Help for Rainbow Shark!

[paulmorphine]

Hello all,

I am a middle school life science teacher who a week ago, couldn't have told you the difference between a molly and a goldie. After a week of teaching fish + amphibians and researching your info-packed site, I now have 4 tanks (a 20 and three 10's) running in my home + classroom =)

So thanks! So here's what I have + how long they've been cycling:

10-gallon warm [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:27ea8d48b5] (2 week cycle) - 2 guppies, 2 tadpoles

10-gallon cold [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:27ea8d48b5] (2 week cycle) - 1 black moor, 3 baby comets

10-gallon cold [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:27ea8d48b5] (3 day cycle) - 1 white cloud (the other got his tailfin stuck in the filter last nite R.I.P. lil' guy)

20-gallon warm [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:27ea8d48b5] (4 day cycle) - 2 zebra danios, 1 rainbow or ruby shark

2 days ago, I tested the 20 gallon and here were the results:
Ammonia 0.75, Nitrite 0, pH 7.5, Hardness 161.1 [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:27ea8d48b5]

My rainbow shark seems to acclimating just fine. His nickname is "Heater-boy" because 50% of the time he's hiding under the 200watt Whisper heater. Or he's exploring the 3-way [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Plastic pipe"]PVC[/acronym:27ea8d48b5] tubing and wading through the patch of breeding grass, then back to the ol' heater (at times, he seems to be sucking on the backside of it like an upside-down catfish - very very weird indeed but awfully endearing)

So anyways on to my questions:

1) How hardy are rainbow sharks? Mine's just a baby @ only 1.5 inches and I worry the upcoming ammonia + nitrite spikes will hurt him. I'm thinking about moving him temporarily to the 10-gallon warm [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:27ea8d48b5] tank w/ the guppies + tadpoles...

2) How durable are Whisper heaters? Granted, it's been cold in New Orleans the past week, but I put mine on the + setting and it's still swung down to nearly 70 while I made sure it was on 78 last night =\

3) How often should I check for ammonia/nitrite on all my tanks? The 2 week warm [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:27ea8d48b5] is clearing up but the nitrite level of the goldie tank was I believe at 4.0 a few days ago...

4) How often should I do [acronym:27ea8d48b5="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:27ea8d48b5]'s? I don't care how long it takes to cycle - but I don't want to damage my little fishies and I would like to know the upper limit for ammonia + nitrite content.

Sorry for all the questions but I'm a newbie after all + if I lose another fish I might just return them all and do a fishless cycle. I've really appreciated the countless hours I've spent surfing your informative site...here's to many enjoyable years in this wonderful hobby!

[Menagerie]

[center:bbc5be600a] Welcome to AA, paulmorphine!! [/center:bbc5be600a]

Can you list all the water parameters for all tanks? That will give us a better idea of where the fish should be, or if [acronym:bbc5be600a="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:bbc5be600a] needed to be done [acronym:bbc5be600a="As soon as possible"]ASAP[/acronym:bbc5be600a]. Ammonia above .25 is stressful on fish.

the nitrite level of the goldie tank was I believe at 4.0 a few days ago...

Check that tank again!!! Nitrite is as deadly as ammonia. Granted, some fish will live through the cycle, but that is very stressful.

How often should I do [acronym:bbc5be600a="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:bbc5be600a]'s? I don't care how long it takes to cycle - but I don't want to damage my little fishies and I would like to know the upper limit for ammonia + nitrite content.

Once the cycle is complete, weekly 25% [acronym:bbc5be600a="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:bbc5be600a] are good. During the cycle is tough. You don't want to completely stall the cycle, but you don't want to loose fish either. Here's a great site detailing fishless cycling: http://malawicichlids.com/mw01017.htm
The tanks that are at 2 weeks should be past the ammonia spike and into the nitrite spike. Once nitrates show up, the tank is cycled. Once all the water parameters are known, things will be clearer.

How durable are Whisper heaters?

If the temp is swinging in the tank, get a new heater. Visatherms and EboJagers are very good.

