hi, i was wondering if you guys think that my ammonia will get to a harmful level. I have one 4 inch black piranha in a 55 gallon tank and only feed him about 2 times a day and clean up what he doesnt eat. I'm just curious if he'll be fine or if i'm going to have to moniter the ammonia and nitrites real close. thanks.
aquarium cycling with one fish??
- Thread starter bluerhom
- Start date
because i'm an idiot and bought him before i new about that. i put something called microbelift immediate cycle in there last week but i've been doing a lot of water changes to keep the ammonia below .25 and all thats probably gone out of my tank by now. I still havnt seen any nitrites yet and hes been in there for over a week now so i'm guessing that stuff didnt work to good or its not working as fast as i thought it would.
You havn't got a choice as I'm guessing it's your first. I over stocked my first tank so did 20% water changes every night and added a nitro zorbe pad to my canister. Lowered levels enough to keep it all going untill filter matured enough for extra load
what are you getting for nitrates? those will tell you if the tanks cycleing for sure or not. reguardless of anything I would keep an eye on the water perameters closely at least for the first month. If your new to fishkeeping in general I would reccomend getting a test kit and doing at least weekly water tests on your tank after the initial cycle is in place. 99% of aquarium problems can be avoided by keeping up with your water quality.
Ammonia - is toxic and should def be followed
Nitrite - in low doses can be lethal and imo are the most potentially deadly cycle process to be aware of.
Nitrates- are the end result of a cycle and all but impossible to get rid of by means other then routine water removal and replacement. excessive amounts are lethal to fish but are generally the least potentially hazardous, though long-term exposure is deadly.
The better you understand the nitrogen cycle, and how your filtration works and basic water chemistry the more confident you'll be in understanding your fishes needs. Sounds like you've already got a good grasp, but you can never learn to much in this aspect of the hobby.
Ammonia - is toxic and should def be followed
Nitrite - in low doses can be lethal and imo are the most potentially deadly cycle process to be aware of.
Nitrates- are the end result of a cycle and all but impossible to get rid of by means other then routine water removal and replacement. excessive amounts are lethal to fish but are generally the least potentially hazardous, though long-term exposure is deadly.
The better you understand the nitrogen cycle, and how your filtration works and basic water chemistry the more confident you'll be in understanding your fishes needs. Sounds like you've already got a good grasp, but you can never learn to much in this aspect of the hobby.
yeah i hear you. I dont have anything for nitrites or nitrates yet. I do have ammonia and everytime it hit between .25 and .50 i change the water about 25% or so. From what i understand is that there has to be nitrites before nitrates right? i havnt bought a nitrate test kit yet. I've been testing ammonia and nitrites every morniing and night though. I'm just all nervous because i dont want this lil guy to die.
I do have only one advice.. just feed him once a day instead of 2 times a day. That way you won't get as much ammonia.
doing the water changes when you are is a good idea, and probably the best advise to offer at your current spot. But your nitrites could sneak up on you, So def invest in a test kit, and if you can't take it to a local LFS and have them test it to make sure everything is running as it should be.
I don't know alot about Piranhas but the sub-forum may also help with any chem questions. I do vaguely remeber hearing blacks can be delicate to water. So keeping your ammonia low is likely your best call, but doing this may also lengthen your over-all cycle process. alot of people reccomend and use Seachem Stability for bacteria in a bottle. personally I don't trust anything in a bottle, thats suppose to be alive. But you may look into it to help speed up your cycle processs. I've never heard of it hurting a cycle reguardless if ti doesn't work. ( and sometimes you just get a bad batch ect)
I don't know alot about Piranhas but the sub-forum may also help with any chem questions. I do vaguely remeber hearing blacks can be delicate to water. So keeping your ammonia low is likely your best call, but doing this may also lengthen your over-all cycle process. alot of people reccomend and use Seachem Stability for bacteria in a bottle. personally I don't trust anything in a bottle, thats suppose to be alive. But you may look into it to help speed up your cycle processs. I've never heard of it hurting a cycle reguardless if ti doesn't work. ( and sometimes you just get a bad batch ect)