A tank was left with me and I'm not sure what to do with it.

A friend of mine "gave" (dumped) a tank on me. It has several fish, most of which seem unhealthy.
She claims that her parents didn't like the noise the filter made, and left them with me because according to her, I know aot about fish.

I am a small mammal hobbyist. I know nothing about fish.

I have done some research, but I need help with this specific scenario. I'm really concerned for the fish in here.

Sge didn't remember what kind of fish were in here. I did a little research, and I THINK (not 100 percent sure on any if these) the tank contains two white veil tetras, a ghost catfish, several small shrimp (at least five), an african dwarf frog, and what I think are veil teiled tetras.

The water is cloudy, the fish are not moving around much, but they are not doing the gasping/gulping thing, and I can't see anything visibly wrong with them. There is a small plant of some kind, I have no clue what it is but it looks healthy.

I found a dead frog when I moved the tank decor around, I took it out when I found it.

I'm really shooting blanks as to how to help this thing? As soon as I can I'll go and get some water conditioner and cleaning supplies (only thing that came with the tank was food, some decorations, and the filter) but as for the fish I really don't know. From what I could find, I think the catfish needs to be in a tank separate from the tetras, frogs and shrimp, but I honestly have no clue.

Does anyone have any advice as of what to do here? Should I separate the fish, can they all ve kept in the ten gallon once everything is cleared up? Do any of them have specific care requirements that the first page of google may not have told me? I don't think the fish are in mortal peril (they have obviously been kept like this for some time) but I do know that the current tank condition is unnaceptable.


I am willing to invest some money in a larger tank if I really need to, but I would perfer not to. I know I need to purchase ph tests and some equiptment.

Any advice is MUCH appreciated.

 

Are you sure it is a ten gallon?
If so, you'll need to either upgrade to a larger tank, or rehome some critters..
Youll want to pick up a liquid test kit. The API Liquid Master Test kit is recommended by most here.
Youll also want to click and read this link:
Nitrogen Cycle

 

Welcome to Fishlore

If you're willing to take these fish into your care, I suggest reading about the nitrogen cycle as mentioned above and get the liquid test kit. You'll also want to pick up a good water conditioner like Seachem Prime. Chances are this tank is not cycled since you've already found a dead frog and you'll need to do some frequent water changes to save these fish.

Could you take a picture of the fish so we can ID them? The frog, the tetras (maybe skirt tetras?) and catfish will most likely need to be rehomed unless you can upgrade and get a 20 gallon tank and put the fish in there and leave the frog in the 10g. Petco is having their $ per gal sale so the timing couldn't be better!

 

What a nice friend (heavy sarcasm). Welcome to fish lore! I would assume the tank has old tank syndrome due to poor care. With a good water test kit (API master often used here) you can manage this. The key is that the fish have probably acclimated to the bad water conditions. So you want to do small frequent water changes (maybe every day or two) to help slowly readjust the fish to clean water. Yes, rehoming a number of the wish will be necessary, but I would deal with the wAter quality first. @oldsalt I think was the first to mention and thus teach me about old tank syndrome so I will differ to him for details. Welcome!

 

Thanks guys!

I won't be able to get to petco until tomorrow, but when I do I'll pick up the tests and water conditioner.

I would like to keep as many of the fish as I can, but I don't have a whole lot of money to spend on a tank. How many, if any of them, do you guys think I could keep in a twenty gallon tank?

Are they even compatible in the first place? (Ghost catfish, black and white skirt tetras, ghost shrimp, and an African dwarf frog?)

 

CindiL, TexasDomer, Coradee, Anders247... suggestions?

 

Blackskirt and white skirt tetras will school together from what I understand but they are too big for a 10 gal. What kind of catfish A ghost catfish looks like a regular fish in general shape but you can see right through it to the bones versus a white albino corydora catfish that swims along the bottom. Either one need a school of 6 and would be way overcrowded in a 10 gal. The frog would be better in his own tank and the shrimp could be with either the fish or frog. Welcome to the forum and glad you joined us. and congrats on you new fish Alison

 

Welcome to Fishlore
I can't really add to the advice that's already been given except to say that pictures would help to ID exactly what fish you have.
If you have any problems uploading them then this thread will help
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/how-to-attach-pictures-to-posts.169875/

 

Hi, welcome to fishlore

As soon as you have your test kit measure the tank and the tap for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and ph so we know what's going on in the tank and can tell you the best way to proceed and how large of water changes you need. Did your friend tell you their water change schedule?

