The Puffer Forum

Too much action, not enough planning. You're going to need to take control of the situation quickly if you want things to improve.

First, Water changes, water changes, water changes. Say it with me now. Like lisa said, do an 80% right away and keep up with 50% or more daily for a while. The tank is still cycling and is pretty toxic to the fish. The neon could have easily succumbed to the poor water quality. A couple weeks without a water change in an establishing tank is pretty rough.

Second, stop adding unnecessary chemicals. The only things that should be going into that tank right now is water conditioner (preferably prime), 1 tablespoon of salt/5 gallons, and the recommended dosage of melafix and pimafix. No other medications for now.

If you can get some biospira, use it asap. Follow the directions closely.

And stop changing all the filter media so frequently. A decent aquaclear HOB would probably be a good idea and cheaper in the long run. You could then use a combination of sponge, floss and biomax to make the most of it. Right now it seems liek any bacteria that establish themselves are being discarded.

Try and maintain a steady temp in the 78-80 range. And add an airstone temporarily if you have one handy.

The situation is bad, but it's not hopeless.

Thanks for moving this over. I gotta say thanks for the help. Ill take over now kevin. okay I called amazonia and they said they dont have any in stock right now. sorry about changin the bags, i just wanted a really clean tank. Im going to try and add an airstone tonight. So i added about 4 teaspoons, that means just about 1 table spoon has been added right? i think dolly is pregnant too. shes been sittin in her hole she built for awhile now. im worried. the snail is boring little guy that just sits and eventually moves around. the other neon is less active without the other one. i might be able to do another water change tomorrow. do i really need to do 80 percent everday now?

80% to start with and 50% daily for a while afterwards. It can be a chore, but it's the only way to dilute and remove the toxic organics in the water during a cycle.

I highly recommend you seek out some bio-spira to cycle the tank instantly. Then you won't have to do as many water changes. Just one 80% water change before adding the bio-spira to the filter, and then another 50% change 2 or 3 days later. After that you can do normal 40-50% water changes once a week.

Molly died while doing a WC. He returned snail. For some reason DRanger can't log on to the site anymore. He can't even see it. It says forbidden domain or something. Hes going to try to start a platy tank next, you know where he got the inspiration . He got bio-spira at the last second too, poor molly. R.I.P. Dolly..

That's too bad.

This time you'll know to plan ahead and take your time, and you'll know what needs to be done to keep it running smoothly.

As for platties... You can't blame me! :p

Decide if you want to bother with fry before you commit. If given a healthy tank, they will multiply and you'll need a place to put them. You can either go with all one gender, or have a mix and deal with the fry in some way, meaning selling them, or killing them.

If you go with a mix, try to get more females than males to limit and spread out aggression, because the males will chase the females relentlessly, and will chase any other male that gets too close.

good luck