Hi Anna,
Well written article and worthy of pinning, but we've had a few others of similar elk which haven't been pinned simply because there are already similar threads pinned.
Anyway, as i said, well done but may i point out a few errors and ommissions?
Here's what I do to give my fish the best chance:
1. Immediately do a 10-15% water change with dechlorinated water and continue to do this at least once daily until your tank is cycling (i.e. ammonia and nitrite are at zero).
Quite often a 10 - 15% water change won't be enough to bring the fish back to relative safety. You should maybe advise that a 50 - 75% water change be performed in the first instance, and then test again. I would also emphasise more that its almost impossible to change too much water so long as temp, pH and kH are closely matched. I feel that this is a very important point which newbies need to know.
You could maybe also advise a level of ammonia and nitrite to aim for whilst cycling. It is popular on TFF to suggest that if either ammonia or nitrite rise to above 0.25mg/l, a water change should be performed to bring it back down. This is a realistic level to aim for (0 wouldn't be realistic in a cycling tank), and although 0.25mg/l is still toxic, it is about as low as is realistic to achieve in a cycling tank.
5. Avoid using medications, if at all possible, as many medications kill off beneficial bacteria. Your fish may well get ick, fungus or other infections due to the stress of the ammonia and nitrite but the priority is to get that water quality as good as possible.
I feel this may be slightly misleading. If the fish have Ich etc, the damage has already been done, and although correcting water conditions is critical, treatment is also. I wouldn't rely on correcting my water parameters to kill Ich, because it probably won't. I feel that in this situation, a combination of treatment and correcting the water conditions is essential.
The LFS sold me a product that locks away ammonia. Can I use that to save my fish?
Thirdly, theoretically, "locked" ammonia can't be utilised by the beneficial bacteria and may possibly retard its growth.
This is incorrect. Locked ammonia can be used by the biological filter just the same as un-locked ammonia. It won't impair the growth of the bacteria at all.
But I tested my water when I first set my tank up and it was fine!
You won't get ammonia or nitrite unless you have fish, or an artificial source of ammonia (such as that you add during fishless cycling).
May i suggest that it would be useful to add in here that many an LFS will send you away with tank, filter etc and tell you to come back in 1 week with a water sample. You go back 1 week later, and due to no ammonia source being added to the tank, the LFS says your water is fine as theres no ammonia or nitrite to speak of. This of course is nonsense as the levels aren't 0 because the tank is cycled, but actually because the cycle hasn't started yet. In my experience this is something which seems to catch out many beginners in the hobby.
I also agree with NutMutt that it would be useful to mention that fish also produce ammonia through respiration, so although not feeding will cut down ammonia prduction, it won't halt it altogether.
Lastly, may i suggest that you could also link to RDD1952's pinned article on fishless cycling which appears on this forum. It's one of the best i've seen.
<a href="http
/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/</a>
Well done again on a good article and i hope my comments help.
Cheers
BTT
