Cycling

[IovaykInD]

Should I remove dead fish from the tank during cycling? Or leave it in there to add to the ammonia. There are still other fish that are alive, and I don't know if I should keep the dead fish in there or take it out.

Isaac

 

[smithrc]

give the poor fish some dignaty... take it out.

I you have to cycle with fish, try do it careingly - regular water changes to keep the toxic levels down.

Do you know what you levels are at the moment?
(it may have just been a natural death an here i am, assuming it died due to the cycling)

 

[IovaykInD]

Ammonia is .25 ppm and I believe that is enough to kill oneself. Shouldn't I leave it in though? For it to produce ammonia? And help the cycle?

Isaac

 

[rdd1952]

That's not a toxic level for ammonia, actually pretty normal for a cycle with fish. Since you are cycling with fish, you don't need anything to add extra ammonia. The fish themselves will produce enough.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Removing the fish is also a good idea as so not to bring desease into the tank, may i ask what he died of and any symptoms he displayed before death? how big is the tank and how many fish do you have and what types?

 

[IovaykInD]

You can read my topic on the other thread.

This Thread

Isaac

 

[dwarfgourami]

Reading your other thread, you don't know for sure what your fish died of- so I would whip it out quick!
It is true that ammonia poisoning is a possibility, but this often works by developing some other illness, so there is no knowing what is in that fish that could be contagious.
And your living fish are there to develop ammonia to cycle the tank, they don't want any extras as they're having a hard enough time already.

 

[IovaykInD]

All of the danios died overnight
Should I leave them all in there to produce ammonia? I don't want to go to the pet store to get more and watch them die again. I will put them into the filter inlet where they will decay, then i'll cycle it that way. When the cycle is done, I will get more fish.

Isaac

 

[dwarfgourami]

I still think this is a bad idea as you cannot be sure that they are not carrying infection. I would take them out and then cycle the tank with household ammonia.

 

[rdd1952]

I still think this is a bad idea as you cannot be sure that they are not carrying infection. I would take them out and then cycle the tank with household ammonia.

I agree 100%. Adding ammonia (49 cents a bottle) is much better than letting fish decay, True, you are getting ammonia but what else are you getting??? And as stated, if the fish died of a disease, you are just giving that bacteria a chance to multiply so it can attack the next residents of the tank.

 

[IovaykInD]

Can someone refer me to an online supplier of ammonia? I cannot seem to find a pet store near me that sells pure ammonia.

Isaac

 

[dwarfgourami]

No, pet stores don't. You get it from a hardware store. People use it for cleaning. Pure household ammonia, check that it contains nothing but ammonia and water. No perfumes etc. You can try shaking the bottle; if it foams then it has surfactants in it which are bad for fish; if it is still should be alright on that score. Good luck!

 

[IovaykInD]

Oh ok..no wonder I never found it

Hardware stores like Home Depot? I should look in the cleaning section, right?
I will go get it today, so i'm going to take out the dead fish now...and use them for fertilizer in my garden

Isaac

 

[rdd1952]

As much as I hate to say it, Walmart sells it. The brand is Sea Mist or something like that. Also, as for ingredients, as stated before, surfactants are bad but if it has a chleating agent, that is ok. Chleating (sp) agents are simply there to maintain the bond or "mix" of water and ammonia so they don't seperate. If there aren't any ingredients on the bottle, shake it good. If you get foam, it's no good but a few air bubbles that burst immediately are ok. After all, if you shake a bottle of water, you will get some bubbles just like when you pour water in your tank.

 

[eudielynn]

Most grocery stores sell amonia. It's located with other cleaning supplies like windex. It's actually far better for cleaning glass IMHO than windex if you can stand the smell.