Oh crud, how do I keep all of my fish alive.

[Spilk]

Ok, any and all advice needed here.

First off, I'm not a total novice and have had a decent bit of experience with fish. That's just my way of saying I feel like a retard and oh god oh jeeze. Second off, I have exactly no luck at all and found that no amount of preparation can fend off accidents.

Long story less long than it could be:

I have a successful tank I gave to my parents two cities away, 50 gallons and home to lots of easy care plants, a large pleco, a handful of livebearers and a couple barbs so the population is stable.

I decided I wanted a small easy to maintain tank myself and planted and prepared a small 20 gallon tank in preperation for 3 albino cory's, a female black molly, a couple platties, a tiny frog, and some ghost shrimp.

The substrate was going to come entirely from the big tank so i was like WEE ok let's get rolling. My parents filled a large bag with thier gravel and i gave them some new gravel. Using this I set up the tank with my biowheel and plants and so forth and let it circulate for 12 hours thinking it would build up enough bacteria in the filter for a good start (I even stirred the gravel at the 6 hour mark!). See, I also had two bags of water from the tank but they leaked but i was like hey no prob the two inches of gravel should be enough. It didn't seem as dirty as I expected, but I did tell them to rinse it a little in the tank water.

So the next day IN GO ALL MY NEW FISH WEE and at first they're cool and like wow this is cool I'm a fish doing fish things LOOK AT ME HIDE BECAUSE I'M A FISH. So I was like B) you guys are fish.

About ten hours later the fish are going crazy and I'm like well I'll be that's odd WHAT IF I TAKE A READING and let me tell you that was a great idea I'm glad I did it. It read like It was a new tank someone dumped a bunch of fish in. That wasn't at all what I expected so I called my parents and asked them about the gravel.

They boiled it so it wouldn't be dirty. I asked them again just to be sure. Yep. They boiled it.

So there's no way I can see them anytime soon, there's no one nearby with a successful tank AND I DON'T WANT MY FISH TO DIE OR HAVE ANYWHERE TO PUT THEM.

I thought it was going to be so simple

Any and all tips, chemicals, thingies, and rumors are welcome. I don't want them all to die

Ps: already doing the 15% daily change. I even went so far as to buy those bacteria in a bottle which I really don't believe in but hey anything for hope right.

 

[digital_run]

Just keep up the frequent water changes and watch your paramater's. Was your bio-wheel new or is it from an establihed tank? I wouldnt worry too much....cycling a tank with fish can be very stressful on them...but with water changes and TLC you should be aok.

 

[Spilk]

Just keep up the frequent water changes and watch your paramater's. Was your bio-wheel new or is it from an establihed tank? I wouldnt worry too much....cycling a tank with fish can be very stressful on them...but with water changes and TLC you should be aok.

Absolutely everything in the tank had absolutely no contact (or reminents as the case may be) with an established tank.

I wouldn't be nearly as worried if I hadn't stocked the tank like I have.

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Spilk

I feel so bad for you, especially since I am changing all 17 of my tanks from gravel to sand, this week, and getting rid of what seem like tons of bacteria laden gravel.

Perhaps if you post your location and ask for help, there might be a member living near enough to you to help you out.

If not, just keep doing regular -- daily if necessary -- water changes, to keep your chemicals under control until it cycles. It doesn't matter to the fish how long the process takes, as long as the fish are comfortable while it is going on.

Another thing you might try is a product called Bio Spira. It is actual bacteria that can be purchased at the lfs. I've heard some good things about it.

 

[Spilk]

Hi Spilk

I feel so bad for you, especially since I am changing all 17 of my tanks from gravel to sand, this week, and getting rid of what seem like tons of bacteria laden gravel.

Perhaps if you post your location and ask for help, there might be a member living near enough to you to help you out.

If not, just keep doing regular -- daily if necessary -- water changes, to keep your chemicals under control until it cycles. It doesn't matter to the fish how long the process takes, as long as the fish are comfortable while it is going on.

Another thing you might try is a product called Bio Spira. It is actual bacteria that can be purchased at the lfs. I've heard some good things about it.

OH GOD THAT JUST HURTS haha, but what's that thing about not getting what you need or want or think would be neat to have. I don't know but I hate it.

Either way, I'll read this thread periodically so seriously any tips or hints would be great.

