Hello, New Member Here!

[Mumma.of.two]

When you say choose between the ottos and pleco, do you mean pick one or the other? What about Julii cory cats? And thanks for the tip. I'll wait to get the Oto cats. I would also like another schooling fish, just not sure which one...there are just so many!!

Yes, one or the other. they need enough food so you don't want to overstock. BN plecos are very easy to supplement but ottos aren't. BN love green vege. If you have one ram julis will work. If you get a mated pair they might want the whole bottom of the tank to themselves.

 

[scottb]

Yes, one or the other. they need enough food so you don't want to overstock. BN plecos are very easy to supplement but ottos aren't. BN love green vege. If you have one ram julis will work. If you get a mated pair they might want the whole bottom of the tank to themselves.

Thanks!

 

[scottb]

UPDATE: so I tested my water and got some odd numbers.

Up until last night, I was reading roughly 2.0ppm of NitrIte. While performing a water change this morning, my AC50 motor stopped working, so I emptied the filter media into a bucket, which had a little bit of tank water in it. I noticed a good amount of what seemed to be either algae or bacteria fall off the foam and biomax I have on the AC50. I got the motor to work and it is running as it should.

I let the tank run for about an hr or more, and I read 0ppm for NitrIte and 0.25ppm for Ammonia and 0ppm for NitrAte. This worries me.

My question is, is it even possible that my tank has restarted its cycle? I find this hard to believe because essentially, isn't it the same concept as me adding a new filter and running along my already existing one? Anyways, anyone know why I'm getting these odd numbers, or what could possibly be going on? Need help!!! Thanks.

EDIT: tested my tap for ammonia and it appears to be the same color as my tank water. So I will assume ammonia is at 0ppm. I will have to test my water again later tonight.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

How large was your water change? The media didn't dry out it get chlorinated water on it?
I think it looks fine. The .25ppm is from the tap and the others zeroed out from the water change.

 

[scottb]

How large was your water change? The media didn't dry out it get chlorinated water on it?
I think it looks fine. The .25ppm is from the tap and the others zeroed out from the water change.

The water change was pretty large, probably 80-90%. I don't think any chlorinated water got on any of the filter media, and if any did, only a few drops at most. So I should see NitrIte levels again since the reason I'm reading 0ppm is from the massive water change right?

On a positive note, I added some more prime, just to be safe, and my fish seem to be happier. In the past few days, I've noticed NitrIte spikes, and they have been mostly hanging out at the bottom. However, today they will occasionally swim in the middle to top of the tank. One female has been at top for awhile =).

 

[scottb]

Just tested again and showing 1.0ppm NitrIte, whew. Will do another water change shortly =).

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Yep it's jut from the water change. It's not a bad thing you got it so low

 

[scottb]

Yep it's jut from the water change. It's not a bad thing you got it so low

haha that's true. One of my females is acting weird. She keeps swimming really slowly in patterns, and to the surface. Then she swims back down, about halfway. This is similar to the behavior one of my males had, before finding him the next morning, dead. I don't think she's going to make it till the morning....wonder if I should give her the dreaded cold bath. She just seems to be getting worse...

 

[scottb]

UPDATE: the female I feared wouldn't make it till the morning just passed away...Am I cursed or something? I feel like I lose a fish every few days, one after the other. I am now down to 3...one male and 2 females. Hopefully they make it through the cycle.

 

[Butterflychild]

Im not saying to do things my way. And i know its wrong. BUT i dont check all the water conditions with my tanks. I set them up let them run for 3-4 weeks to cycle and then put fish in. I may lose a few at first but i havent lost a fish in near a year. Mind you yesterday i found ich on my pearl gourmie so took carcoal out and treating the tank with ich medication.

 

[scottb]

So I decided to see if I couldn't snap a few pics of the 3 remaining survivors. Sorry the quality is sub par, all I have is my phone. Enjoy!

