aquariumnewbie

My 3 baby flowerhorn isn't active and they have stripes all over their body. When I put in food, they freak out and swim frantically in the water and sometimes almost jumping out of the tank. After swimming frantically, they sort of became really pale and appeared to be dead but gills are moving. After a min or so, colours came back and they are covered in stripes again. Please, anyone know what is wrong with them? Help me out.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...n-8thApril.jpg

this is how they look like with the stripe. but they are hanging near the water surface at the corner of the tank. help will be really appreciated.

Peterpiper

Hi aquariumnewbie,
First we need to know some thing about your tank
1, how long has it been running?
2, when were the flowerhorn put in the tank?
3, do you have a air pump pumping air into the tank?
4, do you test the water for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate
5, what are you feeding them

aquariumnewbie

The tank has been running for about 2weeks already. Before adding 3 babies, the tank has another flower horn of around 3" to 4". The flowerhorn has good appetite and doesn't have much problems.

The 3 new babies were bought yesterday at a LFS. as from the picture i provided. they are only 1.5" long.

Air pump is pumping air into the water.

Sadly, the store was out of stock for those water tester. So what i did was a daily change of around 15% of water. And the bigger flowerhorn seem to be doing good and pretty active.

But i really don't wanna lose my 3 baby flowerhorn. I'm sorry to be unable to provide any info on water testing.

Peterpiper

Ok the tank has not been cycled and I think it is building up ammonia in the water,
You need to do a large water change now. 75% (3/4 of the water in the tank needs to be replaced ) do you have treatment for the tap water?
Sorry to say this but the fish will need to returned to the store until the tank has been cycled

aquariumnewbie

Sad to hear about that. I do have anti chlorine and some aquarium supplement. and yes a question. perhaps a dumb one. is there any sign to see if the water is cycled? or the only way is by doing water test? if so, what have the result got to be? sorry to ask dumb question. =/

Peterpiper

Sorry for the bad news so far.. Asking questions is how we all learn, and here there is no such thing as a dumb question
First it is not the water that cycles, the "cycling" is a build up of bacteria that changes Ammonia to Nitrite and then other bacteria changes Nitrite to Nitrate.
During the cycle, water testing is done to see how it is going.
At the end of the cycle your reading would be Ammonia-0, Nitrite-0, and Nitrate less than 40 ( a water change removes the Nitrates from the tank )
I have a link for you to read on cycling, and please ask questions if you are unsure or dont understand something.

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Peterpiper

Dankygreen,
I really hope you change your way of thinking and giving advice about cycling with fish.
cycling using fish is a very cruel method as the fish is exposed to Ammonia and Nitrite both of which are a poison.
Can you tell me why you would put a fish through this pain when you can cycle your tank without live fish?

aquariumnewbie

Thanks so much for providing information for my questions. So i guess i'll just have to wait for the stock for water test to arrive. And I've to buy quite a few testers right? for ammonium NH4 , Nitrite NO2 , Nitrate NO3. total 3 testers right? anymore important testers? pH ? or anything?

Peterpiper

The first 3 are the main players you need to cycle, PH & hardness come when you put in the fish. a low ph can slow the cycle to a point but we can talk about that later..
Now there is a way you could keep the fish in the tank and you would need to do large water changes every day 50+% water changes for 4-5 weeks.
and you would need to buy another filter to suit your tank, and cycle the new filter in a tub using the ammonia method.
So if your up for the water changes every day for a month let me know and I will show you how.

aquariumnewbie

So let me ask again, ''cycling of the tank is a process of ''breeding'' the good bacteria. so lets say a 50% water change won't remove those bacteria right? How often should i clean the filter?

Shawnie

nice advice peter

kra-z-fishmumm

You won't really 'clean' the filter, you will rinse it in the water you take from the tank and not unless it is really gross because the bacteria build up in the filter and on gravel (so no deep vaccuming until you are cycled) and on decorations(not as much as the filter and gravel), changing the water 50% at this point is protecting the fish from ammonia and nitrite build up, and will not hurt the growth of the bacteria much, more than 50% is too drastic.
Peter is giving FANTASTIC, CORRECT, information, and if you decide to cycle with the fish in,,, I would PM Peter and ask for complete instructions--IMO
Good Luck and keep us posted.

Peterpiper

The 50% water change will remove the ammonia from the tank, by removing the ammonia from the tank you have removed the danger to the fish.
But (I know.. always a but) by removing the ammonia from the tank, you have removed the food for the bacteria, so, as long as you are removing the ammonia, this tank will not cycle, but the fish will be safe.
So how do you cycle this tank? you dont..
You cycle another filter in a tub. As +90% of bacteria is located in the filter media, you just cycle a filter. Once it is cycled, you swap it with the one on the tank and stop the 50% water changes.. the bacteria in the new filter will deal with the ammonia that the fish produce and the tank is "cycled"

aquariumnewbie

I'm sorry to say. But it's cycling with fish. So i'm gonna heed all your advices of changing the water daily of 50% so as to not let the ammonia harm my fishes.And guys! good news about 1 baby flowerhorn, it's swimming slightly more than yesterday. but sadly, 1 is looking worst. and the other 1 is same as yesterday. I'll keep up the daily water change. And yes, like i said I'm sorry to cycle with fish. But i'd love more info on how to protect them since i've made a great mistake.

Shawnie

Alot of us have done it this way..because of the lack of knowledge..not because we are mean...I did it as you..the hard way, with fish ..you are doing well by the 50% water changes daily..its long hard work, but the only way to cycle it with fish..unless you can get some bio-spira at your pet store, daily changes are it...goodluck and dont be so hard on yourself..correcting it now is what matters

aquariumnewbie

Thanks you guys for feeding me with all the knowledge. I'm seeing a better behaviour in the fish. it's slightly better than yesterday. 2 out of 3 are not hanging near the surface. just hoping now that all 3 will be fine. & please fill in more of your personal knowledge to enlighten me. I'd appreciate it a lot.

capekate

dankygreen, you mean to say that YOU have never cycled your tank with fish? And yet, you advice others to do so in many of your responses? You say that you are not encouraging anybody to follow through with this method, just simply giving options. But the fact is that you are encouraging others to cycle with fish, when you suggest just that. You have been advised in many post replies that you have made regarding cycling with fish, how harmful it is to the fish and yet you continue to offer this bad advice. "To each is own" is not an excuse or a right to offer bad advice IMO.

aquariumnewbie

Well, I'm gonna agree that cycling with fish is the worst thing to do. But because of my lack of knowledge, I've to cycle with fish this time. When I'm getting a bigger tank, I'll never ever let such things happen again. Well, hope everyone don't commit the same mistake like me and end up putting the fish in harm. It sure doesn't feel good to see our pet being sick.