I just started with Tropical Fish. I seem to keep running into wierd issues. Here is the explanation behind what has happened which might explain why I have a new issue. I started with a 20 gallon tank with 1 Angelfish, 9 various Tropicals. I decided to add in an Algae Eater cause the tank was not very clean. Which at that time I put in 1 Red Tail Shark. The Algae Eater was fine, but the Red Tail Shark wouldn't eat. I then went to my usual fish store and got a second Red Tail Shark and a different type of food. That seemed to solve that problem.

Shortly after that like two-three days my swordtail looked like it got beat up, which I found it got tail rot. I treated that but the swordtail started to go white. Unfortuanately, I lost it a day to two days later.

We were going through a filter every two days, so we decided to get a new filter cause I was running at max cap. At that time we got two loaches to keep the big tank clean. :banghead:

In the end we bought a 38 gallon tank instead, cause we found out we were overstocked. My father-in-law gave us three swordtails and two spotted mollies to put in teh 20 gallon tank. Everything was fine for three weeks.

Then I have a Betta in a separate bowl and the Betta started to flake its skin off. Now, in the 20 Gallon tank my loach has its skin flaking off too. It is two separate tanks and I have no idea what is going on. I would appreciate if I could get some advice. Thank You.

how long has the tank been cycled for if it was cycled?RTBS can be agressive so mabe it was that that beat up the platy.when plzties die they usually turn white(well mine do anyway!)

RTBS are pretty mean, keep a close on him. I dont mean to sound rude here at all but do you think its the place where you are buying the fish from? or are they a very good at keeping there stock healthy?

Vip has a point, and some stores need a swift kick up the backside. Next time you go purchasing do it a a completely different store! :)

I think it could be your water quality. DO you use dechlorinator in your water changes? If so, you really need too. Otherwise fish will suffer!

Fish keeping isnt all that bad, and once you get the hang of it very enjoyable too! I hope all gets well soon for your fish and maybe post your betta problem in the betta section to get a specialised reply! :D

Flaking off skin sounds like dropsy or velvet....I would try posting a help thread for the betta in the betta section...Many of our members recomend indian almond leaves for treating bettas....

are you doing water tests? How often are you doing water changes? Like miagi said, do you use a dechlorinator?

This concerns me...You should not being "going through" filters like that.....when you remove your filter media, you also remove the bennificial bacteria that keep your "cycle" going...

Sounds like you are getting ammonia and nitrite spikes due to a non-cycled tank...

a healthy, cycled tank will take Ammonia, turn it into nitrite, and then into nitrate (less toxic than the other two) nitrate is then removed by doing water changes or by plants...have you tested your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels? A healthy, cycled tank will show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and just trace ammounts of nitrate....

Hope this helps...

Thank you to everyone that replied to my problems concerning my tank. Unfortunately, my loach did pass away this evening. We did find out the problem with the tank thanks to your comments.

I do use decholrinator, but found that the tank was too high in ammonia. The Betta's problem was something totally different. It was a cotton disease it had that I found out that they are prone to having. Unfortunately, she is too far gone to save as of this time.

The loaches that I bought was not from my usual place so I think that was a factor as well. I called the store that I bought them from and they said that they had a problematic batch that came in. The other loach I have that is still alive was of another batch. After hearing that I swore to not buy anymore fish from anywhere but my usual place.

I also treated the rest of the tank with Fungus Clear and hopefully it won't spread to the rest of my fish. Thanks again for your comments to my problem. My husband said he really appreciated it. You have made me feel very welcome in this forum and seem like a very nice group of people.

You sound just like me in the first few months of fish keeping. It really sounds like a cycling issue and the ammonia spikes that result in new cycling tanks. But stay possitive and keep trying, give it 6 months or a year and you will be addicted.

I learnt the hard way when first got my tank, overstocking, overfeeding, not researching my fish enough and not understanding the basic rules of the hobby


Trust me though once you get through these setbacks and learn more its an excellent hobby. :nod:

also one more thing, algae eaters and plecos are in no way a substitute for water changes and the maintanence of your tanks. Dont get me wrong they are good for ridding the tank of algae and are great fish in their own right, just make sure that you dont think they are miracle cleaners for your tank ( one more thing i learnt back at the start )

Good luck with your tanks :rockon:

Good advice wooly!

May I ask what type of filter(s) you are using?

