Hi Everyone!

[Skyelah]

Hey there everyone!

I've had a fish tank in the past... almost 15 years ago (we moved from FL to TX so we had to give the fish to friends way back then) It's been awhile! We're back home in FL for good and we decided to set up a new tank!

I am now freaking out because I didn't cycle my tank (29 gallons) as you guys are talking about. We bought a new tank and let it set up for 2 days before I bought 4 fish. Everything was fine so we bought some more little guys.

All of our readings are fine except our ammonia. It was also starting to get a little cloudy. The tank is a month old now and we did a 75% tank change with brought the ammonia down but it's back up again. The water is much much clearer now! Almost perfect.

I am really starting to worry about this because I don't want to hurt or make the little guys suffer! We didn't cycle our old tank way back when and I had no idea I should be doing it this time. Yeah, you guessed it... the people at the pet store failed to mention this!

Another board mentioned I should do another water change... what do you guys think?

I'm going to set up a 55 gallon soon and I am going to do it much much slower.... so slow in fact it is sitting in my living room with no water in it yet!

Thanks in advance... I look forward to your opinions!!!

Skye

 

[jacko32]

yeah just keep doing the 75% water changes everyday if possible or every other day if your readings arent too bad

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Skyelah.
You are in what we call a fish-in cycle. What that means to you is that youy will need to do water changes that are big enough and often enough to keep your ammonia and nitrites both under about 0.25 ppm. That can be a daunting task but can be done and will keep your fish healthy during the time it takes your filter to cycle. At a month old, your tank should be getting to the point where ammonia is already taking care of itself and nitrites are becoming the main problem but it doesn't sound like you are there yet. Do not go changing the filter media in your filter as that will put you back to square one with the cycle. Instead just clean the media in used tank water and put it back into the filter to continue to work for you. Almost all of the bacteria that grow to handle ammonia and nitrites end up living in that media and you really don't want to give them up or toss them as the manufacturers would have you do.

 

[Assaye]

Heya!

The guys on the other board were right - ammonia is deadly and you need to do everything you can to keep it at zero. This means lots of water changes. The best method is to test at least daily and change as much water as needed to remove the ammonia. Don't be afraid of 50% or even 75% water changes.

After a few weeks, you should see the ammonia levels naturally lowering. It might even take less time than this. When this happens, it is because your filter bacteria are strong enough to 'eat' all the ammonia, so you don't have to do so many water changes!

Once your ammonia starts to go down, however, something called nitrite will start to climb. This is also very toxic so you need to keep up with those water changes until that is always at zero as well. Keep testing for a further week and if everything is OK, you're good to add a few more fish. Then rinse and repeat. After the first few fish, this process will get much shorter (as long as you only add a few at a time). This is because you already have a healthy population of bacteria that that point and so they just need to reproduce a bit.

The cloudy water is caused by bacteria (not your filter bacteria) that eat waste products in the tank (like fish poo). These turn those waste products into ammonia and in a new tank, they have a bonanza! The water changes will help lower the ammonia but until your tank is cycled and you have a stable population of all the kinds of bacteria for your watery eco-system, you can still get the cloudy water.

You are in a fish-in cycle so have a read of this. It will guide you through what you need to buy and what you need to do.

Good luck!

 

[NinjaSmurf]

What's your stock?

 

[Skyelah]

Thanks for the replies!!

I will keep changing the water! I just tested and the ammonia and it is between a 1 and a 3 on my test strips. Everything else is good. I'll watch for the nitrates and nitrites!

I have.... 2 mollies (didn't know they were suppose to have salt but they are doing good should I do anything because of them?)
2 red fin sharks
3 x-ray tetra's (I remembered to keep tetra's in odd numbers)
2 skeleton fish (I can't remember their full name)
2 gourami's (dwarf)

The mollies and the sharks are the first ones I put in there. Then I added the other guys.

