Help me advise on sister's 10 gallon

My sister's kids got a 10 gallon tank for Christmas, and the fish went right into the water (at most it got dechlorinated).
Since then 6 fish have died and what's in there now has replaced fish that died. (There are 2 mollies, 2 tetra-looking fish, and one goldfish in there now)

There's no gravel, a few rocks and fake plants, a heater and a filter.

The goldfish seems to have a significantly bloated belly.

Clearly they could be doing something better so that they don't have this fish turnover! : (

They don't have gravel because my brother in law thinks its too hard to clean.

Can I get some tips on how they can improve the ecosystem in the tank so that they have healthier fish? Or some knowledge/advice I can pass on?

I'd like to get them a water-testing kit so at the very least they can call me with the readings and I can make suggestions. The water usually looks pretty clear.

So far I'm thinking:
• water changes
• filter component changes (keeping media around to feed new filter)
• maybe a bottom feeder-type of creature
• is gravel of some kind critical?
• conservative feeding

What else?

 

The problem, as I'm sure you know, is that there isn't a sufficient bacterial colony to process the waste produced by the fish. I would suggest buying a bottle of SeaChem Prime and adding the correct dose for the volume of the tank daily. This will help keep the fish safe from the ammonia and nitrites while the tank is cycling.

Unfortunately the tank is also overstocked. Goldfish are huge wast producer and need a much larger tank (usually 20-29 gallon minimum for one, depending on the type of goldfish).

If you could get a water testing kit for them, that would be a great start, so that they could monitor the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels while the tank is cycling. Someone may have mentioned this in another thread, but be sure to get a liquid kit, and strip tests are very inaccurate.

In regards to your bullet points:
-- Water changes are a must, as they will help keep the levels of ammonia/nitrites/nitrates to a safe level. Extra water changes will be needed especially due to the goldfish.
-- Filter media is never changed. If there is carbon in it, it becomes less effective after two weeks, so you may remove that, but the actual filter media is what holds the beneficial bacteria. If you change it, then you will start all over with your cycle.
-- Unfortunately there is no space for a bottom feeder, as you are overstocked already
-- Gravel is not critical. I know a lot of members have bare-bottom fry tanks.
-- Conservative feeding will help immensely. Firstly, you don't want any excess food decaying in the tank, contributing to the waste problem. Secondly, if you overfeed, then the fish overpoop (I'm pretty sure that's what it's called ) which also doesn't help the waste problem.

As far as the fish, if upgrading isn't in the forseeable future, maybe see if you can return the goldfish, as he's the biggest waste producer. Mollies are also known for this. Tetras (if that's what they are) are schooling fish and would prefer a larger group than two, but unfortunately there isn't really space right now to add them. If they could possibly upgrade to a larger tank, that would definitely help.

Hope this all makes sense. Best of luck!

 

The problem, as I'm sure you know, is that there isn't a sufficient bacterial colony to process the waste produced by the fish. I would suggest buying a bottle of SeaChem Prime and adding the correct dose for the volume of the tank daily. This will help keep the fish safe from the ammonia and nitrites while the tank is cycling.

Can I only find SeaChem Prime in a specialty or pet store, or do you think I could find it in a place like Meijer (in the aquarium section)?

Unfortunately the tank is also overstocked. Goldfish are huge wast producer and need a much larger tank (usually 20-29 gallon minimum for one, depending on the type of goldfish).

Well this goldfish does not look right (to me)- its belly looks very distended, so it may not be long for this world. I'll encourage them away from goldfish.

-- Water changes are a must, as they will help keep the levels of ammonia/nitrites/nitrates to a safe level. Extra water changes will be needed especially due to the goldfish.

How much and how often?

-- Filter media is never changed. If there is carbon in it, it becomes less effective after two weeks, so you may remove that, but the actual filter media is what holds the beneficial bacteria. If you change it, then you will start all over with your cycle.

I may be understanding the filter media thing wrong: don't you have to, at some point in a filter's life, change out the carbon and the foam-thingie (with the secret being that you leave the old foam thingie in the tank so that the new one can get colonized w bacteria from the old?) Sorry I'm using newbie lexicon here- haha!

-- Unfortunately there is no space for a bottom feeder, as you are overstocked already

If the goldfish goes bye-bye, what possibility then? Possible to get something like a shrimp or other bottom feeder? Right now there are not 2 like fish in this tank, so It would be hard to create a school. Any suggestions for stocking improvement?

 

Petsmart and petco both carry Prime if you have those stores near you.

 

A bottom feeder shouldn't be necessary. I think many people are of the misconception that bottom feeders eat fish poo. So the only thing a bottom feeder would eat is excess food that makes it's way to the bottom. Not overfeeding will prevent excess food from making it to the bottom.

