Trying to surprise wife with 56 gallon fish tank while away this weekend.

So my wife has been waiting fish for years. As a kid I remembered how much work my grandmother put in to her two aquariums (one Freshwater, One salt water) and her man made pond. So I was very tentative about getting them, however I finally decided to take the plunge and surprise the wife while she is away with the in-laws ( The lengths a man would go to make his wife happy (sigh) haha). So I bought the following:

1-56 gallon column tank w/stand ,lights etc
Aquarium grave 55 pounds
5 bamboos
6 large fake plants
3 small fake plants
fake driftwood
fake bonsaI tree
Aquarium Buddha
2 heaters
1 thermometer
2 marineland biowheel filters for 30 gallon with extra filters added in.

I connected everything on Friday and let in without fish until Sunday night. On Sunday I picked up :
6 Giant Danios
8 Tiger Barbs

Introduced them to the tank by letting them float in the tank with their bag (oh yeah temperature reading is at 73 F) and then add a cup of water every 5 minutes until 30 minutes had passed. I then transplanted the fish to the tank. Waited 2 hours and feed them, Everything seemed fine. Went out to catch the amazing spiderman with friends came back and fish still looked good. Woke up this morning to feed fish and the giant danios look great and happy however the tiger barb are acting weird. one has already died and the other are hiding in the driftwood or behind the leaves, not swimming in the group like they did earlier, kind of like they got into a fight and went into separate corners.

What I'm I doing wrong? what can I do to fix it and should I replace the tiger barbs right away before they get to too small a number and get extra neurotic for not having their group?

Thanks for all of your help.

 

Have you heard about the nitrogen cycle? (Click on the underlined nitrogen cycle to learn) This is a VERY important beginning step. Welcome to Fishlore!

 

Welcome to Fishlore.....

I would suggest reading the nitrogen cycle:

You have two options, return all your fish and start a fishless cycle:

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/four-methods-of-fish-less-cycling.48446/

Or if you don't want to do that, my suggestion is to return your tiger barbs back to store and purchase a bottle of Tetra Safe Start to help cycle your tank.

I would read this link on Tetra Safe Start: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/q-a-with-tetra-about-tetra-safestart.58116/

For the moment, I would perform a water change using a water dechlorinator.

 

Well first off you will need to understand the nitrogen cycle. My quick run down of it is. Baaically ammonia is introduced into the tank which turns into beneficial bacteria. When fish poop and food rots it creates nitrates which beneficial bacteria eats. So read up on the nitrogen cycle and that will really help out with understanding what's going on.

Secondly you are going to need two more things.

Water conditioner and a liquid test kit.

Basically water conditioner takes tap water and makes it safe for fish neutralizing minerals in the water.

The test kit will help you know what is going on in your tank.

Now since you have fish i. The tank you have two options.

Option 1. If you can rehome the fish you can restart and do a fishless cycle. This will take about 6-8 weeka.

Option 2. You can add in a bottle of Tetra Safe Start. This will start the cycle in your tank and will take 14 days.

So think about your options and if you make a decision I can explain how you do either option 1 or 2.

Also welcome to fishlore

 

Have you heard about the nitrogen cycle? (Click on the underlined nitrogen cycle to learn) This is a VERY important beginning step. Welcome to Fishlore!

Ahh ninjad

 

Sorry, I forgot to add that I conditioned the water with Tap Water Conditioner 48 hours and Stress Zyme 30 minutes after the water conditioner, before I put the fish in the tank. Came back from work during lunch, the Giant Danio's are so far so good. 6 of the tiger barbs are dead. one looks on the way out and one is fine. I wish the guy had told me to wait a month before I cycled fish in. What he said was after I introduce the fish to the tank do change the water or anything but feed the fish for a month.

Thank you for all your help and your welcoming me to fish lore.

I don't have the option of rehoming the fish. I will try to Tetra safe start.

