Okay, so here's the story. When I was a kid, my Dad always had fish. My parents got me a fish tank when I was 12 and he pretty much showed me how to set up the filter, do water changes etc. He also showed me which fish were cooler than other (all subjective, but I acquired a taste for S.A. cichlids and other larger fish). So when I finished college recently, I wanted to get a fish tank and start up the hobby again only this time on my own. I got my old tank from my parents house, set up the filter, bought some fish, and started to enjoy.
By now I am sure you are realizing where things went wrong. There is this little thing called "cycling" that Dad never taught me, not because I was too young or something, but because he never did it either. No wonder our fish always died at first. That can be awful for a kid to you know! FORTUNATELY, the fish aren't dead yet! I started getting on the net to look up things about my new fish and stumbled on MFK and read about other people's fatal problems and realized that this was coming down the pipe and my fish were in trouble. I am having problems finding help at this point of the cycle for the fish because nobody realizes this is a problem until after it is too late. What can you do half-way through??? Is there anything I can do to save them? Please let me know and help to save a few good fish. I should have read before buying, but I had no idea this was a problem and didn't think to read because I had done this (apparently incorrectly) as a kid - some of the fish even made it! I will try to be extremely specific here so I can get the best suggestions:
FISH:
-1 3" Strigata Pike
-1 2 1/2" Zonata
-1 2 1/4" Grammodes
-1 2" Bifasciatus
-1 2" Jack Dempsey
-1 2" Septemfasciatum
TANK:
-75 Gallon (I know it will be overcrowded - something else my Dad taught me was ok, but I will plan to get a 180 in about 6 months when I move again, so that will be better for them then, right now they are just babies.)
-Filter Eheim Something Setup Like This:
TOP (WATER OUT)
_________________
I FINE FLOSS
I________________
I CARBON
I________________
I CERAMIC PIECES
I________________
I ROUND SUBSRAT
I________________
I LARGE SPONGE
I________________
BOTTOM (WATER IN)
Heater - Set at 80 degrees.
TANK WATER:
pH - 7.9
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrite - 2.5
Nitrate - 7.0
TAP WATER:
Ph - 7.9
Ammonia - 1.25
Nitrite - 0.0
Nitrate - 0.0
Specific questions:
1) What can I do to complete the cycle without killing my fish? I have nowhere to put them and have no other options really?
2) Does the presence of carbon in the filter do anything different in regards to cycling? Should change my filter? Remember I have nowhere to put the fish.
3) I did a water change (25%) about 2 days ago, before I learned a bunch abut cycling and am unsure of how that would have affected the cycling. I cleaned the gravel pretty thoroughly and read that might disrupt nitrite creation. Is this going to cause problems/make it difficult to predict what will happen next.
I really appreciate your helping me with this issue. I really think pet owners should strive to be responsible and care for their animals, but I had no idea that anything I was doing was harmful and thought I knew enough. Lesson learned! If you could please help me to deal with this issue I would really appreciate it. The fish look healthy with the exception of the Jack Dempsey who has some tail fin issues, but this might be related to the pike who will probably have to go either way - most aggressive young fish I have ever seen! Thank you so much; I don't know why some people are considerate enough to spend time writing responses to others questions and mistakes, but you are awesome and the fish and I love you for it!
By now I am sure you are realizing where things went wrong. There is this little thing called "cycling" that Dad never taught me, not because I was too young or something, but because he never did it either. No wonder our fish always died at first. That can be awful for a kid to you know! FORTUNATELY, the fish aren't dead yet! I started getting on the net to look up things about my new fish and stumbled on MFK and read about other people's fatal problems and realized that this was coming down the pipe and my fish were in trouble. I am having problems finding help at this point of the cycle for the fish because nobody realizes this is a problem until after it is too late. What can you do half-way through??? Is there anything I can do to save them? Please let me know and help to save a few good fish. I should have read before buying, but I had no idea this was a problem and didn't think to read because I had done this (apparently incorrectly) as a kid - some of the fish even made it! I will try to be extremely specific here so I can get the best suggestions:
FISH:
-1 3" Strigata Pike
-1 2 1/2" Zonata
-1 2 1/4" Grammodes
-1 2" Bifasciatus
-1 2" Jack Dempsey
-1 2" Septemfasciatum
TANK:
-75 Gallon (I know it will be overcrowded - something else my Dad taught me was ok, but I will plan to get a 180 in about 6 months when I move again, so that will be better for them then, right now they are just babies.)
-Filter Eheim Something Setup Like This:
TOP (WATER OUT)
_________________
I FINE FLOSS
I________________
I CARBON
I________________
I CERAMIC PIECES
I________________
I ROUND SUBSRAT
I________________
I LARGE SPONGE
I________________
BOTTOM (WATER IN)
Heater - Set at 80 degrees.
TANK WATER:
pH - 7.9
Ammonia - 0.0
Nitrite - 2.5
Nitrate - 7.0
TAP WATER:
Ph - 7.9
Ammonia - 1.25
Nitrite - 0.0
Nitrate - 0.0
Specific questions:
1) What can I do to complete the cycle without killing my fish? I have nowhere to put them and have no other options really?
2) Does the presence of carbon in the filter do anything different in regards to cycling? Should change my filter? Remember I have nowhere to put the fish.
3) I did a water change (25%) about 2 days ago, before I learned a bunch abut cycling and am unsure of how that would have affected the cycling. I cleaned the gravel pretty thoroughly and read that might disrupt nitrite creation. Is this going to cause problems/make it difficult to predict what will happen next.
I really appreciate your helping me with this issue. I really think pet owners should strive to be responsible and care for their animals, but I had no idea that anything I was doing was harmful and thought I knew enough. Lesson learned! If you could please help me to deal with this issue I would really appreciate it. The fish look healthy with the exception of the Jack Dempsey who has some tail fin issues, but this might be related to the pike who will probably have to go either way - most aggressive young fish I have ever seen! Thank you so much; I don't know why some people are considerate enough to spend time writing responses to others questions and mistakes, but you are awesome and the fish and I love you for it!