 

1. I buy Prime at Petsmart, I've seen it at Petco, and you can get it online at places like Amazon and Kensfish.

2. How much and how often for water changes depends on your parameters (well, theirs I guess), which we unfortunately don't know since you/they don't have a test kit. I would say definitely daily, maybe 50%, but someone else can probably comment better than me on this.

3. Carbon definitely needs to be changed. Many people don't even use carbon at all, except for removing medication from the water. I'm not sure what kind of filter cartridges they're using, but if they're like the Top Fin ones (a little white mesh bag filled with carbon), then you can just cut the bag and dump the carbon out. But the bacteria live in the meshy-fabricy part, and so you never throw that away, unless it's literally falling apart. And even then, you put the new one in with the old one for awhile, so that the bacteria can colonize the new one before you throw the old one away.

4. As previously mentioned, bottom feeders aren't a NECESSARY part of a fish tank because you shouldn't be overfeeding to the point that there is a lot of food falling to the substrate (or in your case, the bottom of the tank). They're not exactly as fun to watch, so if the tank is being watched by kids I would suggest using your available space (once you have some) for some more exciting fish. I'm not sure what kind of tetras you have, but it may be wise to (once the goldfish has departed, if it will) up the school of tetras so that they will feel more comfortable. If you could possibly return the mollies that might be for the best as well, if they will be unable to upgrade to a larger tank. If you could possibly upload pictures of the tetras, then someone could help identify them.

 

There probably aren't any tetras in there now that I'm looking- I'm clearly no expert here!

 

In the last picture, the fish on the top right is a tetra I think, but I'm not sure what kind.

 

View attachment 85895View attachment 85896View attachment 85897View attachment 85898View attachment 85899

There probably aren't any tetras in there now that I'm looking- I'm clearly no expert here!

I see a Fantail Goldfish (which is supposed to look awkward, a Molly, two Platies, and a Red or Lamp Eye tetra.

I've never seen Prime at PetCo, just throwin' that out there.

 

My petco has it, but only the smallest bottle.

 

All the PetCo's I've been in don't carry any SeaChem products. Not even sure if they have Kordon products, either...... lol

 

I see a Fantail Goldfish (which is supposed to look awkward, a Molly, two Platies, and a Red or Lamp Eye tetra.

So...do all these kinds of fish go together? The mostly black one with some orange always hides in the corners. There's not a lot of hiding places in their tank- I'm kinda thinking they need a few more fake plants to make them feel secure. The silver one is not always front & center either. But the goldfish, black one, and the orange/white with black tail are always up front & all over.

 

So...do all these kinds of fish go together? The mostly black one with some orange always hides in the corners. There's not a lot of hiding places in their tank- I'm kinda thinking they need a few more fake plants to make them feel secure. The silver one is not always front & center either. But the goldfish, black one, and the orange/white with black tail are always up front & all over.

In a much larger tank, like 30 or 40 gallons, minus the Tetras, they would be just fine, yes. Right now, don't ad anything to the tank, not gravel, not decor. Maybe a few silk plants, but these fish need all the room and water they can get at the moment.

 

Okay, grabbed an API master test kit and tested the tap water first, and then the aquarium water. Zero ammonia in the tap water. Aquarium readings are: zero ammonia, zero nitrite, well over 80 ppm nitrate (the test tube color was bright, bright cherry red, bordering on the darker red).

I added half a capfull of Prime to about 2 1/2 gallons of water, and then did a 25% water change.

What next?

 

A 25% water change will only drop the nitrate level 20 60ppm (assuming there is no nitrate in the tap water). So you'll need to do a few more small water changes over several days to get those nitrates down. The reason for small water changes is believe it or not a rapid lowering of nitrates can be leathal to fish. So by doing small (20%-25%) water changes over several days, the levels will come down gradually.

 

I'm also concerned about the pH in that tank. When I did the high pH test it showed between 8.2 and 8.4

What does this mean for a goldfish, a molly, platys, and a tetra?

 

No need to be concerned with the pH. The fish you have (as well as almost all fish) will do fine with a pH anywhere between 6.0 and 8.5

Really what is of more concern is that you have tropical fish and a goldfish in the same tank. Either the tropicals or the goldfish are being kept in the wrong temperature range.

 

Don't bother with the pH, really. Its more stressful on you, your fish, and your wallet trying to get it "just right."

If they can keep the tank at around 75, then the Goldfish, Mollies and Platies would be fine together. Mollies are often kept with Goldfish as it is, anyways.

 

So all of the others are tropicals and the goldfish isn't? What should we do about that?

 

Goldfish and Mollies are Temperate fish. Platies are Tropical. A temp of 75 will be fine for all of them. High range of Temperate and low range of Tropical.