Anyone know a fast way to breed the bacteria in smaller amounts in like a dish or something so I could at least have a bit to add to the filter?

 

[gaya]

Is there a mom and pop LFS where you are? Usually they are friendly and willing to help out in a jam. Plus their tanks are run separate from each other. I go in and ask if I could buy the fake plants they have in their healthy tanks. good luck

 

[newbie hob]

I dont know if this will work or not, but if you have a mini tank or such like, you might try to do a fishless cycle in it with some added ammonia ( you will have to work the formula per the mini tank size you choose, or if you have a real nice LFS ask him to keep them for you and you can establish a fishless cycle. (im just thinking out loud here

 

[xWendyx]

Your post was one of the funniest things I've read

The way you phrased it cracked me up

 

[MammaKitty]

I am a newbie and got a tank for xmas was so excited about the whole thing never read up on the how to's and never cyled my tank before I stocked it with 12 fish then got ICH and Ammonia up to 1.0 did some water changes and ICH meds then got cotton mouth lost 1 fish treated with Kanamycin 4 days. I still was not happy with how my fish looked or acted I was worried about them so I did purchase a hostpital tank for 2 that I think are sick put them in and went to this AWESOME fish store I was going to try that ammnia remover for the filter but the said to use this stuff called TURBO START it is live bacteria in a bottle (kept in refridgerator) $13.00 for 1oz treats 40 gals great stuff you get instant cycle in 4 to 5 days. I am on day 4 and everything is going really good and the fish seem to be doing alot better oh and added some more plants they really liked the new hiding spots. I am not a pro but thought this might help I also not sure of your location and if you can get this or not but if you can I think it is your best bet. PEW I smells like puke in a bottle though.

 

[Spilk]

Well, I still don't have any other tanks or stores or people with fish nearby, this goes back to the worry I was having before. I work WAY too much to be able to go as far as I need to, so I'm sticking with the take some water out and then put different water in and then tap at the cory even though I'm not supposed to but it's funny when he gets startled and bumps into the frog plan that I was working on before.

Well I mean there's a Petsmart nearby. I'm not taking their gravel or water or anything though. No. HAVE YOU SEEN THE HORRIBLE THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO THEIR FISH. I don't even think it's water. It's like . . . well I don't know what it's like but it's gross and I'm not putting it in my tank.

EDIT oh yes, I live in Tempe, AZ a few miles from ASU.

 

[littlefishie]

Perhaps if you try what Inchworm suggested you might be able to get some established material.
If you post your location [or simply specify it on your profile] you will more than likely find a member in the area who could help you out.
Hell, if you're anywhere near me I've got a ton of colonized crap.

 

[CMC]

Don't feel bad - we made the most common newbie mistake when we bought our first 55-gallon tank a year ago. We set it up and let it "cycle" for 24 hours. We thought WOO HOO lets add our fish now! Well when a couple of them started dying right away we did some research on the net and found out we made a big mistake. We had some beautiful baby veiled angels that we didn't want to lose. We did 25% water changes religiously for several days and tested the water every other day. Luckily we didn't lose any of the baby angels and still have them today. They are now in a 240 gallon tank (yes, we've move up, and we did it right the second time around!) and almost full grown.

 

[endilliteracy]

I also received a 10 gallon tank for x-mas and rushed into the fish hobby. I let it "cycle" for 24 hours then bought a live plant and some fish. The only fish that died was a guppy that was attacked by my betta because I didn't know the betta would attack the guppy. I guess because of the guppy's pretty tail. None of my fish died for awhile. Then 2 weeks later my glass cat fish was dead for "no reason" he was just curled up and laying on the gravel. Then 2 weeks later my orangefin loach died. I have been doing 25% water changes often but never have I checked my water. I still need to buy a kit. My PH is around 7.

 

[Spilk]

Hey I just wanted to say thanks for the concern, I found someone nearby who had a biowheel setup . . . so he let me run my biowheel in his tank for about 10 hours and take a gallon of his water and a handful of substrate SO I THINK I AM GOOD NOW.

Wow a bit of good luck to even out the rest

 

[Yenko]

Inchworm, don't worry about going from gravel to sand. Just reduce your feeding a bit for the first week after adding the sand; your filter should make up for the loss in bacteria.