Suprise suprise

[gadazobe]

Hubby just walked in about 30 mins ago with a "suprise" for me (I just hate it when he does that) 1 beautiful blue - purple betta and 4 zebra danios for the new tank He's named the betta Lucky coz he's lucky he came to live here Problem is I've just started cycling this new tank and at the moment ammonia is 0 but nitrites are slowly rising. :what: What the h*&% do I do now? :but:

 

[Davy Reynolds]

fire them in. Danios are the best for cycling tanks, I'm sure that beta is quite hardy to so just go for it

what size is the tank?

 

[gadazobe]

Small - it's a double hex - each side about 4.5 gallons with 2 internal bridges It's the freebie that was promised to me

 

[pete]

They should be ok gaz as they are all pretty hardy fish

 

[gadazobe]

Thanks - I hope so

 

[Great Lakes]

Agree, they'll do OK...

 

[mrV]

Problem is I've just started cycling this new tank and at the moment ammonia is 0 but nitrites are slowly rising

Problem is that there isn't enough nitrobacter and nitrosomonas to oxidize NH3/NH4+ to NO2- and NO2- to NO3-.

You should make partial water changes, that NH/NH4 or NO2- level doesn't rise too much. In aquarium nitrite should be 0 mg/l.

Here is sample how much time it takes when nitro-bacter grows:

0 day -> 1
3 days -> 8
6 days -> 64
15 days -> only 32768 bacteria.

You have to always keep aquarium without fish at least 3 weeks. You feed bacteria giving them NH4Cl (sal ammoniac) or liquid ammonia (NH3). Without feeding them right the bacteria didn't grow their masses either.

If you put a candidate fish in aquarium immediately, the fish suffer ammonia and nitrite. Why? Why make fish suffer, when you can do it right?

In this issue too, it's mostly recommended that buy couple "candidate" fish and then aquarium will be ok after couple weeks and you can buy other too... Sounds wierd...

 

[Dragonslair]

Mr V
In a perfect world I agree with you on the nitrobacter issue, however this person has an emergency...what should the person do. There are 3 options open 1. To return the fish to the lfs where they were bought and risk them dying because once you purchase a fish, the fish become your property and you then leave them at your own risk. 2. Place them in the newly formed tank and hope that they will survive with care and attention or 3 -To destroy them. Remember they were a present? In a sudden emergency situation, and you were put on the spot, what would you do for the best?

 

[gadazobe]

Thanks Dragon

MrV - I KNOW what I'm supposed to do - I already have 2 large established tanks. This new tank was meant to be cycled WITHOUT fish, but, as Dragons said, I received a present. My established tanks are not suitable for a betta (too many long finned fish in the community and the other is a cichlid tank) Today I did a water change in the new tank (to get the nitrites down) and I'm doing daily checks on the water to make sure that the levels of ammonia and nitrite don't get too high.

 

[William]

Gad. With 0 Ammonia you are past the worst, and the nitrites should soon drop although with such a heavy new bioload the ammonia may rise once again (keep a look out )

As stated danios are one of the hardiest fish around as are bettas so they should survive. Obviously this isn't a good idea but I think you made the best of a bad situation!

Keep us posted.

 

[mrV]

In a perfect world I agree with you on the nitrobacter issue, however this person has an emergency...what should the person do.... 2. Place them in the newly formed tank and hope that they will survive with care and attention... what would you do for the best?

Yep, in a perfect world

What should person do? Partial water changes (about 50%) to keep nitrite down until nitro-bacteria grow their masses enough.

Second alternative is the only way. The fish has already stress.

What would i do? I would put them quarantine aquarium. One of my aquarium is only for that purpose. And you should always keep your new fish in quarantine at least 2-3 weeks, because you never know what diseases their carrying with. Most deseases become visible in that time. I never put new fish my older tanks without keeping them quarantine first.

Like now... I bought one new angel fish (pterophyllum scalare) from pet-store and it became sick. If i had put it in aquarium directly, other fish would be in danger to get infection.

 

[gadazobe]

Tank is still cycling - ammonia is 0 but I can't seem to get the nitrite down I'm doing daily water changes of up to 50% each time to try to keep the nitrite level as low as possible. I know this prolongs the cycle, but hopefully it will keep the fish stress free. So far, all 4 danios and the betta seem to be doing well, swimming around and eating well, although I haven't been giving them too much food. How much longer will it take till the nitrite level recedes?

 

[Alien Anna]

Hi,
I've had exactly this situation (long story). What I did is add the fish, after a 75% w/c and do a 20% w/c at least once daily (depending on the results of a nitrite test). I added an air-stone for extra oxygen and fed the fish just enough to keep them alive (i.e. a couple of flakes or a couple of bits of bloodworm).

Basically, you are switching from fishless cycling to cycling with fish, so it will take about 4 weeks from this point to have the tank fully cycled. However, danios and bettas are pretty tough.

The main thing you have to worry about with bettas is that they get fin-rot when stressed. To avoid this risk, I suggest you add a prophylactic dose of Melafix (half a teaspoon in a tank that size, daily). That will keep the nasties at bay while the water quality gradually improves.

Also, take an old sock or pair of tights and stuff the end with gravel and, if you can get some, filter media from your main tank. This will help seed the new tank with beneficial bacteria faster. Put the sock/stocking near an air-stone or pump outlet (to keep the bacteria oxygenated). You can return the gravel and filter media to your main tank afterwards (but the sock probably won't survive).

 

[gadazobe]

Thanks Anna, will do tomorrow. I've also done cycling with fish before (also a long story) but it was a much larger tank with just a few fish - altogether it took about 4 weeks, but I thought prehaps because this tank is much smaller, the cycle would be much faster. Anyway, I'll continue with the daily w/c and add some gravel from one of my established tanks.