 

Sorry, I forgot to add that I conditioned the water with Tap Water Conditioner 48 hours and Stress Zyme 30 minutes after the water conditioner, before I put the fish in the tank. Came back from work during lunch, the Giant Danio's are so far so good. 6 of the tiger barbs are dead. one looks on the way out and one is fine. I wish the guy had told me to wait a month before I cycled fish in. What he said was after I introduce the fish to the tank do change the water or anything but feed the fish for a month.

Thank you for all your help and your welcoming me to fish lore.

I don't have the option of rehoming the fish. I will try to Tetra safe start.

Ok well conditioning the water is extremely important.

When you get tetra safe start do a large water change 50 percent and use the recommend amount. The only thing is you don't add any chemicals or change the water for 14 days. If you change the water or add chemicals you will break the cycle. I would also reccomend a test kit so you can tell when your tank is completely cycled.

 

What he said was after I introduce the fish to the tank do change the water or anything but feed the fish for a month.

Join the club. You've officially been given really horrible advice from an lfs employee. Now, at least you know that you can't trust them for even the most basic fish care. Sad, but true.

You can do the TSS.

But know that there are always ways that you can rehome your fish. Various options include bringing to your lfs, listing them on CraigsList or Freecycle, seeing if you have fish clubs or forum members near you that are interested. You should never feel that you're stuck with them.

 

I will do the TSS, question do I dechlorinate the new water before I add it to the tank and then TSS it or do I Just add the TSS to the new water and then add it to the old water in the tank after I remove 50%?

LyndaB- I am newbie to this, so I didn't know all the options I had in regards to re-homing fish.

Was I on the right track starting a new tank with 6 Giant Danio and 8 Tiger barbs or was the LFS wrong on that as well? I don't have a bubble wand/air stone...I was told I could hold off on that, will this be a problem as well.

 

You probably don't need the air stone. You can just hold off on that. I don't use any in my tanks.

Sorry you received such horrible advice!

 

I will do the TSS, question do I dechlorinate the new water before I add it to the tank and then TSS it or do I Just add the TSS to the new water and then add it to the old water in the tank after I remove 50%?

I would do a water change using a dechlorinator product first. Wait 24 hours then add your TSS into the tank and don't do any water changes for the next 14 days.

 

Good afternoon and Welcome to Fish Lore!

Hate to hear that you've gotten some misleading information. Many of us have been where you currently are.

Please follow the directions to the letter concerning the use of Tetra Safe Start (TSS) above in post #3 and I'll post it again here:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/q-a-with-tetra-about-tetra-safestart.58116/

This bacterial additive should cycle your tank and keep your fish safe for the next 14 days. TSS hasn't worked for everyone but it has worked for a good many of the members. Never tried it personally.

Best of luck for your new tank and fish. That was a very nice thing you've done for your wife. Hang in there and we'll help you all that we can.

I hope you enjoy the site!!

Ken

 

On a side note, your a GREAT HUSBAND!! Hope the wife is excited when she gets home.

 

I will do the TSS, question do I dechlorinate the new water before I add it to the tank and then TSS it or do I Just add the TSS to the new water and then add it to the old water in the tank after I remove 50%?

LyndaB- I am newbie to this, so I didn't know all the options I had in regards to re-homing fish.

Was I on the right track starting a new tank with 6 Giant Danio and 8 Tiger barbs or was the LFS wrong on that as well? I don't have a bubble wand/air stone...I was told I could hold off on that, will this be a problem as well.

Basically I would take the amount of water you are going to change and put it in containera. I have three 30 gallon recycling bins and they work fine. I put the water from my tap into the bins and add water conditioner and let it sit for 24 hours. Than change the water.

So I would do a 50 percent water change and when your done than put thr TSS in. Once the tetra safe start is in the tank no water changes for 14 days. When 14 days is over I would do a 50 percent water change again and start testing water.

As for the fish they go well but buying so many to start a tank wasn't the best advice. Luckily you didnt buy an algae eater.

