Skinny64 has beginner questions

I've moved this post from Skinny64 to here as it was misplaced.

hI there I am new to the forum and also to tropical fresh water fish I have read all about the cycle and ph and nitrates I purchased a 5 in 1 tester and have been testing the water but on the strip is ph gh which I understand but it is the kh what I don't know about some one told me it was ammonia but I don't know when I did a test last night it was supposed to be like agreen colour but it was brown so I did a partial water change could some one please advise me thanks

 

HI Skinny

Welcome to Fishlore.

I've moved your post so it gets the attention it deserves (you'd put it at the end of a thread on a slightly different subject).

To try to understand more, I'll ask you some more questions about your set-up, if you dont' mind.

- The 5 in 1 tester: what brand was it? The colours mean different things with different brands. Hopefully someone who used that same will be able to help you then.
- Last night's test: was it for Ammonia or for kH?
-
- How many (and what type of) fish do you have?
- How big is your aquarium (volume-wise, in gallons or litres)

One thing's for sure is that water changes don't hurt. A general rule of thumb would be 25% to 50% water changes about once a week.

Some notes on water changes:
- To avoid my fish (and plants!) getting too upset by the water changes when I pour the water back in, I place the water back with a watering can. Fish seem to really enjoy it.
- Make sure you condition the water (e.g. with Prime or Amquel or AquaSafe) to make the tab water safe for your fish
- When you pour the water back in, I also make sure that the temperature is close to that in the tank. Fish get really upset by wide swings in temperature

Hope this helps a bit, while you wait for a more direct answer.

 

hI thanks for replying so quick, the 5 in 1 teater is a tetra test kit I have 5 guppies 5 platys and 2 corys I took a water test a week ago to a local fish store and it was spot on, but when I did a test last night it was very unstable I went to a fish store today and he said I was feeding them too much at once a day and it should be every other day cos my ph was high I have a 12 gallon tank

 

When I first started fish keeping, I used the tetra 5 in 1 test kit and found that it wasn't very good + quite expensive if I remember rightly. See if you can find API master test kit for freshwater. I know a lot of people use this test kit and it is a very good one. When I switched to using the API test kit I noticed it was giving completely different reults to the tetra 5 in 1 strips I was using. I've heard that strips are not the best way to test your water. I know the master test kit is quite expensive too, but it lasts so much longer and gives the right readings, so its worth seeing if you can find it IMO.

Gwenz

P.S. - I think any liquid tests are better the strips, but id recommend API.

 

hI do you remember when you used the tetra if the kh was the ammonia test cos I really need to be checking the ammonia thanks for the info I will look out for the imo tomorrow

 

usually the ammonia is in a different strip completely the kh is waters alkalinity

 

There isn't ammonia in the tetra 5 in 1 tests! I remember now! I bought the Ammonia test seperately. Like wolfgang said, kh is the waters alkilinity.

Gwenz

 

;D ;Dyay I'm getting the hang of these fish things

 

hI there I took my water to pet shop today the ammonia was 8 and my nitrate was high also high was told to do a water change

 

HI Skinny.

No problem about the quick answer. I think it's really cool that you bother finding out and researching instead of leaving your fish to die because you dont' know what's happening, like a lot of people do.

Ammonia of 8 sounds very high. They gave you good advice with the water change. It looks like you're cycling. Can I refer you to this article we've got on the cycle? It's a lot to take in (was for me anyway), but once you've got the hang of it, it's 70% of your fish problems identified and solved.

Here's the link to it: https://www.fishlore.com/Articles/TheNitrogenCycle.htm

Did you get a chance to get a liquid test kit? It's just that most of us have that (although I dont' have API, but Sera), so we'll be more able to know what each colour means if you have the same test kit as us. Also, as Gwenz was saying, many people on Fishlore have had very unreliable results with the paper strips (as opposed to the liquid tests).

