be a beneficial bacteria additive that needs to be added at each water change. It really doesn't work for that. Prime was an excellent suggestion for a dechlorinator and all around water conditioner. The beneficial bacteria will grow in time and the tank will be cycled/ Good luck! Keep us posted.
Carol

agabr123

I agree, I was just thinking that with only 8 gallons of water and so many fish, the fact that 50% of the water would have to be taken out might be an issue for them and actually be more stressful? I guess if a bucket of clean, fresh water was ready immediately after the water was removed it would be better.

Butterfly

yep replacing it immediately after removing it would be ideal.
Carol

wakingupnow

Hi and thanks for the answer.

Well, today I exchanged clean and dechlorinated water for about 30 percent of the tank water and I used a turkey baster. It took me half an hour to do it, but I thought that would be the best thing for the fish.

Now though, the tiger barb that I said yesterday was swimming nose down at times is fine, but the other barb is doing this.

Hopefully that is just something they do, but probably not . The other fish seem to be fine.

I'm going to go to another pet store specifically for fish and aquariums and hopefully they can be more helpful.

Oh! A great thing is that my fiance and I decided to get a much larger tank (40-55 g) so the fish we have now can have room to play and have healthy long lives.

Thank you everyone for the input. I really and truly appreciate it and if I didn't find this site I would be running around going nuts.

Lucy

Great news on the larger tank.
Keep up with the daily changes and use Prime. Takes a lot of work and patience, but you'll get there.

Fishlover423

Ok first, you should have at least 6 tiger barbs because they are nippy fish. Then also, that is normal for a tank, that means your tank is going through a bacteria bloom, which is good, that means your tank is cycling properly, same thing happend with mine, it should go away in like 10 days. And welcome to fishlore!

agabr123

also, if you see some aggression within the tiger barbs for the first couple days, don't worry about it, they are just establishing a hierarchy and it should go away after that. now, if you plan on redecorating, they'll probably do it again. if it lasts more than a week, i'd be a little concerned, but otherwise dont worry about it!

Lucy

Unfortunatly, with their size tank, there isn't room to add any fish.

Mike19

Thats great news, how will you be cycling the tank and your welcome helping is what we are about at fishlore


I agree, when she gets her new 40-55gal she can add some more in.

wakingupnow

Yes it is.

Well, since there are a few ways to do it I was going to ask about that. I do see that the pure ammonia method for nitrogen cycling is most clear and it won't cause a dirty filter(say with rotten fish/shrimp or fish food). If you think there is a better method, please do tell.

wakingupnow

Hi everyone.

A new update tonight: It seems to look okay and the fish are lively and swimming all around.

Now, I'm finally noticing the aggression from the Tiger Barbs and even the larger of the 2 Mollys, but it hasn't seemed to have gotten out of hand from what I have observed.

Also good news, the water looks clearer, but I would like to know if this toxic ammonia, nitrite and nitrate would have a color to the water like a bacterial bloom or would the water be clear as crystal?

Thanks again for the help everyone.

agabr123

you probably won't see any differences in the color of your water with ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes, unfortunately

Lucy

Your water could still be clear, you can't see ammonia nitrites or nitrates.
If you have a bacterial bloom ammonia and nitrites could still be present in the water.

Mike19

Best thing would be to buy a liquid test it that way when the liquids bond with one another you will see whether or not you have ammonia,nitrites nitrates present.

wakingupnow

Hello everyone again

Well, today I went fishy shopping and got a few things. I got an ammonia tester ( still have to get nitrate and nitrite ones because I can't find a master test kit), and a pH tester.

There was a sign on ammonia and the card indicated .5-1.0. Also the ph tester indicated a 7.2 which I thought was good considering a middle ground ph for all of the fish in the tank.

I also bought some API ammo lock because I could not find any prime as of yet and the tank so I added some and am going to test for ammonia again (Question: How long should I wait to test again?).

Also, going to try out this gravel vacuum in a bit.

Take care all.

docjr03

I believe stress-zyme plus claims that you will have a cloudy tank for a few days (mine was for a week) after using it. The cloudiness is not a sign of cycling, the proper bacteria do not replicate nearly fast enough for that. You should be able to use stress zyme + as your water conditioner, though. You may want to call tetra, they can help you with the protocol on using this product.
Daily water changes and gravel vacuums helped me get through cycling in less than 4 weeks. Hope this helps!

wakingupnow

Hi again all,

Just a quick update.

My fish seem to be doing well, but I haven't been able to get the ammonia levels under .5 so I am still using the ammo lock and will be until it's all gone. This weekend I will be getting the nitrate and nitrite tester kits so I can know when the cycle has finished.

Thanks everyone for the help!

Mike19

Thats great news and your welcome