newbie in desperate help

[chenychen]

Hey guys hows it goin

Ive set up a new tank and its been running for 4 weeks with neon tetras and a couple of gouramis with two pieces of large driftwood with anubias and dwarf anubias on them plus a large cave.. ive taken the gouramis out to replace with a pair of 3 inch turquoise discus and a pair of apistogramma trifaciata..

its only been a day but none of them seem to want to eat any of the discus granules ive given them.. is this normal?/ wat can you suggest in terms of food?/

and in terms of the apistos .. wat sorta food would be right for them?/ ive given flake bt they dont seem to want to swim up to the top.. and ive given them the discus granules.. they've happily taken them but then it comes out the side of their gills.. !!

please help/ any sort of criticism or advice would be much appreciated

pH: 7.2
dH: 4.5
Ammonia: 1.2
Nitrate: 1.5
Temp: 30 degrees (celcius)
Tank dimension: 90 by 30 by 56

[Jarrod]

Hey guys hows it goin

Ive set up a new tank and its been running for 4 weeks with neon tetras and a couple of gouramis with two pieces of large driftwood with anubias and dwarf anubias on them plus a large cave.. ive taken the gouramis out to replace with a pair of 3 inch turquoise discus and a pair of apistogramma trifaciata..

its only been a day but none of them seem to want to eat any of the discus granules ive given them.. is this normal?/ wat can you suggest in terms of food?/

and in terms of the apistos .. wat sorta food would be right for them?/ ive given flake bt they dont seem to want to swim up to the top.. and ive given them the discus granules.. they've happily taken them but then it comes out the side of their gills.. !!

please help/ any sort of criticism or advice would be much appreciated

pH: 7.2
dH: 4.5
Ammonia: 1.2
Nitrate: 1.5
Temp: 30 degrees (celcius)
Tank dimension: 90 by 30 by 56

Hi Chen and a BIG Welcome to Simply!!
You will find outstanding help and advice here with some very good advice and help. Saying that I will let those with more knowledge than me help you.
I wouldn't want to steer you wrong in any way with my thoughts or advice. Help will be here shortly and you will be amazed at it..again welcome to Simply and best of luck with your new fish!!
Jarrod

[chenychen]

hey thanks man

[BIGFOOT]

pH: 7.2
dH: 4.5
Ammonia: 1.2
Nitrate: 1.5
Temp: 30 degrees (celcius)
Tank dimension: 90 by 30 by 56



The Dh what is this gh or kh hardness? Second Ammonia way to high for all fish. Most people here would suggest water changes for it and Bio Spira. The reason you have high Ammonia is that the tank is not cycled. At 4 weeks your tank is only half way cycled. If you dont have a NITRITE test kit you might want to get it. Reason being if you are see high Ammonia as you are Nitrite is also up. Both are deadly to all fish not to just Discus.

[candyl70]

Adding non iodized salt will help with nitrite poisoining too. I would get some bio spira or prime because you will be pretty likely too see some deaths pretty quick.

[chenychen]

sorry typing error.. its Kh.. carbon hardness

Reli?/ u need 8 weeks??! my aquarist sed 4 weeks is fyn.. =( dammit!!

okay so i need to buy non iodised salt to help with the nitrite?/ is there any precautions i need to know/take before i place it in my tank?/

[Dissident]

Even if your tank was fully cycled new fish may not eat for a few days. That is normal.

How are you doing waterchanges? Are u using aged water or right from the tap? The tap may be the source of ammonia, not necessarly that your tank is not cycled. But I would guess that the tank is not cycled.
Bio-Sprya will help speed up the cycle process
Prime will help keep the fish from being posioned by ammonia and nitrites and chloramines in the water.

Keep up on waterchanges.
Use prime after each waterchange.
Add bio-spyra to help with the tank cycleing.

[londonloco]

As far as the flake food, soak it for a min or so in a small cup of your tank water, then it will easily fall to the bottom and the apista's can eat it w/out going to the top of the tank.......

[Alan]

4, 8 weeks it depends on how you cycle your tank. I can cycle in 2-3 weeks using fishless cycle. Since you cycled with the fish in it, it may take longer. So at this point, the only solution I can think of is get Bio Spira. I haven't tried the product but I've heard great testimonials about it. Your tank is cycled as soon as you put it in. The other option is to do WC everyday. 30 - 50% every time until your filter can catch up with the bioload. Monitor the ammonia twice a day or more and if it goes above .5 ppm do another WC besides your daily regimen. You can ease up on the WC when the ammonia is more stable. You also don't have to do a daily WC depending on your filtration.

[chenychen]

Does Seachem's Stability do the same job as Bio Spira cos ive used seachem Stability for the 4 weeks 3 times a week.. about 20ml each time.

[Alan] i have a Eheim series 05014 which pumps 440L/Hr. [Dissident] I leave the water overnight treating it with Seachem's Neutral Regulator .. should it be left longer?

I also noticed another problem which i had forgotten to mention to u guys.. One of the discus and apisto have white faeces.. Is this a symptom of internal parasites?/ I noticed it in the bag when i was floating it in my tank

P.S THANKS londonloco your little tip worked very nicely!!

[chenychen]

When i do the water changes is it better to take out the driftwood and cave; basically the tank decor out of the tank before i siphon and clean the tank??>

[Jarrod]

Chen, what I do when I clean my tanks is this...I siphon the water down to the level I can get my hand and arm in it without oveflowing the tank using my python and then I'll move things around and vac the debris up and lift my decor(one piece of acrylic driftwood) up and make sure nothing is under it debris wise. I take them all out about every 3rd of 4th wc and wash them off in sink with hot water and NO soap or anything like that. Just to get the surfaces and the inside of the opening on the bottom of them cleaned of anything that may be in any of the crevices on it. I also make sure to wipe down glass and bottom of tank along with all cords and airlines and intake tubes on all filters each wc with paper towels just my daily wc routine is all hth
Jarrod

[Alight]

About Stability, the answer is "no". Only biospira will cycle your tank. Stability will only speed it up very slightly.

Do NOT try to use any other product. They won't work. Biospira must be kept refrigerated and only a few stores sell it.

http://www.marineland.com/science/nspira.asp

The above link will help you find a store near you, but you will have to call to be sure they really have it.

I highly recommend you get it (much cheaper than new Discus) and that you also start a series of extensive water changes--60-80% each day. Also get a nitrite test kit. Nitrite is much more poisonous than ammonia, although the ammonia levels you have WILL kill your fish!

[Dissident]

I would treat the water with seachem prime unless you need to adjust the Ph which is what you are using will do.
http://forums.fishindex.com/showthread.php?p=21870

If your Ph out of the tap is low you do not need it. The Ph will climb back up after the CO2 in the tap is released from it sitting and airateing it in the storage barrel or whatever it is u are using.

[chenychen]

Okay so you guys are suggesting i stop using seachem's neutral regulator which is the cause of brown algae spawning on my plants and green algae on the glass panes of my tank cos it releases copious amounts of phosphates?

Instead use seachems Prime to treat the water which will get rid of chlramines, nitrites and ammonia? [My tap water has a ph of 7.6]

And use Bio Sprya instead of seachem's stability to cycle my tank quicker?

[Alight] im from australia so the store locator isnt going to work lol.. i'll definetly check my local aquarium stores though

thanks for the help again!!

[Dissident]

Okay so you guys are suggesting i stop using seachem's neutral regulator which is the cause of brown algae spawning on my plants and green algae on the glass panes of my tank cos it releases copious amounts of phosphates?

Instead use seachems Prime to treat the water which will get rid of chlramines, nitrites and ammonia? [My tap water has a ph of 7.6]

And use Bio Sprya instead of seachem's stability to cycle my tank quicker?

[Alight] im from australia so the store locator isnt going to work lol.. i'll definetly check my local aquarium stores though

thanks for the help again!!

:thumbsup:

Whats the different Ph readings?
1-Fresh out of tap:
2-Aged overnight (and airrated):
3-Tank:

---------
If there is a big difference between 2 and 3:
What size is tank (USgal):
How much water do you change for WC:

-probably wont need the regulator (seachem) there are better ways to adjust Ph if you really need to.

[wheeler]

Reli?/ u need 8 weeks??! my aquarist sed 4 weeks is fyn..
depends on what type of filtration you are using. U/G wil take the longest, and a sponge likely the least. if you can spare a filter from another tank, put it on this tank to help seed your new filter. other wise you could grab some gravel (put it in a nylon sack) from an established tank to transfer some of the bacteria. if you don't have another tank, you could get some from another hobiest or your LFS, but be careful where it comes from.

[Alan]

Sorry to complicate things but you did mention that two of the fish have white feces. How long have you had the fish? Were they from the same source? Were the fish quarantined? You might have purchased fish that were not 100% healthy.

First things first, though. Stabilize your water parameters. Keep observing the fish. When your water is more stable, find out if the fish look better. If they still have the white feces, then you start treating for it.

Marineland decided not to sell Bio Spira with the big name pet stores. At least here in our area. So, you might get lucky with your LFS.

Good luck!

[chenychen]

All this feed back is awesome guys thanks alot!!

[Dissident]
1-Fresh out of tap: 7.6
2-Aged overnight (and aerated) with Chlormon by Aquasonic which apparently also gets rid of chloramines, chlorine and ammonia.. couldnt get any Prime: 7.5-7.6
3-Tank:7.6

[wheeler]
Have undergravel filter and an Eheim which pumps 440L/hr which is comprised of a layer of sponge, then these small balls, a thicker sponge, cylindrical white things, a bigger piece of sponge, and bigger ball rings on the very bottom..

[Alan]
No i noticed them hanging off one of the Discus and Apistos when i was floating them in the bag.. they were fyn in the store; eating agressively and swimming round lyk they owned the place .. ~ The Discus and Apistos have darkened considerably though.. is this a sign of stress?? And do i need to quarantine the fish if the aquarist has already done it over two weeks/? and what does it involve if i need to?/

[chenychen]

one of my Discus doesnt seem to want to eat anything and the other doesn't seem to want to eat anything but bloodworms.

does using 'Entice' induce them to eat other food like Discus granules?