Very first tank running into some problems

[SA]

Hi all,

Just set up my very first tank, 45gl tropical freshwater. I am a complete
novice, I have the tank up for 3days now with a Fluval 304 some aeration and
1 beta, and a bunch of tiny little hardy fish according to the aquarium
staff where I got them from and I'm so new at this I don't even recall their
names.

In any case I also have an ammonia sensor in the tank that doesn't really
show any elevated ammonia levels.

The problem that I am seeing now (third day) is that the water is not as
crystal clear as it used to be, now I am guessing that maybe, I went a bit
overboard with the feeding... there were some unconsumed flakes that made it
to the bottom of the tank the other day.

But what is even more unusual is the amount of chasing around these little
fish are doing to each other, they are harassing one another lots more than
yesterday where they all swam around in peace.

Is it indicative of stress or am I reading too much into this... I know I
should have had the names of the spices but it totally escapes me. They are
tiny red/rose little fellows less than an inch long.

Any ideas are welcome. Should I be changing the water to get it to be clear
again? And I thought the filter ought to be doing a better job at that.
Sorry for the many uninformed questions but I am so new at this.

Thanks in advance.

Steve

[Dinky]

"SA" > wrote in message
...
> Hi all,
>
> Just set up my very first tank, 45gl tropical freshwater. I am a complete
> novice, I have the tank up for 3days now with a Fluval 304 some aeration
and
> 1 beta, and a bunch of tiny little hardy fish according to the aquarium
> staff where I got them from and I'm so new at this I don't even recall
their
> names.
>


First thing, you need to learn about "cycling". This is the process in which
the ammonia (pee and poo) is turned first into nitrite, then to nitrate.
This proccess is accomplished by the nurturing of a certain type of bacteria
by the fishkeeper.
So far, it sounds like you've done alright. The cloudy water is fairly
normal during cycleing, and yes, the chasing is quite likely indicative of
stress, caused by many factors. Temperature change, the transport, sterile
water, the rising ammonia levels, etc.

I would like to offer http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html for you to
read.
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin.html is the beginner's "home".

As for the fish, are they zebra danios? They're very common cycle fish.

Please post again as questions arise.

hth

billy

[Geezer From The Freezer]

getting doing frequent water changes (ensure you dechlor)
if your tank isn't cycled - it will help keep ammonia, nitrites
and nitrates low.

[AQUATIC-STORE.COM]

Typically you will get this with a new tank from not enough good
bacteria along with sediment from the gravel and such. You may even
get an algae bloom. Stick with your weekly changes and you should be
fine


Marcus

http://www.aquatic-store.com/

Co2 tanks on sale
Power compact bulbs and MH the lowest on the net
Eheim PRO II 2026 $143
Co2 regulator and bubble counter with needle valve $75
FORUM

http://aquatic.yupapa.com/phpbb/index.php




On Sun, 05 Oct 2003 23:56:42 GMT, "SA" > wrote:

>Hi all,
>
>Just set up my very first tank, 45gl tropical freshwater. I am a complete
>novice, I have the tank up for 3days now with a Fluval 304 some aeration and
>1 beta, and a bunch of tiny little hardy fish according to the aquarium
>staff where I got them from and I'm so new at this I don't even recall their
>names.
>
>In any case I also have an ammonia sensor in the tank that doesn't really
>show any elevated ammonia levels.
>
>The problem that I am seeing now (third day) is that the water is not as
>crystal clear as it used to be, now I am guessing that maybe, I went a bit
>overboard with the feeding... there were some unconsumed flakes that made it
>to the bottom of the tank the other day.
>
>But what is even more unusual is the amount of chasing around these little
>fish are doing to each other, they are harassing one another lots more than
>yesterday where they all swam around in peace.
>
>Is it indicative of stress or am I reading too much into this... I know I
>should have had the names of the spices but it totally escapes me. They are
>tiny red/rose little fellows less than an inch long.
>
>Any ideas are welcome. Should I be changing the water to get it to be clear
>again? And I thought the filter ought to be doing a better job at that.
>Sorry for the many uninformed questions but I am so new at this.
>
>Thanks in advance.
>
>Steve
>

[SA]

Thank you all for your responses and insightful comments. Also the links
were very helpful in understanding the chemistry behind all this.

I did a small water change (less than 10%) because I wanted to help with the
cloudy water and I think it helped. However I am not sure if the consensus
is to not change any water during cycling so that the bacteria gets
established and you don't end up with a tank that cycles for ever, or it is
OK to do a water change every week or so.

I think I was seeing in various resources conflicting thoughts about what is
best. Anyone has any advise on this? The fish appear to be doing fine
otherwise... they are eating properly and swim around normally as far as I
can tell.

The only thing that I am guessing might be a positive element in my
situation is that the fish I have a really tiny little things most are less
than an inch long and the tank is a 45gl so maybe there just isn't enough
there for the tank to become very toxic.

But on the same token I wonder if the tank never cycles because of the lack
of more waste.

So do I read all these elements correctly or am I totally off in my
analysis?

Again since I am only learning all this now any input is greatly
appreciated.

Thank you all in advance.

Steve