No such thing as a stupid question! I got myself a python vacuum (around $30 - can’t link to it from mobile but I’ll update tomorrow). I then drain as much as possible to the last inch or so, and then I use a couple towels to soak up the rest. If there’s any residual vinegar, you’ll catch it when you cycle the tank. The python also makes water changes incredibly easy - I use the tank water for my plants, or it drains directly into the nearest tub or sink so less mess!
Edit: Python Vaccum
Side note- you should look into getting your dad a Python aquarium water changer. Hooks up to your faucet and can both empty and fill the tank for you. I got my dad one because he’s got a slipped disk in his back and couldn’t carry his buckets anymore.
it’s definitely not! that would be an interesting way to do a water change though 😂 for those interested here is a (non affiliated dont worry) link to the system. i refuse to use buckets unless its my nano under 10g tanks.
Get a filter and a pump. A frogs natural habitat is not a closed system, and nature regulates all the bad stuff. Usually wild animals are hardier than the domesticated critters we put in ponds, so I would suspect something is really whack with your water parameters. Additionally, unlike fish, frogs have the luxury of hopping off to better conditions if something is wrong. Which means one of two things: the cause of death is something unrelated to your pond, or something is really, really amiss with the water.
To be safe, in a similar vein to what u/Odd_Cranberry9343 said, I would do the following:
Unless something is very wrong with your city water it’s already nearly ready. You just need the chlorine and/or chloramine out. Use this.
The real question is have you prepared your tank? The water has to be cycled. That is, it needs a colony of helpful bacteria that process the fish waste so they don’t all just die of ammonia poisoning.
Here is a guide to the cycle.
First of all, thank you for taking her in and giving her a better home!! When I was in high school I gave my betta, Jazz, to my best friend because I was moving. I was only gone for one year, but when I came back I saw his tank just sitting, abandoned, next to her driveway. Apparently he died while I was gone because *she forgot he existed and didn't feed him, clean his tank, etc. S*he didn't think to tell me about it, since "it was just a fish." I'm still bitter about that, lol.
Depressing story aside, it looks like you're doing great! It will take time for good bacteria to build up in your tank, so I recommend buying some QuickStart if you can! It just helps get the good bacteria started. Here's the link to some on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/API-Nitrifying-Aquarium-Maintains-Biological/dp/B006YG12F6
Also, it's not needed, but live plants are always a good idea! They help maintain the tank, and fish love to hide in them! My betta loves to sleep in his java fern, and in the branches of his lucky bamboo. If you're new to aquatic plants, just start with easy stuff that doesn't need additional CO2! If you want to be serious about your plants you'll have to get an O2 pump and aquatic plant fertilizer. Unfortunately I didn't do that and my first plants all died... It was a huge waste of money.
i bet she’d like something like this. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00168A6DQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00168A6DQ&linkCode=as2&tag=speech2text-20 maybe try adding a new toy or get her a few and change them every few days.
50% water changes daily until levels drop. Clean your filter - a gunked up filter can be a nitrate factory. Don't overfeed your fish. Make sure you're not overstocked. Make sure you have adequate filtration for the stock you have. More plants. Floating plants tend to soak up nitrates best. Also, not sure what you fertilize, but root tabs and plant ferts in excess will increase nitrates.
If you don't have any, buy some Seachem Prime from Amazon. The normal dosage is 2ml for your 20 gallon. You can dose 5x the normal dose in emergency, so 10ml (one capful) will bind to the nitrates and detoxify them until you can remove them with a water change or the plants can absorb them.
And when you do a water change you only want to take out 25 to 50 percent of the water. Also when you start a tank, you need to wait a while and let it cycle(letting bacteria grow and have them break down the ammonia). When changing water you don’t want to just put in normal tap water because of the chemicals in it, so you will want to put in something like Prime which gets rid of these chemicals that are in the tap water.
When I was a kid I had one of these with little shrimps... until I brought it to school for show and tell and an adult mistook it for a snow globe.
Its acrylic but i got it for a great price around black friday on Amazon
Tetra LED Cube Shaped 3 Gallon Aquarium with Pedestal Base https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008CA7W7E/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_Eu-MAb7SYPXMB
Alright, a couple of things. First let me say, you are doing great, we just have to tweak some stuff. Your pools need to be purified with a tank purifier that you can buy on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00025694O/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_imm_A8SFVVCBPQZR47BZKC0K That is a link for the best product to buy for purified water according to CrabCentralStation.com. You add the purifier to both sets of water so you can use tap water for them and it will keep the good stuff that they need in it that they can't get from bottled water. Your salt water is best made in bulk and we usually recommend Instant Ocean as their salt water.
