Ammonia In Water

[NickAu]

 
This has me puzzled, the ammonia part I mean.  I will go into this with Seachem myself, because they have stated several times, and to me personally, that the detoxifying of ammonia by Prime is permanent; it converts ammonia to ammonium which is basically harmless.  And they have said that it will not revert back.

Please do, As you can see I quoted a Seachem site Administrator, and I see people on a Bettafish forum say that all the time.
 
I highly respect your opinions on aquarium stuff Byron and what ever you say is like law to me.

 

[Byron]

 

 
This has me puzzled, the ammonia part I mean.  I will go into this with Seachem myself, because they have stated several times, and to me personally, that the detoxifying of ammonia by Prime is permanent; it converts ammonia to ammonium which is basically harmless.  And they have said that it will not revert back.

Please do, As you can see I quoted a Seachem site Administrator, and I see people on a Bettafish forum say that all the time.
 
I highly respect your opinions on aquarium stuff Byron and what ever you say is like law to me.
 

Yes, Nick, I hope I didn't imply you were wrong...I did check that link and the Seachem rep does say this, which is why I intend questioning them.  I had a long discussion with them a while back about Prime, all of its "detoxifying" properties, and they were very clear on this.  B.

 

[NickAu]

 
Yes, Nick, I hope I didn't imply you were wrong.

Not at all.
 
I am as confused as you are about this.
 
Like I said
I  do not use Prime, I use Easy Life Fluid Filter Medium, I do not like the smell of prime.
Easy-Life fluid filter medium — English
 
I would love to hear your opinion on Easy Life, I have been using it for a long time now and my fish are all happy and healthy, I do not use ferts on my plants and have never had algae problems. The only other thing I add to my Betta tank is Indian Almond Leaf, and I never remove the old leaf, I let it rot in the tank ( My Kuhlis love hiding under them at feeding time.)
 
 
Byron if you told me I was wrong I wouldn’t be offended, I would heed your advice.
 
Nick.

 

[ezipf]

 
Cycling a tank is a bit more complicated than just letting it sit for a few weeks.
 
Please read this
Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!
 

Thanks, I took a look at it.

 

[Byron]

Like I said
I  do not use Prime, I use Easy Life Fluid Filter Medium, I do not like the smell of prime.
Easy-Life fluid filter medium — English
 
I would love to hear your opinion on Easy Life, I have been using it for a long time now and my fish are all happy and healthy, I do not use ferts on my plants and have never had algae problems. The only other thing I add to my Betta tank is Indian Almond Leaf, and I never remove the old leaf, I let it rot in the tank ( My Kuhlis love hiding under them at feeding time.)
 

 
I also do not use Prime, but this is because I do not need all that it does, and I am somewhat bothered by the messing with the nitrification process, especially when Seachem admit they do not know how Prime detoxifies nitrate.  I will recommend this conditioner when these issues are present, but normally I think it better to use something that does only what is needed, as much as possible.  The less substances entering the water, the better for the fish.
 
Which brings me to the Easy Life additive.  This sounds like quite a miracle additive, which immediately arouses my suspicions, if it does all that they claim.  But I would like to know what exactly is in it before I used it, and no where do they say more than "natural" substances.
 
Byron.

 

[AquariumGuides]

Just saying because I don't see it here, Cory Cats if you plan to replace them tend not to do well in groups of 1-3. I would recommend keeping them in schools of at least 6-8. (plus their schooling behavior is very interesting)

 

[ezipf]

Just saying because I don't see it here, Cory Cats if you plan to replace them tend not to do well in groups of 1-3. I would recommend keeping them in schools of at least 6-8. (plus their schooling behavior is very interesting)

Yeah, I was planning on introducing them 3 at a time.
 
Do you know if their is any adverse affects to introducing different types of cory cats? Lets say 3 peppered and 3 emerald.

 

[Akasha72]

cories need to be in groups of 5 or 6 of the same type, so if you want peppered you would need 5 or 6 peppered and if you want emerald you'd need 5 or 6 emerald. Cories are social fish and so need to be in a group of their own kind

 

[fluttermoth]

Just saying because I don't see it here, Cory Cats if you plan to replace them tend not to do well in groups of 1-3. I would recommend keeping them in schools of at least 6-8. (plus their schooling behavior is very interesting)

Yeah, I was planning on introducing them 3 at a time.
 
Do you know if their is any adverse affects to introducing different types of cory cats? Lets say 3 peppered and 3 emerald.

All shoaling fish really need company of their own species. Different species of most shoaling fish, like tetras and corydoras, will group up, but only as a 'lest resort' because they need to be in a shoal, but single species shoals are always preferable.

 

[Byron]

Do you know if their is any adverse affects to introducing different types of cory cats? Lets say 3 peppered and 3 emerald.
 

 
The quick answer is no, there are no adverse effects.  I am assuming you are only referring to the true Corydoras species; there are some related species that were classified taxonomically in Corydoras but are now in Schleromystax, and these are a different story.
 
As others have correctly mentioned, it is best to have five minimum of a species.  However, this is not mandatory (always provided there are other corys present), and there are times when it may not be possible.  I have over 40 corys in my 115g, and I have 10 of one species, 7 of another, 6 of another, 5 of another, and then fewer (1, 2 or 3) of a few other species due to only finding a couple in the store or whatever.  While none of us can say how the fish "feels" about this, I am not at all certain that it is particularly detrimental.  However, there is a distinction between having no option and deliberately selecting fewer than five of the species.
 
