# First occupants of my 27g tank



## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

Now that my 27g tank is setup, I have added my first occupants, which were kindly given to me for free by a friend.


2 Angel fish. Not sure of the specific species, maybe someone can clarify that for me. I like them, they're fairly small, and love to hog the camera!


3 Guppies. 2 Females, 1 Male. I expect them to breed like wildfire.


I'm really not sure what these are, but I have 2 of them. My friend says that these breed like Guppies too.

Thats all I have so far. My first purchase, will most likely be a Betta of some form or another, probably a male and a female. If the male hassles the Guppies, I'll take the Guppies to the LFS and trade them.
I'll be getting some bottom dwellers too. 2 Corys, 2 Plecs, and possibly a couple of Shrimp.
I also love the red tailed sharks, so I will definately be getting one of those too.

/Edit: Images are not showing for some reason. At least for me. Not sure why that is...


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Two angelfish in a 27g may be too much. The guppies WILL breed like mad, as will any other livebearer BUT the angelfish will eat the fry. And i would not add both a male and female betta. One or the other but not both


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

the angel are very small. probably about an inch in height. I will most likely just get a male betta for now, but I plan on breeding them in future, so I will most likely buy a smaller tank for them. I have decided to give the guppies to a friend who has an all guppie wall tank. This will avoid any conflict between the male guppies and the male betta.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

Heres the general look of my tank so far. Im getting some java moss to attach to the bogwood today.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I realize the angels are small now, but they will grow and need a lot of space. If they would both be males they will then fight and possibly hurt or kill each other. I have 7 juvie angels in my 75g tank right now, and when they are full grown there is a very realistic possibility of having to rehome 3, due to space constraints and fighting issues.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

well they are both over a year old now, they've been this size for many months now, my friend gave them to me because she believe they were picking on her guppies. turns out it was her ruby sharks.

newest additions:

2 spotted plecs


2 albino corys


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I think they should be bigger than that at a year old...and if i'm being completely honest, they do not look to be in that great of shape.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

The juvie angles I have now, are only maybe 3 months old and are almost as big as yours. Something is not right there.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Those angels look pretty stunted to me.Also the scales of the first seem to be sticking out?


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

one of them is in pretty bad nick yeah, thats why I have them now. They were among the fish that were being picked on by the ruby sharks my friend had. She was going to flush them, and I couldn't allow her to do that.

They are definately around a year old now. They've been that size for at least 3 months now.

I dunno why, but I love them, and that is very strange because im not particularly fond of angel fish... not the big silver ones anyway, but these little black ones, I love em!


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I hope you are able to nurse them back, they would be very beautiful at the right size. If they do start growing again (which i hope they do) they will outgrow your tank. If they dont, they are stunted and will eventually die because of it.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

well all I can do is watch them, and feed them, if they do grow big, I will most likely have to take them to my LFS and trade them for something else, which would be a shame really because I really quite like them.

What do you mean by stunted? is there a reason why this could happen?


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

yes, whatever tank they were kept in prior to you getting them was too small. They only grew in accordance to the space they were alotted, which is a deadly thing for a fish as their organs will continue to grow even though their skeletons have stopped.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

they were kept in a 10g orb tank. Far too small, I know. She has a 27g like mine, but it has 2 fully grown silver angels, which frequently breed in it, so they would most likely kill the black ones.

I've just attached some java moss to the bogwood in my tank, but in the past 2 hours or so, i've noticed the water has become quite cloudy. Is it just disturbed sand (its very fine) or could something else cause it?


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

They are most def. stunted then, a 10 gal isnt appropriate for even 1/2 and angel lol. Is your tank cycled?


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

im not too sure, I don't have a testing kit to find out (short on cash)
I'll see what its like tomorrow, and if it looks any worse, I'll try and get a testing kit and find out what the ammonia/nitrite levels are like


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

well wait, has teh tank been set up for a while or did you set it up and put fish in immediately? If you did that, then it's not cycled and you are goin to need frequent water changes to avoid huge ammonia spikes


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

the tank has been running for about a week before I put any fish in it.

I think I did 2 50% water changes in that time.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

Your tank is going through its cycle right now. Even though you ran the tank for a week before you put anything in it does not mean that there was any source of ammonia to start the cycle. Now that you have fish in the tank you will start to see ammonia and nitrite spikes and water changes will be necessary to keep the fish alive.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

well, the tank has had fish in it for about 2 days now. When do you think I should do a water change, and how much?


