OK here we go, i just recently got into having fish and a tank...YES I was impatient and wanted my tank to look good(didn't know at the time about cycling tank..I bought a male betta in a bowl ...thought that was cruel so i decided to buy a used fish tanl (20 gallon)..It was a used filter and coral that I put in my tank(the lady I bought it off said it would be better to start an aquarium b/c of good bacteria(BUT I WASHED THE TANK...I then added 3 cory catfish and 6 neon tetras....3 days later i bought 3 albino cory catfish and 3 red wag platy...I was worried about amonia spikes that i hear about so i did a 25% water change and added a product to reduce ammonia.... I have a vaccum thing that i siphon to clean gravel I guess.. Do i take fish out of tank when i do water change???
will the old filter and coral that was in an established tank help with my cycle?? fish don't seem to be hurt...BUT how can I tell if they are being poisoned with ammonia... Please don't be cruel I am a newbie and just want to do the right thing without killing my fish.............Clean fish tank...partial water change questions?First step - DON'T WORRY.
If you have an old filter with unwashed filter media, you do not need to worry about ammonia spikes - your fish should do just fine. Plus you have added an ammonia reduction agent so your inhabitants should pull through.
As for partial water changes, DO NOT TAKE THE FISH OUT. This will only put them under stress. Simply push the vacuum into the gravel and start it. Replace about 25% of the tank's water.
Other than that, the coral and the old filter will combine to quickly add bacteria to your tank so you have nothing to worry about.
Good luck - you have nothing to worry about!Clean fish tank...partial water change questions?You should have added the fish a little slower. Watch your water VERY carefully. Ammonia poisoning shows in the gills and fins, if they start to look burned, you are in trouble. Ammonia removing chemicals are bad for a new tank, as I learned the hard way. You need ammonia to cycle the tank. It is going to be very hard for you to get started, and you may lose some fish, but make sure you keep an eye on your Ammonia and Nitrite levels, as both are very toxic to your fish.Clean fish tank...partial water change questions?Remove the coral. it will leach out calcium, which upsets the balance of the ph..and can be too rough for freshwater fish.. Is it real or fake?
Never remove the fish unless tearing down the whole tank like to move it. The less stress on the fish, the better. Be sure and get some sinking pellets for the cories as you have 6 of those now and they depend on left over food.
Ammonia poisoning shows up with brown spots or marks on the fish..like this:http://www.exoticgoldfish.net/care-sickn
The old filter will only help if some of the filter matter was left in..if its all new, then no. Your tank will must have to cycle with fish.
Here is a link to help explain the cycling process:http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/in
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/10_Gallon
While this link is for a ten gallon, you should read it anyway...it might help you with your twenty.
For now, do partial water changes weekly, about 25% of treated and aged water.Clean fish tank...partial water change questions?first no don't take fish out to do 25% water change %26amp; use dichloride,
good to wash the tank but you should have washed the filter as well because you do not know how long the filter has been standing dry
second you put to much fish in at one go so ammonia will spike higher
as for the coral that is a salt water(marine thing ) and not for a fresh water (tropical ) tank?
there is a product called ammonia block by tetra this should get you over the worst but still expect to have some losses and it would be a good idea to get some stress's zime in. when they start to gasp at the surface turn up air pump and filter (agitate the surface of the water as much as your pumps will let you) o one last thing next partial water change keep water from tank to wash filter sponge in it then through the water away top up with dechlorinated water.
hope things are ok %26amp; this helps
