New fish keeper angst

I am coming back from spending a period of mourning with no talk of fish or fish subjects. (it's still never far from my mind though.) i felt like giving up on this nonsense completely. With massive encouragement from my daughter. HOWEVER, I am still stuck looking at 5 tanks - 2 empty, 1 cycled w/no fish or plants, except a few rooted pathos, plus 2 large fakes and many decorations.

I was considering selling as much as I could, knowing this would take "time". But what the heck? My equipment and what few creatures I do have in my 2 community tanks - a 55 gallon (most of the plants are dying in here w/the exception of Horn Wort floating on the top of the water - is doing fine), 6 molly's comprised of two each of silver, black and sun colored pairs, with many small snails. Never bought a snail in my life yet, but both planted tanks are populated with a fine colony of baby blackish brown snails and a couple larger ones.

My 29 gallon is where most of the plants are in gravel substrate, with a sub-layer of plant soil. Those in the gravel/soil are not doing well, while those attached to things look "ok". I'll leave it at that. This is my first and foremost tank, I wrote of it previously, I believe in water conditions. I will not bore you with rambling on about it, just to say that as of this date, I now have 7 Neon Tetras, 2 African Dwarf Frogs, and 2 Hillstream Loaches. 2-3 weeks ago, from a reputable dealer that was highly recommended by some of the top Youtube fish keepers, I ordered 4 clown loaches. They arrived as small 1.5 - 2 inch creatures, full of life and activity that I would have thought to be somewhat overwhelming to the other occupants. They were awesome and reminded me of little birds flitting all over the tank. As of today, I do not have one left to show for my money. I can not locate the remains of 2, and my Betta Jerry joined the 2 that expired during their 1st week with me. I watched them for signs of illness, because like the overly excitable person I can be, on acclimating them to my tank, using the directions from the dealer and the advice I have come to count on from this site, I immediately - without quarantine - released them into my tank. When I discovered the remains of the 3 animals, I tested my water parameters, which were fine. I don't know why they died. Especially, I don't know why my Betta joined them. I thought of everything. Maybe they didn't get enough to eat, maybe they were too cold. My tank was only at 78 and I read that they like it at 80-85. Then, as is usually the case, I found another article saying they could survive, and thrive at a lower temperature. SIGH. I am not even sure what I'm asking here. I guess any ideas or suggestions for future Clown owning will be appreciated. I feel like a failure, though I know you have all lost fish at one time or another.

So, why am I writing this? I want to keep fishkeeping. Please help me realize that it takes time to be good at anything like this and that with the learning may come errors - meant or not - and that even though the money is gone - the experience is not. I want to go out now and get some ghost shrimp and some mystery snails to assist with housekeeping the 29 gallon. I will do my usual water changes 1x/wk (1/2 the total) and I will keep trying to learn more every day.

TWO OTHER QUESTIONS: I could not find with my searches the answers to these.

1) My mollies seem to always be up by the glass, every time I walk past. Do you think I am not feeding them enough? One of them is rather fat. I mentioned to my daughter that I thought perhaps it was a she and maybe pregnant. Her response: pregnant or cancer! I've been feeding them 1 x/morning a large pinch of flaked food. I switch off between a Fluval Bug Bites Goldfish Formula and a Xtreme Aquatic Foods Community PeeWee food for them. They are in the 55 gal. The Tetras get the same in the 29 gal and I am going now to replenish the frogs frozen Blood Worms. The store was out, a couple weeks ago. They recommended the use of frozen Discus food for my AD Frogs and to go from feeding them every day to every-other day. I am not sure I like that. They are so small. And skinny. But...what do you all say?? Of course the others like the leftovers from that too.

2) When you have algea eaters (hillstreams and snails) is it still okay to scrape/clean the sides of the tanks? How do you tell if they are getting enough food? The snails in the 29 gallon are up close to 100s now. That was also part of the reason I purchased the Clowns. To help control their population. Oh well. Maybe it was the snails that added to their demise? What do the more experienced people (the ph.d.'s) think?