So... don't change my filters? Leave them alone? Should I rinse them with filtered water?

Assaye... I'm heading to your link now! Thanks!

 

[Jenste]

Sharks grow quite large and become VERY territorial and aggressive - one will end up killing the other - I recommend getting rid of atleast one....the other should be alright in the 55 but will not be in the 29.

My lfs did the same thing to me when I was first setting up tanks - they are about the profit and not the fish

 

[Assaye]

Thanks for the replies!!

I will keep changing the water! I just tested and the ammonia and it is between a 1 and a 3 on my test strips. Everything else is good. I'll watch for the nitrates and nitrites!

I have.... 2 mollies (didn't know they were suppose to have salt but they are doing good should I do anything because of them?)
2 red fin sharks
3 x-ray tetra's (I remembered to keep tetra's in odd numbers)
2 skeleton fish (I can't remember their full name)
2 gourami's (dwarf)

The mollies and the sharks are the first ones I put in there. Then I added the other guys.

So... don't change my filters? Leave them alone? Should I rinse them with filtered water?

Assaye... I'm heading to your link now! Thanks!

Check the filters weekly and gently rinse off any gunk in tank water, but apart from that leave them alone. Unless you have carbon or zeolite elements in the filter (which need to be changed regularly OR only used when needed), you don't need to change any of the ceramic rings or sponges unless they are damaged.

Be wary of the test strips. If you have a BIG problem, they'll let you know but they are very inaccurate and can easily show zero when in fact there is a low reading in the tank. When they run out, please consider replacing them with a liquid test kit which will be more accurate and cheaper per test. It would be ideal if you could get one of those ASAP as knowing exactly what your readings are is really important if you are going to help the fish.

Your readings need to be zero or at least under the first level on the strip. If they are bigger than that it means you need to do larger water changes, or even two back-to-back. 1 ppm (which is what I assume you mean by 1) is a very toxic level, even though it seems small to us humans.

Mollies don't need salt - they need hard, mineral rich water. Unless you have low pH, soft water, they will be fine.

As the others have said, the sharks will become very aggressive to each other when mature, so much so that keeping two together is a big no-no. A 29 gallon is also too small for them. They can hit 6-8 inches and need a large terriatory. I would advise re-homing one and moving the other to the 55 gallon when it is cycled.

Great that you're looking at the link. Was it useful?

Good luck x

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Also, try to find out what the 'skeleton' fish actually are, I have a thought they might be glass catfish.

You're mollies should be fine, they have a very large range and from what I've heard can go from fresh all the way up to marine.

And once you get the ammonia and stock straightened out I'd suggest getting at least 3 more x-rays, the recommended number for schooling fish is at least six of the same species.


And yes, while fish stores can give some very bad advise, try not to hold it against the employees, chain stores often require them to tell customers certain things about fish keeping regardless if that employee actually knows about keeping fish (and can be fired for not following the stores 'fishkeeping method'). Other times, they just don't know all that much at all and/or know enough to sound knowledgable but have no real idea, and can't admit it. And sometimes you get lucky.

 

[jasonmack]

Hey Skye. I'm new to the forum as well.

I would just keep cycling the water on a daily basis or by daily basis ( as someone mentioned above). I don't think you have to be too worried as long as the readings are OK.

Best wishes

 

[Skyelah]

Sharks grow quite large and become VERY territorial and aggressive - one will end up killing the other - I recommend getting rid of atleast one....the other should be alright in the 55 but will not be in the 29.

My lfs did the same thing to me when I was first setting up tanks - they are about the profit and not the fish

Uggg! I will put one in the 55 gallon when I put it together... I can cycle it with him in there right? I was going to try to cycle it without fish.... but I don't want these two in a battle now!

Check the filters weekly and gently rinse off any gunk in tank water, but apart from that leave them alone. Unless you have carbon or zeolite elements in the filter (which need to be changed regularly OR only used when needed), you don't need to change any of the ceramic rings or sponges unless they are damaged.

