First time fish owner, can someone give me some advice?

Question

So far I have two gourami's, an angelfish and a bottom feeder. I bought a five gallon tank, a filter and a bubbler. The main thing I need help with, is keeping the water healthy. I bought a Jungle Complete Water Testing Kit from Walmart, and I have NO idea how to use the tablets. The instructions that come on the box are confusing. Can I put the tablets in the water with the fish, or should I take them out first? I just need some general advice, so if anyone could help me that'd be awesome!

Answer 1

Hi Natalie



Sadly your tank is waaaay overstocked and none of those fish should be in there. Angelfish need 40 gallons and are aggressive, they need a high tank and aren't good fish for beginners, Gouramis are aggressive and don't mix well and what kind of bottom feeder do you have?



Keeping the water healthy means cycling the filter before you add any fish. This involves dosing the tank with ammonia every day for six weeks until the filter grows the beneficial bacteria that neutralises the ammonia the fish produce in their waste. If this isn't done the fish will be poisoned by their own ammonia and this is nasty. It results in burns, fin rot, suffocation and death. The Jungle kit is a waste of money to be honest, you need the API Master test kit which is far more accurate but honestly, I'd suggest you take the fish back to the shop, your tank just isn't big enough for them. I wouldn't recommend a 5 gallon tank for any fish although some people will say you can keep Bettas in them (but I prefer to see them in 10 gallons really).



Sorry for the bad news but I think you've just been given very bad advice. Please return them and get a larger tank and cycle it first.

Answer 2

Natalie,



Take Lou's advice. He has pretty much covered it all. But I'm going to explain a little more in detail WHY this isn't the best thing for your fish, so that you may truly understand the current situation.



A 5 gallon tank is very small indeed. Hardly any fish can live in such a small volume of space. 5 gallons is like a tiny cardboard box for us. Imagine spending the rest of your life there, but with other people too. Eventually, you'll be fed, and all of you will start to defecate. Now after a while, all of that waste will start to cause infections and eventually death, unless you clean it very, very often.



The same principle applies to fish tanks, the smaller the water, the harder it is to keep it clean. Especially when you've got too many fish in the tank. I know, every pet store has all of their aquariums crowded, but that isn't the best life for a fish. Just because it can fit in a 5G, doesn't mean that it is happy, again, go back to the box analogy.



Because poop works differently in water than it does for us. You'll have to read about the nitrogen cycle. I'm not going to do it here because there are millions (literally!) of people who have explained it before. All you need to do is go on google and put: Nitrogen Cycle help? And you'll find many resources who will explain the whole process to you, but Lou has already given you a simple summary.



I recommend either:



1)Getting a 40G tank and a heater (after having done research)



2) Giving the fish back. If you're not planning on changing anything, your fish will be very very prone to illness and death.





I suggest returning the fish, then you need to read about each individual species on the internet, what food do they eat, what substrate do they like? Are they aggressive? Are they compatible with X species? How large do they grow?





Keeping fish isn't simply putting a fish in a bowl and feeding it every so often, it's a lot more complex, which makes it a rewarding hobby. Fish are animals nonetheless, I wouldn't keep a litter of puppies in a cardboard box all of their lives, in the same way I wouldn't put so many fish in a cramped aquarium.



Best of luck, keep us updated

Answer 3

What Lou and Necro have told you...



What you have isn't going to work out. Maybe in a 50gal tank??



A 5 gal tank is good for a betta. Return the fish you have and try one of those. Then you will have a successful aquarium, and your fish should live for years.



Ian

Answer 4

Goldfish can grow to be over a foot long, weigh over 5 pounds, and stay for over 15 years (with the oldest recorded goldfish residing to age 40 3). A single fancy goldfish receives around 8" long and demands a 20 gallon tank, with one greater 10 gallons for each further fish. A single person-friendly goldfish grows even larger, as much as 18", and desires seventy 5 gallons each and every. Shubunkins are someplace interior the middle at 12" requiring 40g or larger. additionally they produce an massive quantity of waste, the main whilst in comparison with the different fish the same length, and require a clear out rated for double the size of the tank they are in. residing in a bowl or small tank a goldfish's waste will immediately build as much as poisonous levels till given water differences daily. having pronounced that, the goldfish would be critically stunted and, nonetheless their physique won't seem to enhance, their indoors organs will proceed doing so. at last their organs will outgrow their bodies and thoroughly close down in an extremely sluggish and excruciating technique. Goldfish are no longer the easy beginner's bowl fish they are so oftentimes portrayed as. They require an massive quantity of area and filtration to stay healthy lives. in certainty, no longer even the betta, many times believed waiting to thrive in a bowl, should not be saved in such an environment. they might desire to be placed in no longer something under a 5 gallon aquarium with a heater and clear out. once you are going to get a 10g i might advise a betta and a few shrimp or a small college of pygmy cories. A goldfish can not stay in an environment that small, no longer to point 2. Shubunkin can get 12" long and could stay for over 20 years if cared for suited. they can't get the right care they choose whilst put in a tank it incredibly is in simple terms too small for them. despite fish you get you will want to cycle your tank for 6 weeks earlier including something to it.

Answer 5

What a disaster, take the fish back now before you kill them.

Seriously, take them back, save their lives.



I guarantee you if you don't they will die in a week or so from ammonia poisoning or bad water quality diseases like ich or something.

There's no way you had cycled that tank first.



Please just take them back and research the nitrogen cycle and how to cycle and aquarium. Then get a betta instead.