No Guarantees

[33miles]

As long as their is a fish in their, the bacteria will still be alive, just not alot.

That's what i'm afraid of....losing what I built up during the cycle. That just makes adding new fish that more difficult.

 

[kribensis12]

Bacteria can double thier colony size in a amtter of hours after being exposed to higher levels of ammonia. So, if you were to add a cory every day, you shouldnt have any problems. Same with Neon's, as neither produce alot of waste.

 

[CaptainAhab]

Interesting.. Could you post a link to that please. If that's true, the tank cycle should be done in ...well.. a very short amount of time.

 

[kribensis12]

I will do some digging around, but i think i may have heard it from a member on a different forum. I guess that the bacteria reproduce very fast. But int he case of a cycle, you are dealing with 2 different types of bacteria. And in a already cycled tank, there are millions of them, so if each ones makes a new bacteria, your population just doubled.

 

[peaceablegarden]

I also had issues with Neon Tetras in a cycled tank. I had four or five die. I finally got three who have hung in there long enough to finally get named. At one point I had only two. I was walking around my LFS and saw one lone one in a tank and felt sorry for it, so I bought it. It's still among the living, but have to say, I'll probably never do Neon's again.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Interesting.. Could you post a link to that please. If that's true, the tank cycle should be done in ...well.. a very short amount of time.

That seems to make sense. After introduction of an ammonia source, the longest period of the cycle occurs while nitrites are developed. Once nitrates start to take hold, the numbers double at exponetial rates.

Thus, loss of nitrates due to over cleaning isn't nearly the same as cycling from ammonia.

 

[kreesdqban]

Platies are great starting fish for the tank, Ive had great luck with them. Also, what kind of water conditioner do you use to condition your tap?

 

[33miles]

Platies are great starting fish for the tank, Ive had great luck with them. Also, what kind of water conditioner do you use to condition your tap?

thanks kreesdqban!!.....i use tetra aquaclear for conditioner

 

[33miles]

grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Ok now I really give up. I bought 3 platies on saturday and not one of them made it past monday. I tested the water right before I went and got them. I tested the water about 4 hours after they were added and I tested about 12 hours after they were added. The cory and neon from my original purchase are still doing fine!

The thing that really pi$$es me off is that I'm driving very far out of my way to get them from a very nice 'fish only' pet store. That makes it hard to run back up there and take advantage of their 7 day warranty on the fish. I don't know where to go from here. Guess I'll give petsmart a try since i'm not having any luck elsewhere.

 

[kreesdqban]

How exactly do you acclimate the fish? Maybe you should try the drip method explained here: Acclimation Procedure for Aquatic Life: Welcoming Home New Arrivals

It is meant for gradual acclimation of fish so they don't get shocked in a new environment.

 

[33miles]

I use the float method listed there on liveaquaria.com

 

[fishfreak5]

I find that my lfs (petsmart)the sales people seem pretty knowlegable about fish like they had tanks at home

 

[kreesdqban]

The drip method is meant for acclimating fish very slowly so that they can get used to you water conditions gradually. The float method puts water in the bag at a half a cup at a time.

Maybe you should try the drip method and see how it goes.

 

[fort384]

I would agree about the neons. Stock them last... And slowly