New here

[Schoolinjon]

Hey all! I’m relatively new to the fish tank hobby. I have a 50g tank now. I have a Fluval 206 with one tray of mechanical filtration and two trays of media, I also have a diy above tank sump with lava rock as media Quick question is, I have a large crawdad in it and 3 wild caught baby crawdads. Is that enough to cycle it with some Seacham Stability added as well? I already had a school of 6 tiger barbs die within 24 hours because apparently it hadn’t cycled thoroughly. The crawdads apparently are invincible. I had the water tested and it’s all within the parameters. My thought is to just let it cycle for a few more weeks prior to dropping in fish. Any suggestions?

 

[Anonymous]

None

Hello, I am also new. I don't know much about crawdads or what is killing your barbs but maybe you can use the sick fish forum, it has helped me in the past.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello School...

The trick to cycling a tank with some type of inhabitant, is a steady source of ammonia. Typically, the source is a hardy fish species and you put in 3 to 4 for every 10 gallons of tank volume. You feed the fish a little every day or two and test the tank water daily for traces of ammonia and nitrite. If you have a positive test for either, you remove 25 percent of the water and replace that with treated tap water. This amount keeps the water chemistry somewhat healthy for the fish and maintains the growth of the bacteria colony. Just test the water and change it when needed. When several daily tests show no traces of ammonia or nitrite the tank is cycled. The process takes a month or so. Not sure you'd get the steady ammonia source with "Mudbugs".

B