# My tetra came back to life!



## Tally943 (Jan 22, 2014)

So its that time again , cleaning the fish tank. I have always hated cleaning the fish tank , I think its 10 times worse then rabbit hutch! So tonight was the night, I did everything right , everything was going good. I had most of the water in the tank, that's when I decided to get the water chlorine in. So I go into the drawer to get it and it all spilled out!! Not one drop was left! I must have not put the cap on tight enough last time . :nonono: So, I say , What do I do? I have no choice but to go out to the store and get it. 

I get back around 20 minutes later and finally chlorinate the tank and I dump the fish in and I count 1 beta fish , 1 tetra.... wait? I had 3 tetras.... I look on the ground next to where I kept the fish in this cup and realize that 2 of the tetras jumped out... 

One of the things I have learned from the 1 fish I have caught and watching Alaska the Last Frontier is that it takes forever for fish to die. So, I put the poor 2 tetras back in the water hoping just for at least 1 to live, and sure enough , the fattest one lived! I checked back an hour later and he was just swimming around happily with the other one acting like nothing just happened! So there is a lesson for me and anyone that reads this , never give up on anything!


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## Kimberly09 (Jan 23, 2014)

Fish are super resilient! And snails too, I've found plenty of apple snails that crawled out of the tank and laying on the carpet. I plop them back in and away they go lol

I share you pains on cleaning fish tanks! I have three myself, a 72 gallon, 20 gallon and 5 gallon betta tank. Once a week I do 25-50% water changes on all of them. It was the biggest pain in the butt until I bought an Aqueon Aquarium Water Changer. Now it is so easy and I can do other things while the water is draining/filling. I NEVER take the fish out or completely take apart the tank unless I'm moving it! So much easier and better for the established tank and fish.


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## Phonetic Diabetic (Jan 23, 2014)

Tally943 said:


> I had most of the water in the tank, that's when I decided to get the water chlorine in. So I go into the drawer to get it and it all spilled out!!


 
The process is actually taking OUT the chlorine from the water. Chlorine kills fish, so the liquid you add removes chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals.

I am also all too familiar with water changes on fish tanks. I have a 75g, 55g, 29g, 20g, and 3.5g. When I came home for lunch the other day, one of my tropheus was somehow on the carpet. I have no idea how long he was down there, but I scooped him up and put him back in the tank. I went back to work and when I came home later that night, they were all alive.


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## Tauntz (Jan 23, 2014)

Hooray! Congratulations on saving your tetra! I am a retired professional fish murderer. My last was a Betta & I felt so guilty that he passed despite my best efforts. I decided I wouldn't try again unless I had someone with experience to help me besides pet store staff. I miss my Gandalf & so sorry I failed him.


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## Tally943 (Jan 23, 2014)

I went to Petsmart again today and got some more plants and a little submarine for my tank! I also got 3 more tetras , because the guy there said they should be in at least schools of 5. I do the water change ever week but I still I have completely clean the tank out every once in a while and replace some of the plants. Plus my betta was sick and I had to treat the water with this medicine and then change it when he was better. I will have to try that Aqueon Aquarium Water Changer!


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## Sweetie (Jan 23, 2014)

Never put chlorine into a tank, it will kill your fish. What you need is a dechlor, which gets rid of chlorine and chloramines. These will make your nitrates go up if they are in your tank water.


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## Imbrium (Jan 23, 2014)

Huzzah for fish reincarnation!

When I was a kid, mom had a 50 gallon or so fish tank for a while. Nala and Gaz make some horrible messes, but I'd take the rabbit pen AND the cat box over deep-cleaning a fish tank any day of the week!


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## Tally943 (Jan 23, 2014)

Sweetie said:


> Never put chlorine into a tank, it will kill your fish. What you need is a dechlor, which gets rid of chlorine and chloramines. These will make your nitrates go up if they are in your tank water.



Yes, sorry , big typo , I meant water conditioner to get the chlorine out! haha!


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## Tally943 (Jan 23, 2014)

Imbrium said:


> Huzzah for fish reincarnation!
> 
> When I was a kid, mom had a 50 gallon or so fish tank for a while. Nala and Gaz make some horrible messes, but I'd take the rabbit pen AND the cat box over deep-cleaning a fish tank any day of the week!



Patrick makes some pretty bad messes too , he LOVES to dig....:happyrabbit:


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## Nancy McClelland (Jan 24, 2014)

When I was way younger, I had 8 fish tanks--it was like having a full time job, but I loved just sitting and watching the fish. I remember when I was a child, more than 6 decades ago I had a carnival gold fish (ping pong ball toss) that kept jumping out of it's bowl, but it always came back to life and was with us for more than 10 years and several different size bowls as it grew quite large. I learned early on to keep a "lid" on it--a cover prevents jumping. Never had that problem with my pond fish.


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## Sweetie (Jan 24, 2014)

Yep goldfish get huge. They need a big tank in order to grow and be healthy.

I also don't like cleaning the fish tank, but fish tank clean means healthy fish.

@Tally943: thanks for telling me it was a typo, I didn't realize it was. I hope you have healthy fish for a very long time. Oh, there is a fish forum that can help you with your fish. It is fishforums.com, get on there and mention Angelclown sent you. That is my username, most will know me. They are really nice and helpful. They helped me when I had problems with my fish.


