Re: Need some help after fishes died

Bummer about the loss of the livestock so soon after starting this
wonderful hobby/obsesion.  The other posters are giving you some good
information.  The fish were poisoned by 1)their own wastes 2)pollution
from over feeding and also inappropriate fish for the conditions. 
Goldfish are rather messy creatures, and prefer unheated waters. 
Angels get too big for a little eclipse three, and plecos get WAY too
big, Like family dinner sized with some species.  And they are not
really bottom feeders, but algea/plant eaters.

When you start that tank up again, get 2 or 3 ONLY hardy fish.  Zebra
Danio's are active, attractive and rather tough.  I've cycled many
tanks with 'em, and keep em around afterwards just cause I like 'em.
Guppies are decent as well, and colorfull.  They are prolific breeders
though, and two quickly turn into too many. But cannibalism can help
keep the numbers in check.

In a nutshell, you want to test pH and Nitrates to determine endpoint
of cycling the tank.  What happens is bacteria will colonize the wheel
in the eclipse top and break down ammonia to Nitrite, and then on to
Nitrate.  You can speed this up some by innoculating the tank with a
small measure of gravel from an established tank, but it will happen
on its own anyway.  Time frame is roughly 30 days or so.

Once established, the limitation with your little eclipse 3 is that it
is little, like 3 gallons.  Changes in water quailty will happen
QUICKLY, so you need to keep on top of things.  Once you have some
tests kits, get a little notebook and record the readings.  This will
allow you to see trends as they happen, learn and keep the fish alive.

Were I setting up such a tank, I'd stock it as follows (my own
preference)

1 pr of platies.  Live bearers like guppies, but a bit more colorfull.
 Used to cycle the tank.

Once the tank has cycled, I'd put in either:

2 corycats (not one, they like groups, and one will be lonely)

OR

2 or 3 Danios, Zebra or Lepaard.  Active nad attractive.

OR

3 0r 4 White cloud mountain minnows Smaller, active fish, VERY pretty.

Thats it.  No gold fish, no plecos.

Bigger tanks offer more choices of course, and also permit the
opportunity to grow plants.  Plants are GREAT at keeping things in
balance.  I have a 29 gal that is addmittly over stocked, but has no
problems since the plants grow like a jungle and have to be weeded out
every two weeks or so.  I have in this tank:

9 Tetras (Neon and Cardinal)
3 White clouds
3 Red wag Platys
1 Zebra Danio (left over from cycleing)
2 Blue Rams
8 Otocylis (small sucker catfish, like plecos)
2 Corydorus catfish (had 3, one died :( )
1 Bristle nose Pleco (small, they don't get over 4 inches)
11 or so Amano Shrimp
---
40+ 'fish'  I can keep this since I have a mix of slow and fast
growing plants, nine species total that keep water chemistry under
control, and I change out 30% every two weeks, and the tank is well
seasoned, with a good bacterail population in the Eclipse hood and the
fish were added slowly over time.

Sorry to be so long winded, but I *DID* say that this can be an
obsession. :)



[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Javier) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Connor Maltsberger) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> > sorry to hear about your fish... happens every-so-often, tho.
> > 
> > basically what happened, is that your fish were poisoned, I think,
> > because the small aquarium was overstocked before the bacteria that
> > transfers their wastes was fully established.  You can read more about
> > that here
> > 
> > http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html
> > 
> > If you decide to get more fish, empty out ALL the water from your
> > aquarium, add more treated water and let it filter for a few days,
> > then go and buy some more resiliant fish, angelfish are not suitable
> > to start a new tank 'cycling' (see article above).  I have used danios
> > or mollies when cycling and have had great luck with them.
> > 
> > Also, maybe try and find a new fish store with a more knowledgable
> > staff that can help you out with things...
> > 
> > Hope that helps a little,
> > 
> > Connor
> 
> I think my bottom feeder was a pleco. Well thanks for your advise and
> information. I didn't know they, both species, could grow so large.
> I'm gonna test my water when I buy some kits and see if I get some
> fishes from a new store....guess i'll need a phone book lol.I might
> get a 10 Gal tank....though i have to measure my table to see if it'll
> hold it. I'll keep you guys posted on what happens