i think i poisoned my piranhas :(

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The pet store did just what they are there to do. Separate you from your money. It sounds like they did a great job of it too. Sorry to hear about your loss, and I understand your frustration.

In order to have a better experience the next time around, the first things you need to do are 1- Research. 2- Research, and 3- Research. Read the sticky threads at the top of this forum. They are there to help you.

It sounds like you're a new aquarist. I suggest reading the sticky threads in the general aquaria section. You need to have an understanding of the nitrogen cycle and how it works to keep fish alive for more than a few days.

Buying chemicals from a fish store is not the answer. It will only drain your wallet and frustrate you. The fish store will keep on telling you to purchase this and that, and your fish will keep on dying.

Understanding that an aquarium is a small ecosystem with symbiotic relationships between fish and microorganisms IS the answer, and believe me, there is A LOT to learn.

For the sake of your future fish and also your sanity, read up before you buy again. Everyone on this forum is here to help you, and many have been doing this for years and years.

Again, sorry to hear you had a bad first go of it, but make it a learning experience and things should get better. Welcome to MFK.
 
Thanks for moving this over here lupin.

if you seriously want to keep piranhas you can PM me and i can help you out if that's easier then talking out here. you were given alot of improper information but we can get you up and goin. The biggest mistake being 15 fish in a 30 gallon tank
 
hey well i am new in this forum too so i dont know how to pm :P so after all of that i took the dead fishes and i left that water for like 3 days cos i was lazy to clean it and started to appear snails everywhere. then i cleaned everything and i put new water and i used stress coat because i want to cycle the water this time first. i bought plants so i would like to know when i can put them in cos i think i can cycle the water with the plants in :). and that is it maybe someone can give me an e mail so i can get better help or can explain me how to pm :P thank u everybody i am learning a lot.
 
Is this still just 30gal's? I'm guessing but I'd think it might take a much longer time to cycle a tank with just plants. The leaves would have to die off first and then start decomping within the tank before any nitrifing bacteria would even begin. If it were me I'd cycle it with a single Convict cichlid and forego the Piranha idea til' I had a larger tank cycled and ready to go.
 
AlexLeon;4814687; said:
maybe someone can give me an e mail so i can get better help or can explain me how to pm :P thank u everybody i am learning a lot.


An easy way to PM (private message) ballinouttacntrol or anyone click on their name from their post, a drop down menu will appear, one of your choices will be to send a private message to (in this case) ballinouttecontrol
 
well i wanted to cycle this 30 gallon tank first cos i want to learn then add 4 or 3 baby piranhas and if they grow up like someone said, baby piranhas are OK in 30 gallons but i will have to change them to a bigger one like in 1 year, for that time i will have a bigger tank and i will know more about it. so my plants are gonna die :( mm well now u think is ok leave them there so they can decompose? i just would leave them if it is OK to cycle the water with that. and also if the idea of keeping piranhas for a while in a 30 gallon tank is still a terrible idea i wont do it then :).
 
i did 2 tests, the 2 first days i just de-chlorinated the water, the 3rd day i got bacteria from an pet store and the 4rd day i did the second test and it was the result.

2nd day : gh:120 kh:120 ph:6.0 no2-:0 no3-:0 nh3:0.25
4rd day: gh:120 kh:120 ph:6.0 no2-:0.25 no3-:20 nh3:o.50

the temperature is 82 and i add little food fish at nights and at mornings so they produce amonia. i think a got little bacteria :P what i would like to know is now that i got bacteria from the pet store is gonna cycle my tank less than 1 month right? approximately how long? do my plants can alter my tests?
i hope u answer :) thank u
 
personally, i'd get a bigger tank then the 30 gallon even if it's just 3-4 piranhas. those things aren't going to be babies for very long. put somethin else in that 30 gallon and save up for a bigger tank if you want red belly piranhas
 
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