New upgrade cycle.

[RED1958]

Hi guys, I have a new question but here's what happened. I bought two top fin 20 gal hexagons on sale, I have a female betta in one and it is working great, but I put in my Angel, older than dirt neon tetra and older than that pearl zebra. The zebra and Neon seem to think they are the same and school together since all the others died of old age years ago. Anyway, I bought API quick start and believed what I read and put these guys in the tank right away after acclimation and that was quite a while ago and they are doing fine so far, but then the ammonia started going up and I decided the Angel is probably to big for the tank. I am pretty sure it is female because of the plumpness and she is guarding a leaf and picking at it, so however big they get to start breeding is how big she is. So I bought a 55 gallon, got it all ready and then I started reading the forums about Quick start and how it really works. So my question is, was I just lucky on the first tank adding them from the old tank to the 20? Because now I am scared to put them into the 55. Should I go through the regular cycle or can I use the quick start again? So far I have put in the water conditioner, some quick start, Plants from the tank they are in now and some gravel from my goldfish tank. No ammonia, Nitrite or nitrates yet. been testing daily. Sorry if I type too much, my friends say they can't call me until they have a few hours to talk because I yak too much. Than you

 

[fishorama]

I would do a regular cycling of your new tank dosing ammonia to 1 or 2ppm. When it shows NO ammonia after 24 hours, do a big water change. Some cycled filter media & plants can speed things up. I've never used Quick Start, I "think" it's similar to Dr Tim's 1 & Only but I bet TwoTankAmin can talk you through the process.

Under the bus my friend , I know you can help Red.

 

[RED1958]

I would do a regular cycling of your new tank dosing ammonia to 1 or 2ppm. When it shows NO ammonia after 24 hours, do a big water change. Some cycled filter media & plants can speed things up. I've never used Quick Start, I "think" it's similar to Dr Tim's 1 & Only but I bet TwoTankAmin can talk you through the process.

Under the bus my friend , I know you can help Red.

Thank you, I think I will try that. I was right about the Angel, she laid eggs all over the leaf, I feel so sorry for her, bless her little fish heart, she is guarding eggs that will never hatch.

 

[fishorama]

Congrats gender ID, it's hard to do with angels, & on the eggs, snacks for everyone unless she hogs them all.

 

[RED1958]

Congrats gender ID, it's hard to do with angels, & on the eggs, snacks for everyone unless she hogs them all.

She is still in mother mode, it looks like she is fanning them, ha. a lot of them have already turned white. The trick now is going to try and find a male.

 

[fishorama]

Well, breeding angels is a whole different thing . We were given 2 female angels that both laid eggs & guarded them, then they ate all the infertile eggs. We bought what we hoped was a male & it was! But no matter how he flirted, the old girls were set in their ways. They just shooed him away, no damage...but no snacks or breeding for him, poor boy.

After thinking some more, it may be Tetra Safe Start, not Quick Start or Tetra Safe (a dechlor), that is similar to Dr. Tim's 1 & Only. So confusing with similar names, & like I said, I've never used any of those. Do some more research!