my first 2 fish added

[thatreefguy22]

My 20 gallon long tank has done it's initial cycle. 3 turbo snails were added and they cleaned up the little bit of algae that had started.

Last week, I re-positioned the tank in my room, and added boards under the tank. and this past weekend I got my sump running, with just activated carbon from kent brand. and placed my 2 blue filters from the HOB I had going for the first month, in there as well.

and then this past sunday, I got my 2 first fish, they are clownfish. at the lfs, they looked as if they had been already a pair. Because 1 was larger, and 1 was smaller and in brighter color. and stuck by eachother. brought them home, and floated the bag in the water for 30 mins. and released them. They didn't react as much as I thought they would...especially it being a new tank..whoa.
but 6 hours in me and a friend watched them...they acted a bit strange...by going to the sand bed and swimming backwards. then stopped and went back into the open water.
now, they just occasionally go from the 2 back corners of the tank and hanging out there. or just swimming in the open spot of the tank. sometimes darting for a few seconds.
lights on, more active, lights off, more relaxed in very few spots of the tank.

I fed them frozen mysis, on monday 3pm, and tuesday 10am after work.
and tonight, when I went to go grab water sample to test...they were at the surface as if they thought I was feeding them and got disappointed and looked at me...and left and came back thinking I was getting their food.
will feed them soon though

But here are my tests..and the tank has been at 72F because I only have 1 heater at the moment but I dialed it up more..i'm using the other one for the 5gal bucket of freshly mixed saltwater for my next water change..which will be a 20% (probably will get a brute can in the future and a few cheap pumps and heaters to prepare in larger amounts of water.)

Ammonia 0-0.05ppm(api)
nitrite 0ppm (api)
nitrate 20ppm (api)
pH 8.1 (api)
sg 1.024
calcium 470ppm
magnesium 1140ppm
alkalinity 10.5dKH


and I don't know if I mentioned..I am watching the tank closely because I didn't quaratine these guys..for 2 reasons..I didn't have a extra tank prepared for it...and these guy looked pretty dang healthy to my knowledge.
They were active, together, and looked at me when I went to the tank.
Their physical appearance didn't look nasty, no scratches, eyes looked good, no spots. ya know, they looked good. But in the future...soon actually, I am getting a tank I saw there for cheap and setting that up as my quarantine.

But, I have a question..What should I begin to look for If I think there might be a problem? ..because nothing is always perfect.

here's a link to the short video I did along with this post, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfYfWc6F08U&edit=vd thank you in advance!!

 

[shifty51008]

Congrats on the new fish, clowns have a great personality.

I would deff try to get the temp up to around 79-80.

Things to look for is white patches, white specks that look like salt, and scratching against the rocks.

And last, next time when you intoduce a new fish acclimate them to your water by adding a cup of your water to the bag every 20 min or so. Dont just temp acclimate them as your sg leevels can be way diffrent than the stores. And never add water from the fish store to your tank.

 

[thatreefguy22]

Congrats on the new fish, clowns have a great personality.

I would deff try to get the temp up to around 79-80.

Things to look for is white patches, white specks that look like salt, and scratching against the rocks.

And last, next time when you intoduce a new fish acclimate them to your water by adding a cup of your water to the bag every 20 min or so. Dont just temp acclimate them as your sg leevels can be way diffrent than the stores. And never add water from the fish store to your tank.

The temp is going up slowly. it went up 2 degrees F in the past 1 and 30 minutes.
and so far, they have not scratched on the rocks(well, during the times I am able to observe them.) occasionally, they will swim along side the glass. they do not rub on it, though.
and no whitespots/ich have been spoted and it has been 3 days.
But what I'm thinking is just going to pick up another tank for low cost and set that up..would it be safe to add them for further observations? so that way If something does pop up..I know it's not in my main tank.

Also, thanks for that acclimation tip!! :celeb2:

 

[thatreefguy22]

forgot to mention...the smaller clown will be by the larger one...and pick at it..and then the bigger clown wiggles for a second. strange. haha :clown:

 

[FTDelta]

A simple 10 gallon QT tank set-up doesn't have to be expensive. All you need is a heater, hood, PVC pipe for hidy places and a simple airstone or HOB filter. Never trust your LFS word their fish are healthy. You can be at risk of introducing diseases from his tank to yours. It's better to be safe than sorry to QT all new fish.

 

[thatreefguy22]

A simple 10 gallon QT tank set-up doesn't have to be expensive. All you need is a heater, hood, PVC pipe for hidy places and a simple airstone or HOB filter. Never trust your LFS word their fish are healthy. You can be at risk of introducing diseases from his tank to yours. It's better to be safe than sorry to QT all new fish.

you think it's too late to set one up?

 

[shifty51008]

it's never to late to set one up, unless you already have fish dying from some kind of disease or parasite. it is a very good way to make sure your tank stays pest free.

 

[thatreefguy22]

it's never to late to set one up, unless you already have fish dying from some kind of disease or parasite. it is a very good way to make sure your tank stays pest free.

yeah, I went out when I had the extra time from doing things for thanksgiving, I stopped for a few and got a 9$ 10 gallon tank. and 2 nets. I'll set that up tonight now that I'm back at my apartment.
should I keep this tank set up just like my main tank? or use it only when needed?...makes sense to me to keep it up. saves time in the future.

 

[shifty51008]

If you have the space then i would keep it setup, otherwise you can tear it down but put a filter in the main tank to get seeded for when you set it up again.

 

[thatreefguy22]

If you have the space then i would keep it setup, otherwise you can tear it down but put a filter in the main tank to get seeded for when you set it up again.

Got it!