New fish and parameter testing ?'s

[spittinfly]

Ok, I've lost a couple more of my original batch of fish. So I went out and bought some more and some liquid drop test kits. I have been using the test strips and haven't tested for ammonia yet so I got an API Ammonia and an API Nitrate test kit. I tested the water about 4 hrs after adding the fish and Ammonia is at 0 and Nitrate is at 10. I figured I would do a 50% (my usual) water change tonight and test again.

Is Ammonia and Nitrate all I really have to test for in a cycled tank?

I now know some of these may not be ideal tank mates but please tell me what you think and what tweaking I should consider, plus if they need to be M,F or M,M combinations.

Thanks alot every one here is the list new and existing.

35gal hex tall:
5 Tiger Barbs
4 Neon Tetras
2 Cories (Albino & Emerald)
2 Dwarf Gouramis (both very colorful red and blue stripes)

3 assorted Platies (1M 2F)
1 Black Molly (F)
1 Silver Angel
1 Common Pleco

And I do have a 10 gal grow out tank with 11 fry, 1 cory and a Clown Pleco. So if I need to move any fish around I have a little room to. Granted I would like them not to eat my fry but they are getting bigger.

I know it's alot but thanks again for reading and suggesting.

 

[Hara]

i have not been following any thread that mentioned your fish loss. Did you ever figure out the cause? If not, I would question the wisdom of buying fish more fish until you do. If you did figure out the cause, what was it? Tank not finished the cycle? The chemistry that comes after ammonia, but before nitrate is NITRITE. It is also fatal to fish. Has that been covered? Are you sure your tank was totally cycled? If so, are you adding fish SLOWLY and not in large numbers at any one time?

 

[spittinfly]

No, there was no thread about the other losses. From what I had read it was common that not all of your starter fish would make it. So I assumed that it was just a rough cycle for them. Yes I am as sure that I can be that the tank is cycled. I didn't see the ammonia spike cause the strips didn't have ammonia tests, but I did see the NitrIte spike and then the NitrAtes come up. So I assumed that it was cycled. I thought that once it is cycled you don't see NitrItes that is why I was only concerned about Nitrates and Ammonia spikes.

I did treat the tank for Ich a little while back and it seemed to clear it all up. I was seeing some white spots and a lot of flashing. Does Ich kill fish? I thought it was other than optimal but not deadly.

And I thought that once a tank was cycled you could fully load it?

Man I am really feeling like a dummy right now if I totally screwed things up.

 

[rich311k]

Ich will kill fish. If you have seen no signs of it and you haven't seen any for a month or so then you should be OK. I would get a quailty liquid test kit before you go any further. Check you parameters and then report back and we will be able to help you with how to proceed.

 

[Hara]

as far as the nitrogen cycle and adding fish is concerned, even though your tank may have cycled, you cannot just add fish carte blanche. You should add just a few at time and then give the biological filtration time to catch up to the new load. As an example, if you cycled with 2 fish and then added 8 fish right away, the biological filtration becomes overloaded and cannot cope with the new load and an ammonia spike will result.

 

[spittinfly]

Alright, if I get an Ammonia spike what should I do?

 

[Hara]

water changes

 

[spittinfly]

OK. Is that the best thing I can do right now to counter adding to many fish? And how about the other questions. I really appreciate your advice and I know I have to stay on top of this right now but I am curious about the other things. Too many, good selection...

TIA

 

[TwoHobbies]

OK. Is that the best thing I can do right now to counter adding to many fish?

TIA

Yes, Water changes

Are you stocked, I believe you are.
Overstocked, I believe you are.
Bad mix, Neon tetras don't mix with Angels, or Tiger barbs.
A common pleco will easily outgrow your 35 hex.

 

[spittinfly]

Yeah, I'm going to have to exchange him some day but for now he is a lot of fun, very active all day long.

Really, everything I read said that the neons would be ok. I have found though that these barbs are nippers. I read that the cherry and others are ok and not nippers so I thought that they all weren't :?

Overstocked, that sucks. I thought it added up close but not over. Maybe I was adding it up without the pleco?

 

[spittinfly]

Well, tested the water last night before a 50% water change and..... 0 Ammonia so that is good. I also rearranged the decor to create more hang-outs. Lo and behold I found a rotting carcas of one of my Dalmation Mollies! Could that have caused some of the other deaths in my tank?

 

[rich311k]

It could have caused an ammonia spike and a mini cycle. Sounds like you have things stabilized again.

 

[spittinfly]

Let's hope so. So my other topics.....

Are my quantities ok per fish type?

I know I have to watch out for the barbs nipping at the Gouramis and Angel but it seems that they Angel is picking on the Neons.

Is that normal or should I be concerned?

 

[bra_van_drakh]

i thought that tiger barbs are very agressive, and if they're short of food they'll eat others, experienced it my self. . .esp if there are smaller fish to chew

one of my angels tend to chase my pristella tetras, but the other 2 dont[all of them are females]. ..[its not about food, she didnt fight over it, i think its bout her territory]
i've begun to think that every fish, eventhough they're from the same species, has different attitudes and personalities.. .so, maybe some angels are nice to their neighbours, some arent. ..anyhow, i moved her to another tank without pristellas and now she's doing fine. ..

on ur quantity the other's i think are just fine. ..but i also think that overstocked. ..since u got lots of medium sized fish.. .

 

[spittinfly]

If I would get a mini-cycle, what would I see first in the tank, ammonia, nitrAte or nitrItes?

 

[rich311k]

ammonia.

 

[spittinfly]

Thanks

 

[7Enigma]

If I would get a mini-cycle, what would I see first in the tank, ammonia, nitrAte or nitrItes?

It depends. You often see ammonia, but it is also possible you could go straight to nitrIte. This is especially true when you go from a mini-cycle to another mini-cycle by adding more fish. The ammonia--->nitrIte bacteria have multiplied faster than the nitrIte--->nitrAte bacteria and so if you just measure ammonia you might miss the mini-cycle.

 

[spittinfly]

hmmmm Now I have to double check which test I got NitrIte or Nitrate. I probably got the wrong one and will need to get another. I was just spreading out cost and thought those were the 2 I really needed. So I will just monitor the Amm. pretty close to be sure.

*update*

I just confirmed that yes I did get an ammonia test and a nitrAte test.

 

[7Enigma]

Pretty much ammonia and nitrIte are the only 2 tests you need. With your 50% PWC nitrAte should never really be a concern, and so all you need to watch out for is the rare occurance where your filter tanks for no reason. With your bioload and low light nitrAte deficiency for your plants also will never be a problem.