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## degrassi (Jan 27, 2014)

Couple questions. What exactly do you mean by "cleaning the tank" and why did you remove the fish from the tank when doing it? Oh and since you added clorinated water back into your tank before it was conditioned make sure to check on your ammonia/nitrite levels as chlorine can kill off the good bacteria. Water needs to be conditioned before adding it to the tank, or if you use a water changer hose then add the conditioner as the water is being returned is ok too. It just needs to be done quickly. 

A aquarium should never be cleaned, like removing the decorations/plants, draining the water, scrubbing the sides etc. That will kill off the good bacteria needed to maintain the nitrogen cycle. You just need to do water changes where you vacuum the gravel to suck up fish poop. If your tank is getting algae, or too much fish poop, up the water change amount and frequency. Or if algae is the issue then something isn't in balance in the tank(change lighting times, more water changes, less food, add more plants etc). 

I have 11 aquariums and it doesn't take more then an hour a week to maintain them all. I have a python water changer that hooks to the sink that makes its easier but even when I use buckets to do water changes on my smaller tanks it only takes 10-15mins. If your aquarium is grosser then cleaning a rabbit's litter box something is off with your tank.


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## Tally943 (Jan 28, 2014)

Degrassi, 

First of all I meant Conditioner not Chlorine. And, I have had tanks my whole life and my mom taught me the way to clean them , which I have always done and always have worked out fine. I take the fish out and fully clean the plants, gravel and decorations and then fill it up with new water , put the conditioner in and then the fish. I don't know about the good bacteria but isn't there bad bacteria too? I also do water changes weekly but sometimes you need to clean the entire tank. Lastly, the reason why my tank is harder to clean then the rabbit hutch is not because the tank is grosser , I just enjoy cleaning the rabbit hutch more then a tank. I know your trying to help, but I don't like the way I care for my animals being questioned, because I work very hard to care for them in the best possible way I can.


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## degrassi (Jan 28, 2014)

Geez, didn't mean to offend you. I thought this was a discussion forum were we share experiences and try to help each other.

If you want to take the best care possible of your animals might want to do a bit of research on "the Nitrogen Cycle" and how its 99% of what keeping an aquarium is. Cleaning an aquarium in the manner you describe is detrimental to the balance of your aquarium's ecosystem and can hurt your fish(ie. sends your tank into mini cycles, ammonia/nitrite levels rise, which is stressful and can kill or damage fish). Just because thats how you've been doing it, and I dont' get me wrong I used to clean the tanks the same way before I really got into fishkeeping as thats how everyone did it back in the day, but that doesn't mean its the best way for your fish. I've had most of my aquariums running for 10-15yrs straight and have never needed to "clean them out". All thats needed is water changes with a gravel vacuum to suck out the detritus and fish poop. Way easier too.

No, there isn't bad bacteria that needs to be cleaned out of the tank, unless your fish have a bacterial infection. But in that case that would be treated with antibiotics and water changes not cleaning the tank out. Or even if your tank is covered in algae you never clean out the tank. The algae means something is wrong and needs to be brought back into balance. Fix the balance(through more water changes, light, fertilizers, live plants etc) and it gets better. 

Also I was just trying to say that adding tap water to the tank before its been conditioned can kill off the good bacteria needed in the tank and potentially burn the fish. So when doing water changes the water needs to be treated in a bucket before adding it into the tank. You mentioned adding the water directly to the tank before you went to get the conditioner, so thats why I brought it up. But it all becomes a moot point if you are already killing off the bacteria by cleaning out the tank and taking the fish out.

I wasn't judging you and was just trying to help in case you weren't aware it can potentially be harmful to your fish and unnecessary. But if you are happy with your way and its working for you keep at it. I'll keep to myself next time.


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## Sweetie (Jan 28, 2014)

Algae isn't all bad. Water changes are a good thing. Adding the water before conditioning it will not harm the fish, as long as you add the conditioner after adding the water. Yes, cleaning the whole tank does send the tank into mini cycles and can harm the fish if they are not used to it. Yes, Tally943 take a look at the nitrogen cycle, it will explain a lot. A deep clean once or twice a year is a good thing, but not every month. Also Tally943 get on fishforums.com, they can help you with your tank and there are more people to help instead of just a few. Message me when/if you register, I can get you approved quickly.


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## Tally943 (Jan 29, 2014)

Alright , sorry Degrassi. I didn't mean to get offended so easily. If I do just the water changes , the tank still gets pretty dirty after a while , so I have to use a gravel vaccum? Is this a good one? : http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003T9W1AQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Hopefully this will be a lot easier for me and I will put the water in a bucket first with the conditioner before I put it in the tank. 

Sweetie, I would join another fourm but I just don't really have the time right now , maybe in the future. Thanks anyways.


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## Watermelons (Jan 29, 2014)

There are lots of fish people here that would be happy to answer your questions.
Degrassi has posted some excellent information. Nobody is bashing you or insulting your fish keeping abilities, but this forum is here to help educate people. And that is just what she has done.
Were all animal loves here and for some people that includes making sure even the smallest little fish get the best of care. 
It sounds like there is something else going on in your tank that its getting dirty after awhile and requires a full clean. Lack of a proper bacteria colony (which can happen if stuff is being cleaned fully on a regular basis) too high of a bio-load (super common) and many other issues.


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## Sweetie (Jan 29, 2014)

You're welcome Tally943. Yes that gravel vacuum will work for cleaning the gravel. If you do water changes diligently every week or two, your tank should not get very dirty, it should stay clean.


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