First Fish

[fulltilt]

OK, time to take the plunge

In my "little" 4' foot I've been cycling it up for 10 days, and today went back to the LFS and they suggested :

2x Black Widow Tetra's
2x Black Neons
2x Bronze catfish

Also got 2x snails and some plants.

Previous to this the tank has had lots of water and gravel

All looks well, the biggest snail dug a hole for a while but is now moving around again.

On the plants I have spotted three smaller snails as well, hopefully they turn out like the purchased ones - a nice golden coloured shell, about as big as your thumbnail (or a bit bigger).

Interestingly the Black Widows are almost transparent when they were first added to the tank, but are now back to black (about 1 hr after adding to the tank)

 

[chrismr]

A lot of fish do tend to go pale from the stress of being moved, hence their transparent colouring.

I would suggest getting a few more corys in the future. They do like to be in larger groups. And it is great to watch a whole bunch follow each other round.

Anyway, congrats on your new tank. If you are anything like me, all the spare space in your house will soon be taken up with more tanks

 

[@ombomb]

What are your water stats (Amonia / Nitrite / Nitrate)?

How did you cycle the tank?

Cories should be in a group of 3 or more and the tetra groups of 6 or more.

Having said that I doubt your tank is properly cycled unless you used filter media from another tank, so I wouldn't add anything else et the moment.

 

[chrismr]

What are your water stats (Amonia / Nitrite / Nitrate)?

How did you cycle the tank?

Cories should be in a group of 3 or more and the tetra groups of 6 or more.

Having said that I doubt your tank is properly cycled unless you used filter media from another tank, so I wouldn't add anything else et the moment.

I figured these were the fish that were going to be used to cycle the tank as that is not many fish to go in a 4 foot tank.....

 

[fulltilt]

Anyway, congrats on your new tank. If you are anything like me, all the spare space in your house will soon be taken up with more tanks wahey.gif

Ah !!!!, so I caught that disease off YOU !!!!!. My first tank purchase (only a few weeks ago) was a 6' tank that needs lids and a few other things. In the meantime I've acquired the 4' tank and some smaller 2' tanks (to be used for breeding, quarantine, etc..)

What are your water stats (Amonia / Nitrite / Nitrate)?

NH3 : 0.25 and NO2 : 0, but spiking.

How did you cycle the tank?

I used the LFS recommendation (Sera Aqutan) for this tank, and I'm doing my 6' tank with rdd's ammonia (proper) cycle.

I wouldn't add anything else et the moment.

Yep, with this tank I will follow what the LFS says, my 6' tank I will change a bit

 

[SamUK]

i think one of the biggest mistakes you can make is listen to an LFS.

they want money not to tell you. dont buy anything now, come back in a month.


have a read of this place. ive learnt loads and i havent been here long.

 

[fulltilt]

Sure, but I'm a newb so this tank I've tagged as "the LFS way" and my 6' tank will be done "the net way". The LFS said just use "bacteria in a bottle" for 10 days then buy a small number of hardy fish ... ok, that's what I'll do.


My 6' tank will be done the "proper" way. FULL cycle with Ammonia, etc. to get it ready for stocking.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Biospira is the only bacteria that will work. Its the only bacteria additive that even makes sense! 1. It has to be kept cold so the dormant bacteria dont wake up and have nothing to eat and starve/suffocate to death. 2. It doesnt just sit on a shelf immortally. 3. There IS a difference between the marine and FW bacteria! Thats why FW dips for SW ich makes the parasite die, because it lives in SW. So all the other products that say for FW and SW dont even make sense. IMO, they are just added slime that the fish dont need, and if overdosed can cause difficulty breathing because it coats their gills as well as adding slime coat to the rest of the body.

Id take the fish back, or try to give or sell them to any other store that you can and save their lives. Tetras may be hardy, but they arent when it comes to the amount of ammonia in the cycling process. Since you already have ammonia, Biospira would be a good thing to try if you can get a hold of it. Otherwise, you can use a danio or the fishless cycling method.

 

[fulltilt]

RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah, have you used the Sera products before ?

I haven't mentioned anything about FW or SW, but I have one question :

Id take the fish back, or try to give or sell them to any other store that you can and save their lives.

Hypothetically, how long would it take them to die ? What are ths signs I should be watching out for ?

 

[SamUK]

do you know anyone with a fish tank you could steal some gravel out of?


that would help alot!

 

[fulltilt]

Not really, I have a friend that I haven't seen for a few years that used to talk about when he had fish. I've been trying to contact him, but haven't been able to do so yet.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah, have you used the Sera products before ?

I haven't mentioned anything about FW or SW, but I have one question :

Id take the fish back, or try to give or sell them to any other store that you can and save their lives.

Hypothetically, how long would it take them to die ? What are ths signs I should be watching out for ?

Nope I havent used that brand before. I assumed that it was FW, otherwise youd be posting in the marine section.

The time it would take for them to die depends on how high the ammonia got. When i started out, i bought a STARTER kit and 5 fish all at once, for a 10 gallon from petsmart, and they didnt say anything. So I had like 15 fish die because no one would take them back, and the tank just wouldnt cycle in time to save their lives. It was so sad, and it took about 3 weeks for the biggest, and probably therefore hardiest to die in about 1.5 ppm ammonia. Look for the fish gasping at the surface for air, because ammonia does something to the gills, which also causes them to become reddened, so look for red around the gills also, but hopefully you can take them back and maybe find some Biospira instead.

 

[fishing4exotics]

Biospira is the only "cycle in a bottle" that works. The other products contain the wrong bacteria species. The bacteria in Biospira is the same species of bacteria that is in a cycled tank. The other products contain bacteria that is found in soil.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i think you guys are overreacting. this is a 4 foot tank isnt it? the fish wont die if its in a big tank, because there is alot of water for a small amount of fish. its not like he stocked the whole thing all at once, and he let it cycle for 10 days, which is probably enough time for some bacteria to be on his filter. if you return the fish or give them to somebody else, you will end up wasting your time and money for something you didnt need to do.

 

[fulltilt]

Nope I havent used that brand before. I assumed that it was FW, otherwise youd be posting in the marine section.

And the fact that all the fish I was talking about are FW. Don't worry, I've just seen you post almost the same thing letter for letter in another thread. You also said you don't have FW, only SW.

Biospira would be a good thing to try if you can get a hold of it.

OK, so where do I get some in Sydney ? .... Or where do you get Sera products in Oregon so you can actually know what I'm talking about.

The other products contain the wrong bacteria species. The bacteria in Biospira is the same species of bacteria that is in a cycled tank.

OK, so if I can't find Biospira what species of bacteria am I trying to find.

this is a 4 foot tank isnt it?

YEP!

if you return the fish or give them to somebody else, you will end up wasting your time and money for something you didnt need to do.

Thanks for the advice, this is the piece of advice I will accept. I've said it before but I'll say it again. This is the tank where I will do what the LFS says, in my other tank I'm doing what you guys say is the best thing. I know I'm a newb but I still have to walk into the LFS every few weeks to purchase stock, food, test kits or something !!!. Also, I'm thinking of setting up some other tanks (yes, I have caught the bug ) and like rdd I'm just testing out what works best for me.

I hope that clears things up a bit ...