It's possible the dead frog has caused an ammonia spike and that's what you are seeing the symptoms of.

Also, when you go to clean up the tank, don't throw out any of the filter materials. You will find that most of the cycle will be contained in the filter media. Instead rinse it really well in old tank water or dechlorinated tap water. It's probably been awhile since they were cleaned so it may take a few buckets of dechlorinated water.

Maybe take a picture of the filter and what's inside of it so we know what filter they were using.

I am assuming there is a heater, do you know what temperature the tank is at?

 

I just texted her and she said said she didn't have much of a scedule. Apparently she just changed the water when it got "really couldy" (Her words.)

The other frog seems to have died . I don't know why. The fish still seem okay as far as I can tell. (Not very far)

No heater or thermometer.

I'll get some pictures real quick.

 

Okay here's the pictures.
THe water isn't as cloudy as they look in these, (It was a while ago, but it started clearing up once I pulled out the dead frog, and because I haven't fed them yet) and my phone does NOT have a good camera, so they're blurry.

Here's the overall tank




(Again, not actually as cloudy as it looks in the piucture.)

THe filter has an external parrt (A pump, I think? It vibrates) connected to an actual filter via a tube. The top says "WHisper 1-3 gallons," so I guess that's another contributer to the poor water quality and another thing I'll have to pick up at petco :/







I'm fairly certian at this point on my fish, but here are some pics anyway. 2 black skirt tetras, 2 white skirt tetras, one ghost catfish, and several ghost shrimp.








None of the pictures of the shrimp came out remotley visible, and again, the water is not actually that cloudy.

How many of thee guys can I keep in a twenty gallon? I know I need to get some more ghost catfish, are they compatible with the tetras and shrimp? Do I need to go above 20?

 

I'll let someone else address the stocking.
You'll need a heater to keep tropical fish and a "real" filter, a cheap HOB would be fine just make sure it does at least 100gph.

That looks like a sponge filter maybe. When you get the new filter don't toss the sponge yet.

 

Welcome to fishlore!
I would upgrade to a 20 gallon long and get at least 2 more of the black skirts/white skirts (they're the same species), and five more of the ghost catfish.

Preferably the ghost cats would have a larger tank (like a 30 gallon) but a 20 long should be OK imo, they aren't very active fish.

 

First you need to really think about whether or not you want fish. If you want to be a good overlord and want your fish to talk about how great you are with each other, there's going to be a decent amount of work involved. If you aren't up for it, don't force yourself to do it. Many fish stores will adopt unwanted fish.

If you are going to keep them, I recommend reading up on each of the species you currently have to see what each needs to thrive. Your friend obviously didn't do much reading since none of the fish you listed will do well in such a small tank.

I can positively ID the ghost catfish and am 90% sure you have white skirt tetras. I couldn't tell what anything else was. In any case, both of these need to be in groups of at least 6.

Ghost catfish will do best in larger tanks. Even a 20 gallon long may be too small. The reason is that they are easily intimidated by other fish and need lots of places to hide, which may not always be possible in a smaller tank. In any case, get some plants and/or decorations that will allow them to hide from the other fish. I've also read that single glass cats or even small groups can starve because they are too afraid to compete for food during feedings. A big school of glass cats is a lot more confident than just a few.

Skirt tetras can be real jerks to each other and become quite territorial. Larger groups of them tend to diffuse the tension. For example, when I had six of them in my 30 gallon tank, there was constant fighting. I got a seventh and they all calmed down rather quickly. It all really depends on the sexes of the fish and their individual personalities. The cool thing about skirt tetras is that you can have a bunch of different appearing ones that are all the same species (and will thus school together). Black skirt tetras, white skirt tetras, and glofish tetras are all the same species. The Glofish tetras come in 6 different colors - pink, red, green, blue, purple, and yellow.