I am using Whisper filters in the 20 Gallon tank. The 38 Gallon tank is Penguin Filter in it with the Bio-Wheel which seems to be working fine with it. We are debating to change the Whisper filter in the 20 Gallon tank to another Penguin filter. I do water changes every two-three weeks 50% in the 20Gallon tank which I have read that it would be better to do 10-15% changes at two weeks. Would that help the cycling situation?

1. How long have you had yor tanks setup?
2. Are you using a bacterial supply such as nitrivec?

Because my understanding is that tanks can take even a couple of months to fully cycle. In saying that i would reccommend weeky 10- 20% water changes as a much better option than large 2-3 weekly changes. In my opinion the best way of removing ammonia caused by the spikes you get in the cycling stage are water changes no matter how good a setup you have.

I have had the 20 Gallon tank for two months now. Right now in there is 3 swordtails and 2 Black mollies and an Algae Eater. The chemicals I use in the tanks is Cycle, a Bio-Support that has 300 million live bacteria per teaspoonful, AquaPlus, and a Waste Control.

I keep getting mixed answers about something. I have a Chinese Algae Eater in my 38 Gallon tank. I have been told they are aggressive, and good community fish. I also got told they grow to 3.5" long, 6" long, 10" long, and 12" long. I don't know which it is. :banghead: Thanx. I don't mean to be a bother with these questions.

Yeah I got a couple opinions when I went looking as well :huh: one said 8" and in brackets beside it (8cm) :huh: anyway have a look here the majority I found were the same as this one.

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/cae.xml

Hi there,

The trouble with the Cae is that they often get mislabeled, so people dont really know what type of fish you are really talking about.

If you are sure that it is the Chinese then this fish will grow to about 11 inches. They tend to become lazy with age, stopping their alge duties, and have been reprted to develop a taste for the slime coat of their tankmates, which causes problems.

The Siamese alge eater looks slightly different in markings, with a more pronounced stripe than the chinese. This is the better community fish, liking to live in little groups and minding its own business. This fish grows to around 5.5 inches.

Then there is the flying fox, which will grow to the same size and have almost identical markings to the SAE, except his stripe goes on into the tail. People have mixed luck with these fish, I kept mine for 11 years before he keeled over of old age, and I never had any problems except he was a little territorial of his space.

I will post some links if I am allowed, to show the difference between the 3 types, (mods, please let me know if I am not allowed to, and I will remove them)

Chinese

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_Gyrinoc...s_aymonieri.php

Siamese

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_sae.php

Flying fox

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_fox.php

all the comments on those pages are peoples personal experience, so take the average, not the one off, but the info in the boxes under the photos are generally reliable.

Hope this helps and that I haven't confused you even more!

Thank you for helping me identify my Algae Eater. Unfortunately, it is a true Chinese Algae Eater which means that I have to get rid of him. Would he be okay in a tank of sharks, they are Bala and Columbian sharks? If he is able to be with those types of fish my father-in-law will take him. I attached a pic of him. Sorry about the crappy pic cause my digital cam is not great. I hope it worked with the pic

The columbian sharks (if they are the ones I think you mean) should be in brackish to marine water, so your CAE won't really fit in over there. I think the best bet would be to return him to the LFS. Its really anoying that they sell these fish without warning customers what monsters that they will turn into.

Wherever you send him he will need lots of space to grow to his full potential.

Unfortunately, the place where I bought him will not take him back. I am really starting to hate the place I bought him from. :fire: When I called them about taking him back they said he can not be growing that big, and it must be a different fish that I am trying to pawn off on them then the one I originally bought. :cuss: :cuss: He would be going into a 200 Gallon tank.

That store needs a good kick up the backside. It really makes me angry :cuss: when they don't take responsibility for the fish they sell.

Do you have any local societies that would do swap meets, that kind of thing?

The 200 gallon sounds good though, as long as your father in law hasn't salted it for the columbians. Also, Columbians will eat anything that they can hoover into thier mouths, so as long as they havent yet become the monsters that they have the potential to, and your CAE is big enough to avoid being munched it would be a good stop gap solution.

I think I am a little worried about the Columbians though.....is this the fish, or have I got myself all confused?

http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/ariid...anema/700_f.php

If this is the fish your father in law has, then he will run into problems with the Columbians needing salt and the Balas needing fresh water. Also, he needs to be carefull when maintaining the tank, the fish I am thinking of has venom glands at the base of the dorsal fin and also secrete anticoagulants, so any injury inflicted will be difficult to heal.

