Can anyone help me please?

[Little Mermaid]

Hi all,

I have just started out in the world of aquatics and here is what I have so far.....

3g tank x 2 (1 Betta in each).

10g tank with..3 Dwarf Coral Platys (1male 2females), 6 Cherry Barbs (2males 4 females), 1 Clown Pleco, 3 Harlequin Rasboras, 1 Rainbow shark, 1 Albino Rainbow Shark.
To be honest, the sharks are really not working out well at all, I only added them yesterday and the Petshop person advised they were the 'nice' sharks to have and should live as a pair as they like their own kind. Hmmmm, this is not how it seems in my tank. The Rainbow slipped into my tank and immediately booted the Barbs out of the enchanted castle and took up residence!!!! He now harasses and chases the Albino Rainbow shark at every opportunity and anything else that comes near :-( Petshop have agreed to take the sharks back in exchange for something else. Do I keep the seemingly peaceful Albino or take them both back?? What do I have instead? More Cherries or Platys or another Pleco or some Guppys? I really am not sure. The 3 Rasboras seem very 'lost' in the tank and stay in the centre and just hover. They don't seem very happy. I read tonight that Rasboras should be kept in larger groups, at least 8 of them. My 10g isn't big enough with everything else in it. I think the Rasboras may be going back to the petshop too tomorrow.

I have tried to keep African Dwarf Frogs seperately and with the community (prior sharks) and also the Bettas. 6 of the 7 frogs have died of unknown causes and the 7th is on his way to heaven as I write this. The Petshop had no advice to give me other than 'Oh well, they are only frogs'. I have tested the water for the frogs and ammonia and nitrite levels all fine. Frogs never appeared to look ill or bloated or 'red legged' and I was careful not to overfeed. Regular water changes too. They were all fine then one by one they all got lethargic and floated to the top of the tank and eventually died.

Well, this is a very steep learning curve and I WISH I had done my own research beforehand instead of relying on the Petshop advisors for everything. Most important thing now is to try and fix the errors and make my fishy friends happy. As for the frogs, I am still at a loss and may wait awhile before trying to keep them again, any tips would be most welcome.


Thanks in advance and I am so glad and relieved to have found this site!!

[escamosa]

I'm sorry that I can't give you any advice about the frogs - I have never had anything to do with those, but I will give you some advice about the sharks. Take both of them back as soon as possible, and while you're there, you can give the guy at the petshop a free lesson! You tell him, that those sharks can grow to around six inches long, sometimes bigger, and can't be kept in a 10g tank. Sharks really need a big tank, at least 55g for one shark, and big fishes to go with them, because they can be horrible bullies. Two sharks in the same tank can also turn out bad for one shark or the other, as they're not to keen on the idea of sharing the same tank with another shark.

[darrenoneill1973]

Hi,

I'm fairly new to this too, a few months...but I have done lots of research and reading and I would say...

That's a lot of fish for a 10 gallon tank. I'd lose the sharks and not replace them, as escamosa states, they need a much bigger tank as they get quite large and are very territorial.

Harlies should be kept in a school of around 8 minimum to be really happy. I have 8 harlies, and 9 neons with 2 honey gourami in my 16 gallon planted and they all get om swimmingly....get it? Lol.

Shrimp add a good dimension, I have 2 amano and some tiny cherry's, they are fascinating to watch and great at cleaning!!

With that stock keep a good eye on your Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates and do weekly water changes. Problems can occur very quickly in small tanks!!

On the frogs...I have never tried to keep them but I hear that they have low life expectancy, they look great but are prone to just dying for no apparent reason.

That's it from me, enjoy

[Cermet]

If you just added frogs (that many) to the tiny betta tank, ammonia poisoning is what most likely killed them. All animals produce ammonia waste and until a filter has time to grow all required bacteria, adding a large number of anything in a 3 gal tank allowed the waste products to rapidly build up and kill the animals.

First, I don't know how mature the tanks (i.e. how long have the filters been running) nor what the water parameters are in each tank but you need to test all the tanks for ammonia, nitrites (the most toxic of all waste), and nitrate (less toxic and final stage of waste.) If you do not have a small test kit, you really need one - get a liquid testing kit for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH would be nice as well. Wal-Mart sells a complete one on-line; however, your pet store should carry these – they are a life saver for fish!

