Inherited a Tank In Rough Shape

So the people who live downstairs from me are the people who got me into fish. They gave me baby guppies last year and I fell in love! My fish obsessions snowballed from there and I now have a few successful tanks of my own.

Well now these neighbors are moving and they've handed their 5.5 gallon tank down to me. It's a beautiful dirt bottomed tank and I'm excited to have it! BUT....

There's a few issues. I'm experienced enough to know how to fix it all, so I'm posting here to make sure I'm on the right track, ask a few specific questions, and also to share the progress of this lovely little tank.

Okay, here we go. Here's a pic of it:




The filter that was there before was a Tetra Whisper 10i. A good filter, but it took up a good portion of the already limited real estate. So I swapped it out for a cycled HOB filter I had been running on another tank for this purpose. I cut some floss from the Tetra's carbon cartidge and added it. There's way more space now than there was.

I knew the tank had stocking issues before I got it. This tank has maybe 10-12 fancy guppies in it and one lone cory cat. None of these fish have any business in a 5.5, so they will all be rehomed. The guppies will be dropped off at Petco this week, and I think I'll be posting on the BSTF forum here so I can make sure the cory goes home to a good shoal of 6+ of its own species. There's also a multitude of ramshorns and their eggs, which I will be purchasing assassin snails to deal with.

About the cory. I don't know what kind it is. Can anyone tell me what kind of cory this is based off these photos I took?








We emptied the tank 50% to carry it upstairs, so it got a decent water change. I remembered to fill some test tubes with the old water before refilling so I could test it and boy am I glad I did. I swore out loud when I saw these results:




I did use Prime when I changed the water, and I also loaded all the spare plants I could into it.




I have no idea how these fish aren't dead. The old owner was so confident about this tank, which she's had for YEARS and should be cycled, that she said she hasn't been changing water anymore, just topping it off.... She's not a careless person, she's actually an emergency veterinarian. She gets mammals, but fish are beyond her I think. I don't think she ever tester her water.

So here's the game plan:

The tank will get a second 50% water change tonight, and every day until it's cycled.

Tomorrow:
I will drop the guppies off at Petco
I will call around and see what stores have assassin snails
I will post an ad for the lonely cory on BSTF

Once the tank is cycled, I will be restocking it with a betta, one or two Nerite snails, and two Amano shrimp.

How does that sound?
I'll ping some people I know and trust- hopefully you don't mind!
Aquaphobia TexasDomer Anders247 Dovah

 

Woweez:shock:

Can you test the pH please? With nitrates that high you'll want to add new water slowly. You've done a 50% already so wait an hour then do another change, also with Prime of maybe 25% and keep doing that until things look more manageable. You can overdose on the Prime to keep them safe from the ammonia but I'm guessing that the pH is very low which will have protected the fish by keeping it in the form of ammonium which is not as toxic.

 

You're right! pH is 6 or lower. There's a small baggie of crushed coral in the filter so that'll bring the pH up slowly as well. I'll add extra Prime when I do another change tonight :0

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

I have never seen nitrates that red before. It looks like blood. Looks like a sterbaI to me, but Coradee and DoubleDutch could id him/her.

 

I've seen nitrates that red! It is a scary thing, especially when you do a 50% water change and the colour doesn't change:shock:

 

I have never seen nitrates that red before. It looks like blood. Looks like a sterbaI to me, but Coradee and DoubleDutch could id him/her.

It's a C.paleatus (Peppered)

 

Thanks DoubleDutch! If I'm not mistaken, they are the cory that requires cooler temps than the other types, right? Poor guy was not only alone in a small tank but too warm as well

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Thanks DoubleDutch! If I'm not mistaken, they are the cory that requires cooler temps than the other types, right? Poor guy was not only alone in a small tank but too warm as well

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

Correct !!! Most of my Peppers are adopted loners !!! Get some more and you will be amazed great personalities !

 

I've heard wonderful things about cories, they're so cute too! I'd love to keep the cutie but my biggest tank is 10 gallons right now so I really don't have place for a shoal, plus none of my other fish are temp compatable with the peppered. Someday though for sure. *dreams about 100 future tanks* haha.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Yeah, that's a peppered cory. I'd rehome it if you don't have a proper sized tank for it, unfortunately.

 

A shame the distance is an issue otherwise I'd add it to my Pepperoni-herds.

 

I have never seen ammonia that high, that is absolutely crazy. Your plan sounds great and I just want to commend you for doing what you need to in order to get this tank and its inhabitants to where they need to be.

 

#WaterChanges

 

the low PH is probably the only reason they are still alive since it becomes ionized ammonia (NH4+) as the PH is decreased which is significantly less toxic than un-ionized ammonia (NH3)

 

What are the current readings? How are the fish handling the changes?

