New Fish Tank

Did you cycle the tank? Looks a little murky, might wanna do a couple water changes to clear it up. Yabbies and fish aren't a good mix, either rehome the yabby or the fish. What kind of fish are the feeder fish? If they're goldfish, that tank won't be big enough in the long run, goldies get big!

@DaLilFishie

1. The water is clear now.
2. My Yabbie died this morning.
3. You told me that the feeder fish were a type of Gudgeon.
Any more questions?

@Jake1508 any idea how the yabby died? they're pretty hardy, not normal for them to just drop dead like that. have you tested ammonia/nitrates recently? is the tank cycled? how big is the tank (in litres/gallons)? how long has the tank been set up for? what kind of filtration do you have on the tank? any temp control?

@DaLilFishie


1. The yabbie escaped
2.no
3.yes
4.10 gallon
5. As of today 2 days
6.just a normal filter
7. They don’t need it.

Any more questions?

@Jake1508 you say the tank is cycled, but you also say it's been set up for two days? Something isn't adding up. Tanks take anywhere between 3 weeks and four months to cycle. Using pre-cycled filter media will speed it up, but you're never going to be able to cycle a tank in 2 days. Did you use any of those products that supposedly 'instantly cycle your tank'? They're a big scam, and they don't work (The beneficial bacteria in those products is long dead by the time it gets onto the shelf). If you test your ammonia, it'll be sky high. No wonder your yabby escaped, it would have been trying to find another body of water with better conditions. You'll have to do a fish-in cycle, but it'll be very stressful on the fish. The idea is to grow bacteria in the filter that eat ammonia (very toxic to fish and invertebrates) and turn it into nitrite (still toxic, but less so), and then into nitrate (only toxic in large amounts). You'll need an ammonia and nitrate test kit. Do a 30-50% water change every day (use a good quality water conditioner like Seachem Prime, it may be a bit pricey but it's really good stuff, and it's very strong so you won't need much (5ml treats 200L!!), so it'll be cheaper in the long run). Test every day for ammonia and nitrate, once you start seeing the nitrate go up, you know you're on the right track, and you can cut the water changes to once per week. Keep up those water changes. Once the ammonia hits 0 and nitrates keep going up, you're nearly done. Once the ammonia is at 0 for 2-3 weeks, your tank is cycled. Keep doing weekly water changes, nitrates will keep going up, and is toxic in large amounts. Keep testing ammonia and nitrate, especially after you disturb the filter. Adjust your water changes to the ammonia level, if it ever gets higher than 0, start doing larger or more frequent water changes. When you clean the filter sponge (once a month is enough), do it in the water you take out in water changes, not tap water. The chlorine in the tap water will kill all the beneficial bacteria you just spent months growing, and you'll be back to square one. 'Just a normal filter' tells me nothing. Is it a motor-driven sponge filter? Air-driven sponge filter? Hang-on back filter? Undergravel filter? Also 10 gallons is too small for a yabby. Good luck with your fish!

@DaLilFishie

1. The water is clear now.
2. My family and I have owned fish for years.
3.Can’t you see the filter???
4. Again the yabby died...
5. The fish I have owned all die after a couple of years and don’t grow at all.
6. The pet shop had about 300 yabbies and hundreds of fish in a small tank but they have been there for ages.

Any more Questions?

@Jake1508 the fish die after a few years and don't grow? Something wrong there, seems like they're stunted (from lack of space, overcrowding or poor water conditions), not a good thing. There is absolutely no reason why a well cared for fish shouldn't live for 7-10 years (one of the first fish I bought, a kuhli loach I bought nearly seven years ago is still going strong, and should have another seven years left in him, I had). As for the pet store, just because they keep their fish/yabbies like that doesn't mean they are happy and healthy like that. Pet store tanks are always bad, they may appear clean, but they will invariably keep fish in too small tanks, heavily overstock their tanks and cram territorial species together (don't even get me started on how they keep feeder fish and bettas). Also don't take advice from the pet store. Either they are wrongly informed, or will willingly lie to you just to make a sale. ALWAYS DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH. And just because you've kept fish like this for years doesn't mean it's okay. The tank may be clean,Look, I just want your fish to be happy and healthy, and I know what I'm talking about. I've been keeping (and occasionally breeding) freshwater and saltwater fish for nearly seven years now. YOU NEED TO DO A FISH-IN CYCLE. YOUR FISH ARE LITERALLY BEING POISONED BY THEIR OWN WASTE. PLEASE. YOU HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY TO TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOUR PETS. Refer to my previous post for instructions.

@DaLilFishie listen,I understand that fish are your thing and that’s fine by all standards.But I don’t understand why I’m apparently killing fish that I have kept in the same tank for 17 years. Nothing has changed!. I mean they aren’t Kuhli Loaches.They are GUPPIES!!!

@DaLilFishie I can put a new picture in if you would like

Also I can’t listen to a pet shop but someone I’ve never met who is a self proclaimed fish expert!?!?!

@Jake1508 As a former fish keeper and frequenter of pet shops and aquarium stores, you really do need to do cycling on at least a semi regular basis, although at least you are having your guppy’s last a couple years, a lot of my fish only lasted just under a year, but died due to predation by an unlikely suspect (Reticulated Loach). By the sounds of it your tank is severely overstocked with guppy’s also yabbies are cold water crustaceans, definitely not suitable with tropical fish such as guppies, even if they were both tropical, the tank would be way too small for the yabby alone and it would likely predate on the guppies. Pet stores aren’t interested in the fishes welfare, it’s common to see dead or dying fish being eaten by their tank mates due to poor water conditions, infact, some stores use bad setups for this very reason, for inexperienced keepers to build a ‘model’ off of, and when the keepers fish start dying they buy more and an endless cycle repeats. It’s okay though, fishkeeping is a gruelling hobby, even community fish, everyone is bound to make mistakes and pay the price for it. The important part is learning from it, adapting and changing your set up.

@DaLilFishie The average lifespan of guppies in captivity is 2 years and guppies, like most other very small fish have almost unnoticeable growth, I think it was a little rude to attack Jake1508 using incorrect evidence, remember different species have different lifespans.