# new 72g bow tank, hope all my fish survive



## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

i had just discovered this board and wasnt aware of the intricacy of setting up a new tank. basically all i did was add water, the chlorine remover, and had let it run thru a new AquaClear 110 filter for a day. On Wed, I added 6 Koi's I already had. Thursday, a new goldfish and a very small 1" fantail. Saturday, I added another Koi, 4 Corys, 1 rubberlip pleco, and another 3" Pleco.

All total:
7 Koi's
2 goldfish
4 Cory
1 rubber pleco
1 regular pleco









I'm just starting to read here to learn more about properly setting up an aquarium. Any quick and much needed suggestions?


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

First you should read about cycling your tank. You can start with this thread

http://www.fishforums.com/forum/beg...posting-if-your-fish-dying-your-new-tank.html

You are very overstocked for a brand new tank. You will probably have to do a lot of water changes to control buildup of ammonia and nitrite while it goes through cycling. If you don't have a test kit, you should invest in one.

Also, are you sure you have 7 koi? Koi are pond fish and grow to be a few feet long. I would suggest re-homing them if they are koi. Even if they're comet or common goldfish, you have way too many for the size of your tank. Goldfish require around at least 15-20 gallons per mature fish.

In addition, I would not suggest mixing tropical fish with goldfish. Tropicals require warmer temperatures than goldfish. Also plecos aren't good to mix with fancy goldfish like your fantails, they will suck the slimecoat off of slow moving goldfish.


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

i'm at work right now, but will double check the ID of each fish as the majority of them was given to me. i'm very new to this.

now i'm quite certain that i'm mistaken. Several are definitely Comets. the white one i bought today is definitely a Koi though.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

koi have whiskers, goldfish don't. Both get big. Do you see a pond in your future?


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

Had a pond before, but we covered it up years ago. My uncle has one, so I can possibly give some of the fishes to him if it boils to that.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Good to have a plan. Usually my suggestion is to take the pond fish back while you can and get some aquarium-sized fish as koi can grow a meter long and live for 200 (really) years. Everyone here has had a goldfish in a tank for awhile, the lucky ones make it to 6-8" and go to a pond. You generally don't want a fish bigger than 12" in a 12" wide tank. Fish really do like to turn around without having to bend or tilt. 

Ok generic new tank (with fish) recommendations:

Use a water conditioner that "detoxifies ammonia and nitrite" such as SeaChem's Prime while you are cycling as this will help fish survive high ammonia or nitrite and consider a product the speeds up the cycling process by introducing the nitrogen cycle bacteria or "seeding" the filter with filter media from someone else's established tank. Don't be timid with water changes. Always add the dechlor first, then the water and match the temperature to the water the fish are in. Don't replace the filter cartridge if the filter only has one cartridge (and no bio-wheel or sponge), rinse it in the water you are taking out of the tank. Add a second filter if you can. All your "biological" filter is in the filter media, so if you toss it, you start over. Of course the directions say to change it once a month, so just as your cycle is nearing completion...


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## m4d1 (Jan 23, 2010)

Dont feel bad about what you did just make sure you do what you need to do now  I didn't know anything about cycling until like three months ago and I didn't do it on purpose i was just looking up general info on larger tanks since i've never had anything but small tanks with goldfish and betta. But up until this time I never cylced my tank and I honestly have no idea how my betta is still alive(he's going on 5 years). Every time i cleaned his tank I would replace all the water(except for what I scooped up in a bag that i left him sittin in while i cleaned) and would replace the filter. I even cleaned the plants and rocks off. Buts he's still alive, his name is Sushi btw. I didn't do any of that on purpose I just didn't know any better -.-


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## Evil Toy Maker (Jan 23, 2010)

Your tank looks awesome the way you set it up. Are those live plants?
I just recently got the exact same tank for my birthday ( I originally asked for a 35 Hex tank but this one works  ). No fish yet as we are doing the fishless cycling first.


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

After a detailed observation and learning more about these fish, looks like what I have is

4 Butterfly Koi(4-5" body)
1 Shubunkin goldfish(4-5" body)
2 Comets(4-6")
1 Common goldfish(3-4")
1 Fantail goldfish(1")
4 Corys
1 Rubber Pleco
1 Pleco

I checked the ammonia level this morning and its reading 0. I'll do some more ammonia testing this week, and then perform a 30% WC with the Prime at 10 days(sooner if I run into ammonia problems). (how does this sound?)

The tank dimensions are 48 3/4" x 18"(W) x 23"(H), with the front being oval. I dont have any live plants, thats all the background picture). sorry for the fuzzy cell ph picture.


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

Ammonia at 0 is good. I would suggest getting a test kit that also measures nitrite, nitrate and pH (the API freshwater master kit is a good one) if you don't already have those.


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

pinetree said:


> Ammonia at 0 is good. I would suggest getting a test kit that also measures nitrite, nitrate and pH (the API freshwater master kit is a good one) if you don't already have those.


That was done with the strip test.

I work in the hospital lab and brought some of my tank water with me to work today. My ammonia is at 0.063ppm(mg/dl), pH 8.0, nitrite is less than 0.05mg/dl or negative(0.05 is the lowest the dipstick can detect). This is done with chemistry analyzers and on day 4 with fish in the tank.

Actually if I can get a hold of some of the Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria, i can grow colonies of them on blood plates in the bacti lab in a couple of days and then dump them in the tank. This could possibly complete cycling process in a matter of 3-4 days.


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## Cam (Nov 9, 2009)

Looks like a background, not live plants LOLOL


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

Took some pics this morning. I think this is what I have.

4 Butterfly koi (3-4" body)
1 Shubunkin goldfish (3-4" body)
2 Sarasa comet (4-5")
1 Common goldfish(3")
1 Fantail goldfish (white 1")
4 cory
1 rubber pleco
1 pleco


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

I have a few questions. Can someone verify on that last pic from left to right, Sarasa Comet/Shubunkin goldfish/common goldfish?

Also 3 of my Koi's look VERY SICK. the scale has deteriorated real badly. These were given to me. The only healthy Koi I have is the all white one that I bought the other day.
I guess in time I will try to give the 3 sick koi's away to someone with a pond.


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

I don't know enough about goldfish and koi diseases to diagnose your fish, but the koi definitely have something going on with their scales. Are they swimming normally or gasping for air?

When you received the koi did they already look like that or has that happened since you added them to your tank?

I would suggest doing frequent partial water changes while your tank is cycling to control the ammonia, nitrite and nitrates. Are you able to do daily water tests to check the levels of these toxins?


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

I've been checking everything and will do the water changes.

The koi was already like that. Besides the imperfections of the scales, nothing appears wrong with the them. They swim freely and feed just fine.


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

once my tank is properly cycled, i'll do away with the 3 Koi's with bad scale and replace them with 3 3-4" Butterfly Koi's.


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## pinetree (Nov 29, 2009)

Here are two websites that are very helpful with information about goldfish and koi. They can probably identify your goldfish and diagnose/suggest treatment for your sick koi:

http://www.koivet.com/koivet/

http://thegab.org/

I would suggest not replacing your existing koi with more koi once you have rehomed the ones you have. Koi are pond fish and grow to be several feet long.


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## Evil Toy Maker (Jan 23, 2010)

Cam said:


> Looks like a background, not live plants LOLOL


I see that now.  It's going to take me about a month or less than, to get mine fully set up. I'll post pics up when I do.


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## geaux xman (Jan 24, 2010)

i just gave away my 2 Sarassa Comets and 2 of the Koi's with horrible scale.


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## Toshogu (Apr 24, 2009)

Nice fish, but make sure to stay up on the waterchanges.


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