I set up my tank about 5 days ago..for two days i just had a couple snails then i went to the store and picked up some cheap rosy reds.5 of them. i was going to just do that to start cycling my tank but than i saw they had a sale so i picked up a pleco and bamboo shrimp because they are usually more expensive.i also have one live plant,decent size. should i add more plants or cheap fish to cycle better or will this suffice?
Do i have enough bio load?
- Thread starter Jkessler623
- Start date
30 gallon.and i was planning on keeping the rosy reds after the cycle.i just cant afford much more
Do not add anything else until the tank is fully cycled. Expect it to take weeks for this to occur. Make sure you have a test kit and you should see ammonia and nitrites spike. Eventually ammonia should start dropping and then nitrites start dropping as well. Since you have fish in there you will need to do frequent large water changes through the cycle to prevent killing the fish. Only after ammonia and nitrites have stabilized at 0 for a week should you consider adding anything else. Even then do it slowly.
I cant imagine the bamboo shrimp will live. It is a filter feeder and generally needs an established tank (not just cycled but several months old and with a lot of water movement)
I cant imagine the bamboo shrimp will live. It is a filter feeder and generally needs an established tank (not just cycled but several months old and with a lot of water movement)
idk im hoping they will be ok..the shrimp seems fine,hes feeding normally and such.is there any chance that everything will be ok?and i dont have a test kit at the moment
First, Welcome to the MFK forums. I say this is the best on the planet. Second, save your lunch money on a test kit. That will solve many questions in the future and help you establish your tank.
Which part of Ohio are you from?
Bomber.
Which part of Ohio are you from?
Bomber.
Jkessler623;3831666; said:
Definetely save for the test kit. Not trying to be a jerk because I did even worse with my first tank, but if you dont have the money for a test kit then you really did not have the money to enter the hobby. You need to find a way to at least get an ammonia and nitrite kit or a lot of fish stores will test your water parameters for free and you can find one that will do that for you.
As for the shrimp there is really little chance he is "feeding normally". Normal feeding for a bamboo shrimp is to sit still in a high flow area with their "fans" out collecting organisms from the water. In a brand new tank there is not going to be the "normal feeding" going on because the normal food simply wont be there. If he is acting like that it means he is trying to feed normally though
If he is scavenging along the bottom with his fans though trying to "scoop" food or similar it means he is starving and trying to get anything he can.You can hand feed them by squirting finely crushed flake food in the water hear his fans with syringe or even seen people feed algae wafers he can get those as they break up and float through the tank if you have very good flow. Unfortunately since your tank is not cycled feeding in that manner is going to cause your ammonia to skyrocket(more than it will by already) as most of the food will generally be wasted.
the shrimp has been sitting on the same rock right under the current with his fans out for three days straight lol