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hi schmee, without looking at the filter i can't honestly say how the cory got in there, i would suggest it probably died and then got sucked into the filter somehow rather than swimming in there. it's very hard to predict how long the cycle will go on for unfortunately, for some people it's a...

Hi Brianne, it's quite normal (although a bit gruesome) for fish to eat other fish when they have died so i expect the damage you saw was predominantly done after the fish died. when the fish were in the bucket i assume it didn't have a filter at all and certainly not one that was fully...

i'd suggest you go to your LFS a few times and note down the names of anything you like and then we'll let you know if you can fit them in your tank and what other fish would complement them nicely. I'd suggest you get one reasonable sized shoal of something like a tetra/rasbora - if you just...

quali week going smoothly, little blip of ammonia this morning as the pH had crashed again but a water change fixed that. not gonna bother buffering with bicarb at this late stage, will keep doing water changes if needed but should be fine for the next day or two.

cycle has started :good: it might make nitrate go up (not sure of the exact composition of that product but some ferts contain nitrate) but I can't see how it would make the ammonia go down. so good news, cycle looks like it's underway.

not to doubt you Alessa but when you say the results are always the same - have you re-tested them since the deaths or just assuming they are the same as they usually are? sometimes it's easy to get caught out by assumptions. the pH is quite low though, I'm not a particular expert on any of the...

what are your stats for pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

no-one? :/

yup the easiest way to find out is to get a test kit and some ammonia, start a fishless cycle as per the instructions in the link in my signature. if you find the ammonia starts processing quite quickly then it means you have some bacteria left over, if it takes a while before the ammonia moves...

the 5ppm of ammonia is deemed to be equivalent to a heavier stocking that any beginner should sensibly attempt which means you should have a nice cushion of bacteria by the time the cycle is finished. technically you could probably get away with cycling at 3/4ppm instead but 5 just gives that...

to be totally honest the best thing you can do for these fish is take them back to the store and do a little more research about setting up a fishtank before you try again. all fish need a filter, they'll die without it from ammonia poisoning in the water, the humble common goldfish gets to...

hi everyone, we're in our qualifying week of a fishless cycle so just about ready to stock the tank. i want some apisto's of some description although not completely set on any one species, our LFS has some in advertised as apistogramma viejita however when i look on the internet for pictures...

ah, silly me!! do you have a filter?

clearly not disupting anything you've said as you're spot on if that is the case, but re-read the post several times now and can find no mention of a bowl..... i'm still hoping for the best of a tank with a filter and fancy goldies!

the cycle will happen regardless of you, the cycle refers to the nitrogen cycle in which bacteria grows in your filter to get rid of the toxic ammonia from the fishes waste. the water changes are to reduce the damage to the fish from the ammonia that they produce in the time before your filter...

hi there swomp, what's most likely is a bacteria bloom in the tank because of ammonia being produced by the fish, i'm assuming you didn't cycle the tank before you got the fish, if you read the link in my signature 'whats cycling' it will explain the situation you are in and what you need to do.

yes fish produce ammonia through their waste, there is one species of bacteria (we'll call them A-Bacs) that convert this ammonia to nitrite. there is then a completely separate species of bacteria (N-Bacs) that convert the nitrite to nitrate. the ammonia is most dangerous to the fish, nitrite...

yes, apistogramma is a different species to rams, they are also dwarf cichlids though so similar in terms of behaviour etc. i can't think of any apistogramma that you couldn't have, they are all very similar species but with different colourings etc. in terms of behaviour and requirements they...

most tetras are quite hardy and suitable for new tanks, neon's are one of the most delicate due to years of inbreeding as they're a popular fish. have you looked at the various microrasbora species?

once you've completed a full fishless cycle the filter will be able to process 5ppm of ammonia into 0 ammonia and nitrite within 12 hrs. this means that your filter is able to cope with a full tank of fish stocked to a sensible level around 1" per gallon. if you only add a few fish then not...

the light won't make any odds to a fish in cycle. sounds like you are controlling the situation fairly well with the current level of water changes. you need to keep both ammonia and nitrite under 0.25ppm, don't be afraid of big water changes, in this situation the bigger the better. take as...

i usually work on the nitrite taking twice as long to shift as the ammonia did, so if ammonia took 2 weeks to drop in the required 12 hrs then it will be around 4 weeks more for your nitrite to go. as WD say's though it's pure speculation and basically it'll take as short or long a time as it...

awesome thanks WD, yes we're having grey and rainy at the moment. joy! anyway tanks still holding steady at 00 this morning.

lovely sky blue....... double zero's :D and we are into qualifying week, fingers crossed for fish next weekend. yay!

thanks everyone for your feedback can anyone give me a second opinion on nobody of the goats statements re the forktails and angels? other sources I've read have said they'd be fine but i can completely understand the logic of the body shape and size being on the dangerous side with angels...

it can be quite stubborn, how quickly is your ammonia processing to 0?

yeah fingers crossed, time for another test in a few minutes so really hoping for another low nitrite reading. went round some LFS's today and saw various lovely fish, really hoping we get the 00 today and we can qualify for the week and get fish next weekend. perhaps a little optimistic...

thanks, we like all the shoals quite big so probably about 10 - 15 rasboras, rainbows and corys although perhaps not all straight away! yes we'd thought that the celebes would be bigger and able to stand up to the angels better but after a bit of reading it seems the forktails are quick enough...

we're in the final stages of fishless cycling our tank which is around 60 gals. our LFS has some nice celebes rainbows and forktail rainbows in and we're having a hard time choosing which one we prefer so looking for anyone with experience of either species who can give any advice that might...

i think it's worth a look for some locally bred ones if you can find them, if they've been bred in your local water they'll be used to it and you should be OK with them. if not have a look at apistogramma as they're a bit hardier and equally pretty.

you know how to live it up WD :lol:

tempting isn't it assaye, we're in the same boat just waiting for all the nitrite to go but considering we're going to significantly understock the tank to start out we could probably get away with putting fish in now. but gonna hold off and be patient! anyway the other tank you put a pic up of...

at our 12 hr test this morning the ammonia was down to 0 and the nitrite down to about 0.5ppm so feels like we're nearly there.

well at long last we are making progress with the nitrite, 3 days of massive water changes to control the nitrite, nitrate and pH then yesterday after the water change nitrite was still reading 5ppm topped up the tank with ammonia in the evening and when we tested it this morning the nitrite was...

thanks WD :good:

but good news it's still holding steady at 00 :good:

cories are best in groups of 6 or more. if you can find locally bred rams you'll be fine, most fish are much less pH sensitive than people make out.

the nitrite often takes a while to budge, just be patient and stick with it.

Hi Festo, the link in my signature for fishless cycling is the one usually recommended on this forum. it also directs you to a calculator which will tell you exactly how much ammonia to add, we usually prefer to be a little more precise than the method quoted above. :good:

get them to feed the fish really minimally over the holiday, the less the eat the less waste they'll produce. you can safely leave an aquarium for 2 weeks with no food and the fish will be fine. also if they can't do water changes then do a big 90% change just before you go.