# 7 gallon and 15 gallon woes



## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

I've come a long way in 6 months - killed a lot of fish too... here are my mistakes and current problems...
(Skip to bold writing to see questions I really would like answered)

We got the 7 gallon "starter" tank for some tiny goldfish with a thought on upgrading later... at that point, I had no idea what a nitrogen cycle was and the store just let me walk out with my purchases. I had a tank previously that didn't have any of the problems of starting out... an outdoor 15,000 liter concrete irrigation tank that was self-feeding (attracting mosquitoes) but that's a different world away...

The fish survived - except for the runt and started growing - all was fine until I started reading on what size tank I should have...

So, I come home with a 15 gallon tank for the goldfish and my darling wife insists that the tank must be populated with something other than a couple of goldfish... Anyway, I set up the tank and move the old filter to the new tank to kick-start the nitrogen cycle with a bit of food... in short, after 7 days the cycle was established and doing well, the goldfish loved it and the new filter had bacteria.. marvellous and read for tropical fish.

In those 7 days, we managed to get 2 neons, 2 rummynose tetras and 2 danios into the 7 gallon. Only the tetras survived the first 24 hours.

Took the goldfish back to a better LFS that's been giving me good advice overall, transfered the neons to the big tank and boosted neon numbers to 7.

A week later, I add 4 Julii Cories and 2 pandas (One injured from the shop) and a powder blue dwarf gourami - all fine to date. 

Add in plants and DIY CO2 system - all fine.

1 week after that, we inherited another 10 neons and 7 pink danios (could be glo-fish) We get 2x12 hour power outages and the danios get sick, I get a few cases of ich... 7 danios drop to 1 - which the dwarf gourami decided to bite the head off... all 24 remaining fish are seem 100% although the gourami seems to be rubbing his eyes on the glass all day long.

I think what happened was that the CO2 dropped my pH drastically with the filter and air curtain without power but this was a bit of a freak on one weekend - I'm worried about the gourami's tendency though...

This tank is now missing a bit of colour at the top level. The CO2 is binding ALL the nitrates into the plants as they are growing 2cm/day and I've yet to get a nitrate reading other than zero.

*What would you suggest for the upper reaches?*

In the 7 gallon, I've decide to try male guppies reading that 3 should be OK for a tank that small... out of 7 guppies, maintaining their numbers at 3, 1-2 die every week. Water parameters always check out OK... I figure I need to pay more attention...

I came back with 2 splendid specimens today, acclimatized them and set them loose only to find that they are being extremely territorial and nipping tails. I eventually removed the one being picked on most and have now taken a plastic tub, made some holes in it and am keeping him isolated from the other 2... now they have started as well... but not as bad. I think that the males have been killing each other while I'm at work...

*Has this being killing my guppies?
Can I place the weaker guppies in the tank with the gourami (Who bit the heads off the danios?
What do you suggest I do with the smaller tank?*

Thanks for reading... hopefully you can help me avoid some more mistakes!

Chris


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## congar15 (Dec 6, 2011)

I don't personally like gouramis, they're too fragile, and they have a bit of an attitude. If your gourami really did bite off the head of a danio, then guppies may not all survive. Also with the 7g I'd suggest either a betta and some shrimp or maybe 4-5 medium sized tetras. PM me with any more questions or just post them here.


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## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

congar15 said:


> I don't personally like gouramis, they're too fragile, and they have a bit of an attitude. If your gourami really did bite off the head of a danio, then guppies may not all survive. Also with the 7g I'd suggest either a betta and some shrimp or maybe 4-5 medium sized tetras. PM me with any more questions or just post them here.


This dwarf gourami is a bit of a card... I saw him bullying two of the weaker danios. I didn't witness the last danio losing it's head but there's only one mouth big enough...

My biggest killer to date is the smallest male guppy. If my water parameters check out, and they usually do, he's responsible for 4 deaths so far compared with 3 for the gourami...

Have a smaller tank with an "odd" number of gallons? [Archive] - Aquaria Central
is the post responsible for my male guppies dying - maybe I should get a honey gourami for this tank.... (was told he'll get bored pretty quickly...)
cb


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

clep.berry said:


> 1. a 15 gallon tank...all 24 remaining fish are seem 100% although the gourami seems to be rubbing his eyes on the glass all day long.
> 2. In the 7 gallon, I've decide to try male guppies reading that 3 should be OK for a tank that small... out of 7 guppies, maintaining their numbers at 3, 1-2 die every week [what] has this being killing my guppies?
> 3. Can I place the weaker guppies in the tank with the gourami (Who bit the heads off the danios?
> 4. What do you suggest I do with the smaller tank?


Chris,

First off, welcome to the hobby, albeit by trial and fire. Second off, I'm mad at you.

1. 24 fish in a 15 gallon, let alone one is a dwarf gourami? WAY too overcrowded, resulting in volatile water conditions, aggressive behavior as the more territorial fish try and make room for their overinflated egos, and an elevated propensity for disease due to stress and said volatile water conditions. You will continue to experience deaths if you try and maintain this population.
2. Same as above. You're losing guppies because you're trying to put 7 guppies in 7 gallons of water, and trying to put multiple males in at that.
3. If you buy a 20 gallon tank, maybe. The gourami will continue to be a pain so long as he is feeling cramped.
4. Put 3 guppies in there, preferably all females or one male and two females (if you want LOTS of babies), or keep it running as a spare tank in the event that your main tank needs to re-home some of its inhabitants.

Yes, you can elevate the populations with the addition of live plants, but 24 fish in a 15 gallon is still overkill if you ask me. Sorry to break it to you.

And you're right - the CO2 injection during a power outage probably gassed your fish. Not the injection in an of itself - the inability for the plants to use the CO2 due to no light, and their subsequent generation of CO2 by metabolizing sugars was what gassed your fish.

Hope things turn out alright for you and your fish! And as always, we're here to answer any other questions and provide feedback.


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## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

Gizmo said:


> Chris,
> 
> First off, welcome to the hobby, albeit by trial and fire. Second off, I'm mad at you.
> 
> 1. 24 fish in a 15 gallon, let alone one is a dwarf gourami? WAY too overcrowded, resulting in volatile water conditions, aggressive behavior as the more territorial fish try and make room for their overinflated egos, and an elevated propensity for disease due to stress and said volatile water conditions. You will continue to experience deaths if you try and maintain this population.


The 17 Neons - 7 were due to leave but I had a case if Ich - thus I'm waiting 2 weeks for the all clear.



Gizmo said:


> 2. Same as above. You're losing guppies because you're trying to put 7 guppies in 7 gallons of water, and trying to put multiple males in at that.


No. 3 male guppies in 7 gallons. 


Gizmo said:


> 3. If you buy a 20 gallon tank, maybe. The gourami will continue to be a pain so long as he is feeling cramped.
> 
> 
> 4. Put 3 guppies in there, preferably all females or one male and two females (if you want LOTS of babies), or keep it running as a spare tank in the event that your main tank needs to re-home some of its inhabitants.
> ...



I'm planning on switching the guppies and 7 neons to see if there's less aggression... your thoughts...

cb


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## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

Just an update...
Now have 7 neons and a guppy in the 7 gallon (Compared to the original 2 goldfish, this seems crowded but more stable.

In the 15g tank:
6 corys
1 dwarf gourami
10 neons
2 guppies

All seem to be loving it and the guppies have calmed down...
cb


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## congar15 (Dec 6, 2011)

Good job. Keep up with water changes and that setup should be ok.


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