 

[scottb]

I think my 2 out of my remaining 3 rasboras may be sick. I can't really tell what it is for sure, but I noticed one of the bottom fins on my male has a white patch. And of the females seems like she might have one on her head. Her head just looks lighter in color when compared to the other two.

I got some pics, I know it's hard to tell, they were just too fast for my phone. The first one is the male, you can see a white marking on the lower fin. The second is the female, far right, notice how a spot on her head comes out lighter. The male is on her left, and the other female is to the left of him, a bit lower. She's a bit hard to see from the picture.

Anyone know if this is just coloration due to stress from the cycle? I'm still reading NitrItes.

 

[Butterflychild]

Is the spots on them white and fuzzy.? If so then i would say its ich.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I can only see a blurry white patch. Can't tell what it is. Is it fuzzy? Flat? Raised? Does it look like grains of salt or sugar (ich)? Does it appear to be the color of the scales or something growing on the scales? Is it spreading?

 

[scottb]

The spots don't appear fuzzy, though it's pretty hard to tell right now. I first noticed it last night and it doesn't seem to have spread.

I tried getting another pic of the two females for comparison. The one on top has the lighter color on top of her head, towards the front where her eyes are. I wonder if it's just discoloration due to stress. They appear to being acting normal...

 

[scottb]

I just tried to get a better look at the female. It seems slightly fuzzy, but I can't say for sure. What I can see for sure is that whatever is on her head, it's also slightly around the top part of her left eye. I also noticed a spot on her lower fin, just like the male. Could this be columnaris?

It looks flat and not raised. Also, I don't think it's ich because it doesn't look like grains of salt or sugar.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Well it's definitely not ich. It could be a slight fungal or bacterial infection. Try turning the temperature down 2-3 degrees (F) and adding some salt to the tank. It could just be from the stress of the cycle. Really stay on top of those water changes. Columnaris -usually- shows around the mouth (in my experience) and moves fast, kills within hours of first sign.
Keep a close eye on it.
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/fish_palace/tropicalfish_disease_identification.html#ERM
Have a look at this. It's hard to say what it is. One because fish disease diagnosis is hard and two because I can't see it in person (only on my phone).

 

[scottb]

Well it's definitely not ich. It could be a slight fungal or bacterial infection. Try turning the temperature down 2-3 degrees (F) and adding some salt to the tank. It could just be from the stress of the cycle. Really stay on top of those water changes. Columnaris -usually- shows around the mouth (in my experience) and moves fast, kills within hours of first sign.
Keep a close eye on it.
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/fish_palace/tropicalfish_disease_identification.html#ERM
Have a look at this. It's hard to say what it is. One because fish disease diagnosis is hard and two because I can't see it in person (only on my phone).

I totally agree, it's very hard to say what it is for sure. And that it may not be columnaris because I feel like if it was, they wouldn't have made it till today. I would like to think my water conditions aren't too bad for being in a cycle, I have been doing water changes daily, sometimes twice a day. However, I think I might be getting an algae bloom. If I add salt, and find that this cures whatever is causing the problem, should I disinfectant everything? And if so, how would I go about doing so? Thanks for your help!

 

[scottb]

Is the spots on them white and fuzzy.? If so then i would say its ich.

They don't appear to be, so i'll have to rule this one out for now...but thank you.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

I totally agree, it's very hard to say what it is for sure. And that it may not be columnaris because I feel like if it was, they wouldn't have made it till today. I would like to think my water conditions aren't too bad for being in a cycle, I have been doing water changes daily, sometimes twice a day. However, I think I might be getting an algae bloom. If I add salt, and find that this cures whatever is causing the problem, should I disinfectant everything? And if so, how would I go about doing so? Thanks for your help!

If the salt clears it up, that's great. No need to disinfect anything unless it's something really sinister.
1 flat tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons of tank water is the standard dosage. Add a 1/4 dose every 12 hours or so until you reach a full dose. If you change 50% of the water you are removing 50% of the salt in the tank. A half dose then needs to be added back in with the new water.
Is the water green or white in color? Put it in a clear glass and hold it up to the light.