As for the frog, which I didn't see, it is most likely either an African dwarf frog or an African clawed frog, as these are the two most common aquatic frogs sold in pet stores. It makes a huge difference which one it is. The dwarf frogs will only grow to be about 2" from snout to butt whereas the clawed frog will become larger than your fist and eat all the fish in the tank along the way. The only help I can offer with regard to identification is that if it is albino, it's a clawed frog as the dwarf frogs don't come in albino. Frogs can be difficult to feed because they track down food based on sensing food rather than viewing it. This means that the fish can eat up all the food before the frogs can get to it. Also, since you have gravel as substrate, food can easily get lost in the gravel and thus not be accessible to the frogs. To combat this, you can get a small terra cotta plant dish thing from a craft store, put it at the bottom of the tank, and place sinking food pellets directly on it.

Since you mentioned you are low on cash at the moment, I would be scanning craigslist for deals. Search for "fish tank" and "aquarium." You can get incredible deals or if you are particularly lucky get a free tank. If I were you I would get a tank of at least 29 gallons, but if you can find a good deal on a 20 gallon tank, it's still going to be infinitely better than a 10g.

 

That's the whisper 3I filter in the tank right now and it probably barely has any beneficial bacteria in the media anyway because its a really crummy filter no matter the tank size. I would put the current media into the new filter with the new media anyway, even if it might not do anything. It can't hurt. What would be more helpful is bottled bacteria. I have had success with tetra safe start, and others here have had success with seachem stability. If you use prime for a water conditioner and decide on tetra safe start, you will have to wait 24 hours after adding the conditioner before adding safe start because prime will kill safestart. Also, the cloudy water is a bacterial bloom and it means the tank is starting to cycle (although I'm not sure how much that will do with such a tiny filter)

 

Okay, HUGE thanks to everyone who's helped me out with this!

I should be able to get to petco later today, and from what I've been told here, this is what I need to pick up.

-20 gal tank
-heater
-decent filter
-more tetras
-more ghost catfish
-ph tests
-water conditioner
- bottled bacteria

Is that it? Also, what here would be the most important things to get? I don't know if I'm going to be able to cover everything.

 

Okay, HUGE thanks to everyone who's helped me out with this!

I should be able to get to petco later today, and from what I've been told here, this is what I need to pick up.

-20 gal tank
-heater
-decent filter
-more tetras
-more ghost catfish
-ph tests
-water conditioner
- bottled bacteria

Is that it? Also, what here would be the most important things to get? I don't know if I'm going to be able to cover everything.

DO NOT BUY ANY FISH YET! First you need to get the new tank cycled. Read about the nitrogen cycle and make sure you understand it well. Most of the beneficial bacteria that is in your 10 gallon tank will be found in the filter. Because of this, you should run the old filter AND the new filter in the new tank for at least a week so the old filter has time to seed the new filter. Alternatively, if the new filter has room, you can put the old filter cartridge in the new filter housing.

pH tests are good to have, but you need ammonia/nitrite/nitrate tests far more. The latter will allow you to evaluate how far along in the cycle you are. Buy a liquid test kit - everyone recommends API Master Kit as it is accurate and reasonably priced. Don't buy testing strips unless you never want to know what the values actually are.

When buying a filter, don't just blindly trust what the filter box says is adequate. For a HOB (hang on back), you want it to cycle at least 8X the volume of the tank. Thus, if you get a 20 gallon tank, you want the filter to be good for at least 160 gph (gallons per hour).

After you get the new tank set up and verify that the nitrogen cycle is complete (which may takes weeks), only then should you think about getting more fish. I also strongly suggest that you try to get a tank larger than 20g.

 

yeah, nitrogen cycle dude!

welcome to fish lore!

