i have aquasafe water conditioner...how about i do a 25% change today and ill let the water im putting in sit with the conditioner in it for a little while?
need help.
- Thread starter Jkessler623
- Start date
Did I miss where you said what size tank this is? Anyway..... instead of typing and typing, I've cheated and here's a cut and paste from a decent website. And don't forget to read all of the "cycling" information on this website. It's very valuable information.
Didn't I read in one of your posts that you once had a tank but every fish died of ich? Might have been someone else, not sure.
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http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
For a tank of small community fish, White Clouds or Zebra Danios are good cycling fish; Cherry Barbs or Tiger Barbs are good for a slightly more aggressive tank; or Pseudotropheus zebra is a good choice for an African Cichlid tank. Your local pet shop should be able to point you toward some hardy fish of the type you are looking to keep. Purchase a small number (the number will depend on the size of your aquarium and type of fish and -to a lesser degree- the type of filter) of these fish and introduce them to your
tank. For a ten to twenty gallon tank, two or three small schooling fish or one small cichlid would be more than sufficient. Let the tank sit for a couple of days, feeding your fish carefully to prevent excess food from decaying and fouling the water. There are several reasons that you do not want to cycle your tank with a large number of fish, here are a few:
After about eight weeks, your ammonia and Nitrite levels should be acceptable (about trace levels), and you can add more fish. Do not add more fish until the ammonia and Nitrite levels have both dropped. Remember to add new fish a few at a time to prevent over-stressing the filter. If you add too many at once, your tank will have to cycle again, yet if you add a few at a time, your bacteria growth rate will just increase for a short time, with minimal effect on your fish.
Didn't I read in one of your posts that you once had a tank but every fish died of ich? Might have been someone else, not sure.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php
For a tank of small community fish, White Clouds or Zebra Danios are good cycling fish; Cherry Barbs or Tiger Barbs are good for a slightly more aggressive tank; or Pseudotropheus zebra is a good choice for an African Cichlid tank. Your local pet shop should be able to point you toward some hardy fish of the type you are looking to keep. Purchase a small number (the number will depend on the size of your aquarium and type of fish and -to a lesser degree- the type of filter) of these fish and introduce them to your
- Cycling a tank with many fish will produce a lot more waste, which will be stressful to your fish, resulting in higher die-off and greater susceptibility to disease.
- Cycling with a large number of fish will increase water problems incurred during the cycling process.
- Cycling with a lot of fish can contribute to a foul smell coming from the tank.
After about eight weeks, your ammonia and Nitrite levels should be acceptable (about trace levels), and you can add more fish. Do not add more fish until the ammonia and Nitrite levels have both dropped. Remember to add new fish a few at a time to prevent over-stressing the filter. If you add too many at once, your tank will have to cycle again, yet if you add a few at a time, your bacteria growth rate will just increase for a short time, with minimal effect on your fish.
thanks lynda..and yea that was me with the ich problem.it was my brothers tank and i had put a fish in there.i guess u can say thats where my interest started.my brother had no idea wat he was doing.all of his fish got ich and they all died including mine.he gave up and gave the tank to me.its a 30g btw. so i took everything out.cleaned it all.bleached the tank and filter,dont worry i made sure to rinse VERY thoroughly, and i boiled the rocks and other little things in there.i bought a new bulb and started it back up this past sunday. since then everything has been going ok except i havent seen my pleco eat.
ive also decided to take out my feeder fish after reading that...im going to get a hardy cycling fish that i can also keep after cycling is complete.thanks for the advice...im heading up to the store right now to see wat i can find..ill brb 
Dude, you already have the rosies in there, just continue to use them. I wouldn't have recommended using fish in the first place, but since you already started, the type of fish is not important. Testing your water is the important part. Don't buy more fish, buy a test kit.
Bob is right. Just keep the existing fish in there. Doesn't make sense to put even more fish through that process than you already are.
Maybe the pleco can't handle the cycling process. Or maybe he wasn't very healthy to begin with and that's why you got him for a dollar.
Maybe the pleco can't handle the cycling process. Or maybe he wasn't very healthy to begin with and that's why you got him for a dollar.
Sometimes you don't/wont see pleco's eat. They are very shy fish especially when first introduced. Give him a good hiding place and some drift wood.
Another point: It's very common to over feed a fish that is not eating lol let me explain. Your fish isn't eating so you try this type food, nothing, then you try this other stuff, nothing happens then you put something in different. Now you have fed three times as much food as you normally would of. This is a real bad cycle to get into, I catch my self doing this sometimes with a new fish in my quarantine tank and I've been keeping fish for 30 years! The best advice I have is stop trying to feed the pleco right now. A week or two wont hurt him, most likely when the lights go off he's out and about picking up scraps. After two weeks when your tank is cycled drop in one frozen brussels sprout when you turn off the lights for the night. It will sink and he will munch on it all night. If he's still on it in the morning leave it, if not, scoop it out of there.
Good luck!
Another point: It's very common to over feed a fish that is not eating lol let me explain. Your fish isn't eating so you try this type food, nothing, then you try this other stuff, nothing happens then you put something in different. Now you have fed three times as much food as you normally would of. This is a real bad cycle to get into, I catch my self doing this sometimes with a new fish in my quarantine tank and I've been keeping fish for 30 years! The best advice I have is stop trying to feed the pleco right now. A week or two wont hurt him, most likely when the lights go off he's out and about picking up scraps. After two weeks when your tank is cycled drop in one frozen brussels sprout when you turn off the lights for the night. It will sink and he will munch on it all night. If he's still on it in the morning leave it, if not, scoop it out of there.
Good luck!
well sorry guys haha...i kinda took my feeders back and got three zebra danios and a leapord danio. i added another live plant and gave my pleco a flower pot to hide in.i like these little guys better anyway...hopefully it works out id really like to see that happen.
i'd remove those rosy's and just wait atleast mouth before adding fish, i cycle my new tanks with nothing in it for a mouth or two depending on tank size. i wouldnt really worry about your cycle its most likely fine. as to the pleco they shouldnt be added intill 3 months after cycle is complete can still feed them pucks but its still not recommened. good luck and welcome to the hobby.
allways use water conditioner when doing water change because tap water can kill beneficial bacteria, beneficial bacteria is a big key to your fishes environment. once the ecosystem up and runing beneficial bacteria should be stable, whitch helps make your fish keeping a little bit easier. good luck
