10 Gallon Screw Up -Please Help -Questions?

[kmknits]

Well, after being mislead by my LFS...I set up a new 10 gallon tropical tank on 4/13. After 5 days I added 4 Platies. 10 days after that I added 4 Zebra Danios and a week after that I added 2 Corycats -a Panda and a Julii. (I have since lost the smallest danio -so am now down to 3) So I am stuck with doing a fish-in cycle -maybe even with too many fish?!

I have been water testing religiously and changing out 50% of the tank water daily. Another mistake I probably made was changing out the filter cartridge at the 1 month mark...which I now understand to have probably re-started my nitrogen cycle all over again -urg!! (Since the replaceable cartridge pouches contain charcoal, how do I handle this in the future without upsetting the balance in the tank?)

I have learned so very much by reading here at the forums, but don't want to lose any more fish if I can help it! Is there anything else I can do other than the water testing and daily water changes to help my fish survive my newbie ignorance? I have added an air driven sponge filter (in addition to "the hang on back" Aqueon filter unit the tank came with) to increase the oxygen and provide more filtering media in the tank. (I have not added anything to the water at this point other than water conditioner)

Also, once the tank is finished cycling (which I do realize could take several more weeks yet)will I have a problem being overstocked with the numbers of fish listed above? (9 smallish fish in a 10 gallon)

 

[The Taffy Apple]

The quickest option open to you now is trying to get hold of a donation of mature media from someone else's tank, either on here or someone you may know...this will dramatically speed up your process.
You could, also, try and return the fish and carry out a full fishless cycle... otherwise i'm afraid to say you are stuck with daily water changes for the forseeable future.
Your current stocking is probably too much for the size of your tank, in my opinion, so you may want to take that into consideration for your next step.
Good luck, if you spend the time and effort researching on here you will no doubt get the results you are looking for

Terry.

 

[Judgejudy]

Well the danios need to be in a biggerbtank as they need a lot of space to swim, and the corycats need to be in at least a group of 4 each. So when its finished cycling i think you could get away with this.

4 platies
4 pande cories
3 guppies

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Well the danios need to be in a biggerbtank as they need a lot of space to swim, and the corycats need to be in at least a group of 4 each. So when its finished cycling i think you could get away with this.

4 platies
4 pande cories
3 guppies

Little too much in that tank for me, this thread ---> http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/397808-what-is-the-largest-fish-comfortable-in-a-ten-gallon/ discusses suitable inhabitants for a 10 Gallon.

Terry.

 

[Judgejudy]

Well the danios need to be in a biggerbtank as they need a lot of space to swim, and the corycats need to be in at least a group of 4 each. So when its finished cycling i think you could get away with this.

4 platies
4 pande cories
3 guppies

Little too much in that tank for me, this thread ---> http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/397808-what-is-the-largest-fish-comfortable-in-a-ten-gallon/ discusses suitable inhabitants for a 10 Gallon.

Terry.

Sorry, i thought that would be okay

What about this then

2 guppies
2 platies
4 panda

 

[The Taffy Apple]

In all honesty, i don't think it's the number of fish, but more the type... Corys need more room than 10 Gallons IMHO, as do the Platys. The Guppys would be ok i guess, i comfortably kept 6+ Guppy in a 30L, but Endler Guppy would be a better choice.

Terry.

 

[OldMan47]

The tank is already stocked so no point to discussing it like it was in the future.
If you can return any of your fish, do so. It will make the fish-in cycle that much easier.
The tiny bit of carbon in a typical filter cartridge is good for maybe one or two days so ignore it. The function for carbon is to help control odors, remove tannins from the water or remove medication after a disease treatment. Other than those functions it is just something more they can sell you. When you rinse out the used filter media and return it to the filter, you can safely just leave the carbon in place with no harm done.

 

[kmknits]

Thanks everyone for weighing in...since I am still learning, I hope this isn't a stupid question: At this point, would it be at all beneficial for me to utilize a bacterial starter product like Seachem Stablilty, Tetra Safe Start or API Stress Zyme etc? Does anyone have any helpful insite on that? And will the tank eventually cycle even if it is overstocked? (I checked and I am not able to return any of the fish at this point)

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Thanks everyone for weighing in...since I am still learning, I hope this isn't a stupid question: At this point, would it be at all beneficial for me to utilize a bacterial starter product like Seachem Stablilty, Tetra Safe Start or API Stress Zyme etc? Does anyone have any helpful insite on that? And will the tank eventually cycle even if it is overstocked? (I checked and I am not able to return any of the fish at this point)

It is widely accepted that none of these products return the results they sometimes promise, but there certainly isn't any harm in using them. But your best bet still remains a mature media donation from someone...either from a forum such as this or maybe someone you know locally who also has a mature fish tank and filter.

Terry.

 

[kmknits]

unfortunately, there is no one even listed in my state that was on the donation list here and I know no one with an aquarium ( I may have to resort to begging on Craig's List or Face Book -lol!

 

[tmiller]

unfortunately, there is no one even listed in my state that was on the donation list here and I know no one with an aquarium ( I may have to resort to begging on Craig's List or Face Book -lol!

Media will remain viable for a few days in transit if packaged correctly. 2-3 days really, easily maybe more.
Might look for possible donations up to 500+ miles...
Be aware it doesn't excuse you from water changes, just reduces the time to cycle the filter.

 

[OldMan47]

Unfortunately the various cycling additives have not proven to be very helpful so far. A few years ago a promising additive was made, but it required constant refrigeration, had a very short shelf life and even then failed about 1/2 of the time. It is no longer being produced and I have seen no convincing evidence of another such product on the market today. We do have a thread in the scientific section that attempts to define the present state of the science on this type of product but it is so far little more than a debate among me, Ian and one of the members who feels it is the answer to all of our prayers. I cannot say that he is wrong yet but remain unconvinced at this time. He may indeed be completely right.
KM, as long as you test your water and do water changes as dictated by your results, the fish will thrive and the tank will cycle. It sounds too easy but those are the real world facts. The hard part becomes lugging all of that water around. If you would like to try out one of the bacterial additives, maybe you could try Dr Tims One and Only and report back to us. Since Dr Tim Havonek was one of the original investigators or cycle bacteria, I can at least give a minor glimmer of hope that his additive might work. It may also not work at all since he may be trying to take advantage of his reputation in the area without a good product to sell. Who really knows? Please keep us informed of your results if you decide to try his product. It may help us refine our advice for future fish keepers in your situation.