if he does he does lol, the bacteria will eventually even out to accommodate the amount of ammonia being produced in the tank, its just sometimes things get thrown off for any number of reasons, if hes acting alright, eating and not flashing or banging off the sides you'll be ok haha.
frustrating cycle..
- Thread starter Iron Cat
- Start date
It'd just be one more thing he eats lol.great little fish with a huge appetite. I had questioned with the water changes that ive been doing for medication if that wasn't stalling the nitrate readings. I originally bought 2 buttis from **************** and 1 died within a week from internal parasites this one had white stringy feces for a while and I didn't want him to have the same outcome. Cant say ill ever order from them again....Between that and the weird cycle issue its driven me up a wall..
its highly unlikely you were taking enough water out to stall the cycle. what meds were you using again?
I did 3 doses of API general cure and 1 dose of Tetra? Parasite guard.i followed all directions to the T,even medicated his food with the general cure. When the fish arrived both were faded with white stringy feces, heavy breathing and 1 with a sunken belly,he died approx a week later. This one occasionally has a whitish green feces but isn't quite the same as the other fish,the other was almost like a white spider web looking feces.
Well, with it being a newer cycle, that general cure may have effected it as well.
It's times like this that the hobby sucks, but you'll sort it within a week or two; and remember why it's good lol.
i'm no expert, but I've read that WC removes other wastes besides nitrates. I've even read a biologist claim that nitrates is a marker that's easy to test for is why it's the big thing for hobbyists. He said that high nitrates coincide with other wastes in the water that you REALLY want to remove. There's all the organic molecules fish excrete you want to remove. There's also things in water that buffer it, keeping pH stable, that need to be replaced by new water. If you run out of these buffering compounds in your tank water, the pH will drop or rise suddenly.
Just an update.. havent changed his water in approx. 5 or 6 days. Tested his 3 days ago and zeros across the board with maybe a hint of nitrates or just wishful thinking on my part. Added a half bottle of DR foster smith BB.
Checked the water this morning an this is what I got.
Amm - 0
Nitri - approx. - 0.15 wasn't baby blue an wasn't full purple. checked my tap water and it stayed baby blue...finallyyyyyyyyyy something..
Nitra - between 10-20
Soooo uhhh now what? I know I want zero nitrites, so now that its showing 0.15 do I do a partial WC or let it go another day or so?
As for hobby enjoyment, The little guy has dug a hole in the gravel down to the glass and appears to fight his reflection?? He managed to nibble off small pieces from the driftwood and leave them scattered on the gravel bed and has also begun snatching small shrimp and crab chunks from my fingers. Again, I appreciate any and all replies in and too this thread.
Checked the water this morning an this is what I got.
Amm - 0
Nitri - approx. - 0.15 wasn't baby blue an wasn't full purple. checked my tap water and it stayed baby blue...finallyyyyyyyyyy something..
Nitra - between 10-20
Soooo uhhh now what? I know I want zero nitrites, so now that its showing 0.15 do I do a partial WC or let it go another day or so?
As for hobby enjoyment, The little guy has dug a hole in the gravel down to the glass and appears to fight his reflection?? He managed to nibble off small pieces from the driftwood and leave them scattered on the gravel bed and has also begun snatching small shrimp and crab chunks from my fingers. Again, I appreciate any and all replies in and too this thread.
I agree with rajin_cajun, although nitrates are the basic indicator of a cycled system, they are hardly the end all of water changes. Fish are constantly producing hormones and pheromones, some of which may be growth inhibitors to other males or other species.
And when we remove old water and replace it, we can be adding buffers and other components that aid the health of the system.
And to the buttikoferi, if there's a fish that will tolerate a trace of ammonia, buttis can, they are known to follow hippos in rivers in Africa and eat the feces as they spew from the hippos arse.
And when we remove old water and replace it, we can be adding buffers and other components that aid the health of the system.
And to the buttikoferi, if there's a fish that will tolerate a trace of ammonia, buttis can, they are known to follow hippos in rivers in Africa and eat the feces as they spew from the hippos arse.