I was in the middle of making a baby Ranchu Goldfish purchase for my empty 20 gallon cycled non-plant - soon to be sand bottom tank. I hear they eat anything that fits in their mouth. What if, instead I put them in with my Tetras...do you think they would ... have a feast? or what if i use part of the water from the tank they are currently in - to move them to the 20 gallon and then have the new goldfish in the 29 gallon?? They can clear out the snails for me!!?? What do you think of this?

Too many questions for one email? Sorry. I appreciate greatly that your group exists.

 

At sometime in our fishkeeping careers, everyone experiences setback and disappointments. Learn from the experience and move on.

Mollies are omnivores, which means they like both meat protein and vegetables in their diets. You might want to feed them some foods high in vegetable matter. You can use pleco wafers, dried seaweed, and even fresh vegetables like cucumber, zuchini, spinach, and lettuce that has been blanched to soften them. They love eating algae from plants, rocks, glass, etc. The Fluval bug bites is is a food derived from insect larvae which will satisfy their need for animal protein, but they need green vegetable matter as well.

If you have a sufficient number of algae eaters in your tank, they should do a pretty good job of keeping the glass clean. If the glass gets coated to the point you cannot view the interior of the aquarium clearly, feel free to scrape the algae off the front glass, but leave the algae on the other walls as a food source for the algae eaters, including your mollies.

Although clown loaches are very interesting and attractive fish, they can live for over ten years and reach a maximum size of 12". While four juveniles might be OK in a 29 gallon tank, one day they will be far too large for the tank. Even your 55 gallon will be too small as they approach adult size.

 

Awww, I feel your pain. I know where you are coming from, a long time ago I bought my kids a 10- gallon aquarium and 2 African dwarf frogs and they were dead in less than a week because the aquarium store owner didn't tell me about the fishless cycle and encouraged me to buy everything at once, including both frogs. Needless to say I never went back to him. It was so traumatic, but I got back onto the horse once I did my research and learned about the nitrogen cycle.
My pearl gouramis constantly beg while I am in the room. Don't feed them more, fish can go days without eating (unlike humans). Most new fishkeepers overfeed their fish. A good rule of thumb from a veteran fishkeeper: imagine that the fish's stomach is the size of their eye.
I would google "top 10 mistakes new fish hobbyists make."
I still feel bad about my smallest pearl gourami "Tiny" who died a few weeks ago. I did a larger than usual weekly water change a month ago. I normally do not feed fish until the next day after a water change to let them adjust to the new water chemistry. This time, I became complacent and fed them that night and quite generously. I also did not feed sparingly the following day either (which I try to do). Tiny was always the faster, bigger eater, beating out the other pearls. Less than a week later I noticed she wasn't eating her food, just spitting it out. Then she started hiding in the corner and not eating at all. Within 9 days after my water change, she was dead. Her organs failed. I feel guilty because I should know better! I'm grateful that my other pearls are healthy and happy. I will never do that again.
Another problem is that a new fishkeeper usually has a new tank, and the beneficial bacteria are not firmly established yet. Clown loaches are scaleless fish so are very sensitive to trace amounts of ammonia/nitrite which take about a year or so to disappear. Clown loaches are like corydoras, they like established tanks. I'm wondering if the bioload of your tank was just too much for your fish and there were trace amounts in your new tank? 11 years ago I couldn't keep a corycat alive in my new 45 gallon. A knowledgeable fish store lady told me to wait until the tank was a year old and then try again; she felt that I had trace amounts of ammonia/nitrite in my tank. She was right! I have 2 corycats that are 10 years old. I just had corycat babies in the spring that are happy and thriving.
The first weeks in a different tank is a dangerous period for fish. They are often adjusting to different water parameters and their immune system is at their lowest.... Don't feel too badly, if there is a time fish will die, it will be in their first month in a different tank.
I agree with RayClem, I wouldn't scrape all the walls of the tank, and I wouldn't clean the glass at all unless it looks dirty.... And yes I also agree: clown loaches need 75+ gallon tanks, although they grow very slowly. If your African dwarf frogs are young, you can feed daily but if they are adults every 2 days is fine.