Test all your tanks - ammonia and nitrite should be zero. If not, then the tank filters are not cycled or too small and the fish are being poisoned. Nitrates should be under 20 ppm and under 10 ppm is better still. Water changes are the only way to lower nitrates (filters do not process - really the bacteria that grows in filters.) Large water changes - 25% to 50%, depending on how much nitrate, will improve the tank a lot and the fish will live long and happy lives.

Don't worry if this sounds new - I too discovered this the hard way and had no idea about it when I got my discus - luckily, people here helped me to learn about all this and my fish are alive and happy!

I also aggree that the 10 gal is overstocked and the sharks need to be returned before they kill off each other and other fish.

Use the site in my signature (see the aqadvisor, below) - to determine stocking levels for the tank size and filter you have on each tank. It will also provide you with how much and how often to change your tank's water!

Best of luck and as I realize every day, there is always more to learn and that is what helps to make this hobby so much fun!

[Little Mermaid]

Thank you everyone, 2 sharks and the harlequins going back this evening. That will leave my Pleco, 6 Cherries and 3 Dwarf Platys. That's quite enough and I REALLY appreciate the time you all took to help me :-)

My last little frog died. I didn't have them all in at the same time, petshop kept replacing them. Most I had was 3 at any one time. Ammonia and Nitrite levels always zero each time I tested any of the tanks. Never bothered with the Nitrate test as the first 2 were ok. Haven't been advised on a PH kit before now so I shall pick one up later.

Oh- I woke this morning to find one of the Harlequins dead :-( Black Rainbow looked very guilty and was immediately isolated to a smaller holding tank and there he shall stay till he goes back to the Petshop tonight. I am doing hourly water changes to keep his water healthy in the meantimes.

Since I removed the Black Rainbow Shark, the rest of the community are swimming merrily (altho the 2 remaining Harlequins seem more 'lost' than ever). The Cherries and Platys are back to being little busybodies and being cheeky. The Pleco has materialised again and is munching his Algae wafer biscuit. Now the Albino Rainbow is all over the tank, swimming alongside the others and sharing the wafer with the Pleco (altho Pleco has given Albino a few lessons in good manners and side swiped it more than once). Does this mean the Albino will settle? It seems to have an entirely different personality to the Black Rainbow.

Thanks again friends :-)

[PhillipOrigami]

escamosa pointed out that any thing labeled "shark" (they aren't really sharks though) will need quite the large aquarium. I can't think of any exceptions. Return both.
I'm not a stocking whiz, or a breeding whiz, or a whiz at anything really, but with 1 male and 2 female platies, you are gonna have a whole lot o babies.
The harlequins needed a school, check the sig, and at 3, they were pretty depressed. Add some super-agressive sharks, you were bound to get some bad things.

[CrunchyLeaf]

Hi Little Mermaid,

Dwarf Frogs don't necessarily hunt down the food that you put in the tank. Especially when they are new and not quite settled in yet. I have read that it is common for them to starve to death. I believe this because I noticed my own dwarf frog looking thin and sickly when I first got him and my solution was to start hand feeding him. I began using those really long tweezers that are used to feed crickets to reptiles. After a few weeks of that he would come swimming out to me when it was feeding time. Now he will literally swim and sit in my hand while he munches on his worms.

I wonder if it's possible your dwarf frogs have not come in contact with enough food?

If you don't want to hand feed/tweezer feed them, I have also heard that you can feed them using a turkey baster and squirt the food right in front of their face. You can also get a ceramic plate and put it in your tank and teach the frog that that is where they can always find the food. Then they'll always find it there when you put it in the same spot at the same time.

Hope this helps.

[ameliaaahx]

Hey Little Mermaid,

Welcome to the forum. :) Don't worry, everyone starts this wonderful hobby somewhere!

It's a shame that you can't trust the salespeople at fish stores! Sharks were really a terrible idea for your wee tank, especially two of them. Shame on the guy who sold them to you. xD At least they can safely go back to the store now and not cause any more damage! (until they're probably sold again to some poor beginner with a tiny tank!)

