Thanks both @Logan and @Kazzawazza they seem healthy and the fighting as stopped since hubby tried to fish the main culprit out last night
@eileen i'd like to ask you a question if you don't mind please As you know I've used bottle water in the tank but yesterday I tested the bottle water and water from the tap to see the difference in results. Bottled Water. pH -7.6 Ammonia - 0.0 Nitrite - 0.0 Nitrate - 0.0 Tap water pH -7.6 Ammonia - 0.0 Nitrite - 0.0 (Even paler blue than the 0 result meaning -0) Nitrate -10ppm (5-10ppm ok) - (20-50ppm to high) Would you say the tap water is ok to use when my bottles was run out? and if yes how would I introduce it please.
Gail all tap water has chlorine and chloramines in it which are added to our water supply to act as a disinfectant. You should use a de-chlorinator to the water before adding it to your aquarium to be on the safe side. In all other aspects tap water should be perfectly safe for your fish. You can get the de-chlorinator from your pet shop. Simply follow the instructions on the label and you should be OK. Once the tap water has been treated you can use it in the same way as the bottled water.
Thanks Eileen for your advice and the reason I've asked is because other half is saying i'm changing the water to often ...I've purchased this today besides a vacuum pump and I think i'm finished now besides keeping on top of them but I did go and purchase 6 small fish but need the name of hubby as he took the names with his phone but they go with everything in the tank and crossed the guppies and chasing as finally carmed down. Tetra AquaSafe
Looks like you have everything you need now. Although water changes should be part of your regular aquarium maintenance the frequency will vary depending on how many fish you have. Smaller, heavily stocked tanks will require more frequent water changes than larger, sparsely stocked ones. My recommendation is to change 10 to 15 percent of the water each week. Just remember one other thing Gail - you'll have to increase the amount you're feeding your fish now that you have new additions. Fish get into a routine just like any other creature so feeding daily at the same time is something I'd also recommend. There's an old wives tale that fish only have a few seconds of memory but you'll soon discover that not true.Your fish will get used to the time and be waiting near the surface to be fed every day.
Hello @eileen, it's funny you saying they rise to the top as when I do feed them it's around 10am and they was waiting when I woke at 10-30 this morning...they love the Bug Bites food the holly bush gave me free yesterday while purchasing my other. Yes I have everything now and I change the water every 2 days well take out nearly half of it and while i'm doing it I put the bottle water by the rads as they're on full blast...i'll keep using that till it runs out then change to tap water. Eileen what I can't get my head around is the ammonia and nitrite and it's a 20 litre tank as you know...does the water need changing at these readings? Ammonia 0.50ppm Nitrite 0.25 ppm Nitrate 0.0ppm Roughly how many times a week do I need to change the water and I know I will be cleaning the tank every two weeks besides filter etc but the full change of filters will be every month...it's water change and the readings my main concern in a week? The Fish I've now got in the tank. 4 Guppies 4 Endler Guppies - Japan blue 2 Red tip Rasbora 2 Sparkling Gourami 2 Ghost shrimp 2 Red shrimp 1 Albion gold sucker fish
@Gail-Steman this link might help on nitrites https://fishlab.com/nitrite/#ideal-nitrite-levels As your tank is new, bacteria doesn’t exist in large enough numbers to break down the nitrites as they are produced. This is actually a big part of why you need to cycle your aquarium, to allow the bacteria that live in your biological filter which break down nitrites, to grow.
Kazza thanks mate for the info but how many times a week would you remove some water at the levels above I've given
I would change 10-15 percent of the water each week. If you have a heavily stocked tank, I would up it to 20 percent each week. As you have a new tank, your levels will fluctuate because your adding new fish and more food, which produces more waste, before the bacteria has built up sufficiently. A new tank takes around 8 weeks to cycle. If you are worried about your levels, you could perhaps do a 10 percent change twice a week until your tank is through the cycle process.