 

Unfortunately, many fish stores are far more interested in selling fish than they are in helping aquarists figure what types of fish are suitable for their aquaria. Most fish stores do not even ask "How big is your aquarium". Thus, you sell juvenile fish sold like common plecos that grow far too large for most home aquaria. You also see them sell fish that like soft acidic water to be housed with fish that like hard alkaline water. They will also sell aggressive fish to be housed with docile fish. A good fish store will warn their customers of such incompatibilities, but many of them do not care as long as they make the sale.

Many decades ago, I saw a snakehead in a LFS. They are now banned in many states, but they were not back then. When I inquired about the fish, the owner did tell me that they were not really suitable for community tanks. However, I had some other aggressive fish in my tank, so I bought it anyway. When I put it into the aquarium, it soon began to attack some of the less aggressive fish in the tank. That was not to the liking of my Jack Dempsey cichlid who was the boss of the tank. He came up behind the snakehead and swallowed the tail end of the fish. The cichlid was swimming around with the head of the snakehead sticking out of its mouth. The snakehead did not survive for even eight hours. The Jack Dempsey never bothered any of the less aggressive fish in the tank, but he was not about to let his tankmates be harassed by another fish.

 

Awww, I feel your pain. I know where you are coming from, a long time ago I bought my kids a 10- gallon aquarium and 2 African dwarf frogs and they were dead in less than a week because the aquarium store owner didn't tell me about the fishless cycle and encouraged me to buy everything at once, including both frogs. Needless to say I never went back to him. It was so traumatic, but I got back onto the horse once I did my research and learned about the nitrogen cycle.
My pearl gouramis constantly beg while I am in the room. Don't feed them more, fish can go days without eating (unlike humans). Most new fishkeepers overfeed their fish. A good rule of thumb from a veteran fishkeeper: imagine that the fish's stomach is the size of their eye.
I would google "top 10 mistakes new fish hobbyists make."
I still feel bad about my smallest pearl gourami "Tiny" who died a few weeks ago. I did a larger than usual weekly water change a month ago. I normally do not feed fish until the next day after a water change to let them adjust to the new water chemistry. This time, I became complacent and fed them that night and quite generously. I also did not feed sparingly the following day either (which I try to do). Tiny was always the faster, bigger eater, beating out the other pearls. Less than a week later I noticed she wasn't eating her food, just spitting it out. Then she started hiding in the corner and not eating at all. Within 9 days after my water change, she was dead. Her organs failed. I feel guilty because I should know better! I'm grateful that my other pearls are healthy and happy. I will never do that again.
Another problem is that a new fishkeeper usually has a new tank, and the beneficial bacteria are not firmly established yet. Clown loaches are scaleless fish so are very sensitive to trace amounts of ammonia/nitrite which take about a year or so to disappear. Clown loaches are like corydoras, they like established tanks. I'm wondering if the bioload of your tank was just too much for your fish and there were trace amounts in your new tank? 11 years ago I couldn't keep a corycat alive in my new 45 gallon. A knowledgeable fish store lady told me to wait until the tank was a year old and then try again; she felt that I had trace amounts of ammonia/nitrite in my tank. She was right! I have 2 corycats that are 10 years old. I just had corycat babies in the spring that are happy and thriving.
The first weeks in a different tank is a dangerous period for fish. They are often adjusting to different water parameters and their immune system is at their lowest.... Don't feel too badly, if there is a time fish will die, it will be in their first month in a different tank.
I agree with RayClem, I wouldn't scrape all the walls of the tank, and I wouldn't clean the glass at all unless it looks dirty.... And yes I also agree: clown loaches need 75+ gallon tanks, although they grow very slowly. If your African dwarf frogs are young, you can feed daily but if they are adults every 2 days is fine.