10-gallon cold [acronym:bbc5be600a="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:bbc5be600a] (2 week cycle) - 1 black moor, 3 baby comets

That's a lot of goldies for that tank. In general, goldies need 10 gallons a piece. They are heavy waste producers and have high oxygen needs.

[BASSNMAN]

You didn't mention which tank and the size of your heater. Figure on at least 5 watts per gallon. If the room is kept cool, go bigger. Good luck and welcome to AA

[paulmorphine]

Wow!

I neglected the water change on my 2 10-gallon classroom tanks during the long MLK weekend (they locked the school up) and went into my room half-expecting everything to be dead. But here's what happened:

1) All fish were alive - although one guppy had torn anal fins =\

2) My red-claw crab was dead

3) My 2 tadpoles had eaten the crab carcass clean!

4) One of my guppies (one orange and one green) had fry!

Both of my tanks had ammonia near 1.0, and nitrites over 2.0 =\ So I did a 20% [acronym:6acf769fa8="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:6acf769fa8] and I'll do another tomorrow

I took out the 6 surviving fry + took them home where the 20 gallon has some fake breeding plant patches. Those fry are fast and the danios can't catch 'em =)

I have some questions, however:

a) Will my guppy fry survive the cycle in my 20 gallon tank? As of today, the ammonia was at 0.75 (I did a 20% [acronym:6acf769fa8="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:6acf769fa8] immediately afterwards) and nitrites are just beginning to register at 0.1

b) Since my house isn't heated (old New Orleans), is it safe to keep 2 - 200 watt heaters in my 20 gallon tank? With just the Whisper, the temp swings from 70 in the AM to 78 in the afternoon - so I added a Tronic just now.

c) I think one of my danios are pregnant? Of the 2, it is the small 1-incher and the one that always gets chased. Has anyone successfully breed zebra danios?

d) What do y'all think about moving the [acronym:6acf769fa8="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:6acf769fa8] filter (Aquaclear 70) from my classroom cold [acronym:6acf769fa8="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:6acf769fa8] tank which has been cycling for 2 weeks, and switching it with my 20 gallon, which has an Aquaclear 20 that has been cycling for 5 days? I want to reduce the stress on my guppy fry + rainbow shark + speed things up a bit. I think the goldies are hardy enough to handle a longer cycle, don'tchyall think?

I appreciate all your advice guys! And so do my cute lil' guppy fry =)

[Menagerie]

a) Will my guppy fry survive the cycle in my 20 gallon tank? As of today, the ammonia was at 0.75 (I did a 20% [acronym:8c2559842b="Partial water change"]PWC[/acronym:8c2559842b] immediately afterwards) and nitrites are just beginning to register at 0.1

Keep up with the water changes. Do you know anyone with an established tank?

b) Since my house isn't heated (old New Orleans), is it safe to keep 2 - 200 watt heaters in my 20 gallon tank? With just the Whisper, the temp swings from 70 in the AM to 78 in the afternoon - so I added a Tronic just now.

One 100 W heater in good working condition is plenty. The more a heater clicks on and off, the faster it will wear out.

c) I think one of my danios are pregnant? Of the 2, it is the small 1-incher and the one that always gets chased. Has anyone successfully breed zebra danios?

Danios are not hard to breed. The one may be gravid (carying eggs). They are scatter spawners--the female will lay eggs as the male follows and fertilizes. Often the eggs are eaten in mid water by other fish that want a snack. If you are interested in breeding them, I can tell you how to make a proper setup, in which fry will survive.

d) What do y'all think about moving the [acronym:8c2559842b="Hang On Back"]HOB[/acronym:8c2559842b] filter (Aquaclear 70) from my classroom cold [acronym:8c2559842b="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:8c2559842b] tank which has been cycling for 2 weeks, and switching it with my 20 gallon, which has an Aquaclear 20 that has been cycling for 5 days? I want to reduce the stress on my guppy fry + rainbow shark + speed things up a bit. I think the goldies are hardy enough to handle a longer cycle, don'tchyall think?

The bacteria establish slower in cold water. I doubt that filter is much further along than the filter from your home. If you know someone with an established tank--there is a way to instantly cycle all your tanks.