A 75 long term. They’re all very small currently.
New cichlids and tank setup
- Thread starter Kolton13
- Start date
I agree with the others that doubt your tank is cycled.
It normally takes about two months to cycle a tank.
And you cycle it by adding ammonia until the population of bacteria has grown enough to eat whatever ammonia the fish put out as waste.
You add/feed the tank and bacteria with ammonia by either adding true ammonia little at a time, or .... put something dead in the tank, like piece or raw shrimp, or .....by adding sacrificial fish.
you are now cycling the tank by adding sacrificial fish, whether you planned it that way or not.
You may be lucky and some of these sacrificial fish survive, or some may get sick from ammonia stress, or some simply die of ammonia poisoning from their own waste.
Sounds harsh, but that's the way it often ends up with first time fish keepers that don't understand the nitrogen cycle.
One other FYI, your tank is only large enough for the type fish you've chosen temporarily while they are young.
As adults you will need a tank of about 50 more gallons, at minimum (especially the Nimochromis and the JD.
It normally takes about two months to cycle a tank.
And you cycle it by adding ammonia until the population of bacteria has grown enough to eat whatever ammonia the fish put out as waste.
You add/feed the tank and bacteria with ammonia by either adding true ammonia little at a time, or .... put something dead in the tank, like piece or raw shrimp, or .....by adding sacrificial fish.
you are now cycling the tank by adding sacrificial fish, whether you planned it that way or not.
You may be lucky and some of these sacrificial fish survive, or some may get sick from ammonia stress, or some simply die of ammonia poisoning from their own waste.
Sounds harsh, but that's the way it often ends up with first time fish keepers that don't understand the nitrogen cycle.
One other FYI, your tank is only large enough for the type fish you've chosen temporarily while they are young.
As adults you will need a tank of about 50 more gallons, at minimum (especially the Nimochromis and the JD.
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Kolton13
You’ve already been told about cycling so I’m not going to beat a dead horse.If you cannot take the fish back and you cannot get your hands on any cycled media.
You could add a product to neutralize or absorb the ammonia, along with daily water changes you should be able to keep the tank from becoming toxic.
But this will delay the cycle a bit.
The water being hard or soft has no bearing on the cycle of your tank. The beneficial bacteria do not live in the water column. they live on the tail walls, gravel, decor, and most importantly in the filter on the media. As others have posted it takes between 6-8 weeks to build up BB to covert the fish waste into less harmful nitrates.
you mentioned nitrates in your tank are between 0-5 ppms. You might want to check your tap water for nitr in your source water, this will work against you during water changes if it is present from the tap.
you should definitely read the links provided to you in regards to cycling. It will help you through this process without us having to walk you through it step by step.
as others have said the fish you chose will outgrow both the 30 and the 75g tanks you have planned. You should research which fish you must have and choose to keep that one for the 75g and then plan the other fish
Around that one fish.
you have been with the forum now for over a year and I would have expected better decisions from someone who has been here for a year. Surly you have been reading threads of people making the same mistakes you are currently making.
Ouch!! Brutally honest...but absolutely spot on nik.
Kolton13
, granted, you are young, but you are a very active member and this is very basic stuff. If things go pear shaped for you and you lose fish make sure you use the experience to make better decisions next time. But I hope, for you and your fishes sake that things work out for the best.Good luck.
cmon you got this! I suggest bringing all the fish back to the store. It'll minimize the risk of death and give you time to complete the cycle and rethink everything. Pls try and keep Africans with only Africans, and South Americans with only south Americans as well. Good luck! Maybe ask if they have any used media you can purchase? If you don't go this route there are many products you can buy to speed up the cycle, all though that may not even be enough to save them at this time. The same thing happened to me once before, as one of my tanks broke. I expected losses, and there was nothing that I could do about it. I lost 6 fish. This is using products to speed up the cycle as well, and I put some media from a cycled tank in. Didnt do much.
Dont let impusle buys get the best of you! If you see a fish you really like ask your LFS to hold if for you! Mine does but I understand that may not be the case for you.
I agree with others with a tank doesn’t take a week to get cycled, unless you seed it with bacteria. I suggest you get this product in the picture, as it’ll seed the tank with bacteria if you dose correctly, and I was able to add fish to a newly setup tank safety. Even though the fish live in similar water, they may not get along very well in the near future, as the african cichlids are better off with over crowding compared to the jack, which would fare better solo/in a pair or with dithers.
I used this stuff, a little every day to help it cycle.
KATALEKEEPER
I can’t return them. There’s nothing I can really do, I mean the fish have eaten and seem happy, I’ll keep adding a little bit of conditioner. 
KATALEKEEPER
I can’t return them. There’s nothing I can really do, I mean the fish have eaten and seem happy, I’ll keep adding a little bit of conditioner.
I used this stuff, a little every day to help it cycle.
That's water conditioner to add at water change time to neutralise the chlorine in your tap water. It's NOT a form of bacterial kickstart to get your cycle started.
