To Add Or Not To Add Bacteria

[Priscilla]

I posted under the emergencies but no one has an answer or at least not responding.
I lost all but one fish in my lower tank.
I decided to tear that tank down & clean it....both my tanks in the living room are 20 gal & set up identical with external filters.
The lower one had been growing an excessive amt of algae for several months...brown & green film on the sides. Both tanks get very little light...they're on a south wall that has a window with closed blinds & a shutter on it & the east wall has drapes that are seldom opened.

Anyway, after cleaning I took 7 of the fish from the upper tank (thought it was overcrowded anyway) & put them in the lower tank. These fish began to act like those that had died except i didn't see them struggling to breathe.....all hiding or just staying at the bottom of the tank. I took out 4 of those & put them back in the upper tank so now there's only 3 in the lower tank.
These are all rosy barbs that I've had for a number of years now....they multiplied like guppies!

I bought a new test kit Saturday. Since then the nitrite has come down but still high ( 0.25) even after several water changes & the nitrate is 5.0. The ammonia level is fine...so far.

What I'd like to know is should I add some dry bacteria? I have some that I had purchased for my pond but it doesn't state specifically what bacteria it is. It's made by Little Giant & is phosphate & nitrate free.
Does anyone know what bacteria this is?

The upper tank also has algae growing in it although not as bad as the lower tank was & the water tests are fine....would it be advisable to siphon some of that water into the lower tank?

I added some aquarium salt to the lower tank on Sunday too. Do I need to add more salt each time I siphon off water? I can only change 5 gals at a time unless I just pour in very cold water from the tap. (I have a well.)

Is there anything else I can do?

I haven't fed any of them anything since Friday or Saturday & none of them seem to be hungry which is really strange...they would always come to the top of the tank wanting to be fed when they saw anyone come near the tank.
Thanks, Priscilla

 

[Torrean]

I wouldn't add any of the bacteria. If your worried about the filter in your lower tank going through a cycle and your sure both tanks are relatively disease free, then I would just swish the filter media from the upper tank in the lower tank. This should seed your tank with bacteria speeding the cycle. To get rid of the algae buy a timer and set it for oh about 9:00AM to 10:00pm with an hour or two break in between. This or some varience of this should fix your algae over time. It worked for me atleast. Anything else you want to know?

 

[blue_ram]

[snip]

What I'd like to know is should I add some dry bacteria? I have some that I had purchased for my pond but it doesn't state specifically what bacteria it is. It's made by Little Giant & is phosphate & nitrate free.
Does anyone know what bacteria this is?

I don't think even the manufacturer knows exactly what type of bacteria they are. They just know that it's not a pathogenic type. Nitrifying bacteria cannot survive desiscation process, and must be shipped in a refrigerated/insulated container. Aside from Biospira by Marineland, there doesn't seem to be anything that will speed up the cycling process.

The upper tank also has algae growing in it although not as bad as the lower tank was & the water tests are fine....would it be advisable to siphon some of that water into the lower tank?

You could, but it sounds like the lower aquarium is already nearing the end of cycling process. It probably won't help much.

I added some aquarium salt to the lower tank on Sunday too. Do I need to add more salt each time I siphon off water? I can only change 5 gals at a time unless I just pour in very cold water from the tap. (I have a well.)

Just how much salt is "some"? Excess salt will hinder the cycling process. You need only about 1 tsp of salt per 10 gallon to relieve symptoms of nitrite poisoning.

Is there anything else I can do?

Water change, and amquel. That's pretty much it.

I haven't fed any of them anything since Friday or Saturday & none of them seem to be hungry which is really strange...they would always come to the top of the tank wanting to be fed when they saw anyone come near the tank.
Thanks, Priscilla

Poor water condition is what's affecting your fish and their appetite. If the water condition don't improve soon, the fish may succumb to stress related diseases. Most fish can last at least two weeks without food. Larger fish (10"+) can last almost a month without food. When the water conditions are poor, it's better that you feed them sparingly, or feed them every few days.

 

[rdd1952]

I doubt that any "dry" bacteria is any good. Once it is dry, it is dead. Also, you should never add salt to a FW tank unless it is a brackish tank (I guess then it's technically not a FW tank). Freshwater fish don't need salt and some of them can't tolerate it at all (corys, catfish, or any scaleless fish(.

 

[Priscilla]

I doubt that any "dry" bacteria is any good. Once it is dry, it is dead. Also, you should never add salt to a FW tank unless it is a brackish tank (I guess then it's technically not a FW tank). Freshwater fish don't need salt and some of them can't tolerate it at all (corys, catfish, or any scaleless fish(.

It didn't look dead in my pond filter! ...grew very nicely although large compared to what I've seen in my tank filters! But I guess I won't take any chances on making things worse than they are already.

I'm not new to fish keeping I had a number of tanks years ago...one with with mated pairs of anglefish.

I bought the tanks I have now about 10 yrs ago or so to overwinter the rosy barbs I had in my pond...one thing led to another & soon I had more barbs than I could handle...the local pet shop took most of them & gave me 'stuff' in exchange.

It's quite common & recommended to add aquarium salt for specific reasons to a fresh water tank. I've used it for fin & tail rot when one of my aggressive tigers was bothering the others & nipping them. Worked great.
Unfortunately I can't find my book or I'd quote from it....had I been able to find it I probably would never have found this forum!

I know salt isn't going to evaporate from the tank....I just wanted to know if I needed to add more after siphoning off a lot of water or just do a wait & see what happens with that lower tank.

On the lighting issue....I rarely have the tank lights on which is most likely why I lost my fish....my gut level feeling is that I didn't realize I'd put too much food in that tank....it's really dark in the living room. The only light on is by my desk. I've almost stepped on the cat many times because I can't see her in the dark laying on the rug.
My husband was sleeping on the couch & I didn't want to disturb him by turning on a light in the living room...so I killed my fish instead I guess.
Priscilla

 

[rdd1952]

It's quite common & recommended to add aquarium salt for specific reasons to a fresh water tank. I've used it for fin & tail rot when one of my aggressive tigers was bothering the others & nipping them. Worked great.
Unfortunately I can't find my book or I'd quote from it....had I been able to find it I probably would never have found this forum!

I don't trust anything that I've read in aquatic books. Most are older and they just aren't accurate. I have yet to see a book that advocates fishless cycling and I wouldn't do it any other way. I bought several books when I started last year and if I had followed them, I would have been led in the wrong direction. The stocking lists they put in most of those books are a total joke with too many fish, incompatible fish and fish that are simply too large for the tanks. I still wouldn't put salt in my main tank. Maybe a Q-tank for treatment for disease but not for the entire population.