 

In order of priority, I would say
1. Water conditioner!!! Unless you aren't on city water, you cannot safely do a water change without this, as the chemicals used by the city may kill the fish.
2. Filter. With shrimp, I would also suggest a pre-filter sponge to go over the intake.
3. Tank (20 long, not 20 high)
4. Heater and thermometer (how warm is your home? If it's a reasonable temp and doesn't drop too much at night, could possibly move this lower on the list)
5. Test kit (API master test kit ideally, you want ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate tests too, not just pH)
6. Bottled bacteria

7. But as mentioned, not yet, more fish.

I have heater further down on the list, because if there is a heater purchased, it makes more sense for the OP to purchase one for the 20, instead of getting one that will work on the 10 and then just having to buy a new one shortly thereafter.

 

Congratulations(?) on your new fish! I'm sorry they came to you in this manner and phooey on your friend for foisting them on you but if you're up to it, keeping fish properly is very rewarding. At least I think so

You've been given excellent advice here, I just thought I'd add that if you're choosing between 2 tanks of the same volume, go for the shape that has the larger footprint. Often it will be called a "long" vs. a "standard" or "tall"

 

Okay, so I went up to petco but I didn't purchase a tank.

The filters were MUCH more expensive than I expected them to be. I'll still get one soon, just not today. I want to be able to get everything at once so I can set the tank up and have it start cycling. The sale will continue for a while, so I won't miss out on it. I delayed because if I do this, I want to at least try to get it right.

I did get a couple more fake plants so the ghostie has a better place to hide, and picked up some water conditioner. I just did a water change, things are looking MUCH better! The tetras are more active, and the ghost catfish came out of his hidey hole to explore a little bit.

So, I was planning on a 20 gal, but if I'm going to have to save up longer anyway, it may as well be worth it to get a 29 gal. But the 29 gallon tanks at petco were no wider or longer than the 20 gallons, just taller. Are they worth the extra money?

 

Depends on what stock you want to keep! Another thing you can do is keep checking your local classifieds. I frequently come across good secondhand deals, often with everything included that you need. Craigslist is one such site but others may be more popular in your town

 

Okay, so I went up to petco but I didn't purchase a tank.

The filters were MUCH more expensive than I expected them to be. I'll still get one soon, just not today. I want to be able to get everything at once so I can set the tank up and have it start cycling. The sale will continue for a while, so I won't miss out on it. I delayed because if I do this, I want to at least try to get it right.

I did get a couple more fake plants so the ghostie has a better place to hide, and picked up some water conditioner. I just did a water change, things are looking MUCH better! The tetras are more active, and the ghost catfish came out of his hidey hole to explore a little bit.

So, I was planning on a 20 gal, but if I'm going to have to save up longer anyway, it may as well be worth it to get a 29 gal. But the 29 gallon tanks at petco were no wider or longer than the 20 gallons, just taller. Are they worth the extra money?

You'll find supplies much cheaper on sites like Amazon.

 

Odd as it may sound, Facebook may be an alternate option as well. There are some groups near me for fish trade, and people are regularly posting old tanks for sale.

 

Update:

Another water change, and the fish are definitely improving. Water's still a little cloudy as the cycle gets it's foothold, but not smelly-murky cloudy.

I've been doing a LOT of research on the species of fish I own, and other ones are available. Being given these guys ( as the circumstances were) reminded me ow much I FREAKING LOVED keeping fish waaay back in primary school.

I think I'm going to invest in something bigger than 20. Honestly, I want to get these guys stabilized (my priority atm) then REALLY get a tank set up. I'm going to hold off on any new additions for quite a while, but I'm researching what I want to do in the meantime, so I'll probably end up back here with more questions. (On different threads, of course.)

HUGE thanks to everyone who helped me out with this! You dragged a person back into the aquarium swing, and probably saved a few fishies lives while at it.

 

Welcome back to the hobby! I guess you friend really did pick the right person to give them to

 

The dwarf frogs just like claw frogs tend to eat anything that will fit in their mouths, if he's small try to rehome him so he doesn't get used to fish company like my poor ACF is.

 

Go as big as you can man, you will not regret it. Go huge. Check Craigslist, someone else mentioned that earlier, sometimes you see things like 55 gallon tanks for 40 bucks.