jade0602

the fish tank was a birthday present for my 6 year old and i think i need to do a first water change. when i read other messages i feel very new at this and have some pretty stupid-seeming questions, but here goes: do i take the fish out or leave them in? also how do i know if the water needs to be changed or do i just do it every so often? i don't have a water test kit or a vacuum and never knew i might need one or both. also helpful info may be that in the 2 weeks we've had the tank our 4 fish have turned into almost 25 because we bought one molly already pregnant (not knowing of course) and our guppies are apparently a male and a female! the water has slowly turned a cloudy white over the last couple of days and i don't want it to go too far before i take care of it.

please help...

MeGustaUnaPez926

I'm guessing the tank isn't cycled. You need to do daily water changes if your fish are to live. You do need a test kit and vacuum. You don't need to take the fish out, that will just stress them. Once you get readings of 0 ammonia, 0 nitrates, and low nitrites the tank will be cycled. That should take like 2-3 weeks maybe? I'm guessing you will loose some fish. After the tank is cycled you need to do weekly 20-30% water changes. I don't know exactly what the cloudy water is, I'm guessing a bacteria boom. What you should do is go and read some articles in the Freshwater Beginners section, they're really helpful. Good lUck with your tank.

Lucy

Hi jade0602 Welcome to Fish Lore

There aren't any stupid questions, so ask as many as you need to. All of us were beginners and we only learn through questions and research.

As MeGustaUnaPez926 said, you don't need to take your fish out to do a water change.
Just take about 1/2 out and replace it with conditioned water about the same temp as your tank.
There'll be some supplies you'll need when keeping fish.
A gravel vacuum will help take out the water and also pick up the leftover food and fish waste out of the gravel.
A test kit. Read up on the nitrogen cycle in the first link I'm providing.
Prime is a good water conditioner to use. It will detoxify the ammonia produced by your fish and left over food.

I'm going to give you a few links to read. It'll give you a better understand of whats going on in your tank and supplies to have on hand.

http://www.fishlore.com/

READ FIRST: Freshwater Beginner Important Topics

Good luck and we love pics so post some soon.

MeGustaUnaPez926

Oh, I forgot to mention water conditioner. Oops! And you will need to get another tank soon if you intend on raising the fry. Ten gallon tanks can't hold that much. Or if you have a pet store you could give or sell the babies to, that would be fine as well.

TropicalGrimmish

there is now such thing as dumb questions , i still have tons of questions myself, trust me the people here "KNOW" what the talking about..

agabr123

I would first read up on the cycle, as a few of the links here show. That will give you a better idea of where you are in your cycle and how long it will take to finish (but you'll need a test kit, i would recommend API master test kit, to tell you where your levels are).

Cloudiness is probably a bacterial bloom, and there are plenty of products for that but I would start with a water change to see if that helps before you start pouring medications in.

This could be somewhere else, but do you have a filter for your tank? You need a filter in order for it to cycle.

Also, I would buy at least a few medications. I know of too many people who have had their fish get sick and been without any kind of medications and not able to find them at the last minute. My recommendation would be medications for fungus, parasites, and ICH.