uh oh...new fish in new tank

[TankGirl]

You can make this work, especially since the fish were small, but I was confused with the original post - it sounded like you did NOT buy them because your tank was cycling - very sound thinking - and then it turns out you do have the fish.

Anyway, next time I'd definitely not get the fish when you have a cycling tank. You will impress your BF with your knowledge and your ability to delay gratification, lol

 

[fearlessfisch]

LOL....Since when has a man ever been impressed by women who prefer to delay gratification? (just kidding)

 

[rubysoho]

You can make this work, especially since the fish were small, but I was confused with the original post - it sounded like you did NOT buy them because your tank was cycling - very sound thinking - and then it turns out you do have the fish.

Anyway, next time I'd definitely not get the fish when you have a cycling tank. You will impress your BF with your knowledge and your ability to delay gratification, lol

sorry I didn't make it as clear. What I basically ment to say was that I pointed out the fish because I thought they were pretty, but I didn't buy them because my tank is cycling, then my boyfriend bought them for me the next day with good intentions, he just doesn't understand cycling

anyway, I'm watching them very closely, they are very active and eating well, and with all the changes in water and the precautions I am taking, I think they will be just fine.

 

[AtodaJ]

Just to clarify... I assume you were fishless cycling by adding ammonia or something for the 2 weeks prior to adding the little Angels?

What is your ammonia/nitrite levels at right now?

 

[Pufferpunk]

I've always said, buying pets as presents were a bad idea.

 

[TankGirl]

I see, rubysoho, it's awkward when they mean well.

My husband would be utterly thrilled if he thought I was good at delayed gratification!! And I would be if he was...

 

[BrianNY]

Just the same, I wouldn't worry about two tiny angels in a 55g. I'm sure you'll have what I call a quiet cycle.

 

[Pufferpunk]

Are you fishless cycling with ammonia?

 

[rubysoho]

No, as someone mentioned earlier, I have a few fish in my 55 gallon tank right now. I bought this tank specifically for two Asian Sun Cats who will eventually outgrow this tank in approximatly 3-5 years. Right now, they are under 3 inches each. Before the surprise of the angels, I had also moved my little female bettas in there because they were outgrowing the 5 gallon tank I had them in (which is now going to be a QT tank). With all the water changes and precautions (adding gravel and a biowheel from cycled tanks) I was taking, and since the sun cats were the only big waste producers, I figured the fish would be ok. Everyone is very healthy/active, and I've been keeping a very close eye on everyone. I am also increasing my water changes to 20-30% every day instead of 20% every other day to help keep toxins down.


*edit* please don't throw flames at me for not doing a fish-less cycle. I am a lot more responsible than the average person, and really do care about these fish, which is why I ended up aquiring these sun cats and bettas in the first place. All the bettas were going to be flushed because they sat on the Walmart shelf for nearly two weeks each, all at different times. One sun cat has only a single eye and I couldn't leave his friend behind. I had spent the summer researching these sun cats, so I knew exactly what I was doing and it just happened that I found them last month. I had planned to get a 55 gallon tank, and had one set up, ready to go about 3 1/2 weeks ago, but it was a used acrylic that bowed nearly an inch and I didn't trust it. So I scrounged around as quickly as I could to get this new glass tank up and running before my little 10 gallon would be seriously overcrowded, which it technically was already.

 

[pkremer]

Woohoo, I don't mean to hijack this thread, but this is something that really gets my goat...

I understand the benefits of fishless cycling, and I am not at all against the process. But ever since I have come on to this forum, I read about how cruel and unloving it is to put fish in an uncycled tank.

I put 4 baby swordtails in 38 gallons of water when the tank was brand new when I was a newbie, and someone on this forum told me that they were going to die of ammonia poisoning in a matter of days! 4 baby swordtails are going to pollute 38 gallons of water in a few days??? 6 months later, they are all alive, beautiful, and huge.

And now this poor woman is getting grief because her boyfriend bought her two small angels and they are in 55 gallons of water? Come on. My fish have survived many a newbie mishap by my hands, everything from an inexplicable nitrite spike to hiding in decorations that I have taken out of the water for 5 minutes while I cleaned the tank. One time, I took out a decoration to wash some algae off of it, and my chinese algae eater jumped out of the decoration into my bathtub full of VERY warm chlorinated water! I yelled, and got him out of there and back in his tank. He's still over there in my 10 gallon happily munching away today. Fish are a lot more resilient than we give them credit for.

I don't want anyone to think that I am promoting irresponsible fish care or putting fish into overcrowded situations where the ammonia and nitrite levels are toxic, but I sometimes feel the need to say, "Chill out, people!" Many of us have used a couple small fish to cycle a tank, and we've kept the ammonia and nitrite levels in check with proper maintenance and water changes, and our fish are happy, healthy, and still with us. Done properly and carefully, cycling with fish is NOT cruel or inhumane, and I am willing to bet that rubysoho's 2 angels will still be with us in the months to come.

Chill out! Offer good advice and help, don't berate and flame. The very fact that someone is here means they have good intentions for their fish. Just think of all the newbies out there that buy oscars and tetras from Wal-Mart and throw them in a 10 gallon tank and will never see or care about this site, and then you will appreciate those of us that ARE here.

I am prepared for disagreement and flames now, but there, I said it.

Paul

 

[Pufferpunk]

I am always grateful when someone bothers to post on a forum. I feel sad for all those fish with owners that don't bother & don't care...

 

[TankGirl]

I have done it both ways, in the old days nobody fishless cycled, and now it seems to make so much more sense to save the fish until the tank is ready. If you have a choice, why make the fish suffer? Simple as that, to me.

In this case, I assumed the fishless cycling tank meant one chock full of household ammonia already, which is probably not the best tank to put fish into.

 

[rubysoho]

I've never said I used household ammonia in my tank. In fact, I never have. Aside from water changes, and light feedings, the only thing I've done to add anything to my tank is put gravel and a biowheel in from an already established, and very stable, tank. To me, it wouldn't be logical to plop fish, especially angels which are more delicate (the whole reason why I posted this), into a tank that was started with household ammonia. The only ammonia in there is what my fishies have pooped out

 

[Pufferpunk]

Well, the old fashioned way to stock a tank was to add just a few fish at a time, while watching water perameters & doing water changes accordingly. Between that & the bacteria you added from an established tank, everything should be just fine.

 

[TankGirl]

Sorry- I re-read the OP and you don't mention fishless cycling, that was an egregious assumption on my part!

 

[rubysoho]

Sorry- I re-read the OP and you don't mention fishless cycling, that was an egregious assumption on my part!

no reason to be sorry after four pages of posts, it isn't yur fault