Aquarium help?

[eyebjim]

I just started out with a 10 gallon aquarium about 3 weeks ago. Got a 3 inch perch in there set it up per the instructions. used the clorine stuff. I had been feeding flakes and he never seemed to eat any but it kept getting the tank scummy/furry. One night when I got home the perch was fine then a few minutes later he was on his side twitching. I took him out and placed him in a fishing bucket and drained the tank and restarted it. I put him back in there and he came around. I decided no more flakes. I put a few minnows in there and he ate one right away. He was ok for a week or so and now this morning he is floating. Any ideas on what is up. I want to get another fish. Maybe a walleye or another perch but I don't want to kill them.

[Tom7227]

Long thread on this with a lot of good info:

http://www.fishingminnesota.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1730054/1

Read it through cause the good stuff is a ways in.

[eyebjim]

Thank tom I already read that. It gave me some ideas but I though maybe someone had more ideas. I will prabably have to find a fish store and ask them. The one I went to I think the guy was stoned. He didn't help much.

[upnorth]

I am not sure if was mentioned in the other thread, but what do you have for a water temp? and is there some structure where the fish can hide? Either one could stress the fish.

[eyebjim]

Temps about 65 and there is some fake weeds. Thanks. Will stess alone kill them? I am wondering if it is a chemical thing like amonnia or something else. He was in there with about 7 minnows for food.

[Tom7227]

Ok,

the small pet shop owner told me first that the tank had to be sete up for about 30 days before you put fish into it to allow the bacteria to settle in and get the chemistry of the water right and get enough dissolved oxygen into the water. Well water is very low in oxygen and I suspect tap water is as well.

I had some plants dying and they screwed up the chemistry. The guy did a test and found a lot of dissolved something that wasn't good. I had to drain it down to about 1/3 the level and then refill it with clean water. he also gave me some sort of bacteria in a can that gets things going more quickly. Since then I clean it out probably once a month with a suction jobberdo that gets the gunk out of the bottom, taking out about 1/5 the water (50 gallon tank).

My guess is that you didn't have it set up long enough and/or the flakes started to rot and screwed up the chemistry. Your clean water helped things out but again the chemistry was bad and the fish was already stressed.

I went through three series of die offs before I got it right.

Given the season I think you're stuck with crappie, sunnies or perch. The crappie may be the easiest to deal with. The bass I have kill off any sunnies I get in there. So far the bass, crappie and a perch seem to get along OK.

[eyebjim]

Thanks. I am going to find a good fish pet store to get some more advice before I kill some more. For now I will drain reset and wait for about the 30 days you suggest then look into more fish. The sheet that came with the tank said to wait 24 hours. I would like a walleye and another perch and maybe a crappie. I just don't ant to buy them and kill them. I will probably need a bigger tank, I just thought this would do until they grow a bit but given the difficulty in getting it right I may just wait and get a bigger one so I have less troubles. Anyone know of any books on native fish in tanks that has info on the chemistry of the tank?

[wanger29]

My uncle owns a pet shop down this way and happens to have 1 eye and a couple perch. I only tell you this because everytime I'm there I get a chance to watch the feeding. Pretty neat to see if you ask me. Throws in a couple of crappie minnows and they've got a shelf life of about 3-5 seconds. I too have had perch and instead of the flake food I'd feed them frozen brine shrimp. Seem to really take to it well. When they got bigger I'd feed them remains from my own personal bait; leeches,crawlers,smaller minnows. I really enjoyed having the perch but got into channels afterwards. Good Luck!

[EBass]

I had 3 tanks (55,30,20 gal) back when I was younger and I do remember setting up the tank and waiting a week (30 days though?) then I could add 1 fish, wait another week and add 1 or 2 more, etc... There was a starter kit that took out the chloramines and be sure to check the PH level and adjust accordingly. They are a pain in the begining, but once they are setup they're sweet.

It's funny having a working tank with no fish.

[CarpKing921]

Small tanks are alot harder to get going then big ones. But dont forget to ad aquarim salt to your water even though they are fresh water fish they still require it for a healthy environment

[Nick Kuhn]

For a small perch dried bloodworms will also work pretty well as food. There are ways to get good clean water for tanks, I avoid tapwater whenever I can. Melting fresh snow is about the best water you can get (and there should be some of that tomorrow). In the summer I get the water from a dehumidifier. First though I have a small 10 gallon set up just for plants, I add water to that for a while, then take that water to the fish tank when it needs a little added. Just a small filter and it's been clean all winter (though snails from the plant tank are now well established in the fish tank).

[Tom7227]

Not sure about how a walleye would do in a tank as I've never tried it. I bet that used large tanks pop up pretty frequently at garage sales and such. I've also read that fish will only grow so much in a small tank. So you're not going to get a 10 lb bass in a 10 gallon tank.

[Luvsoutdoors]

Had a tank up for 20+ years,used city water with chlorine remover, then when city started going overboard with chlorine I went to rain water and snow. I never used any other chemicals, once you get it going it will take care of itself provided you have ample aeration(pump),keep it out of direct sunlight, don't overfeed and clean waste out of the gravel. A big tank allows for more leeway/error. A small imbalance in a 10 gal.= major prob. Rule of thumb for how many fish, 1 inch of fish for every gallon of tank. So you can have 10 inches of fish, more puts stress on them as nitrogen levels go up. Get a bigger tank and enjoy! You can always use the small one for feeder fish.

[Sandmannd]

A walleye isn't going to do very good in a ten gallon tank. I wouldn't recommend going less than a 20 gallon for fish and if you want eyes or pike or anything or even more than a couple of fish, go to at least a 55 gallon.

[Mr. Wizard]

Next time to the lake bring home 10 gal of lake water. Without testing city water first it's too hard to know how much of the chemicals to add to neutralize the city water. For perch and walleyes the water has to stay cold. If the aquarium is by a window the temp will change to often with the sunshine.

[Will]

One thing that I would suggest, get a good hang on filter. I have used these for years with great results. Periodically you change out the charcoal-this filters out ammonia and nitrogen(fish killers)

[eyebjim]

thanks eveyone for the good advice.

[CarpKing921]

I have a cpl of bigger tanks ones a 55 for sure not sure of the other but might be willing to sell I'm headed out the door to go fishin for the weekend but can post pics after sunday if any body is intrested. one tank has a biowheel and heater and air tubing the other has a chrcoal pouch type filter with cover and light w/heater and air supply. I was gonna set these up but plans changed. The one with the biowheel has no top or light.