Newbie Fish Keeper Here from MD!

Good Afternoon Fishlore!

I joined this site yesterday as I seen it would benefit me in the long run. I filled out all my aquarium information in my profile, I bought my water tester kit today (Tetra EasyStrips). I had bought two fish yesterday, my dwarf gourami sadly died at 7pm last night. But my other fish, my cremesicle is still alive and happily (I hope) swimming around in my 26g tank. I have my readings from the test strips. I would like someone to give me advice if my water is OK or not and what I should do if the results indicate a danger, please. I'm a little clueless at this point.

According to Tetra EasyStrips. . .

Ammonia - .5 - SAFE
Nitrate - 0-20 SAFE
Nitrite - .5 CAUTION
Total Hardness - 150 HARD
Total Chlorine - 0 SAFE
Total Alkalinity - 80-120 MODERATE
pH - 6.8-7.2

Is there any actions I should take or is my water good? If my water is OK I have no idea why my dwarf gourami died. I miss that little guy. I also have 3 live plants in my aquarium, I think they should help with Nitrogen cycle?

Thanks!

 

A big no no on the test strips. Get yourself a water based test kit, ideally an API freshwater test kit. The strips are pretty bad especially for an uncycled tank such as yours.
Remember there's no such thing as SAFE reading for ammonia or nitrite, they have to be zero.

Get started on 50% daily water changes till your cycle is complete. When replacing water use a water conditioner, ideally prime since that will detoxify both ammonia and nitrite till your next water change and will not damage or effect the cycling process.

Good luck.

 

HI Seratopia,
Just agreeing with saqib! We started out with the test strips too and the results were WAY off from a water sample test at the local pet store (who used an API Master Test kit). Cycling takes time and tons of patience!!!!! It took our 40 gallon a little over 2 months to cycle completely.

 

Petco actually recommended I buy the strips.. :/ How do I know when the cycle is complete if I may ask? And daily water changes meaning everyday or once a week?

 

Welcome to Fishlore! If you've already added fish without cycling your aquarium first, then you might consider purchasing Tetra SafeStart which will cycle your aquarium faster. Cycling with fish in the aquarium isn't the best idea since it causes harm to the fish, so anything you can do to keep them safe would be best.

 

Daily water changes is every day. It can be a pain, but the joy of keeping your fish safe overrides that in my opinion. The tank is cycled when you have zero ammonia, zero nitrites and some nitrates all at the same time.

 

Petco will probably sell you the idea that a hamster might work with a school of danios.

You probably should get the API fresh water test kit. Go to Amazon.com and find it there. I bought mine from there at about $20 vs. the $32.

Dwarf Gouarmi's are a shot in a dark. I've had nothing but bad luck. Once they get sick it's over. Some may have sucess with them but I'm not one of them.

Good luck!

 

Daily means daily. I would do it right after they eat so that you take out excess food and do the water change. I fully recommend the API Master Test Kit because its got everything and strips are notoriously inaccurate as are the stick on temperature readers. Go digital-its worth it. Also make sure to have a gravel vacuum on hand (do not listen to ppl who say it's not necessary) and AQUARIUM salt (not regular table salt)-it is the first line of defense for almost everything and adding 1 tbspn for every 5 gal actually helps sooth the fish. Other than that, know fish diesases and stop buying fish at Petco (its good for everything except the living fish part).

Any time your water gets an Ammonia reading above 0 the water is not safe. The fish that are swimming frantically around are the ones whos gills are burning.

Also i'm in Bethesda so its cool to know there are others on the forums from around where I'm from

 

A lot of fish cannot handle salt, so don't add it without researching first!!
Don't trust pet store recommendations, especially the big chain stores :/

 

Welcome! I'm from the Bel Air area. Its cool to see some locals around here!

 

petco tried to sell me the test strips as well. good thing I did some research to know that the test strips are not reliable. as others have suggested, I bought the API freshwater master test kit. today I ran into the problem of not being able to really distinguish the color.. but maybe that's just me. either way it is much more accurate than the strips.

currently reading past 8 ppm for ammonia and about 5 for nitrite during my nitrogen cycle. good luck.

 

A lot of fish cannot handle salt, so don't add it without researching first!!
Don't trust pet store recommendations, especially the big chain stores :/

This thread is a bit old and I do not know if OP is around, but Eienna raises a good point. I am yet to experience an issue with Salt BUT do not use it if there is anything that doesn't have scales in your tank--shrimp, snails, loaches, etc. Also, the plants might not tolerate it as well.

 

petco tried to sell me the test strips as well. good thing I did some research to know that the test strips are not reliable. as others have suggested, I bought the API freshwater master test kit. today I ran into the problem of not being able to really distinguish the color.. but maybe that's just me. either way it is much more accurate than the strips.

currently reading past 8 ppm for ammonia and about 5 for nitrite during my nitrogen cycle. good luck.

You get used to it eventually. I think most people have trouble reading it at first but after you've done it a few times it gets easier.

 

I'm going to defend Petco (at least the Petco near me) with buying fish. I agree about the test kit situation, but I have bought most (not all) of my fish from Petco in the past, especially with my Bood Parrots, and they are about the healthiest fish I have ever bought. They have been around since I started my bigger tank about 10 months ago. I think, though, it's the manager in the store near me, as he has personally trained all of the employees on freshwater fish. They seem to know what they're talking about as I do research things anyway before I run out and buy anything for the tank. I'm a research nut, and it doesn't hurt to do that every time you are in thought of buying something for any fish tank needs or wants. Just thought I'd add that.

 

Honestly, if you ever have questions about anything regarding your tank or its contents, the great people here are happy to help. Some of us are lucky enough to have access to knowledgeable people at a LFS, but most will tell you that many pet store workers give poor advice. Stick with the folks here to answer your questions!