Ellie'sFish

First of all, i want to say how bad i feel for my fish I consider myself a responsible pet owner, but I've failed the newest additions to our family.
I wish i would've found this site BEFORE i bought our fish. But I will get better.

We got our 2 yr old daughter fish for Christmas (knew i'd be taking care of them)
We got her 3 male guppies. Then, a few weeks ago, I bought 1 corydora (an impulse buy-oops)
We have a 5 gal. I know that we are at the limit. But I feel so bad for the cory, after reading here that he's lonely Can I put one more in there, or will it just be pushing it?

Also, one of the guppies has been hanging out at the top of the tank for a few days. Then this morning, I found him lying at the bottom. I figured that can't be right, can it? But this evening, he seems fine, and they are all hovering at the top at times......?
My tank is battling a case of cyanobacterium (i think, based on web descriptions), so I turned off the light, bumped up my water changes, and started feeding less. so far, so good. Any other advice? Could this be affecting them?

It seems i've done everything wrong. But I really don't want them to die.
Fish are way harder to keep than i thought. but I'm determined to make them happy.

MissMTS

Welcome to Fishlore

Don't beat yourself up about it. We all started out that way, and this forum is what helped most of us learn the right way to keep fish. I think you should take the cory back to the store since you are already at your limit with 3 guppies in a 5 gallon. Your guppy is probably not doing well because your tank isn't cycled. I would definitely increase your water changes to 50 percent daily.

Here are a link that should be helpful:
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

We are always here for you if you have any other questions!

Lucy

Welcome to FishLore!!

Great info from MissMTS.
Along with the daily water changes you can use Prime as your water conditioner, it'll detox the ammonia (created by fish waste and left over food) for 24 hours between water changes.

It would be a good idea to pick up a good liquid test kit. The API master kit has everything you need and is very reliable. Avoid the strips, they can be inaccurate.

Here's a great article from the FishLore Magazine about Cyanobacteria

Best of luck!

rt12

WElcome to fishlore!
You probally can't fit another cory in there but that wouldn't cause it to become to stressed out so I would leave it as is definitly. As for cyanbacterium Im pretty sure it only forms it saltwater tanks, i could be wrong, and algae in freshwater tanks isn't a huge problem and won't lead to fish health issues. Its a bit hard to exactly say what if anything is wrong with your tank. Is there anything else that appears wrong with your fish? Do you use detoxifyer/dechlorinator when adding new water?

AlyeskaGirl

Hello & Welcome to Fishlore!

Don't beat yourself up.....it's not your fault. Just read, read, read and ask questions.

Good advice above....just do your 50% water changes and get a bottle of Prime or Amquel Plus for a water conditioner. It will detox the toxins for 24 hrs until your next water change.

jdhef

Of course you did everything wrong...you did what the pet store told you to do. Believe me when I say, it came as a shock to me to learn that almost all the advice you get from pet stores is wrong.

Keeping fish appears hard in the beginning, but once you learn learn the system, it's really pretty easy. Once your tank is established, it's pretty much feeding a couple times a day, and changing some water once a week.

Anyway, Welcome to FishLore and feel free to ask any questions you may have. Nobody here thinks any question is too stupid to ask.

Ellie'sFish

Thanks so much for your help! i'm very glad to have found this forum to get answers quickly.
The guppy (Dorothy) is doing fine. He acts perfectly today. I looked at him very closely today, and I can't see anything wrong with his appearance. He looks healthy. But i didn't feed them last night and they all were starving this a.m.
I didn't do a water change today, because I realized I didn't have the treated water ready. I do treat the tap water with conditioner 24 hrs b4 changing, and i just forgot to refill my jug.
I will get the test kit. Of course the LPS told me i didn't have to test the water, just do my weekly water changes and it would be fine. She told me if i wanted to, i could take a water sample to her and she'd test it.
Cycling: A couple of weeks after I got the guppies, the water got all cloudy, and so I called the pet store, and she said it was probably cycling then. It was cloudy for a few days, and then has been clear ever since. What do you think? If you think it was a cycle, do I still need to do the 50% water changes?
I really don't want to take Cory back to the store. I'm going to work on getting a bigger tank. That way, I can get him a buddy or two.
I just have to figure out where i'm going to put it.......... (some place the cats/dogs/child can't get to it)
One other ?- I read somewhere that the cory's like to eat a piece of cucumber, but to boil it first. Should I boil it in distilled water? treated tap? or it doesn't matter.

Thanks again.

p.s. that cyanobacterium article is the original one i read. it doesn't say about only being in SWT? but everything fits. except, i didn't think it even look like algae, so i didn't get an algaecide. It looked like green cellophane. across the rocks and on the filter. which brings me to another question. I know i'm not supposed to get rid of the biofilter, but wouldn't the bacteria be in it now too?

Lucy

I'm glad Dorothy is looking better

You don't need to leave the water out for 24 hrs since you use a conditioner. They usually work immediately.
Just fill your jug with water thats close to the same temp as the tank water and add your conditioner...you're ready to do a water change.

Get your test kit, depending on the readings would determine if your tank is cycled or you need to start daily water changes.
With your size tank and the fish you have, when it cycles (if it's not already) You'll really need to keep up with the water changes.
Smaller tanks are a bit harder to keep the levels safe.

If the stores tests it for you, ask them to write down the levels for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.

The cloudy water sounds like a bacterial bloom, as you noticed, it clears up on it's own.

Lots of fish like veggies. You can blanch it in treated tap water or soften it in the mircowave.

Cyanobacteria is FW, I don't know if it effects SW or not.
Rather than using any chemicals for algae, it's best to find out what caused it and correct that problem.
You can rinse the filter in used tank water when it gets gunky. Replace it only when it's falling apart.
If you use carbon, that has to be replaced every few weeks.

A bigger tank would be a good idea. You'd be surprised at how many fit in a room. lol

Looks like you're getting a good handle on things.
Best of luck!

callichma

You don't have to let the water set for 24 hours if you use Prime or Tetra Aquasafe. I'm not sure if you have to do that with any other water treatments.

Hahaha. I typed too slow and Lucy beat me to it re the water conditioner.