calling all fish tank people

**dannyjpuk** · 5th March 2013, 14:58

Hi all

just some advice please

i have a aqua ar 850 tropical tank
I have been letting the tank run for over a month ,so i took some water to be tested yesterday all was fine so i got my first lot of fish to stock my tank.
I got 6 neon tetras- done the "put the bag in the water for 15mins keep lights off ect".
Once i realised them they where fine however i noticed one was not stoping with the group so i kinda knew he would die anyway i got up this morning and i could only see 4 one has vanished i cant see it BUT the other was STOOK in the filter tube so i tried to get him out and ZOOOOP its been sucked up into the filter the filter is a sealed unit do you think it will be ok will the fishes disolve ect i know i will need to keep testing the water what you think?

**the_wave_rider** · 5th March 2013, 16:49

A filter is designed to keep debris out of the filtered system. I would imagine poor fishy is firmly wedged and dead inside the filter. As it decomposes the particles will be so diluted in the water it won't make any difference. I have had fish die and been left in for a few days floating as the missus would not get them out and flush them and waited until I got home

Fine adopted parent your turned out to be sucking the fish into the filter.....whats next the vax? :-)

**dannyjpuk** · 5th March 2013, 20:12

lol i know

i thought i was doing so good as well lol ohh well just have to hope the fish brake down in the water and doesnt do too much damage to the water

**Kev_A** · 5th March 2013, 21:01

Has the tank cycled? How long has it been running for?
Newly setup tanks require a few weeks to allow the biological filter to establish, this breaks down fish waste.
you can usually provoke the start the cycle by putting a little food in the water and letting it breakdown, keep testing the water and you will eventually get an amonia spike, this will gradually lower, you will then get a nitrite spike, once this is broken down you'll start to read Nitrate present, Nitrate is ok in small doses as plants feed off it.
If amonia and nitrite are present in the water it means the tank has either not finished cycling or something has died and it rotting away, again this will add to your nitrate once broken down.

You can keep on top of nitrate levels using various methods, regular water changes are crucial for helping this, not overfeeding also helps.

Neon tetras although a very pretty fish are not the hardiest and certainly not what I'd recommend for first fish, I would have started with something like guppies or mollies adding a couple at a time over a period of weeks allowing the biological filter to build and cope with the increased bioload.

**stret** · 5th March 2013, 21:18

yeah it will be fine one little neon in a tank that size aint gonna hurt, but dont understand where its been sucked in surly it will be in the filter media what you need to clean so there must be access, on the bright side it could be worse i went to a aquarium place id not used before and brought some barbs and a black ghost knife and they infected my well established tank and ive lost near on £500 of fish - a four inch gold nugget plec a really nice one worth minimum of £100, 2x catfish i paid £100 each for and i had grown them on a lot so worth more than that and about 20 other fish. GUTTED. after using various treatments i think its sorted and stable again but tbh im that peed off im thinking of getting rid of the few remaining and packing it all up

**dannyjpuk** · 5th March 2013, 22:26

Originally Posted by Kev_A

Has the tank cycled? How long has it been running for?
Newly setup tanks require a few weeks to allow the biological filter to establish, this breaks down fish waste.
you can usually provoke the start the cycle by putting a little food in the water and letting it breakdown, keep testing the water and you will eventually get an amonia spike, this will gradually lower, you will then get a nitrite spike, once this is broken down you'll start to read Nitrate present, Nitrate is ok in small doses as plants feed off it.
If amonia and nitrite are present in the water it means the tank has either not finished cycling or something has died and it rotting away, again this will add to your nitrate once broken down.

You can keep on top of nitrate levels using various methods, regular water changes are crucial for helping this, not overfeeding also helps.

Neon tetras although a very pretty fish are not the hardiest and certainly not what I'd recommend for first fish, I would have started with something like guppies or mollies adding a couple at a time over a period of weeks allowing the biological filter to build and cope with the increased bioload.

thanks for info , the tank has been running for over a month with nothing in it , i was looking into guppies ect my partner has a nice set up but i was put off as her guppies breed every 3 weeks or so.... the males where constantly chasing the females and where biting tails off ect in the end she had to get more females to stop the males fighting i just didnt fancy a tank with fish breeding all the time and worrying just incase i had to seperate them.

**Kev_A** · 6th March 2013, 00:07

They'd just be a starter fish to build up the biological filter, they're cheap and hardy

Also, if they are still alive when you have bigger fish in there, look at the fry as a free food souce

**Craig1985** · 6th March 2013, 08:18

Any tank under a year old is still considered as a new tank, I would test the tank at least twice a week. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate levels will be unstable.

**Ben50n** · 6th March 2013, 08:25

Blimey I never did anything like this when I had tanks 20 years ago, undergravel filters powered by airstones were all you could get and you had to hoover out the poop and then refresh the water.

Plenty of hardy little fish around, Guppys are great for providing live young.

**bcuk13** · 6th March 2013, 08:37

A new tank needs biological matter to cycle, running for a month with no fish or food waste will not achieve the desired mature filter. Although low on any dangerous conditions right now you will see a spike in these parameters as you have added fish to a basically sterile environment, the fish you have should adjust to this if they are healthy. I wouldn't add anymore for at least 2weeks though.
The staple fish neons and guppies aren't that hardy anymore as they are so interbred, I don't keep these anymore and anyone I know setting up a tank with these quiet often lose the majority as well.
Personally it depends what mix of fish you want but I would buy a few of what you like and try them in your tank, if the live and thrive then buy more. I can't keep gourami's or rams as they just don't last much more than a month, but I have glow lights that are well into a second year now.