CrabCentralStation.com has videos to watch about food, tank set up, humidity and temperature control. Your humidity should stay up enough to not spray it. I would suggest putting your water bowls close to your heat pad so the humidity rises but if that doesn't help, Sphagnum moss helps keep the humidity up as well plus they eat it! So win win. Here is a list of foods they like and the protein that they have to have in order to thrive. https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbmQ0clprRzNsc204YTl6MjhhMEZIdFJXdHo2d3xBQ3Jtc0trOHVadEJPVDdaRnQzSHZuTjdEQWFsVlE5cHpkSHZDb3cxdkJQbHp2Y1NmanNvRHRzVWtvdjhiUTZrLUtvZ01RSlNDMzFZSk1zRzB0Vm5ZR2lWWFhseW9OeU... Have fun. Good luck. You are doing a great job.
25 Foot - Python No Spill Clean and Fill Aquarium Maintenance System https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000255NXC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_5XWZ78QSKHZWW7W2EE9F?psc=1
I also bought the hook that goes over the tank edge. I don’t use the gravel vac.
So I use https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Python-Aquarium-Maintenance/dp/B000255NXC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Python+Water+Changer&qid=1610348617&sr=8-3 to clean, but more importantly fill my fish tank with water. Pretty much works like a hose, pressure can be adjusted by how much you turn your sink on and there's a valve that can stop the water flow as you walk to the end to water. That would probably work well.
Or, you could make an adult version of https://i.pinimg.com/236x/66/a5/8b/66a58b7eb253cd76bbd02c15b1b3d16b--mud-kitchen-kitchen-ideas.jpg which is a kids mud kitchen, which is a lot like a potting bench and use a five gallon bucket or whatever, and just fill the "sink" with water and bottom water everything there. Then you'll also have a cute multi-functional potting bench to boot.
Tetra 29095 Cube Aquarium Kit, 3-Gallon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008CA7W7E/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_.mt1vbJE93FST
I love this cube aquarium ($35-40), I currently have 2! It comes with a light, filter and air pump. I replaced the filter with a sponge filter ($5). The air pump it comes with will work for awhile, but I eventually replaced it with a milion brand one (~$10) it's a very quiet pump- important because the tanks are in my bedroom. I use an aqueon 10w mini heater (~$10). You should also get a thermometer to make sure your temperature is stable in the tank as a safety measure. I bought all of these supplies on Amazon because prime is amazing. Good luck!
I use a syphon hose. Right here on amazon
I would like to add that I live in Spokane,WA. And use tap water every time.
After every water change I treat my water with Stress Coat
I own 1 Oscar, 1 Red Jewel Cichlid, 1 Convict and 1 Pleco in my 75g.
As far as moving the fish, nothing changes when you go bigger. The steps listed above are perfect. My best advice is, if the fish store can hold the fish for you until you set up your tank at home, do that. Other than that you're just at a race against time from the moment the fish go into the bags. You benefit from being close to your LFS, so don't worry! And post pics when its done!
I have that tank, and my betta sure likes it. I don't really use the filter often, but you could install a little spraybar easily if you thought the flow was too harsh. In terms of heaters, I use this but any 50w would probably work. Good luck with your tank build!
It's a part of a fish training kit (the R2 Fish School Complete Fish Training Kit I think) that I used when I was six and had goldfish. I keep the basketball floating in Nebula's tank (she sometimes boops it with her nose) as well as the tennis and soccer balls (though they sink).
That is not a Python. That is Aqueon's knock off version. This is an actual Python branded one... https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Python-Aquarium-Maintenance/dp/B000255NXC/
I have been using my Python for decades now.
The gills are WAY too short. quick, you wanna pump out ~5 gallons of his tankwater into a home depo bucket, put him in and do a complete clean of the tank. i'm talking substrate, decor, everything. afterward, dump the bucket that holds your axie back into the tank and do a water change. once the water change is done, dump in the recommended amount of this liquid in. After all that's said and done, be sure to do regular water changes, along with testing the ammonia and pH of the water by using test strips every day until it levels out. Another thing to keep in mind, is that the tankwater has to be BELOW 70 degrees. I always keep my tank at a comfortable 63 degrees using a aquarium chiller (DO NOT USE ICE UNLESS ITS AN EMEGRENCY. THE ICE CAN SHOCK THE WATER WHILE CARRYING BACTERIA THAT IS HARMLESS TO US, BUT HARMFUL TO THEM). if your axie develops any kind of fungus, give him regular aquarium-salt baths or if it gets too extreme, visit your local exotic vet. I hope this helps get your old boy back to health.