Lastly an airstone isn't needed but it can't do any harm and it does oxygenate the water but if there is about an inch of water between where the water comes out your filters and the water is getting churned up on the surface you will be fine

 

So the wife is happy and a happy pregnant wife is a happy home ;D. After work I went to a different LFS. I guess because I looked lost he knew I had a new aquarium and said the same things you guys/gals said...That I had way too many fish for a new tank and that while I am waiting for the water to conditioned for the TSS, he gave me a very large bag of water which was "dirty" directly from his filters and told me to pour it into the tank and that it would assist with the process. (I hope it does)

Hopefully the TSS will work tomorrow night. Presently the water is at 78F is that a problem?

PS the Giant Dano's are still doing great.

Thank you for all of your help,once I get this situated I will post pictures of my newbie aquarium.

PPS I thought I had enough Hobbies in life...but this is addictive.

Also this forum website rocks!

 

Good morning,

Yeah! Glad to hear the wife is happy.

If there was detritus (fish waste, decaying fish food) in the water that the fish store gave you, then there may well be some beneficial bacteria attached to it that may jump start the cycling process. However, just plain water does not contain beneficial bacteria, it simply isn't found in the water column but attached to all surface areas of the aquarium.

The water temperature of 78 degrees is fine.

You are on the right track! Keep us posted.

Ken

 

he gave me a very large bag of water which was "dirty" directly from his filters and told me to pour it into the tank and that it would assist with the process.

This is exactly the kind of lfs you want. Very hands-on. I like that.

 

So the wife is happy and a happy pregnant wife is a happy home ;D. After work I went to a different LFS. I guess because I looked lost he knew I had a new aquarium and said the same things you guys/gals said...That I had way too many fish for a new tank and that while I am waiting for the water to conditioned for the TSS, he gave me a very large bag of water which was "dirty" directly from his filters and told me to pour it into the tank and that it would assist with the process. (I hope it does)

Hopefully the TSS will work tomorrow night. Presently the water is at 78F is that a problem?

PS the Giant Dano's are still doing great.

Thank you for all of your help,once I get this situated I will post pictures of my newbie aquarium.

PPS I thought I had enough Hobbies in life...but this is addictive.

Also this forum website rocks!

Good looks like you are on the right track

Hotter water causes the beneficial bacteria to grow faster so 78 is fine

 

Would you happen have any friends with aquariums? If so, you could take some filter media from their filter and put it into your filter. This would cycle your tank very quickly if their tank is already cycled.

 

Would you happen have any friends with aquariums? If so, you could take some filter media from their filter and put it into your filter. This would cycle your tank very quickly if their tank is already cycled.

This would be your best bet. This is also the fastest way to cycle a tank. Wether it is old pads or bio rings this is an instant cycle

 

The water is no longer as cloudy and is relatively clear. Hoping by the end of the week for it to be crystal clear. Fish are very active and swimming around. To my knowledge none of my friends have aquariums...I will however ask around.
Question: The "dirty water" that I got from the LFS came from the area with the filter and he scrapped a lot of "Waste" from it into the bag. Would that have had the same effect as what you are talking about fbn?

 

If he was scraping the stuff off of the filter media, then it should be full of beneficial bacteria, which is what the nitrogen cycle grows. You should cycle much faster, now! Do you have an API Master Test Kit? You will be able to tell when the cycle is completed with the kit.

 

I am picking up the API Master Test Kit after work today and will test the water when I get home.
Question: I thought I had 6 giant danio's, however now that the water has cleared up, I can clearly see that one isn't a giant danio. It's about 2 1/2 inches long silver with a blueish tint (iridescent) with whiskers, its active during the day and likes to swim near the top of the tank. Here are two pics I took with my Iphone

 

The dainos are hardier fish if you want barbs again wait a month or 2 before attempting them again you will know your tank it's ready when you see algae growing on everything don't worry about it too much if it is brown there are ways of dealing with it also the bamboo is NOT aquatic. It can be kept in the tank but only partially submerged or it will rot.

