Friend's tank - what a mess

hI guys

yesterday my wifes friend asked me to go and have a look at her partners tank which hes had about a month as 1 of his fish was sick so I took my test kit and off we went, when we got there I saw it as a corner tank no more than 40g, cloudy water and quite a lot of fish

fish I could see

2 5" sae
1 common plec 6"
2 bnp 3"
20+ guppies
6 swordtails
6 mollies
3 angelfish
4 assorted cories
5 tiger barbs
2 silver dollars
1 bala shark
may be more in there hard to tell

did a water test, ammonia 4+ nitrates a trace, never tested nitrite

he feeds them about 5x what I would feed and has no knowledge of the nitrogen cycle but I explained not his fault as many people including myself when first starting this hobby are unaware of this

he does 30% w/c a week and adds conditioner but rinses his filters in tap water, I have given him my opinion on what to do, here it is

daily w/c 30% for a week not to shock the fish, leave the filters alone but rinse them in tank water when we get tank sorted, reduce feeding, get rid of some fish

tiger barbs, 2 sae, large plec, bala shark all have to go, angels are small atm an may help keep the various eventual babies in check but may have to go at some point

I did a w/c with vacuum and rearranged his tank and put some a/c in a filer, will also give him some of my seeded media

annoyed at the lfs because they said his water was fine and sold him lots of unsuitable fish but hopefully we can turn this around, ive told him don't trust lfs as they just want his money

dont want to be to harsh with the stocking yet as I don't want him to get rid of everything but we can thin the tank down at a later stage

will post progress as we go, thanks for looking

 

that tank is way over stocked

I'm glad someone got help and is willing to learn instead of a bunch of fish getting sick or even worse dieing at some time because the lfs don't care about you're tank they care for you're wallet lol but I'm glad to see you are going to help him turn it around keep us posted and maby along the way if its needed we can throw in some advice for you guys

or even suggest that he creats a account on here and we can all talk him threw it togather

 

thanks Cody

the guy in question is an older gent and doesn't have access to the internet unfortunately, but yes I will be asking for advice for sure once I get his tank perams sorted

 

Oh boy, your title is right.
What a mess.

Hopefully you can help him.

 

I would love to get as experienced as some of the people on here and sort out my grandads tank. It is so busy and he has too many decorations. His angelfish are constantly in one corner because they can't swim for all the tall plants. He is old, stubborn and does not listen!

At least he is taking your advice, my grandad is "I had a pond, I had tanks when I was younger, I know what I'm doing." At one point his fish were frozen in that "pond".

 

thanks Lucy hope so

hI Sayba, all we can do is offer our advice its up to them if they take it or not, just feel a bit like a kid telling a grown up what to do, don't want to put him off and I explained there is more to this hobby than you think but when everything is sorted just sit back, watch and enjoy

 

I guess so, I just feel bad for the fish! He keeps them for selfish reasons, mostly because he's bored in his retirement.

Well at least we know one tank out there is getting sorted ^^ Good on you for helping!

 

yah I have tried to help a few people that were stubborn and they just refused the help I offerd but I have gotten the chance to help a few familys that didnt know what they were getting into when they started the hobby

 

How is everything still alive?!

 

I have no idea but that much overstocked and not cycled and ammonia 4+ I'm suprised they arnt all belly up

 

Very tough fish! Hmm, they might actually go into shock if the water is cleaned up too quickly...

 

you are awesome for helping rehab this tank!

 

that's what I thought endler that's why I suggested only 30% w/c, now I know fish that are in a tank which has high nitrates for a period of time a large w/c can shock them but what about ammonia? as it is more toxic

will larger w/c be a good or bad thing? I'm not to sure

thanks

 

hI guys

I'm afraid hes lost 12 fish up to now, don't know which but I'm assuming its ammonia poisoning, going to the lfs tomorrow to get him some prime and I will be popping over with some media from my external filter to see if we can get this tank on its way to being cycled

all I can think of is hope my media jump starts it and if he uses double the dose of prime daily it might have a chance

 

Sorry to hear about the fish loss. Hopefully you can pull it around for them soon!

