Unplanned Fish In Cycle.....HELP!

[Jgold622]

I have been cycling my 10 gallon freshwater tank for 5 weeks. I had a previous thread about my attempts. It was not yet cycledand I’m actually pretty sure it was stalled so I was contemplating starting over, again. Then my child brought home a small male Betta, Fred, after a weekend with grandparents.



The path of least resistance is to do a fish in cycle.
I know......and I seriously considered just taking him back but here we are.

I did a massive water change to bring ammonia down to a safe range and treated the water with prime, stability and Microbe Lift Water Care to jump start the bacteria growth. I really want to do this safety and humanely so I am looking for any advice. Here’s info on my tank:

10 gallon long
Filter: Aqueon Quiet Flow 10 Power Filter with standard cartridge and foam ammonia media.
Air stone
Tetra heater set to 78 degrees
Gravel substrate
One medium piece of driftwood with a few mini Anubias attached to the wood.
I also have a few fake plants, plastic and soft.
Food - Omega One Betta Buffett Pellets

And one Red Betta now named Fred.

Day 1 -
Ammonia - .50
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates - Not tested
PH - 7.8 - 8

* I did a partial water change with prime and stability and retested the ammonia, ammonia was reduced to .25 ppm. Dosed with Bacteria

Day 2 -
Ammonia - .50 - 1.0
Nitrites- 0
PH - 7.4 - 7.8
Nitrates- Not Tested

* I did a 30% water change with prime. retested ammonia, ammonia was barely reduced but was closer to .25-.50. Dosed with bacteria.

Day 3 -

Ammonia - 1 ppm
Nitrites- .25 ppm
PH - 7.4
Nitrates - 0 ppm

* 50% water change, redosed with Prime and stability. Retested ammonia, ammonia is now .25 ppm and Nitrites are showing as blue but I’m thinking it’s somewhere between 0 and .25ppm.


Like I said I wasn’t planning on doing a fish in cycle but my kid will be devastated if we take him back, and I don’t want the cycle to kill him either so I want to make sure I do this correctly and humanely. I’m thrilled that I’m actually seeing nitrites because I never once saw nitrites during my fishless cycle attempts.


I have been acting under the guidance that during a fish in cycle, it is important to test ammonia and nitrites daily and if the ammonia reaches .50 or higher, perform a 30-50% water change, and dose with prime every 24-48 hours to keep the ammonia and nitrite neutralized and from harming the fish.

I’m on day 4 of this adventure but now I’m running into a situation where I think I’ll have to test the water multiple times per day . This morning around 8 am I tested as I always do. Ammonia was a solid 1ppm, zero nitrites, zero nitrates. I did my 50% water change with prime, retested and ammonia had barely been cut in half, which was frustrating, it was somewhere between .50 and 1ppm. I dosed with the bacteria after the water change. Around 11am, I started to get paranoid because the ammonia seems to be rising more quickly now so I retested ammonia, and I’m glad I did because ammonia was back up to 1ppm after only three hours. I did a second water change and retested just now. Ammonia is down to .50 with zero nitrites. Is this common? To have to test and water change multiple times per day? I don’t want to overdo it with water changes but I don’t want to be cruel either...PH was also much higher today, it has been in the mid 7’s and today was 8.2. Does this mean anything? I know a drop in PH can be bad but a sharp rise like that? I did not feed Fred. I’ve been feeding him three pellets every morning for the past three days but I think we will skip today and see if that helps reduce the ammonia spikes.

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to the forum.

Do not retest until 24 hours after a WC with Prime, every time. The Prime will convert ammonia to less harmful ammonium, but the API test doesn't differentiate between the 2.

Other than that, you seem to have a good plan. Ph fluctuates during a cycle, don't fret over it.

Dosing the bacteria probably won't hurt, but IME, it's not needed.

 

[Essjay]

The Prime will convert ammonia to less harmful ammonium

It will convert it for around 24 hours, then it reverts to the toxic form again. If/when you get nitrite, Prime also detoxifies that for around 24 hours.
So when you test 24 hours after the last water change, you need to do another if there's any ammonia or nitrite.


Floating plants will help as well as plants take up ammonia and they turn it into protein rather than nitrite. Floating plants are particularly good at this as they are near the lights and can get CO2 from the air. Besides which, bettas appreciate floating plants

 

[Slaphppy7]

It will convert it for around 24 hours, then it reverts to the toxic form again. If/when you get nitrite, Prime also detoxifies that for around 24 hours.
So when you test 24 hours after the last water change, you need to do another if there's any ammonia or nitrite.


Floating plants will help as well as plants take up ammonia and they turn it into protein rather than nitrite. Floating plants are particularly good at this as they are near the lights and can get CO2 from the air. Besides which, bettas appreciate floating plants

Correct, test after 24 hours, and WC's as necessary...

 

[Jgold622]

Any idea what this white stuff is that’s covering the driftwood? Showed up over night. Good thing? Or....?

 

[Slaphppy7]

Driftwood snot, harmless, will go away on it's own.

 

[Fishiemang]

Do not feed daily. Once a week. Every 3 days at the most.

With one small fish in a 10 gallon, you should not see a spike like that unless there are other pollutants in the water. Even after it is cycled, keep the every 3 days at most feeding. IIRC bettas are fed once a.week anyways. They don't require much.

The driftwood is fine. Biofilm. It will resolve by itself.