It seemed to me that the barbs died way to easily it would not have had time in the tank to die from ammonia my thoughts are stress or the tank was not rinsed and there is or was a chemical that the tiger barbs are sensitive to.

 

I will remove the bamboo tonight when I get home. Does anyone have any ideas what type of fish I have from the pictures I posted earlier?

 

It is an "Iridescent Shark." Unfortunatly, they grow to 4 ft long.....

 

SIGH....so in other words..my tank is Wayyyyyyyyy to small for this "shark" and I need to make another trip to the LFS and tell them to take back the iridescent shark. Why would a store sell a fish that grows up to 4 feet long and needs a tank that's at least 300 gallons? ughhhh and why was it in the same tank with the giant danio's ? ugghhh

 

They shouldn't be able to sell them. I wish it were illegal. Same with many other sharks. Pretty much NOBODY has a big enough tank, unless it is custom made, which how many people have those that shop at Petsmart? I'm really sorry this happened to you! Good thing you found this forum .

Don't worry, you'll get the tank straightened out soon enough!

 

Nitrite: 0
Nitrite: 0
Total Hardness: 75 soft
Total chlorine: 0
Total alkalinity: 80
Ph: 7.8

 

what about ammonia?

 

Wait so you have 2 nitrite?

 

SIGH....so in other words..my tank is Wayyyyyyyyy to small for this "shark" and I need to make another trip to the LFS and tell them to take back the iridescent shark. Why would a store sell a fish that grows up to 4 feet long and needs a tank that's at least 300 gallons? ughhhh and why was it in the same tank with the giant danio's ? ugghhh

It's called making money....

 

It's called making money....

Sad but true. If they told you that you would need a couple thousand dollar setup for the fish would you buy it.

 

Luke- You are correct, but I had ask for giant danio's for my tank. The lady working the LFS gave me the wrong fish, at their store they have giant danios & iridescent sharks in the same tank. So when the lady was netting them she put a "shark" in my bag by mistake.

The good news is since I have done the 50% WC with the "dirty filter" and TSS not one of the fish have died.

 

Luke- You are correct, but I had ask for giant danio's for my tank. The lady working the LFS gave me the wrong fish, at their store they have giant danios & iridescent sharks in the same tank. So when the lady was netting them she put a "shark" in my bag by mistake.

The good news is since I have done the 50% WC with the "dirty filter" and TSS not one of the fish have died.

Now...step away from your aquarium and do nothing for the next 14 days. Well, you want to feed your fish

 

Amazon- Yeah I wasn't planning on feeding the fish for the next two weeks..haha j/k. So should I leave the shark in there for the next two weeks as well or remove it asap and take it back to the LFS?

Once the cycle is complete and then some, what would be a good fish to add to the tank that would be a centerpiece that goes well with tiger barbs & giant danio's? I'm thinking one/two medium/large fish or adding another school type fish so that I can have fish on top some on the bottom and some in the middle?

 

Well best of luck to your fishes
Did you get the shark from a petco or petsmart because they won't take back live fish. I'm sure a locally owned fish store might get it off your hands if you want to

 

I've taken a live fish back to PetSmart with a receipt and within 14 days of purchase.

 

I've taken a live fish back to PetSmart with a receipt and within 14 days of purchase.

Yes, with receipt and from their store. It was their mistake.

 

I got it from petsmart, so I plan on taking it back on Friday with the receipt and if they don't take it back I will try the LFS that helped me out. If not I will go on Craigslist and ask the local aquarist society's if anybody wants it. However I fully expect them to take it back, since I did not ask for a iridescent shark.

Questions: I have learned that cycling with fish is bad to my chagrin. The problem lies in my Aquarium Filter Type
2x Penguin model power filter 150 which makes a little too much noise for my wife.... Me personally I love it. However I bought it for her. In reading the forum and articles I am thinking of getting a canister filter for it.

The questions are:

What brand do I buy that will give it the tank the maximum benefits and be silent?

Once I buy it, I run all 3 filters until the canister has good bacteria in it...correct?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.