I am in need of some help let me start off with my story i got a pair of oscars from a friend that where laying eggs and they did hatch a few times but he had to move so i got the fish and put them in a 47 bowfront for a week then got a 125 for them set it up for two days and moved them during the move the female got injured and i put some medicine for the fungus then i noticed little worms swimming i think they where from the bowfront transfer there where worms in there as well so i took the gravel out and about half off the water put some total cure from api in the tank to kill the worms worms are gone but oscars are still not happy i think they are on there side when i get home about two days ago i bought 50 goldfish and they are all gone go they be just full and tired or is it because there is no gravel
my tank is a 125
filter is a rena xp3
ph is 7.2
ammonia is .1
temp is 79
Hello and welcome to the site. Step1.. NEVER feed Oscars goldfish, a high risk of contracting parasites, no nutritional value, just bad all round. Your ammonia level is dangerous, you want 0 or as close to as possible. Do you have a reading for nitrite and nitrate? I presume these fish are a couple years old and quite large, having produced already. How long has this filter been running? You may be as yet uncycled. The filter is high quality, I use several of those, but a single xp3 is very inadequate for 125gals and a pair of large Oscars. How often and to what volume do you do water changes? When you say you set up a 125 for 2 days.. is this with no fish in and filter running? If so, you have lost any bacteria that may have been in the filter media. Answer these questions so we can get a baseline of where you are at. Help will come quick. Can you give us a pic or 2 or better yet a video?
i will test the water for nitrite and nitrate when i get home the filter has been running for two weeks now but because of the worms i threw out all the media and bought new media for it 4 days ago i bought a bottle of bacteria for it i also do 25 percent water changes . when i got the fish i had no tank setup he was moving and needed them gone so i bought a 125 and setup with the xp3 for two days i have three Emperor 400 i could use also are they any good got them with the tank
Ok, that tells the story. You are completely uncycled. You need to monitor the water parameters daily, you must keep ammonia at .25 to give developing bacteria something to feed on. I would do a minimum 75% water change immediately and subsequent 50% daily until you see some showing of nitrate, which is a sign of a near complete cycle. End result needs to be 0 ammonia and nitrite and some showing of nitrate. This may take a couple of months. By all means use the 400's, all of them if they will fit, but they too will have to establish a bacteria colony of their own. Keep fish feeding to a minimum, good pellet meal twice a week. This will keep waste production down, you dont need any other drawbacks while cycling
thanks for the advice i also dont have any gravel or sand on the bottom should i add some or leave it alone
i have had fish my hole life but i know now i am just learning the proper ways of setting up a tank.
Leave the tank barebottom. Will make cleanup easier and there will be nothing to trap fish waste. Do you have a water change device like the Python? Attaches to any faucet, drains and vacs the tank, refills quick and easy. You most def need one with the maintenance this tank will require. Also a good dechlorinator/conditioner. Seachem Prime(liquid) or Safe(powder) most preferred by forum members. For now the API liquid test kit and the Python are your necessities. You can deco the tank much later
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