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## Suzanne (Jun 10, 2011)

You should really get a good (liquid) test kit that tests at least ammonia, nitrate, and nitrate as soon as you possibly can. That will be how you'll know when and how much water to change. They're not super cheap (API around $25-$30), but worth the lives of your fish.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

You probably need to do at least a 50% water change a week and when you get ammonia and nitrite spikes to keep them under control. And like Suzanne said investing in a kit is to your advantage. The cycle will probably take 6 - 8 weeks.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

50% a week is no problem. Should I dechlorinate each bucket of water before I put it into the tank? or should I put the water in, and then add dechlor according to the amount of water I added?


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

Ok i've bought the API test kit. Im going to need it anyway, so i may aswell part with the money


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## Marci99205 (Dec 13, 2011)

Always de-chlorinate before you put the water in... otherwise the chlorine will kill the good bacteria


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

ok, water testing kit on its way, along with a new 2 outlet air pump and a nice underwater volcano 

2 new occupants:


Gorgeous red/purple male betta. He cost me £3.25 from my LFS. The guy I got him from keeps his bettas in the big tanks where they can swim freely, 1 per tank ofc. 
Theres another store just across the road that sells male bettas for £10, and he keeps his in tiny little box tanks no bigger than 5"x5" It's really sad to see such beatiful creatures kept like that...


Young ruby shark, I believe cost me £2.50. Always loved these little guys. Love the way their whiskers twitch really fast when looking for food.


Got some Amazon sword plants. 3 of them scattered around the tank. I originally wanted Java fern aswel, but the guy at my LFS didn't have any, so I had to make do with the swords. Not sure what the plant is just to the right of it, but I got 4 of those too. £1 for the 3 amazon swords, and £1 for the other plants.


Cats are already chasing the corys around the bottom of the tank


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

Tank looks like its starting to clear up now. Definately doesn't look as cloudy as it has done the past couple of days. My test kit should hopefully come tomorrow.

from what ive read, it seems like the most likely cause of the clouding is a bacteria bloom, which should apparently clear up over time.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The nitrogen cycle doesn't start until you add fish or some other source of ammonia. The week without fish really meant nothing toward the cycle to complete. I hope that you have a test kit. Stop adding fish. The more you add, the more chance you risk killing them due to what they have to go through still. You should read up on the nitrogen cycle to better understand.

Just comparing the Angels to other things in your pics I would say they are about 3", but very hard to believe they are 1yrd old. Mine are 5-6" and just over 1yr old. Hard to believe they were stunted that bad. Neither one of them look like they are in good health.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

i fully understand the nitrogen cycle. Thats why I've went ahead and bought a test kit. Yes it's a shame the angels are in the state that they are in, but hopefully I can get them back to good health.

It's amazing to think how many people have aquariums, but know nothing about the nitrogen cycle, yet they never seem to have any problems with fish dying and whatnot. All they know is "let the tank run for a couple of days before adding fish"
I used to be one of those people a number of years ago when I was younger, but i'm now the kind of person that likes to research everything I do thoroughly, so that I don't make any big mistakes.
Thats why I registered on this forum.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

I think you really should have waited to get through the cycle prior to adding more fish. Especially since the health of the angels is already compromised, bringing in new fish that may potentially carry something could be the end of them and fast.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

yes, I guess I did add the fish a little too fast. I don't have a lot of money, so i suppose I just wanted to add some more fish while I did actually have some spare money. Everything seems fine so far, but I will of course keep a close eye on everything, and test the water as soon as I get my test kit.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Watch out for red gills and gasping that may indicate ammonia poisoning as your tank is just beginning the nitrogen cycle and teh ammonia is probably spiking. If you notice these actions then you *need* to do a water change.


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

Ok I got my test kit this morning and these are my water readings. I've provided pics, so that you can judge for yourself.

ph = 7.2?


Ammonia = 0.50ppm?


Nitrite = 0 - 0.25ppm?


Nitrate - 5.0ppm?


My guess is that a 50% water change will improve these results, as my ph looks ok to me, but ammonia and Nitrate seems a tad high.

The water looks visably clearer this morning too, so im assuming the bacteria in the water is beginning to calm down.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

yes your tank is def. cycling. Be prepared for those ammonia readings to go even higher, then for the nitrates to jump. I wouldnt worry about the pH


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## AndehX (Jan 14, 2012)

well thank you for the help Summer, I'll do a water change over the weekend, and update this thread if I encounter any issues.


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

good luck


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