As you have a 36g tank, I would aim for five of the present species, and then five of the second (you have space).  Wait until the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate issue is resolved obviously.  And when acquiring shoaling fish (= fish requiring a group of their own species) it is always preferable to acquire them together if you can.  There are various reasons, and with corys we do not need to worry about hierarchies and territories which some species do involve, but the larger the number the quicker and easier the corys will settle in to their new home.  Safety in numbers to the fish.
 
One other point, on the "emerald"...is this Corydoras aeneus or Corydoras splendens?  Common names are very confusing at times (almost always actually), and here it makes a difference.  C. aeneus is a normal-sized cory, but C. splendens gets considerably larger.  This latter species was previously classified in Brochis as Brochis splendens, but recent phylogenetic work has moved it into Corydoras for the present.  It is peaceful and gets along with other corys, but it does get larger.  And given its uniqueness, I would definitely get five of these.  It is actually not that closely related to C. aeneus, or C. paleatus (the "peppered") so it would appreciate a group of five minimum.  For that matter, C. aeneus and C.paleatus are also not closely related, and once the phylogenetic and taxonomic work is finished both these species will almost certainly not be in Corydoras, for reasons I won't go into unless asked.

 
Byron.

 

[Akasha72]

 

Do you know if their is any adverse affects to introducing different types of cory cats? Lets say 3 peppered and 3 emerald.
 

 
 
As others have correctly mentioned, it is best to have five minimum of a species.  However, this is not mandatory (always provided there are other corys present), and there are times when it may not be possible.  I have over 40 corys in my 115g, and I have 10 of one species, 7 of another, 6 of another, 5 of another, and then fewer (1, 2 or 3) of a few other species due to only finding a couple in the store or whatever.  While none of us can say how the fish "feels" about this, I am not at all certain that it is particularly detrimental.  However, there is a distinction between having no option and deliberately selecting fewer than five of the species.
 
 

 
I would agree with this and I was going to mention it but I didn't want to confuse. My first batch of cories were bronze cories and I got 5. Then the peppered guys arrived and at one point I had 8 but 2 have died of old age recently. Then the panda's arrived and I could only get 4 but they bred in the tank and now there are 6. The next to arrive were my melini, of which there are only 3 - purely because I'm struggling to find any more and I'm down to hoping they copy the panda's and up their number by breeding in the tank. The same applies to my newest additions - my smudge spot cories. Again, there are only three and finding any more seems impossible as they seem to be quite rare.
Currently it's working fine but I believe this to be because there are large groups of some species and the odd guys just hang out with their groups. They feel safe as they are with 'the gang'.

 

[Byron]

 

 
Do you know if their is any adverse affects to introducing different types of cory cats? Lets say 3 peppered and 3 emerald.
 

 
 
As others have correctly mentioned, it is best to have five minimum of a species.  However, this is not mandatory (always provided there are other corys present), and there are times when it may not be possible.  I have over 40 corys in my 115g, and I have 10 of one species, 7 of another, 6 of another, 5 of another, and then fewer (1, 2 or 3) of a few other species due to only finding a couple in the store or whatever.  While none of us can say how the fish "feels" about this, I am not at all certain that it is particularly detrimental.  However, there is a distinction between having no option and deliberately selecting fewer than five of the species.
 
 

 
I would agree with this and I was going to mention it but I didn't want to confuse. My first batch of cories were bronze cories and I got 5. Then the peppered guys arrived and at one point I had 8 but 2 have died of old age recently. Then the panda's arrived and I could only get 4 but they bred in the tank and now there are 6. The next to arrive were my melini, of which there are only 3 - purely because I'm struggling to find any more and I'm down to hoping they copy the panda's and up their number by breeding in the tank. The same applies to my newest additions - my smudge spot cories. Again, there are only three and finding any more seems impossible as they seem to be quite rare.
Currently it's working fine but I believe this to be because there are large groups of some species and the odd guys just hang out with their groups. They feel safe as they are with 'the gang'.
 


 
Yes, I think that your thinking is spot on (...smudge spot on maybe?

 ).  

 

[ezipf]

Alright, I'll just do peppered cories, just in case.

 

[Akasha72]

Peppered cories are great but just to throw another idea into the mix you could look to the smaller cory types. Peppered are on the larger scale of cory - the females get very big by cory standards. If you suspect you might want to add another group further down the line by choosing a smaller cory you allow yourself much more options. 
 
Have you had a look at Planet Catfish at all the different cories? There are so many to choose from and the good thing about PC is they give you all the information on each cory type

 

[ezipf]

Okay, looked around Planet Catfish, and I think I'll stick with peppered cories, I love their almost authentic natural look.
 
But I have been testing my tank daily as it said in the fish in cycle page, and I have been changing the water every other day once ammonia starts getting to high. The ammonia levels have been dropping lower and lower from about 0.5 ppm Sunday, and today it was only a trace about 2 days after any water change. Unfortunately I still don't have a trace of nitrate or nitrite, and my angelfish is still acting pretty stressed.
 
Should I continue doing water changes every other day or is it slowing down the cycle too much? Should I plan on getting some beneficial bacteria from a pet store?