 

Ammonia is down to .5 after the two water changes yesterday and all the extra plants I added! Huge improvement from 4ppm.

Nitrite is down to 0!

Nitrate has not budged at all though, it's still blood red.

pH is still 6 or lower.

I'm heading to Petco in a few minutes to drop the guppies off. I also bagged the cory... I would like to have more control over where he ends up from here, but he looks the worst out of all the fish. He's been panting since before yesterday's water changes and his movements are very "anxious" looking. The plants are so thick on one side that he's been confined to one side of this little tank and he only has room to turn around. Sadly I think the customer surrender tank at Petco is a step up from his current home. I think it might be best to bring him to the store tonight, he looks miserable. What do you think? :/

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app



It's worth noting that my nearest Petco is very good with fish, definitely not the usual horrid disease ridden place it gets a reputation for. The aquatics manager is a good guy, I've spoken with him on a few occasions and he always seems to know what he's talking about. The cory could do better long term of course, but it could also do worse.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

If you can keep doing small changes to bring the nitrates down steadily that would be better. Dropping it too quickly can cause real problems!

 

That's the plan! I can take out about a gallon before the water level reaches the intake of the filter, so that's all I'm taking out per day til it's properly cycled.

I can't imagine it would take a huge amount of time to cycle since this tank has been set up for a few years. There's gotta be BB in there, especially in the soil. I picked up some TSS at the store as backup so I'm prepped for anything!

All fish are officially out of the tank as well, so Ammonia production will go down. There is a HUGE amount of ramshorns though so I'm not afraid of losing my cycle altogether. The Ammonia is well within the range that's protected by Prime at less than .5 ppm (I changed 1 gallon about an hour after posting test results here), so I employed some assassin snails after a slow acclimation and I hope they get to work at cutting down these numbers.

I'll post test results tomorrow before the next water change.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

I'm not worried about the drop in nitrates affecting your cycle but the fish. If they go from high to low nitrates quickly they can get a disease known to divers as "the bends"

 

I know, I wasn't suggesting anything about the cycle, just saying that it shouldn't take super long to balance out since this tank has been established for a long time (although neglected). There's just piles and piles of snails in there now anyway- I was able to remove the fish from this scary place

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

I know, but did you move them immediately to water with lower nitrates? That could kill them

 

I don't think your friends cycled the tank or even knew about the cycle

 

I know I'm late to the party but wow, those test results sure are something. That's a great example of what overstocking and lack of water changes can do.

 

Aquaphobia
Not to lower the Nitrates, no. I moved them because I felt like they had been confined in a small space with toxic water for long enough. I was thinking much more about their stress level. Maybe it wasn't the right choice... but that's why I did it :/

And yup Sarah73, her understanding of the cycle was limited at best. She told me she read about it once but couldn't wrap her head around it. She didn't get into the hobby like she hoped she would so she just kinda ignored a lot of things. I also know she changed her carbon cartridges completely each month and she had no other media in her filter (she didn't think it made a difference in how her water looked so she took out the extra media...). She used to do water changes, but she got over-confident after the tank had been set up a few years. She even said to me that the tank "maintained itself." I figured the cycle might be in tact since the substrate hasn't been changed, but I did not expect the readings to be this bad.

I'm glad I ended up with this tank but I currently have a lot negative feelings about it. She loved her fish and was proud of her tank (the live plants are doing well and it is a beautiful little setup) but she had no clue that the fish's home was horrible for them. When she moved and couldn't take the tank with her, it was a difficult and emotional thing for her to give it to me. She was really thankful that I'd be taking care of her fish. She was especially attached to the cory, who suffered the most. So naturally I couldn't tell her that all of its inhabitants were going to be rehomed immediately, especially since she moved and it wouldn't benefit anyone to upset her with that info, and that was before I even tested the water. I feel some guilt about that. I was going to keep the fish for a week or two out of principal, but I panicked when I saw that the tank wasn't even cycled.

I'm hoping I'm making the right decisions but I also might have moved too quickly by removing the fish.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

Aquaphobia
Not to lower the Nitrates, no. I moved them because I felt like they had been confined in a small space with toxic water for long enough. I was thinking much more about their stress level. Maybe it wasn't the right choice... but that's why I did it :/

And yup Sarah73, her understanding of the cycle was limited at best. She told me she read about it once but couldn't wrap her head around it. She didn't get into the hobby like she hoped she would so she just kinda ignored a lot of things. I also know she changed her carbon cartridges completely each month and she had no other media in her filter (she didn't think it made a difference in how her water looked so she took out the extra media...). She used to do water changes, but she got over-confident after the tank had been set up a few years. She even said to me that the tank "maintained itself." I figured the cycle might be in tact since the substrate hasn't been changed, but I did not expect the readings to be this bad.