I'm not sure if you would consider them adults. to me they look small, but ****, what do i know? it's good to know that some of the fish eat algae. i did not know that the 55 members ate it too. that's a good thing. i wanted to get some other algae eaters too, what would you all recommend? i was going to purchase the clowns to help me with the snails that the 29 gallon absolutely full of now. Are mystery snails cannibals? i am not sure what to get for control of snails. my water parameters for both 29 & 55 tanks are identical. i tested today.
pH = 7.6 High pH = 8.4 Ammo =0 Nitrite = 0 Nitrate = 30

I do have a high amount of algae buildup on the glass now. i also notice it starting in the 55 on one side of the glass. i noticed when I cleaned i was bringing up all sorts of dirty looking stuff, BUT, i was not sure if that was from the rocks themselves (washed before i put in) or the plant soil substrate on the very bottom.

When you clean your tank and you vacuum, do you do it until the spot is clear?? that will take me a very long time. but, if that's what you're supposed to do, that's what i'll so. I also wonder if there is a way to increase the strength of the vacuum. I have a python system. Thank you so much for your advice. I am very excited - and anxious - about my baby Ranchu Goldfish arriving tomorrow. I will test that tank again shortly. i want to email the company (King Koi Goldfish) as well and find out what parameters they were in before i release them. Fingers crossed - and toes.

Unfortunately, many fish stores are far more interested in selling fish than they are in helping aquarists figure what types of fish are suitable for their aquaria. Most fish stores do not even ask "How big is your aquarium". Thus, you sell juvenile fish sold like common plecos that grow far too large for most home aquaria. You also see them sell fish that like soft acidic water to be housed with fish that like hard alkaline water. They will also sell aggressive fish to be housed with docile fish. A good fish store will warn their customers of such incompatibilities, but many of them do not care as long as they make the sale.

Many decades ago, I saw a snakehead in a LFS. They are now banned in many states, but they were not back then. When I inquired about the fish, the owner did tell me that they were not really suitable for community tanks. However, I had some other aggressive fish in my tank, so I bought it anyway. When I put it into the aquarium, it soon began to attack some of the less aggressive fish in the tank. That was not to the liking of my Jack Dempsey cichlid who was the boss of the tank. He came up behind the snakehead and swallowed the tail end of the fish. The cichlid was swimming around with the head of the snakehead sticking out of its mouth. The snakehead did not survive for even eight hours. The Jack Dempsey never bothered any of the less aggressive fish in the tank, but he was not about to let his tankmates be harassed by another fish.

thank you so much for the advice. i can't give up. i love this too much. one thing the woman i spoke with at the shop said is that most fish from farther away than say 100 miles, are not adjusted to our pH levels, so I should try to acclimate them slowly to our water. I wrote back to Tomiyama too and gave her my parameters for both tanks. i also appreciate her advice and i did not know they need veggies. SEE why do fish sellers not take the time to tell you - because there is too much to know. i have to be responsible to educate myself. i wanted a JD and my eventual goal (not sure if i blathered about that or not) is to have my own baby Tiger Oscar who I can raise. i saw an add that was too outrageous for 2 200 gallon tanks for $800. h a h a. who has that kind of money? but i am keeping my eye open and saving my pennies to get a 125 asap. in the meantime, I have a 50 gallon octagon when it's cycled - for him or her. or i'll put the jack and tiger in the 55 as babies and move the mollies to the 29 with the 5 neons, 2 male cobra guppies, 3 female guppies, 2 dwarf frogs, 1 hillstream loach, and 2 platies. they are mostly small yet. i am getting ranchu goldfish tomorrow. i'm so excited. not sure which one they'll go in yet, it depends on their size. i know they eat whatever fits in their mouth too. sigh. what fish do you have??

 

Looks like you have the fishkeeping bug, and you will probably be a great fishkeeper .
I don't get much algae in my tank as it isn't near a window, but when I do I use a hand-held algae scrubber. My bro used to use a magnet algae scrubber he lives in Calgary which is much sunnier than the west coast.
When u siphon out the water for a partial water change, with a newish tank (i.e. up to one year old) I would not disturb the gravel at all as it will take months to establish a strong, plentiful beneficial bacterial colony. Also, do not remove/replace your tank filter either....