Be wary of the test strips. If you have a BIG problem, they'll let you know but they are very inaccurate and can easily show zero when in fact there is a low reading in the tank. When they run out, please consider replacing them with a liquid test kit which will be more accurate and cheaper per test. It would be ideal if you could get one of those ASAP as knowing exactly what your readings are is really important if you are going to help the fish.

Your readings need to be zero or at least under the first level on the strip. If they are bigger than that it means you need to do larger water changes, or even two back-to-back. 1 ppm (which is what I assume you mean by 1) is a very toxic level, even though it seems small to us humans.

Mollies don't need salt - they need hard, mineral rich water. Unless you have low pH, soft water, they will be fine.

As the others have said, the sharks will become very aggressive to each other when mature, so much so that keeping two together is a big no-no. A 29 gallon is also too small for them. They can hit 6-8 inches and need a large terriatory. I would advise re-homing one and moving the other to the 55 gallon when it is cycled.

Great that you're looking at the link. Was it useful?

Good luck x

I will get a liquid test kit this weekend!! Thanks! I am almost out of the ammonia strips already! I've read a bunch but still have more to read! I'm learning from it! Thanks a bunch!!

Also, try to find out what the 'skeleton' fish actually are, I have a thought they might be glass catfish.

You're mollies should be fine, they have a very large range and from what I've heard can go from fresh all the way up to marine.

And once you get the ammonia and stock straightened out I'd suggest getting at least 3 more x-rays, the recommended number for schooling fish is at least six of the same species.


And yes, while fish stores can give some very bad advise, try not to hold it against the employees, chain stores often require them to tell customers certain things about fish keeping regardless if that employee actually knows about keeping fish (and can be fired for not following the stores 'fishkeeping method'). Other times, they just don't know all that much at all and/or know enough to sound knowledgable but have no real idea, and can't admit it. And sometimes you get lucky.

The skeleton fish.... here is a link for a picture of one I found.... http/members.chello.nl/~j.bukkems/Vissen/Kryptopterus_minor.jpg

The guy at the pet store is super nice and it seemed like he knew what he was talking about when I would ask him questions. He's not the one that was there when I got the 2 sharks that now I need to seperate. They're both the same size and they seem fine together... but who knows what happens when that tank light goes out!

Soooooo.... when it comes time to add fish to the 55 gallon.... be prepared... I may bug you guys about who gets along with eachother.... geez... you guys will probably end up hating me!!

Thanks again!!!

Hey Skye. I'm new to the forum as well.

I would just keep cycling the water on a daily basis or by daily basis ( as someone mentioned above). I don't think you have to be too worried as long as the readings are OK.

Best wishes

Hey there! I'm learning a lot around here! I'll be doing water changes more often now!! How long have you had your tank(s)?

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Yup, glass catfish. They can be a little tricky to feed sometimes, how are your's doing?

 

[Assaye]

Do a fishless cycle on the 55 gallon. If the sharks are still young and you give them plenty of hiding places, it should be OK for the time being. You can cycle with fish but as you are finding out it is a lot of work and does put your fish at risk. If you go fishless, you can get it all sorted in a month or so and then add at least half your stock all at once.

 

[Skyelah]

Yup, glass catfish. They can be a little tricky to feed sometimes, how are your's doing?

They like to hang out in one area together but adventure out time to time. I haven't seen them bother any other fish. They eat the flake food with no problems.

 

[Skyelah]

MY NITRATES ARE GOING UP!!!!

I can't believe I am saying this but I am excited because I know that's the next step! My ammonia is staying between a 1 and a 3.

Today will be a 75% water change! I tested my home water and there is NO ammonia in it! I do live in FL so the water is hard. That's the only thing that's high on it. I will use as much filtered water that my reverse osmosis tank holds then use the rest tap water.

I'm on my way, right??? This ammonia is driving me nutso!!!