HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

[newb]

I am new to the world of keeping fish. i bought a 20 gallon fish tank and have added a few cichlids. the tank has been up and running for nearly two weeks now and the water is terribly cloudy. i keep reading about this "bacterial bloom", but cant ever get an estimate on how long it takes to get clear. Also, my fish seem unhappy about their new environment. I have some Holy rock and a small cave a bought at my lfs in the tank. If anybody knows a great way to setup a tank im all ears! I believe I have made my first critical error as well. I came home today to find my favorite fish(strawberry peacock) beat up and nearly dead. I have a beautiful red jewel cichlid i believe to be the bully. Please help>

[fishboyt]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

What kinds of cichlids do you have in your tank? there are only a few cichlids that will live together in a 20 gallon that since many are agressive.

[newb]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

I have a small blue zebra(maybe 1.5-2 inch), 1 yellow lab (2in), and that red jewel, a gold seam pleco, and a cichlid that looks like a giraffe or cheetah. I awoke to find my peacock dead

[fishboyt]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

Sorry to hear that.  :(  Here are some links about all the fish in your thak: Blue zebra: http://www.peteducation.com/article....+1920&aid=2209 Yellow lab: http://www.petfish.net/kb/entry/386/  Red jewel: http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/photo-main.php/11949 Giraffe: http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles...lid/100008.asp. Hope this helps.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

Fist off, Welcome to the Box.

Now the nitty gritty...
Your tank is too small for what you are trying to house especially if you are unexperienced with the fish.
Your tank is too new to have that many fish in there.
Probably feeding too much as well and that's definitely not gonna help it.
What kind of filter do you have on there?

[Delock]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

X_______ with ek!

Where did you get your fish from? You can cheat your system but we need to know what type of filter you have.

[rrocket2002]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

You got some good info so far.

Did you allow your 20g tank to cycle and if so for how long?  
(cycle - running your tank for a period of time before adding fish.)

You need to cycle your tank and then consider before hand what kind of fish you would like and take in consideration how many can co-exist in a 20g tank.  

I'm betting your strawberry peacock was prolly stressed and that your zebra did him in.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

Read all about the Nitrogen Cycle

Also read about Fish Diseases and build a first aid kit so you don't have to wait a day or two to start treatment when something goes wrong.

To stop the bloom you have to:
A - wait for bacteria that eat them to grow
B - remove their food source or oxygen
C - poison them with Algone

Good luck

[Zulaab]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

Newb

I am sorry to hear you having all these issues.   Sadly I am going to report to you the same as above.
The fish you listed above I will give you the short version of the tank size and filtration you need.

Cobalt Blue Zebra - Needs a 55, High Flow rate filtration, should be kept with at least 4-5 of its own kind or will become to aggressive to the tank
Yellow Lab - Any 3ft tank will do (40+), High Flow rate filtration, should be kept with min of 3-4 as they like to hang in groups
Giraffe Cichlid - Awesome fish - NEEDS !!!! 55+ tank.  This will turn out over time to be a quick swimmer and WANTS running distance, High Flow rate filtration (dont needs anyone else, but would like to see its own kind if possible)
Red Jewel - High filtration - This is a river fish, and you will need about a 40+ gallon tank, to handle this fish. (keep only 1 male and 1 female)
Gold Seam pleco (Gold nugget) standard filtration, will live fine in a 20.

High Filtration means (get filtration that doubles the tank size.. ie if you have a 55g tank, get filtration that will clean a minimum of 110 gallon tank)
High flow filtration means you need to get something that will move the surface water A LOT because your fish NEED high amounts of Oxygen
I would recommend getting a filter for your tank that does twice the filtration of the size of tank you have, and then put in a power head to get water movement.

The Cobalt Blue, yellow lab, giraffe & (peacock) come from Lake Malawi, Your Red Jewel from the rivers of Niger, and your gold seam pleco from south america.
Your malawi's are going to need more moving room than what you can offer them today.  You will end up with likely several of your fish dead if you keep what you have.

The Giraffe is the most needy in tank space.  (your peacock was the other).
What you have left, the blue, yellow, (peacock) and gold seam wants rocks to hide in.  Your Giraffe, wants open running space.
Your substrate NEEDS to be sand for all the above.  (I recommend Leslie pool supply "pool filter sand")   The Red Jewel, dont care, but wants to have area's he/she can dig to make a spawning pit when getting older.   The gold seam pleco just cares there are rocks for it to hide in.

Now in short here is what I recommend doing.
1.  I want to keep the tank size because I cannot get a bigger tank -- then you need to look at selling all your fish except the gold seam pleco, and find smaller fish that will handle the tank.
2.  I want to keep the fish.  Upgrade the tank to a 55+ gallon tank.   MAKE sure that you get filtration that will over filtrate the tank by 2x minimum.  Most people will agree 4x would be A LOT better.  (2 Aquaclear 110 filters would be great on a 55)

look at http://houston.craigslist.org and search for aquarium or fish tank, if decide to upgrade your tank.  There are plenty of people out there selling equiptment cheap, post a message here on the "buy/sell" area and see what people have.

The more you talk to people here the more you will learn.. ask people, we have plenty of people here who wants you to have a great experiance with your fish.  We dont want to see you suffer though all the trials and tribulations that will make almost any owner want give up after two weeks..
Ask questions and we will all help.  Hope to hear from you soon :)
Keep smiling and welcome to HFB and your addiction :)

[newb]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

thank you to everybody who chipped in on this one. now a few answers to your question... I currently have a whisper EX20 on the tank. should i get rid of that and get an EX40 or should I just add another EX20 to the tank? My now favorite fish are my blue zebra, giraffe cichlid, and my pleco(he's SO cool!) I guess im now on the hunt to find a larger tank. thank you zulaab for the idea of craigslist. Delock: I have gotten my fish from FISH LAND, FISH GALLERY, AQUARIUM WORLD, and AQUA ZOO. How many pounds of the sand should i get if I keep the same tank. and drop a few of the fish :( ?

[Delock]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

Well for now dont add any fish. Also let your tank cycle before you try to change substrate.

[rrocket2002]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

The Pool sand comes in 50# bags.  1 bag will be plenty, you will want about 1-2 inches high.

[newb]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

Well...I just got back from the pet store and I sold away my Red Jewel. Does anybody know of a person/company that will come out and assemble your tank layout for you? If so, how much would something like that cost for a 55 gallon tank?

[Delock]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

Define tank layout?

[rrocket2002]

Re: HELP!!! I have questions....In need of answers!

To clarify, you are looking for someone to setup and decorate a 55g for you?