(Note: if there is anything anyone would like to add, please do! I only got my axies about a year ago, and got these tips from a close friend of my mothers who had gifted me the axies.)
> Not gonna lie, the odds are good most of these fish will not make it very long through no fault of your own - carnival fish are not exactly well taken care of before being ended off to kids with sticky hands.
That's really fair. I've always hated the concept of carnival fish for this reason. I know they're basically abused which is part of the reason why I want to try my damndest to give these little guys a shot. I know inevitably some of them will die young, sadly.
> Yes, that tank is way too small, but you're already aware of it
This may sound pretty jaded - I may be down to a few within a week just because of the state I received these fish in. But this is a cheap $20 tank, and my goal is to get as many living happily for the next month or two until my partner moves into the new house. I'll likely buy her kids a properly sized fish tank as a housewarming.
> As far as cycling, get a master test kit to monitor ammonia, nitrates and nitrites and do regular partial water changes (with 8 fish in 10g, you will need to do partial changes really often during cycling and monitor very closely because that ammonia is probably going to climb up fast.
Would a partial changes every 2-3 days be sufficient you think? Obviously it's very dependent on the state of the aquarium. Right now I'd call the water "a little bit milky." I'll grab a test kit off Amazon (it's half the price as in-store, right now) but won't get it until Wednesday. API recommends this if ammonia or nitrates are too high:
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B006YG12F6
Would that be sufficient you think to at least get the aquarium stable for these cute dudes?
Thank you for the response!
Okay, let me follow up with a couple of ideas.
First, check this out:
https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Python-Aquarium-Maintenance/dp/B000255NXC
This thing helped me for years with water changes. It's a marvel cleaning gravel of fish junk and when you refill, you just add the dechlorinator into the water as you start refilling and it'll do the job for you. If you keep a good habit of water changes then 10%-25% of the tank per week is more than enough and it won't impact your water quality with wild changes.
The other option is more complicated but easier in the end. If the tank is going to be close to someplace where you can keep a big tank of water, you can do water changes as follows. Use the python to clean the tank, then pump water from the secondary tank to the main tank. The second tank you use to age the water, dechlorinating over time.
This was what I did in my garage. I had my 180 with a huge plastic tank that was in the corner of the garage. I could do about 2/3rds of the tank at a time and since the water was aged, it didn't bother the fish. I can give you more details if you want.
In the end, a Python-like hose attached to the nearest bathroom is your best bet. Check your house water parameters for pH, chlorine, temperature, etc. and you'll know what you need to do to prep the water coming back from the hose into your tank.
For a 75 gallon tank I would NOT recommend using a bucket for water changes - unless you have all the time in the world.
seachem prime specifically can neutralize ammonia and make it non-toxic for i believe 48 hours by overdosing it, then after that time you can dose it again. you will have to do a water change sooner or later still, but it at least keeps it safe without interrupting the cycle. its also in general just a great water conditioner because you need so little of it.
https://www.amazon.ca/Python-25NS-25-Feet-Aquarium-Maintenance/dp/B000255NXC# This is the Brand Name python
https://www.amazon.ca/hygger-Bucket-Free-Aquarium-Cleaner-Maintenance/dp/B08CXT5LP9 This is the one I use!
You will need to find an adaptor so it can attach to your sink; but it makes water changes waaaaay easier!
Other comment got it on point. Here's your miracle solution: Python.
https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Python-Aquarium-Maintenance/dp/B000255NXC
If you still want to do a goldfish and want to lessen the amount of work required with that level of water change, look into getting a Python water changing system - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255NXC?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details
This thing saves me so much time on my 75-gallon tank and it's super easy to use.
Usually some prime fixes that problem, I use prime freshwater&saltwater by seachem https://www.amazon.com/Seachem-Prime-Fresh-Saltwater-Conditioner/dp/B00025694O
Buy something like this. https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Python-Aquarium-Maintenance/dp/B000255NXC/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=3GJEHY89LNUJ3&keywords=fish+tank+vacuum+python&qid=1653856053&sprefix=fish+tank+vacuum+python+%2Caps%2C231&sr=8-3 . Makes the job a snap and little chance of a mess. Also, if you are growing plants, I would suggest to not vacuum to well as poop also is fertilizer.
nah, bottled betta water is a scam, its just dechlorinated tap water; you dont need that. im referring to products like this; bottled bacteria.
Before you can do any sort of treatment, you need to get that ammonia level down. You can either do a water change, or add an ammonia detoxifier like Seachem Prime.
If he’s struggling to breathe it could be ammonia poisoning. Sort that out first and then we can go from there.