I'm glad I ended up with this tank but I currently have a lot negative feelings about it. She loved her fish and was proud of her tank (the live plants are doing well and it is a beautiful little setup) but she had no clue that the fish's home was horrible for them. When she moved and couldn't take the tank with her, it was a difficult and emotional thing for her to give it to me. She was really thankful that I'd be taking care of her fish. She was especially attached to the cory, who suffered the most. So naturally I couldn't tell her that all of its inhabitants were going to be rehomed immediately, especially since she moved and it wouldn't benefit anyone to upset her with that info, and that was before I even tested the water. I feel some guilt about that. I was going to keep the fish for a week or two out of principal, but I panicked when I saw that the tank wasn't even cycled.

I'm hoping I'm making the right decisions but I also might have moved too quickly by removing the fish.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

Well at least the fish are getting a Place to be until you are done cycling the tank.

 

It was an understandable reaction, I would have wanted to do the same thing!

 

Don't beat yourself up over it, you did what you thought was right!

 

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.

I tested the water this morning and it's looking better:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 80

That Nitrate is still crazy high, but it's actually on the chart now!!! That's exciting. Also sad that it's exciting haha.

pH is still at 6.0. There may not be enough crushed coral in the filter from my other tank, so I'll add some more.

Another note about pH: I noticed something interesting as I was moving plants around in the tank. The old owner put a piece of bone in there, looks like an animal vertebrae (rabbit or simiar sized animal) that's been there a while. Her and I both collect, clean, and otherwise work with bones as a hobby, so that explains where she got it. But I wondering how with the bone in the tank and it obviously being dissolved, the pH isn't raised and buffered by it. I mean I'm thankful it wasn't since it allowed the Ammonia to become Ammonium and the fish didn't die... but it still strikes me as odd.

The only thing I can think of is this: when you collect bones, you disinfect and whiten them with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) after all the flesh is gone. Most small bones become white after 4-8 days in a peroxide bath depending on the concentration and desired level of whiteness. I have no idea how much of the chemical remains in the bone afterwards, but I was wondering if small amounts were being leeched into the aquarium as the bone dissolved. H2O2 would create more oxygen in the water, which in turn would lower the pH.

My pH chemistry knowledge isn't perfect, but it's the only thing I could think of. I'll be taking the bone out of the tank and adding my coral to the filter instead since that bone isn't cutting it anyway. Lemme know if you guys have any input!

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

H2O2 is extremely unstable so I highly doubt that any will remain in that form. It would have broken down to water and oxygen long ago.

As for the bone buffering pH, it probably wouldn't be as effective as coral because it contains comparatively little calcium carbonate. It's mostly collagen whereas coral is almost exclusively CaCO3

 

That makes sense!!!

Ammonia and Nitrite are still at 0

Nitrate is between 80 and 40, it's hard to tell. I wish those colors were easier to tell apart since that's a huge difference haha.

pH is up to 6.4 though!!! I haven't added more coral yet but will soon.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app

 

I haven't been online much lately but I hope to get back on FishLore more often soon. Update on the tank~

Nitrates are reasonable now. This woulda gone faster if I was diligent with daily water changes (I'm doing 2 times a week) but I'm still adjusting pH and hardness as well. Almost all the pest snails are gone too, so without livestock to suffer, time isn't of the essense anymore whether I expedite it or take my time. The assassin snails have been doing a good job with eating baby pest snails and eggs, though I had to remove much of the adults by hand.

The pH is almost in the high 7's now. I'm aiming for 8.0, which is where the coral keeps my other tanks. I'd like to get this tank's perameters to match across the board.

I'm having some brown algae problems on and off, but it cleans easily and stops spreading when I keep the lights out. I might do a shorter photo period with this tank than I do on my others. If I can ever find the assassin snails to remove them when they're done with the pest snails (it's very jungley in this little tank), I'd prefer Nerites. We'll see what the future brings.

I decided that once it's safe, I'm going to move my halfmoon elephant ear betta Bruno into this tank. He's currently in a divided 10 gallon and has had prolonged tail and pectoral biting problems due to large finnage. I think having this little tank to himself will keep him calmer, plus the plants in here are like a tall carpet he can rest on in any part of the tank. It's also good that he's gaining a half gallon of water volume and the surface will be lower than in the divided 10 gallon. Less height for him to drag his heavy fins up to the surface. I think it'll work out for him well in there once I match the perameters to what he's used to.

Sent from my SM-J320P using Fish Lore Aquarium Fish Forum mobile app