Cracken
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 17, 2011
- Messages
- 13
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Hello all,
I am a self-confessed absolute noob with no redeeming features except maybe my ignited passion for tropical fishkeeping...
To be fair, I am not a fishowner. My son is. Well, it was his Christmas present after a lot of pleading so technically I am just the assistant fishowner, but if you ask my wife then she considers that I am the one who is well and truly hooked, line and sinker.
We purchased an all in one 40ltr tropical kit with filter, heater, tank, food, water treatment, net and gravel. I knew enough to treat the water first and run it for 24hrs but then went straight to fish in. From there on in it was all down hill initially, but I have since turned the corner I think. But the cronology demands a fair accounting of the follies first.
1. I put the fish in after 24hrs.
2. The local pet shop assured me I could mix guppies with a fighting fish.
3. I did not test the water levels or commence a cycle...
OK, the next bit might be self evident but is worth relating. Yes, the fighting fish did not like the little red male guppies very much. It was red too and they did not make for good tank mates. I lost one of my guppies to the fighting fish before removing it to a separate gaol tank and subsequently returning it to the pet store for an exhange.
My second mistake was to "clean" the filter after a few days. I did it the absolute worst way possible by running it directly under the tap and killing all the bacteria colony and introducing untreated water to the tank too. I lost a second guppy the next day and was probably fortunate not to lose more. THIS was the point where I decided the documentation and information provided by my local pet store was probably inadequate and discovered this excellent forum online. I've since read all the cycling and noob threads. Again, my sincere thanks!
OK, so now I am performing a fish in cycle. Unfortunately I do not yet have an API all in one freshwater test kit but have purchased one and it will arrive tomorrow. I have now had my tank for two weeks and am currently doing a 20% daily water change anyway to stay on top of the ammonia levels which are no doubt building up despite my inability to measure and record them. When the test kit arrives tomorrow I will log my daily readings and actions until I have a cycled tank.
My community at present consists of 6 Guppies (3 male and 3 female) as well as 2 Platies. Quite a big community for an uncycled tank but we'll bring them all through safely.
Welcome any suggestions on actions I could take that might help this process or anything else I should consider.
Cheers,
Michael
I am a self-confessed absolute noob with no redeeming features except maybe my ignited passion for tropical fishkeeping...
To be fair, I am not a fishowner. My son is. Well, it was his Christmas present after a lot of pleading so technically I am just the assistant fishowner, but if you ask my wife then she considers that I am the one who is well and truly hooked, line and sinker.
We purchased an all in one 40ltr tropical kit with filter, heater, tank, food, water treatment, net and gravel. I knew enough to treat the water first and run it for 24hrs but then went straight to fish in. From there on in it was all down hill initially, but I have since turned the corner I think. But the cronology demands a fair accounting of the follies first.
1. I put the fish in after 24hrs.
2. The local pet shop assured me I could mix guppies with a fighting fish.
3. I did not test the water levels or commence a cycle...
OK, the next bit might be self evident but is worth relating. Yes, the fighting fish did not like the little red male guppies very much. It was red too and they did not make for good tank mates. I lost one of my guppies to the fighting fish before removing it to a separate gaol tank and subsequently returning it to the pet store for an exhange.
My second mistake was to "clean" the filter after a few days. I did it the absolute worst way possible by running it directly under the tap and killing all the bacteria colony and introducing untreated water to the tank too. I lost a second guppy the next day and was probably fortunate not to lose more. THIS was the point where I decided the documentation and information provided by my local pet store was probably inadequate and discovered this excellent forum online. I've since read all the cycling and noob threads. Again, my sincere thanks!
OK, so now I am performing a fish in cycle. Unfortunately I do not yet have an API all in one freshwater test kit but have purchased one and it will arrive tomorrow. I have now had my tank for two weeks and am currently doing a 20% daily water change anyway to stay on top of the ammonia levels which are no doubt building up despite my inability to measure and record them. When the test kit arrives tomorrow I will log my daily readings and actions until I have a cycled tank.
My community at present consists of 6 Guppies (3 male and 3 female) as well as 2 Platies. Quite a big community for an uncycled tank but we'll bring them all through safely.
Welcome any suggestions on actions I could take that might help this process or anything else I should consider.
Cheers,
Michael