landrydenise

I am an extremely new hobbiest. I have recently purchased the cutest Oranda and a tiny black moor. Before I purchased them, I thought I did a great amount of research (including Goldfish for Dummies). All was well at the beginning. I tested the water, conditioned it, upped the PH, and even installed a bubble wall. Yesterday morning I woke to find Melli, my Oranda literally sitting at the bottom looking at me. Of course I panicked I put some food in and she began swimming. For awhile she stayed afloat. Today the same thing. That's when I found this web site. I figured someone out there will help a woman in distress. Any suggestions? Alls welcome. I even called in sick today! To me, a pet is part of my family. When alls said and done your pets remain loyal to the death. And I will do my best to ensure they have the best quality of life possible. So if you love your fish as I do, please feel free to respond

Was the tank cycled before adding the fish?
"landrydenise" wrote in message
...

I am an extremely new hobbiest. I have recently purchased the cutest
Oranda and a tiny black moor. Before I purchased them, I thought I did
a great amount of research (including Goldfish for Dummies). All was
well at the beginning. I tested the water, conditioned it, upped the
PH, and even installed a bubble wall. Yesterday morning I woke to find
Melli, my Oranda literally sitting at the bottom looking at me. Of
course I panicked I put some food in and she began swimming. For
awhile she stayed afloat. Today the same thing. That's when I found
this web site. I figured someone out there will help a woman in
distress. Any suggestions? Alls welcome. I even called in sick
today! To me, a pet is part of my family. When alls said and done
your pets remain loyal to the death. And I will do my best to ensure
they have the best quality of life possible. So if you love your fish
as I do, please feel free to respond




--
landrydenise

If you mean let it run and check my levels. I did. I have even been changing portions of water. I spoke to a vet and he said it could be that Orandas are slow. NOT that slow. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Im starting to worry.........Please Help!

cycling means that the water has to be given time to grow useful bacteria
that will help to get rid of ammonia and nitrates and turn these into less
harmful nitrates which can be controlled with water changes. Do an internet
search and look for cycling an aquarium.
"landrydenise" wrote in message
...

If you mean let it run and check my levels. I did. I have even been
changing portions of water. I spoke to a vet and he said it could be
that Orandas are slow. NOT that slow. Any suggestions are greatly
appreciated. Im starting to worry.........Please Help!




--
landrydenise

Originally Posted by Len

cycling means that the water has to be given time to grow useful bacteria
that will help to get rid of ammonia and nitrates and turn these into less
harmful nitrates which can be controlled with water changes. Do an internet
search and look for cycling an aquarium.
". Im starting to worry.........Please Help!


landrydenise [/i][/color]

Thanks for replying. I did cycle the water before I bought the fish. Actually it ran for about 2 weeks without any fish. I checked my levels at bginning and directly before putting in the fish. The fish seems okay now and the levels are fine. However now I cannot keep the water clear its always cloudy. I have even began changing the filter cartridge frequently. Today I did a 1/4 water change and started everything as if I was just beginning. I can't believe the problems I have been having. This isnt my first aquarium. The others have been much larger and not half as much problems. Its just recently that I have taken such a hands on approach and decided to take it on as a hobby. Im very thankful for your instruction. I have put together a small manual for myself and your extremely helpful information is on page 3.(I hope you dont mind). thanks again

On Sat, 17 Nov 2007 22:44:31 +0000, landrydenise
wrote:


Len;215887 Wrote:
cycling means that the water has to be given time to grow useful
bacteria
that will help to get rid of ammonia and nitrates and turn these into
less
harmful nitrates which can be controlled with water changes. Do an
internet
search and look for cycling an aquarium.
". Im starting to worry.........Please Help!


landrydenise

Thanks for replying. I did cycle the water before I bought the fish.
Actually it ran for about 2 weeks without any fish. I checked my
levels at bginning and directly before putting in the fish. The fish
seems okay now and the levels are fine. However now I cannot keep the
water clear its always cloudy. I have even began changing the filter
cartridge frequently. Today I did a 1/4 water change and started
everything as if I was just beginning. I can't believe the problems I
have been having. This isnt my first aquarium. The others have been
much larger and not half as much problems. Its just recently that I
have taken such a hands on approach and decided to take it on as a
hobby. Im very thankful for your instruction. I have put together a
small manual for myself and your extremely helpful information is on
page 3.(I hope you dont mind). thanks again[/i][/color]


An aquarium takes 6 weeks to two months to cycle. Running it without
fish does nothing, you need the fish to generate the ammonia for the
bacteria to feed on.

Cloudy water at the start is normal, just keep up with daily water
changes. Do you have a test kit for ammonia / nitrite? That will
tell you when the aquarium has cycled and then you can relax.

"landrydenise" wrote in message
...

Len;215887 Wrote:
cycling means that the water has to be given time to grow useful
bacteria
that will help to get rid of ammonia and nitrates and turn these into
less
harmful nitrates which can be controlled with water changes.

However now I cannot keep the
water clear its always cloudy. I have even began changing the filter
cartridge frequently. Today I did a 1/4 water change and started
everything as if I was just beginning.

Denise,

The filter cartridge contains the 'good bacteria' that convert the Ammonia
into Nitrite and the Nitrite into Nitrates. If you change it without
transferring some of the good bacteria you are breaking the cycle. If you
have gravel (not really recommended with Goldfish) it will also contain the
'ggod' bacteria. It's better to rinse your filter media in some water from
the tank using a bucket if possible. But it sounds like you have a filter
like the Whisper with its foam pouches, which makes this a less viable
option. If you don't have a sponge in your filter that you can rinse in tank
water then try to transfer some of the bacteria from your old cartridge to
the new one when you change media. I used to squeeze the water out of the
old Whisper pouches onto the new one when I changed it. Don't forget to use
Dechlorinator when you do water changes and make sure the temperature of the
new water is the same as in the tank.

I'll bet you only have a 10 gallon? Which is a little small for these fish,
especially as they get bigger.

have taken such a hands on approach and decided to take it on as a
hobby. Im very thankful for your instruction. I have put together a
small manual for myself and your extremely helpful information is on
page 3.(I hope you dont mind). thanks again




--
landrydenise

I don't mind at all. I recently treated a tank with some medication and it
killed the "good bacteria" i.e. the biological filter. This caused the water
to become cloudy. It lasted for a few days and has now cleared up. Continue
to do your water tests. If all is fine with the tests, the problem should
resolve itself. Water changes will help while the system is getting cycled.
Also, when I clean my aquarium, I don't change the filter material every
time. Rinsing it in tank water ,as was mentioned in another message, and
then putting it back in the filter will help preserve the good bacteria.