[Rainboy]

Hello everyone!

My name is kyle and I am new to the forums and I wanted to share my first fish tank that I am working on. Any kind of tips or hints are appreciated. Also please tell me if i'm doing something wrong, don't be shy.

I have a 2.5 gal tank, and I guess i'm going for a realistic look, like Iwagumi style?

Right now I have 6 Rasboras, 1 oto cinclus, and 2 frogs. Feed them twice a day, and once on the weekends. Also i put in a algae tab for the oto, but it dissolved and my tank is cloudy.... Will the filter make this go away?
1 Tetra Whisper filtro interno.
1 11" Coralife mini aqualight (But I took out the blue light and put a white one in because the lady told me the blue one makes algae or something.)
1 hydor mini heater.
I am going to plant some glossostigma, but the fish store is out, so i will have to wait. Also when the glosso starts to grow i'm getting some cherry shrimp.

Pictures!! (More coming)

Thanks for looking!

 

[kamikazi]

Welcome to the forum! There are lots of great iwugami style tanks and people who keep those thanks here.

My first thoughts are that's alot of fish for 2.5 gallons. Do you have a test kit to check your water? If you have food breaking down in that tank, plus the fish pooping you might get high ammonia and nitrate levels fast especially without any plants to help take in those things.

how long has the tank been setup?

I like your layout and plant idea, glosso is a nice plant. Like I said though, I'm a little concerned for the fish.

 

[Rainboy]

I had the tank setup for 9 days now, and the fish have been in there for 4 days.

As for the test kit, I do not have one atm. But I'm going to the fish store today to see if they have any glosso, What kind of test kit should I pick up? Also how many fish can I have in my 2.5 tank? I can take some out and put it in my friends 60 gal that he has.

 

[koebwil]

I think you should remove the rasboras, and if you want shrimp I would get rid of the frogs too.

 

[Rainboy]

Why take away the rasboras? Should i keep like 3 or 4 in there? And I plan on taking the frogs out.

 

[jedimasterben]

You've only had it set up for nine days? Did you use filter media from your friend's tank or anything like that?

 

[Rainboy]

yeah, just nine days. And what do you mean by filter media? I got some soft water from the fish store.

 

[raven_wilde]

You need to cycle your fish tank properly before you can start adding fish (at least any that you care about).... 5 days isn't enough time, especially when you went and added that many all at once. You're going to have a mad ammonia spike and probably kill all your critters- or at least put them through a LOT of stress.

Read this article: http://www.aquariumslife.com/freshwater-101/aquarium-cycle/

For what its worth I recommend a fishless cycle (you can always jumpstart this process by borrowing some established filter media from a friend or from your LFS). The 'fish-in' cycle this article mentions I personally think is quite cruel to the 'starter fish'.

 

[jedimasterben]

If that's the case, take all the fish out as soon as possible. Your filter does not have any of what are called "nitrifying" bacteria, that convert ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. Fish poop, plant detritus, decaying food and the like all make ammonia. Ammonia is deadly to fish, as are nitrates.

Without these bacteria, I doubt any of your fish will last two weeks. A filter will typically take one to three months to cycle unless you use recycled filter media in your filter, which will contain these bacteria and give your tank a jumpstart.

 

[jedimasterben]

You need to cycle your fish tank properly before you can start adding fish (at least any that you care about).... 5 days isn't enough time, especially when you went and added that many all at once. You're going to have a mad ammonia spike and probably kill all your critters- or at least put them through a LOT of stress.

Read this article: http://www.aquariumslife.com/freshwater-101/aquarium-cycle/

For what its worth I recommend a fishless cycle- some people choose a 'fish-in' cycle but I personally think that this is quite cruel.

You ninja'd me

I would seriously take your fish either back to the store and have them hold them for you or let your friend "watch" them (if he has the right inhabitants in his tank). Get some filter media from your friend, get a master test kit from your LFS, and then wait for the tank to "cycle."

You'll see the ammonia spike, then the water will go cloudy and the nitrites will spike, then you'll see the ammonia and nitrites go to 0 and nitrates will come up. After this, you can slowly start adding fish. Add them all back at once and you will overload the bacteria in there and you will have the same problem.

 

[Rainboy]

Okay, Ill take the fish back to the store, I had no idea about cycling or anything like that, Thank you so much for telling me this. Ill keep you guys posted and Ill go to my LFS today.

Thanks again.

 

[jedimasterben]

Okay, Ill take the fish back to the store, I had no idea about cycling or anything like that, Thank you so much for telling me this. Ill keep you guys posted and Ill go to my LFS today.

Thanks again.

Just explain to them your situation, maybe they can keep them in a "sold" tank at the end of their racks or in the back or something.

I know it seems kinda harsh, but this is the best thing and gives your fish a fighting chance. Most people have no idea what goes into starting a tank, that it can take months to cycle and get set up properly.

See if your LFS will let you "borrow" some of their gravel/substrate or even a filter media pouch. You can take this, put it into a small mesh bag and just toss this into the tank. Since you already had the fish in there, you should have some ammonia to keep the bacteria alive, so yours should cycle quickly.

Also, remember that 2.5gal is not a whole lot of water. Though it may look nice to have a school of fish in there, the fish won't thrive, and may not survive long - you'd be better off starting with a larger tank, if possible, they are easier to take care of, as the more water is in the tank, the harder it is to throw the water parameters out of whack. Nano tanks are typically for the more experienced aquarists.


EDIT: Also, did you LFS sell you the tank and fish at the same time? If so, they should know better than that. Mine will not sell a person a fish unless they have an established tank already and can provide a water sample.

 

[raven_wilde]

Don't worry Kyle, all you need to do is a little reading...

That is one of most important things you can do in order to be successful in this hobby- thoroughly read up on something before you jump right in and do it. Its hard to stop yourself sometimes, but over time you will develop patience you never dreamed possible

 

[raven_wilde]

Also, remember that 2.5gal is not a whole lot of water. Though it may look nice to have a school of fish in there, the fish won't thrive, and may not survive long - you'd be better off starting with a larger tank, if possible, they are easier to take care of, as the more water is in the tank, the harder it is to throw the water parameters out of whack. Nano tanks are typically for the more experienced aquarists.

I second this. If someone were to ask me "What size tank should I get for my first tank?" I would say 20 gallons at the minimum... its a good stable size and roomy enough to keep an interesting amount of fish in (eventually, mind you... once its cycled )

 

[jedimasterben]

Don't worry Kyle, all you need to do is a little reading...

That is one of most important things you can do in order to be successful in this hobby- thoroughly read up on something before you jump right in and do it. Its hard to stop yourself sometimes, but over time you will develop patience you never dreamed possible

I second this. If someone were to ask me "What size tank should I get for my first tank?" I would say 20 gallons at the minimum... its a good stable size and roomy enough to keep an interesting amount of fish in (eventually, mind you... once its cycled )

This. A 20g tall has a lot of possibilities!

 

[Rainboy]

Just explain to them your situation, maybe they can keep them in a "sold" tank at the end of their racks or in the back or something.

I know it seems kinda harsh, but this is the best thing and gives your fish a fighting chance. Most people have no idea what goes into starting a tank, that it can take months to cycle and get set up properly.

See if your LFS will let you "borrow" some of their gravel/substrate or even a filter media pouch. You can take this, put it into a small mesh bag and just toss this into the tank. Since you already had the fish in there, you should have some ammonia to keep the bacteria alive, so yours should cycle quickly.

Also, remember that 2.5gal is not a whole lot of water. Though it may look nice to have a school of fish in there, the fish won't thrive, and may not survive long - you'd be better off starting with a larger tank, if possible, they are easier to take care of, as the more water is in the tank, the harder it is to throw the water parameters out of whack. Nano tanks are typically for the more experienced aquarists.


EDIT: Also, did you LFS sell you the tank and fish at the same time? If so, they should know better than that. Mine will not sell a person a fish unless they have an established tank already and can provide a water sample.

They did not sell me the tank and the fish at the same time, My friend got some fish for his 60 gal and he gave me some to put in mine, which was my first mistake. But now I put all of my fish in the 60 gal.

 

[jasa73]

Welcome to this extremely rewarding, fun, frustrating, addictive hobby! You got some great advice here. I like the rock you are using for your Iwugami. I think glosso will look really nice.

This is a great forum with lots of info! Thought I'd point out this post by Tom Barr about growing a carpet of plants. I've tried this method with HC and it worked amazingly well.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...ion/52332-new-method-start-up-algae-free.html

good luck!

 

[Rainboy]

Welcome to this extremely rewarding, fun, frustrating, addictive hobby! You got some great advice here. I like the rock you are using for your Iwugami. I think glosso will look really nice.

This is a great forum with lots of info! Thought I'd point out this post by Tom Barr about growing a carpet of plants. I've tried this method with HC and it worked amazingly well.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/g...ion/52332-new-method-start-up-algae-free.html

good luck!

Thank you for the information, Ill be sure to read up on this!
Thanks again everyone. Ill keep you guys posted on whats going on.

 

[jedimasterben]

Thank you for the information, Ill be sure to read up on this!
Thanks again everyone. Ill keep you guys posted on whats going on.

Good deal. roud:

 

[Rainboy]

Also what would happen if I planted some glosso in my tank right now? How will it effect my tank? Would it help with cycling? or should I wait and plant when my tank is done cycling?