 

hI there thanks very much for advice I am getting the liquid test kit tomorrow the pet shop said to test my water in 5 days time and they would do it for me I did the water change yesterday and cleaned the filter in the water I took out of the tank I was sat watching the fish at tea time and noticed I was 1 fish missing we have searched the tank to no avail my husband said we must have accidently thrown it out when we did the water change but I swear I checked the water before I threw it. could you please advise me how often we feed the fish we have been told every other day thanks again

 

Hullo again. No problem at all, glad to help.

Rinsing filter First of all, you're doing great! Nice one on the rinsing the filter in tank water. This doesn't need to be done too often, but it's more of an as and when thing. For some people, it needs doing every 2 weeks and for some others way less. You'll get to your own rythm as time goes by.

Disappearing fish: It may be that you didn't at all throw the fish out with the water. Disappearing fish is such a common phenomenon that someone on Fishlore came up with the 'fish alien' theory (i.e. some aliens kidnapped your fish!). You'll read about fish aliens once in every so often here on Fishlore. They're a bit of a local myth. What commonly happens is:

1/ The fish died suddenly, as happens sometimes, totally without symptoms, and the other fish at him.
2/ The fish died from aggression from other fish, and the other fish ate him. Do keep an eye out for aggression so you can rule that one out and set your mind at rest.
3/ The fish jumped out of the tank and is somewhere on your floor. Sadly this too is a surprisingly common occurrence. So common that someone came up with the DBF abbreviation (death by floor :;a )
4/ The fish is not missing at all but a GREAT hider. You'd be really really really surprised how often that happens. Some people have had oto fry for months unbeknownst to them, and only know of their presence when they see more adult otos than what they'd purchased (otos are about 3cm long). One of our plecos (he's about 10cm long!) hides inside a stone that has tiny tiny tiny holes in it and we only spot him once ever couple of weeks. The holes are so small we just can't believe he's in there but once in a while we see his tail move, so we know... Some people have turned their tank upside down to find a fish and miraculously, it just appeared again after a while.

I hope for your sake that it's option 4.

Feeding quantity/frequency
As a general rule of thumb, you can estimate the size of a fish' stomach to be equal to the size of one of its eyes.

I tend to feed less per feeding per fish, several times a day when I have time. If I am working, I feed them once a day.

To make sure all the fish get served, I sprinkle floating food, slow sinking food and sinking food at the same time. I also leave large chunks of food such as a cucumber for them to munch on later on, to make sure none starve.

I also sprinkle the food at opposing corners of the tank to make sure it gets distributed to most fish.

 

I had one of those dbf's yesterday...it stinks (emotionally and literally)

for feeding, just make sure most fish get a flake or two...and they should be fine

 

many thanks again I went out and bought a apI water testing kit today so I will get a better reading on my water tests you say that you put bits of cucumber in the tank do you have to peel it and take the seeds out and do you take it out each day and put fresh ones in also could you tell me how many fish are recommended for a 12 gallon tank I don't want to over stock

 

... also could you tell me how many fish are recommended for a 12 gallon tank I don't want to over stock

The general rule is 1" of fish per gallon, so you have to research what the ultimate size of the fish you want will be and then do the math. For example, if you want zebra danios, which average about 2", you can have 6. Or 5 and a cory to clean the bottom. That's how you'd figure it.

 

hI could anyone give advice on keeping clown loaches

 

HI Skinny

If you want to attract more responses, and you are talking about something slightly different than the original thread, it's better to post a new thread in the more specific question (in this case, loaches), with the question in the title.

That way, people see immediately that they can answer if they know something about clown loaches.

Oh, and sorry, I don't know the first thing about clown loaches so I can't help on this one.

 

ok thanks

 

well, I know they need to be kept in at least groups of 3...preferably more...they are a "scaleless" fish, so if there is a disease in the tank, they will be the first ones to catch it b/c they don't have any protection, they can grow to a length of 13"...so they need big tanks...
this site might be more helpful


other members like this site, but I haven't checked this one out yet
loaches]

hope this helps!