Hi all...
I'm a little nervous for your answers because I was so unprepared for this and definitely misinformed by the kid who sold me my stuff at the pet store (Shocker) Boy is there more to it than just putting some water in a tank and cleaning it out!! So let me just start by saying these are my first pets to call my own, my parents will only let me have fish, and I was very excited and anxious to get them, so I just went out impulsively thinking a worker would be able to help me with all my questions, right? Wrong. After reading through forums like this I realize he, and I knew NOTHING, and Iprobably should not have got the fish that day. However, I'm already weirdly attached to them and taking them back/rehoming them isn't an option.. I've learned a lot and I think I'm doing ok and will continue to do ok.. I just need to check, and get a play by play. I don't want anything to happen to the fishies. I just have so many questions, so I'm sorry in advance. I'll try to number them so they stick out.
I have a 5.5 gal tank with a bottom feeder (forget what kind, pretty sure a pleco?), a Dalmatian mollie & a tetra. I now know this tank is too small for these guys, but the pleco and tetra are babies and I do plan on upgrading within the year as long as I get this whole thing down. I also now know the tetra is a schooling fish, another reason to upgrade since I don't think I should put another fish in this tank.
1) FOOD: I feed them tropical flakes, twice a day, and drop in an algae thin or 2 for the pleco. I now am thinking maybe this is too much.. Should I be feeding them only once a day? What about fasting them a day a week? The mollie seems hungry for anything at all times and eats pretty much all the feed, even eats the algae tablet.. I'm not even sure the tetra is getting anything. Th
2) CYCLING/CLEANING: For cleaning/maintenance I bought stress coat and stress zyme, a gravel vaccuum that I reckon also works for siphoning (?), and strips to test pH, hardness, nitrate & nitrite. Im running a simple whisper filter. I need to get ammonia strips ASAP.... I didn't even know cycling and the nitrogen cycle existed until after I already set the tank up (Foolish I know. As I already mentioned I was impulsive and very misinformed.) Right now I'm trying to cycle it even though the fish are in, and from my research I'm under the impression I shouldn't be changing the water as often as it may interrupt the cycle... should I be doing 10% once or twice a week now? My nitrite and nitrate readings are actually fine.. I'm just unsure about the ammonia. Also, what kind of water conditioner should I get to add to the tap water that will be introduced to the tank? For my tank, how often should it be cleaned once cycling is complete and how much of the water should I change? Should I leave fish in the tank while cleaning? The vacuum just seems so big and they're so small..
3) PLANTS: Im thinking of replacing my fake plant with a live one but have no clue how to introduce it to the tank.. it may be a bad idea since the fish are already in a new environment & I don't want to stress them, or mess with cycling I'm trying to accomplish.. any suggestions what types, if any I should get?
I'm a little nervous for your answers because I was so unprepared for this and definitely misinformed by the kid who sold me my stuff at the pet store (Shocker) Boy is there more to it than just putting some water in a tank and cleaning it out!! So let me just start by saying these are my first pets to call my own, my parents will only let me have fish, and I was very excited and anxious to get them, so I just went out impulsively thinking a worker would be able to help me with all my questions, right? Wrong. After reading through forums like this I realize he, and I knew NOTHING, and Iprobably should not have got the fish that day. However, I'm already weirdly attached to them and taking them back/rehoming them isn't an option.. I've learned a lot and I think I'm doing ok and will continue to do ok.. I just need to check, and get a play by play. I don't want anything to happen to the fishies. I just have so many questions, so I'm sorry in advance. I'll try to number them so they stick out.
I have a 5.5 gal tank with a bottom feeder (forget what kind, pretty sure a pleco?), a Dalmatian mollie & a tetra. I now know this tank is too small for these guys, but the pleco and tetra are babies and I do plan on upgrading within the year as long as I get this whole thing down. I also now know the tetra is a schooling fish, another reason to upgrade since I don't think I should put another fish in this tank.
1) FOOD: I feed them tropical flakes, twice a day, and drop in an algae thin or 2 for the pleco. I now am thinking maybe this is too much.. Should I be feeding them only once a day? What about fasting them a day a week? The mollie seems hungry for anything at all times and eats pretty much all the feed, even eats the algae tablet.. I'm not even sure the tetra is getting anything. Th
2) CYCLING/CLEANING: For cleaning/maintenance I bought stress coat and stress zyme, a gravel vaccuum that I reckon also works for siphoning (?), and strips to test pH, hardness, nitrate & nitrite. Im running a simple whisper filter. I need to get ammonia strips ASAP.... I didn't even know cycling and the nitrogen cycle existed until after I already set the tank up (Foolish I know. As I already mentioned I was impulsive and very misinformed.) Right now I'm trying to cycle it even though the fish are in, and from my research I'm under the impression I shouldn't be changing the water as often as it may interrupt the cycle... should I be doing 10% once or twice a week now? My nitrite and nitrate readings are actually fine.. I'm just unsure about the ammonia. Also, what kind of water conditioner should I get to add to the tap water that will be introduced to the tank? For my tank, how often should it be cleaned once cycling is complete and how much of the water should I change? Should I leave fish in the tank while cleaning? The vacuum just seems so big and they're so small..
3) PLANTS: Im thinking of replacing my fake plant with a live one but have no clue how to introduce it to the tank.. it may be a bad idea since the fish are already in a new environment & I don't want to stress them, or mess with cycling I'm trying to accomplish.. any suggestions what types, if any I should get?