Sorry if I have gone off the topic - i almost bought Columbians on some really bad lfs advice and am kind of edgy when people mention them.

Those sharks that you showed me is not ones he has. With his Bala Sharks he has red tail sharks, Angel Fish, the Columbians, and another type of shark other then that, that I can not remember the name of. There is no swap meets that I know of around my area. My brother might take him he has Bala Sharks and Columbians by themselves in a tank. The part about the stores saying that certain fish grow to the size of the tank only is that have any truth in it?

Oh....thats another one that makes me growl..... :banghead:

It is true, to a certain extent. The fishes external skeleton and body will stop growing when it realises that there is no more room.

Unfortunately, the internal organs and structure of the fish do NOT stop growing.

You can see how uncomfortable this would be for the poor fish who is not kept in the right sized aquarium. Their internal organs all bunch up in the body cavity and slowely strangle the fish from the inside out.

A stunted fish will live in the aquaruim, but his life span will be considerably shorter than that of his counterpart who had enough water. The stunted fish will also have all sorts of problems with internal diseases, and will be a weaker fish in general.

I am glad that you now have two choices to rehome your CAE. Either of those tanks sound ok, they have semi to agressive fish who will give as good as they get from the CAE. You just need to make sure he is already big enough to not get munched before introducing him there.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do! And for your own peace of mind, please find a new fish store!

Would the Chinese Algae Eater be okay in a 90gallon tank? What could I put in there with him that will live through being in with him? My hubby likes colourful fish, so I would prefer to put something in there with a lot of colour.

rule number 1 dun keeop rtb together unless u have a huge tank! and dont buy chinese algae eaters! during the night the give hickies to all ur fish! and sometimes even suck there eyes out! u want an algae eater get some BN plecos!

The reports of the CAE sucking the slime coat of other fish are mainly when people are keeping large, slow moving, flat bodied fish, like discus. Also when they have been kept with mainly stationary fish, like plecos.

The 90 gallon sounds good, but the more space the better. I think I read that the minimum tank would be a 200 litre, so thats about 55 Gallons for a minimum requirement.

If you were to try keeping other fish in with him, I would probably suggest something quite large and fairly fast moving. Something in the Danio line would probably avoid trouble with the cae, and the pearls are pretty and fast. Bosemani Rainbows are fairly tough and fast, also brightly coloured with the yellow and blue, so they might work out for you. All this really depends on how much of a monster your CAE turns out to be, as to how successfull any fish will be in with him.

Whatever you decide to do, please keep a carefull eye on the other fish in the tank, checking for wounds and signs of harrassment.

As Opiate says, it would probably be better to separate the two Red Tailed Black Sharks as soon as possible. They will start to cause trouble as well when they try to establish dominance.

I know the never ending new guy questions. Sorry about all the questions guys and gals but between me, my brother, and my in-laws we have 2-100gallon tanks, 2-55 gallon, 1-38 Gallon, 1-20 gallon, 2-10gallon, 5-fish bowls with bettas, and a 5 gallon tank. I keep getting the questions from all the tanks. :banghead: So here is another question unfortunately, my in-laws has an iridescent shark that is swimming odd with a fat belly that looks like she is pregnant and when you look at it, it looks like the spine is bent. She likes to go back to the same corner of the tank that is under the heater, and sits their staring at people sitting in the chair that is beside the tank. Would you guys have any ideas on what this might be?

From what I have read, it is very unlikely that the irridescent in pregnant, they need lots of water to spawn, more than the average home aquarium can provide.

I know that they are prone to an awful lot of diseases, even when the other tank mates are healthy. The belly could be something like dropsey, but I'm not too sure.

Hiding under the heater could be a comfort thing. Irridescents are notoriously skittish, and like to hide out when they feel threatened.

Also, I'm a little worried, in your list of tank specs, you don't mention a tank that is actually big enough to hold an adult irridescent shark. It needs to have at least 200gallons, with very little decorations, to keep it happy. Im wondering if the bend in the spine is an injury from bouncing off the walls? And really hoping its not something more sinister, like tb.

You might want to draw attention to this specific problem by opeing a new thread in the catfish section. Then you could get some expert advice. There seems to be lots of people on this board who are really familiar with monster fish!

Good luck, and don't worry about asking all the questions, we have all been there, many of us got the T-shirts, I think I am going for my commemorative mug now..... :tup: