Cycling wit Fish and Bacteria in a Bottle

[VictoriaC]

To make long story short

i got a betta and read that 1.5 gallon is to small for it... so i wanted to get a 5 gallon, but then got a 10 gallon in the store aand set it up. And sure enough they suggested bacteria, SO i've set it up and added 2 guppies to my betta.

Its day 6, ammonia is at .25 the rest is at zero. My PH is 8.0-8.2

I have added zyme from API on a day one, and plan to add some tomorrow.
I did a PWC of 30% on a day 3 - my ammonia was at .25

SO not sure what to do next? should i do PWC every day? or .25 is okay - and do a water change if it goes to .5?
I test twice a day - to make sure i wont miss the spike.

Do i have enough fish for it to cycle?
I have about 5 live plants, gravel, filter ( modified it and added a satchel with bio beads and sponge - because original Top FIn filter comes with cartridge that needs replacement once a month) heater and oxygen stone that i turn on for few hours a day.

My temp is around 80-78.

My fish is acting great (except for one guppy that i'm worried about... he does not eat and sits at the top - swims ocasionally) Betta is a little piggy - and eats all his food then goes for a tropical flakes... thats another question - how to make sure he eats his -and guppies eat their flakes?
Other guppy doing great - and catches all the food

I'm thinking about returning the sick guppie to the store ( its been 7 days since i got it) - the main reason is on a day when i picked them up, lady at the store showed me a tank with more guppies, and 2 were dead at the bottom, so i told her no guppies from that tank... is there a possibility that the guppy was sick when i got it? first few days he was eating and chasing the bigger one.


Sorry for a long post - i am new to this so want to get all the help i can

Victoria

 

[LyndaB]

Your betta is not compatible with guppies due to their flowing/bright finnage.

You need to have a backup plan, a/k/a a 2nd tank, to be able to put the betta in if tank mates do not work with him.

Also, there are very few bacterial starters that actually work. Which did you get? It sounds like your lfs spotted you as a good target to purchase whatever they wanted to sell you.

Any ammonia reading is toxic to your fish. You'll have to do water changes.

Cartridges do not have to be changed out monthly. The manufacturers tell you that so they can make money off of you. Most of us change them out only when they are literally falling apart.

So, in a nutshell, don't believe your store employees and don't believe the manufacturers. We, however, never lie.

 

[HeatherW]

welcome to AA!
I am not an expert, but I have set up a couple of tanks here recently.

as far as the fish that is not doing well, you can take him back if you want or just wait and see if he pulls through. as long as you are maintaining your water he has a good chance. how long is your return policy on your guppy?

keep your ammonia and nitrites at or below .25ppm if you can. might be a good idea to test your tap water to see what you are starting out with. for me my tap was at .25ppm ammonia, so I was not able to lower that with a water change. but... if you are using prime as your dechlorinator it will neutralize that for you for 24 -48 hours thus water changes every couple of days is good.

I have little neon tetras with my betta. you want something that can swim fast to get away from your betta. a quick little fish would be great. i love my neons.

temp is great. bettas like it a little warmer so the 80 is fine.

as far as water changes go - when you do your water change might as well get in the habit - 50% is a good goal. temp matched and of course treated with the prime before you add it into the tank.

lynda is right - you don't need to add anything else to the tank other than the water conditioner. the tank will cycle with what you have or just with the betta. and you only need to test daily - you can test twice a day if you want, but pretty sure if you are testing daily you will not miss it

good luck!!

 

[VictoriaC]

Lynda thank you!

Ok i guess i better start doing some water changes!
I got API Stress Zyme and Stress Coat to treat water.

Betta has chased guppies around first day, but now seems to be ignoring them. Only once in a while he'll go after one for a few seconds... Should i just return them to the store and get a platy?

I also wanted to get some ghost shrimp and an oto -should i wait untill the tank is cycled?

Oh good that i don't have to change filters that often - but i also added the other stuff to slow the flow of the filter a little - as the current is a bit strong for betta.

PS Love your signature to research before buying!!!

 

[VictoriaC]

Heather thank you!
Return policy is 14 days, so i have a little more time
i thought about getting some neon tetras - but think i might get overstocked?

for 10 gallon:
1 betta
2-3 guppies
want to get:

1 otto
2-3 shrimp
and then 3 neon tetras wont be happy i read? so if i get 5 - is it too much fish for a 10 gallon planted aquarium?

 

[VictoriaC]

Also should i siphon the gravel for every water change? or just get the water from top of the tank?

 

[Mr. Green]

Also should i siphon the gravel for every water change? or just get the water from top of the tank?

You only need to clean your gravel about once a month or if you see it getting really dirty. No need to clean it every water change. Good stuff grows in your substrate so you don't want to clean it frequently.

 

[VictoriaC]

Oh one more thing while im at it
When should the lights come on? the tank is in the corner of the room - i love the way it looks lit at night so for now i have it on from 12pm till 12 am ( so 12 hours of lights) - is this fine? or should it correspond with the time of the day?

 

[VictoriaC]

Oh great! i'm just worried that some food falls down on the bottom.. that is the reason i was thinking about geting an otto and a couple of shrimp

 

[HeatherW]

so here is what I would do. switch out the guppies for 5 neons.
what kind of shrimp? not sure the shrimp and the betta go together. I think the otto would like a bigger tank, but you can see if someone with more experience will chime in. a platy would be fine as well

 

[HeatherW]

Also should i siphon the gravel for every water change? or just get the water from top of the tank?

when I was doing my fish in cycle I would stick the syphon down there and lightly clean it up. if a bunch of old food is running up your syphon you probably should clean it up. now when I go to clean my tanks there is not much down there so I just clean up the water and leave the gravel alone for most of the time. then once a month do a good cleaning

 

[VictoriaC]

Thank you Heather!
I will look for my receipt.

Hm on petsmart website it says ottos require 10+ gallons.. that is why i thought one would be ok
Shrimp - i was thinking Ghost shrimp.. so in case something happens- it wont be too expensive... they sell them for like 33c a piece.

 

[VictoriaC]

So my betta attacked sick guppy... I removed it into a seperate bowl . It appears parts of the tail are misssing... Hope it will make it.
So returning both to the store...who would be abetter tankmate for my betta? Neon tetras or platys? Or should bettaz really live alone in a seperate tank?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Lynda thank you!

Ok i guess i better start doing some water changes!
I got API Stress Zyme and Stress Coat to treat water.

Betta has chased guppies around first day, but now seems to be ignoring them. Only once in a while he'll go after one for a few seconds... Should i just return them to the store and get a platy?

I also wanted to get some ghost shrimp and an oto -should i wait untill the tank is cycled?

Oh good that i don't have to change filters that often - but i also added the other stuff to slow the flow of the filter a little - as the current is a bit strong for betta.

PS Love your signature to research before buying!!!

Hi and welcome!
I would return the guppies and wait until the tank is fully cycled before adding any more fish. The more fish, the more ammonia, the faster it will build the more toxic the tank becomes and the more work for you!

IMO ottos need a larger tank then 10g. Quite a lot of them are hard to supplement and only eat algae. They also like to be in groups. A 10g couldn't grow enough algae for 3+ Ottos IMO.

Never change your filters until it it literally falling apart. Even then you need to put the new filter media next to the old media to seed with bacteria.

Heather thank you!
Return policy is 14 days, so i have a little more time
i thought about getting some neon tetras - but think i might get overstocked?

for 10 gallon:
1 betta
2-3 guppies
want to get:

1 otto
2-3 shrimp
and then 3 neon tetras wont be happy i read? so if i get 5 - is it too much fish for a 10 gallon planted aquarium?

If you don't get the Otto and return the guppy IMO you can have the Betta, 6-10 neons and some shrimp. Keep in mind the Betta may eat the shrimp.

Also should i siphon the gravel for every water change? or just get the water from top of the tank?

If your not over feeding gravel vacuuming every 3-4 weeks is fine IMO.

When should the lights come on? the tank is in the corner of the room - i love the way it looks lit at night so for now i have it on from 12pm till 12 am ( so 12 hours of lights) - is this fine? or should it correspond with the time of the day?

About 8 hours is usually recommended. 12 is fine but it might encourage algae growth. You can have the lights on anytime you like. Some tin them on in the afternoon and off before bed. Others turn them on in the morning and off at dusk. It's up to you.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

So my betta attacked sick guppy... I removed it into a seperate bowl . It appears parts of the tail are misssing... Hope it will make it.
So returning both to the store...who would be abetter tankmate for my betta? Neon tetras or platys? Or should bettaz really live alone in a seperate tank?

With clean water a tail usually grows back fine.
Some bettas don't tolerate tank mates, others do. Whether you want a platy or the neons, it's up to you.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...-to-Starting-a-Freshwater-Aquarium/Page1.html
This might answer some questions.

 

[VictoriaC]

Thanks for great advice!

well... sadly guppy did not make it to the morning ( still not sure why... but he did not eat last few days.. so that might have contributed to it)
taking back the other guppy - don't want to gamble that one!

my betta is a little piggy - eating all the food!
also he had some fin tears - and theese are healing. I think its a good sine - since i changed the water only second time during this week

 

[HeatherW]

if you got your guppy at petsmart you can return the dead one and get your money back on him as well (as long as you still have him)

sorry about your fish.

 

[VictoriaC]

Heather thanks! Oh i could not find a receipt.
Also don't like seeing dead pets...

So i have not returned guppy yet,
But i did move betta to its previous 1.5 gallon home for now.

That way i can setup a 10 gallon as a good community without worrying much about my betta being nasty.

I'll save some money and get something bigger for betta ( a 2.5 gallon at least ) I just have to convince hubby that we really need a bigger aquarium for Betta ( he read somewhere that one gallon is enough and i can't convince him otherwise)
so I'll just get 1-2 guppies to complete cycling my 10 gallon.

 

[VictoriaC]

So tested my tap water - it does have ammonia at around .25
so what do i do?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

While cycling you won't be able to get ammonia under .25ppm. Once cycled there will be enough bacteria to process the fishes ammonia and the taps ammonia. The tank will then read 0. You will need a dechlorinator, like prime, that temporarily coverts the ammonia to a less toxic form but still leaves it available for the bacteria to consume. By the time it wears off the bacteria would have consumed The ammonia or you would have done another water change adding more prime.