Timesdragonfly

We have been stuggling to get our tank going for almost 6 months now. After battling algae, ammonia, incompatible fish.. and a a bunch of other first timer mishaps, we finnaly have a tank that is approaching stable. My question is about one of our zebra danios... it has a curve in it's tail that kind of makes it look like this: ~ it's not that extream, but I was wondering if anyone knows why it would curve like that?
thanks
~Jamie

Isabella

A healthy fish doesn't have its body curved. It is some disease, for sure. Don't know if swim bladder disease has a symptom of a curved body, but if it does, it could be it. Does your fish have trouble keeping balance while swimming?

Besides, can you post your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH readings? Also, what size is your tank and what kinds of fish and how many in total do you have in there?

0morrokh

Either the fish was born deformed, or there is something seriously wrong with him. Are there any other symptoms of disease or strange behaviors, in that fish or any others?

Timesdragonfly

29 Gallon tank

ammonia was high, (did a 25% water change and then added some ammonia lock)... came down a bit, gonna do another 20% water change today

everything else was okay.. i don't remember the exact numbers. Will do another ammonia test after the water change today.

Other than being shapped funny, the fish swims fine, is eating well, and is active. The other fish are fine too (probably a little stressed due to the ammonia) but other than that they seem good.

all we have in the tank are 7 zebra danios
after we get the ammonia under controle, we plan on getting some beginner variety catfish.

0morrokh

Sounds like the tank isn't cycled yet? Do you know about the Nitrogen Cycle? If not, be sure to read up about it. Check out the Fishlore Articles for Beginners.
What's this ammonia lock you're using? Is it a chemical that removes ammonia? That kind of thing is not good to use...by removing the ammonia, it is preventing the cycle from taking place. the only thing you should be adding to your water is dechlor.
My guess would be that the danio is deformed, but watch him closely to make sure he isn't sick.

Timesdragonfly

Thanks for the advice. The tank "should" be cycled by now. We've had it going for six months....
We found the ammonia problem... durring yesterday's water change, we found a dead fish that had been in there for who knows how long. Somewhere we lost count and missed one when it died. Ugh! Hopefully everything will balance out now.
I'll pass the ammonia lock (yes it's a chemical) advise on to my bf. He's the one who is really in charge of the tank. I just desided that since he was having so much trouble, that I would start learning myself and help him a little bit.
Thanks again,
~Jamie

Isabella

If the tank has been running for 6 months it definitely should be cycled by now! But ... one question though: how do you clean your filter media (i.e., the sponge in particular)? If you clean it in chlorinated tap water, you are KILLING off all the bacteria in your media - the bacteria that are supposed to be keeping the tank cycled. As long as you keep cleaning your filter media in chlorinated tap water, you'll be getting ammonia and nitrite readings. Ammonia and nitrite, both have to = 0 in order to be safe for your fish. Six zebra danios in a 29 gallon tank is not overstocking. Yet if you clean the filter media in tap water, you can definitely have the toxic compounds in your water.

You should always clean your filter media in your tank water (take some water in some bucket, and clean them there). This way you're saving all the bacteria that will keep your tank cycled. If you have ANY ammonia and nitrite whatsoever in your water, you should be performing DAILY 50% water changes until ammonia and nitrite = 0. After they are at zero, you should be performing weekly 15-30% water changes in order to be removing the accumulating nitrate.

Timesdragonfly

Well the cleaning out the filter in tap water is the culprit! Ugh... I hate to think that we've been making things worse every time we've tried to make it better. It sure explains why we weren't making a lot of progress.

I've read up a little on cleaning the filter, but I'm not sure I get it. You supposed to just rinse it out with your water change water. How is that any different that the water that's running through it constantly... how does that clean it?

How often should you change the filter... and how do you change it without ruining your good bacteria?

Thanks for any advice,
~Jamie

Gwenz

When you do a water change, get the a sponge from your filter and swish it about in the water in the bucket(the water you have just taken out of the tank). Doing this gets all the gunk off it, but because you are doing it in old tank water you will still have the bacteria on there. If you have more than one sponge in your filter, only wash one at each water change. This way you know the other sponge still has some bacteria on it while you are washing the other one.

You don't realy ever need to change your filter, unless it is brocken. You can usualy buy new filter media from your lfs. If you clean the sponges like I said above, you won't have to change the filter media that often either. You should usualy change them either when you don't think you can clean them any more, or when they start falling apart. Again when you change the filter media, only change a bit at a time. This way the filter still has some of the old sponges in there that already have the bacteria on them.

Hope this helps.