3 Platys and 6 Cherry Barbs with a Pleco sounds like a great stocking for you tank to me! Luckily that's a pleco which will stay small -- I wouldn't have been suprised if the people at that store had sold you a Common Pleco along with the sharks which would have grown longer than your tank! xD

Its important that you do check your Nitrate levels. :) Levels under 20-30 are required but the lower the better -- there should never be 0 Nitrate though because that would mean your tank wasn't cycled!

Good luck with this great hobby, I hope everything is a little clearer for you now!

[Lady Hobbs]

Is this tank cycled? If it's not cycled and already overstocked as it is, you have your work cut out for you. No bottom feeders or that frog should be in any tank not yet cycled.

Frankly, I would take everything BUT the Harlequin Rasboras and the Cherry Barbs back. That's a small tank and those are the smallest fish you have and really the only fish that belong in that small tank. The pleco is probably a common pleco that will also never work in that tank.

After the tank cycles, if it isn't now, then you can add 3 more Harleys and that will be enough stock. If you don't care for the Harleys, take them back as well, and just keep this tank as your cherry barb tank and add the frog later.

You can not take a tiny tank like that and have half a dozen species of fish in it.

[Little Mermaid]

Thank you everyone again for your 'welcomes' and your helpful advice. I have been doing MUCH research and reading of my own and learning a great deal very very quickly.

Frogs-sadly all have died. Been back to the petshop and was told by the girl that all the frogs had come from a 'sickly batch' and had all been reported by buyers as being dead within days. I guess I did well keeping them alive for weeks. I made very certain they had regular water changes, driftwood, clean water, enough food, hand fed frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp via a turkey baster (what an instrument)!! I feel slightly annoyed to now find out that the frogs were sickly when they arrived at the petshop and despite returning 3 times to get more frogs, I was still not told. That's one petshop I shall never return to. No more frogs for a while for me, it was too heartbreaking to watch them die, I isolated each one and stayed with them till the end, that's 7 times of immense sadness. The petshop said 'they are only frogs' but to me each was a little individual who deserved a good life, I did my best.

The Fish- big changes made. Firstly (Lady Hobbs -love the name, our cat was Miss Hobbes, may she rest in peace)...I definately have a CLOWN Pleco. I felt the Common Pleco was way too big for me to deal with when I saw a full size one at the petshop. I chose the Clown because he was sweet in a curious way, small enough to manage now and in the future and although not known to be a huge algae eater, he might do just a little, he appealed to me a lot and is still my personal favourite.

I took back the 2 remaining Rasboras, 3 Dwarf Coral Platys, 1 Black Rainbow Shark. I have aquired a much much larger tank and 3 tier filter to cope, larger ornaments, waters testing kits galore, bigger heater, better lighting and have kept the following...1 Albino Rainbow Shark, cherry barbs and my little Clown Pleco.

My tank and fish are happy. Yes the tank had cycled. The Albino shark has a very different personality to her Black counterpart. That is not to say she won't change and turn aggressive one day. I shall keep a close eye. They have plenty of space, lots of hiding places and so far all are quite content. It was rather endearing to see my shark and Pleco sharing a algae wafer last night (even tho there were a couple of pieces in the tank) they each nibble a different end. The shark has adopted the large castle but is also quite happy to share it with the Pleco and the Cherries. In fact the shark spends more time vacuming the silk plants and all the ornaments, she is doing a better job than my Pleco!!

If I could turn back the clock, I would do everything differently and I would have taken my time and done the research myself. I got caught up with the tremendous excitement of owning fish and frogs, something I had wanted since a young child, it took almost 40 years. I can't change the mistakes made but I have learnt from them, so please try not to judge me too harshly Lady H. I came to this site for help for my watery friends, not to be scolded. I have done enough of that to myself I can assure you. And yes, when I brought my first large joint of beef at the butchershop, I did ask the best way to cook it, the advice I got was great and dinner was perfect. I had never cooked a joint of beef before and expected the butcher to know best, he did and was proud to share his knowledge.

As for the petshop advisor who sold me all the fish, he didn't know everything afterall but he did his very best and he has learnt from this too I am sure. He told me yesterday that a lot of this hobby comes down to 'experiment' and 'trial and error'. I see his point to a small degree, I also now know that my own research in whatever form will serve me best in future.

God bless you all and thanks to you all once again. Your knowledge and experience is appreciated as is your generosity in sharing.