Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: bferg4 on October 07, 2014, 03:41:01 PM
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Got 10 white cloud minnows today, am just wondering how long I should leave the light off for? And will they need fed on the same day as purchase?
Thanks.
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Leave the lights off today and don't feed till tomorrow if they are the only fish. They'll feel safer exploring their new environment in just the natural light in the room (and electric room light later). They will likely be feeling too nervous to feed so if they are the only fish you'll end up having to clean uneaten food off the tank bottom. Even if there are other fish in the tank, it'll do them good to have a day's fasting.
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Thanks Sue.
They are the only fish in the tank, so I'll just allow them time to settle in.
I go to work tomorrow at about 11am, around 19 hours from now (not sure if you are in the US :)), so would I be fine to feed them before I go to work and turn the light on?
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I'm in the UK, north east England ;)
It depends what your lighting regime will be. Most people use a plug in timer to switch the lights on and off at the same time every day. If you have one, just set it whatever you want to use. If you don't have a timer, again, turn it on and off to suit you. If you have live plants, have the lights on around 8 hours (I think, not too good with plants :-[ ) If you have fake plants, start at 6 hours on or you run the risk of growing too much algae if the lights are on too long. Turn the lights on for the first time after a night. Make sure the room is in daylight/electric light before turning the tank lights on or the sudden change from total dark to total light can scare the fish. With feeding, either feed them a small amount in the morning and a small amount in the evening, or one larger amount once a day. As with the lights, start feeding them after they've had a night in your tank.
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No live plants. I'll turn the light on and feed a small amount before I go to work tomorrow and have my mum turn the light off again around 5/6 (I finish work 8 and won't be home until around 8.30)
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Turned the light on this morning and fed them a small amount, and they ate all of it.
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They don't seem to be schooling this morning though like they were last night, could that be because they have realised they have the tank to themselves?
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They don't seem to be schooling this morning though like they were last night, could that be because they have realised they have the tank to themselves?
Yep. Schooling's a defence response and they've realised there's nothing to be scared of in your tank...... yet! :))
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They don't seem to be schooling this morning though like they were last night, could that be because they have realised they have the tank to themselves?
Yep. Schooling's a defence response and they've realised there's nothing to be scared of in your tank...... yet! :))
Haha. I won't be adding to the tank for another couple of weeks at least, so they have the place to themselves for a bit.
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Yep. Schooling's a defence response
DOH!!! and here was me getting worried when my fish weren't schooling ::)
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Yep. Schooling's a defence response
DOH!!! and here was me getting worried when my fish weren't schooling ::)
True schooling in an aquarium is rare, and most often a short term defence response as Colin says. Herring 'balls' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quwebVjAEJA) are a great example of proper schooling.
If you have fish which you expect to shoal (generally hang about together in a loose group) but they aren't, it's quite possibly a good sign because it suggests that the fish are quite comfortable in their environment and not particularly worried about predators.
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Ok, I'm a little confused here.
BEfore I added fish my tank showed zero for ammonia (around 12 hours after adding 3-4ppm). I had nitrites and nitrates, nitrite and nitrate both pretty high.
Tested today, a little under a week after adding fish - ammonia and nitrite both at zero, nitrate is between 5-10. Just a little confused as to how I could have nitrite with no fish, then have zero nitrite with fish.
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Did you add fish while there was still nitrite in the water? You are not supposed to get fish until both ammonia and nitrite are zero. Nitrite is quite toxic - it binds to the fish's blood cells in the way carbon monoxide does to ours, with similar results.
What has probably happened is that you now have enough nitrite eating bacteria. This is a 95 litre tank with just 10 white clouds, isn't it? 10 white clouds in 95 litres won't produce 3ppm ammonia per 24 hours.
If I understand you correctly, you had enough ammonia eating bacteria to process 3 - 4ppm ammonia in 24 hours but not enough nitrite eaters to process the nitrite made from that 3ppm ammonia. Now that you have less than 3ppm ammonia going into the tank there is less nitrite being made and this coupled with more nitrite eating bacteria growing since you go the fish has resulted in your zero nitrite reading.
And because there is less ammonia, therefore less nitrite, less nitrate is being made. If you have done a water change since getting the fish, that's what's lowered the nitrate reading.
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Haven't done a water change yet, my plan was to do one tomorrow; how big of a water change should I do?
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Check the water for ammonia and nitrite and be guided by that. If both are zero, 20% is fine. If one or both are not zero, do enough to get the reading down to near zero.
Once the tank is fully stocked, 25 to 30% once a week should be fine.
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Check the water for ammonia and nitrite and be guided by that. If both are zero, 20% is fine. If one or both are not zero, do enough to get the reading down to near zero.
Once the tank is fully stocked, 25 to 30% once a week should be fine.
Thanks, Sue.
Tank won't be fully stocked for at least another two weeks.
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Take things slowly with stocking. No more than 4 white cloud's worth of fish for the next addition. Check your ammonia and nitrite afterwards and if they stay at zero for a week, get more fish - this time the equivalent of 6 white clouds.
I am concerned about you saying you had high nitrite when you got the white clouds and I am worried that if you add too many fish too quickly you'll have a nitrite problem. You shouldn't really have got any fish at all until nitrite was zero.