New freshwater setup

[draglc]

Hi Guys,
First post, dont know a lot about keeping fish so it wont be my last!
I got a 60L tank setup of a mate, 100L eden pump, and ive set it up with a couple of plants and pirate ship etc, looks really good. Ive also got a heater coming for them, because the water seems a little cool.

I left it a week after i got it to settle in with some plants, then i went and bought 6 tiger barbs and 6 neon tetras. 2 weeks later and theyre all happy, and still alive!

I then noticed the tetras had a bit of white spot (but not the barbs), and had lost a little of their colour. So i went to the shop and bought some white spot treatment.

While i was there i bought a gourami and 2 ghost catfish and a beautiful red flame looking fighting fish. I was told hed be fine with all the rest.

Anyway 2 days after treating the water for white spot, and introducing the 4 new fish, 1 green tiger barb died, the smallest one. 2 days later, and 5 minutes ago ive just noticed that the other smallest tiger barb is now dead too Both were the original fish that have been in there for over 2 weeks with no worries.

So im thinking if it happens again, id be a bit sus on the fighting fish, but ive never seen him even chase another fish yet! Could it just be a combination of the white spot and a little stress?

Does anyone have any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks!

Andrew

[Blue]

Not little stress, mate. You didn't cycle the tank. Leaving it empty does nothing at all. No ammonia for the bacteria to consume. Try fishless cycle. If it's not available here, pm me. I'll give you the manual if that helps.
60 liters=15 gallons
You are experiencing New Tank Syndrome as you bought too many fish at the same time. Tetras, IMO, should never be the first fish for newly-setup tanks. Try male platies or danios. Both are very hardy. Don't buy female platies. I find them a trouble as they keep breeding which can cause a strain on your filter.

[Scuba Kid]

Look at Ron V's post on the nitrogen cycle.

Here's the link to the thread:
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/gene...le-basics.html

Good luck and welcome to Fishforums!

[JustOneMore20]

I also believe you are overstocked. In your tank size, one school of fish and maybe a betta or gourami is about all that should be in there. You have too many fish.

I would go out and buy a test kit. After you read up on the nitrogen cycle, you will understand why you should test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. You should monitor the cycle and not buy any more fish until it is done.

What kind of gourami do you have? If its not a dwarf or honey gourami, I'm afraid it will outgrow the tank and you'll need to return it to the fish/pet store. Also, you should choose either the tetras or the barbs and return the ones you don't want....because the tank isn't large enough for all of them.

I also don't think the fish could possibly be happy. Read that post and get a test kit and then let us know what your readings are. We will help you make your fish happy!

[Gourami Swami]

its way overstocked, it hasnt cycled, and it isnt heated.

6 tetras, 6 tiger barbs, a gourami, a betta, and 2 catfish is way too much. Ditch the tiger barbs alltogether, then pick between the gourami or the betta. one needs to go. I dont know much about that type of catfish, but I would ditch 'em too. Also, find out the kind of gourami, and if its not a dwarf, cobalt, or honey gourami, it will grow too big for your tank, so youd need to go with the betta. but dont expect ANY fish n that tank to live for long because with all those fish in an uncycled tank the bioload will be huge, not to mention cycler fish never live long. Id say most of those fish have 2-3 months at best.

[draglc]

Ok,
ive just tested for ammonia and nitrites, and it came up with 0 ammonia, but 1ppm of nitrites. I wish id known better than to put them in too quickly, but its done. So im wondering now, whats the best way to get the nitrites down? Is there something i can add to the water to do that? I have a heater coming this week also.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[mousey]

get yourself some Amquel 2- not just Amquel. If that is not available add a bit of aquarium salt to the tank in the proportions mentioned on the package. It will help the nitrite be less toxic to the fish. On the other hand ,probably the cats are going to object to the salt.
Do 50 % water changes daily-- do not clean the gravel- that is where the bacteria are going to develop along with the filter pads.
I am not sure why your ammonia is so low at this stage. I can't remember what the test kits read at just now either.
It is going to take a good many days to get 0,0 readings on your ammonia and nitrite unless you can get hold of a piece of old filter from someone else's tank.

[JustOneMore20]

I second the water change idea. Try to keep the nitrites below 1ppm. I wouldn't add anything to the water (besides dechlorinator)...just change out the water.

Can you see about returning the tiger barbs and gourami to your pet/fish store? Call them and tell them you didn't know they got too big for the tank and need to return them so that they won't die. Hopefully they'll understand. Thats going to be a rough cycle with all those fish...be prepared to do daily water changes if you can't return them.