Gwenz

Timesdragonfly

Thanks again for all of the answers. it seems like the more I find out, the less I know.
One more question about filters for ya... when you talk about sponges... what do you mean? We have a filter that sits on the back of the tank. Only one "cartrage" goes in at a time. Is that what your talking about? It's white with little black stuff in it. If we need to change that, should we shove a second one in there for a while before taking the old one out? I don't even know if two will fit at a time.

I'm so greateful that I found this group.. please stay patient with me. I really want to learn how to do this right.

Thanks
~Jamie

Isabella

Jamie, Gwenz gave you some good information here. From your description of the filter, I am guessing you have a Whisper Tetra filter, am I correct? If so, here is all the information on how to maintain this filter (i.e., how to rinse the media and how often to change the media): http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/filtra...lter-20.0.html. It is another thread started by Hopesmom but the information in there applies to your questions. Please read the ENTIRE thread thoroughly, or AT LEAST the first page.

As you'll read in the above thread (and if you have a Whisper Tetra filter), the filter cartridge consists of the bio-bag (the white fluffy bag), the sponge (the black piece of sponge) positioned next to the bio-bag, and activated carbon inside the white bio-bag. You don't "change the entire filter" lol, you just change certain media IN THE FILTER. The black sponge should never be thrown away and it should only be gently rinsed in tank water. The white bio-bag should also be rinsed only in tank water. You can keep it until it starts falling apart - but while you're keeping it, rinse it regularly to make sure there are no debris rotting inside. As for the activated carbon, it usually expires after 1 - 2 weeks of use. You don't "have to" change activated carbon every single month, as most manufacturers will suggest. You can keep the white bio-bag without activated carbon. HOWEVER, if you do not perform a lot of water changes (and regular water changes), do get new activated carbon every month. If you don't change your water regularly, various chemicals accumulate in the tank which are removed by activated carbon. But it's still BEST to do REGULAR WEEKLY water changes of about 15 - 30%, depending on your fishload. If your nitrate goes above 20ppm, that's a sign you need larger or more frequent water changes. It's best to have nitrate at 0, of course.

Also, in the above thread you'll have information on HOW TO CHANGE FILTER MEDIA WITHOUT DESTROYING THE BENEFICIAL BACTERIA; how to change the bio-bag in particular (once it starts to fall apart). So make sure you read that. Ask if there is anything you still don't understand.

Blisster

Does your filter have a bio-wheel? Mine does, and from what I understand, this is where the bacteria lives so you can safely clean the sponge and other filter media (aside from the wheel) in tap water while maintaining the bacteria on the wheel.
Anyone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, as I am jsut a newbee!!

Timesdragonfly

Thanks so much for all the help! My bf said that if he had known all the work that went into this, he never would have gotten started, but now we're both HOOKED! (please excuse the pun!) lol! The information about the filter is every helpful, and yes, we do have a whisper.
~Jamie

Isabella

Let us know how your tank and fish are doing. I know it seems like a lot of knowledge to absorb at first, but it's really not that hard. Once you get it, it can't get easier than that The most important thing in fish keeping is to understand the importance of the nitrogen cycle - once you do that, you'll know - more or less - the rest. A lot of information based on which tank maintenace is done comes from the knowledge of the nitrogen cycle. For example, one who knows about the cycle, will also know not to put any fish in the tank until ammonia and nitrite = 0. Another example would be water changes: in order to determine how large and how frequent water changes should be, one can measure his/her nitrate content. The higher the nitrate, the larger or more frequent water changes need to be. Lastly, a person who understands the cycle, will know not to overstock a tank. Almost all failures, fish deaths and diseases, come from the lack of understanding of this very basic and yet necessary cornerstone of fish keeping: THE CYCLE.

kerryve

Jamie, mine are long finned zebra danios and their tails make a little curve like that...

Kerry

tan.b

dont know how reliable what i'm about to say is as it came from an lfs (local fish store) and they aren't always the most reliable source of info, but after chatting to the guy there he did seem to make sense about alot of stuff. i think i've finally found a decent lfs. anyway, less about my fish shop and onto the danios.....i bought some danios from afore mentioned lfs, and while choosing which ones i wanted, i asked how to differentiate males and females and breeding etc. he said whatever you do, dont breed from these cos these ones are commercially bred and will not produce good offspring, you will end up with many deformed ones which are bent, leading to a high cull rate just to get a few decent ones, which is obviously not what anyone wants. at the time i took it with a pinch of salt as i dont usually trust fish shops as the previous two i went to were rubbish and knew nowt!! but hearing about the existence of bent danios has now got me thinking........something for you to consider...maybe they were genetically destined to be born that way?

Gina423

My borther had a zebra danio whose body was curved. And he didn't buy it that way! We don't know what caused it, but his fish is still healthy, swims fine, and eats regularly. So I think as long as you watch him closely you have nothing to worry about! ;