Tank cycling with fish in :/

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R

red_wall

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 27, 2008
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The Peach State
Yes, Ive committed one of the common aquarium sins. Didnt know about cycling until this morning, but, is there any way to mitigate the effects of the tank cycling on my fish?

I have no established tanks, no friends have tanks either.

So far ive used those 'aquaclear tank buddies' for ammonia and ph.

did a 20% water change before i added them.


1 fish is still gasping, the others are swimming like normal. every few hours one of them leaves the school and goes to die.

so far im down to 5 with one about to push up the daisies.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
I too have done this with no ill effects (although I will not again)

with the one fish gasping for air it makes me wonder if there is penty of O2 or not. do you run a air pump ?
 
koop171;1857069; said:
I too have done this with no ill effects (although I will not again)

with the one fish gasping for air it makes me wonder if there is penty of O2 or not. do you run a air pump ?
Click to expand...


No air pump, Its a planted tank with an HOB, only 7 fish in the tank as of now... 5 tetras and 2 rainbow sharks

And isnt gasping for air at the top of the tank one symptom of ammonia poisoning? I cant really tell with the gills because the cardinals are all red. Though they have darkened considerably since ive brought them in : /
 
Fish on Fire;1857117; said:
Gallons? I've never had a problem with just throwing fish into a new tank . . . interesting . . .
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46 gallons
 
I guess all you can really do is wait it out and hope for the best... Maybe get some Cycle for the tank to help boost things? I would feed them everyday too to help out. Good luck man.
 
what are your parameters? if you dont know/dont have a test kid - use it/go get one.. the liquid one is 100000X better than the strips

if thats not an option for tonight... 20%-30% water changes and be sure to use dechlorinator... also check yer tap waters parameters to know what yer starting with
 
Do a 50% water change and double up on the recommended amount of "cycle". "Cycle" is the product used to declorinate the water and it will eliminate the ammonia problem. Chem. alters it so it is not dangerous. DOes the same for nitrites if I am not mistaken. Anyway, it does sound like ammonia to me and this will be the best solution imo. You should get a test kit to make ure though. You can ccyel a tank with no fish loss you just have to really keep an eye on the water chemistry and make sure you do adequate water changes.
 
I would also add an airstone or two. This will help the buffering capacity of the water by forcing off CO2 and raising the kH of the water. Higher kH results in lower toxicity of ammonia and nitrite. Granted, forcing off the CO2 isn't all that good for your plants, but you basically have two choices here: the plants or the fish.

Do these things in addition to frequent, large water changes, and your tank should be ok.
 
Prime is what I was talking about.... Not "cycle" sorry
 
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