 

thanks daalvaind, hope so just really annoyed with the lfs for selling him fish that are unsuitable and stuff he doesn't need and he doesn't have access to forums like this for advice or research

 

hI guys

well his stock is dramatically reduced, due to death and returning fish, all he has left is
3 cories
1 guppy
1 molly
and 1 small unknown fish

not good for the fish that perished but good news for the tank as its a bit more manageable now, the lfs still sold him stuff he doesn't need AGAIN though, algae remover and another product, not to sure what it is but they could have just told him to reduce the hours his lights are on, really boils my blood taking advantage of people just starting out who don't know any better

ive told him to steer clear of any lfs for a while till we get his tank sorted but we got some prime today so ive told him 30% w/c daily with prime and nothing else in the tank for a week then I will go back over and test his water again, really hope he takes my advice

will update next time I visit him

thanks for looking

 

Pets at home by any chance?

Daily water changes is the best medicine.

By the way Baggy how are you doing if you remember me popped back after a lay away

 

hey your back, long time no see

yeah I'm fine thanks, have looked for you a few times ( not in a stalking way )

you keeping well?

not pets at home, I would rather him gone there tbh, that's how bad the 1 hes being going to is

 

Bloomin eck really that bad that says something lol

I'm ok ish had a lot going on and really should update some threads lol had and got medical issues going on so have been otherwise occupied but have still got the monkeys in the big tank have 5 different kinds of corys now which is amusing

Have you still got your glorious goldfish

 

sorry to here that I think you mentioned health issues, yourself or a family member before you had a break but hope you are on the mend

yes I remember your monkeys glad to hear they are still going strong and yes tank updates please with pics

yes still got sasha, did go through a bad patch thought I was going to lose her to septicemia but she's a tough old girl and she's nearly back to normal, she's in a 55 gallon all to herself but I'm going to get her a buddy when she's a 100% I actually took some pics of her yesterday, shasha says welcome back and thanks for asking

 

I will update soon I can't remember what I have updated or not lol its been a while.

Sasha is looking amazing she is a gorgeous goldie

 

thanks Magoo, you can still see some blood in her tail but she's doing better now

 

hI guys

hes down to 3 cories now, he phoned today and said when he found the dead fish he decided to strip the tank again get rid of the gravel and switch to sand, but at least he didn't touch the filters

I have a feeling this is going to be a long road

 

it might be a long road ahead but if he takes even some of the advice maby he will catch on quicker than you think

it is sad to hear things like this but it happins more often than any of us want to think

hopeing the next update is good news looking forward to hearing if he is doing the right thing or not

 

hI guys

latest update
went over to test his water expecting 3 cories and better water conditions and got a good news bad news scenario

ammonia down to 0.5 which is a lot better than 4+ I'm assuming daily w/c with prime is helping a lot BUT the bad news is he went the lfs and bought

6 danios
2 swordtails
2 mollies
2 platies
2 golden gourami
1 dwarf gourami
2 cae
2 clown loach

ALL IN A WEEK!!!!

and I think his tank has ich, I'm beginning to think this tank is a lost cause, I really don't mind helping but I think I'm banging my head against a brick wall

 

Those gold gourami will end up clearing the tank they can turn very nasty

 

hI guys, newest update

well he is listening I think, no new fish bought, returned unsuitable fish, and almost there cycle wise

ammonia .25
nitrite 0
nitrate 20

started treating for ich last week using heat method and after a week the fish have no spots even the badly infected 1s but will continue heat for another week

glad to say I see light at the end of the tunnel

 

That is really good news! Hope it continues to improve

 

Wow, great job so far. What is the planned stock?

 

hI bob, I suggested

6 khulI loaches
8 neon tetra
8 male guppies

to add to the stock that survived

 

hI bob, I suggested

6 khulI loaches
8 neon tetra
8 male guppies

to add to the stock that survived

Make sure he knows the reason for the 8 MALE guppys part otherwise he will just say 8 guppys please and not think it will matter

 

I'm going with him to make sure or he would probably come back with a piranha

 

I'm going with him to make sure or he would probably come back with a piranha

ah yes that is probably best

 

hI guys

update, WE HAVE A CYCLED TANK

ich gone and 1st week of no deaths