First Ever Aquarium: Round 2

[downtheroad]

It looks like my nitrites are coming down finally! I read .25 today. The nitrates are still really high. The ammonia is only present because I keep adding it every day. I take a reading every morning and it's next to zero, but then goes up after I add a little.

Once the nitrites come down to zero, even though the nitrates are very very high, do I still just need to do a huge water change before adding fish? I am a bit concerned about the very high nitrate level just 'caues of the other examples I've seen, they were nowhere near that high.

 

[rich311k]

Once nitrites are zero and ammonia is zero. Dose anmmonia one more time. Both levels should go to zero in 24 hours. Do a massive water change and go buy your fish.

You are almost done. Good work.

 

[downtheroad]

w00t! I can't wait :0)

What would be better to get first, a school of Rummy Nose Tetra or my Yoyo Loaches?

 

[rich311k]

I would add the tetras first.

 

[downtheroad]

Hmmm... My pH seems to be rather high. It's around 8.

Is this going to effect my fish selection? For example, I think Rummynose Tetra prefer to have a lower pH range.

Again, I had planned on getting a school of tetra, yoyo loaches, a dwarf guarami and/or a swordtail of some sort.

Is this going to make a difference now that I know my pH?

(And I realize that people have talked about how fish prefer a stable pH to an "ideal" pH but this seems to be quite a difference)

TIA!!

 

[rich311k]

The ph should go down once the cycle is finished and you do your massive water change. Dont worry about it until then. I think 7 -10 days, maybe less.

 

[downtheroad]

Ah I see. I didn't realize the cycle had an effect on the pH. I just thought it was what your tap water gave ya (for the most part). Thanks.

 

[downtheroad]

Well, I'm definitely cycled now. No ammonia, no nitrites, high nitrates, but I haven't done my large water change yet.

I have a question before I begin to get fish. I'm going to get my school first (danios or tetra, not sure which yet). I had planned to get 5 of them total. Since I did a fishless cycle, do I still need to only start with about 3 of them or can I go ahead and get all 5? Any other advice at this point is also appreciated :0)

 

[rich311k]

Get the danios first. You can get all 5. They are tough fish. Congrats on your cycle. Let me know what the PH is after the massive water change , just curious. Change 75-80% of the water. Make sure you add fish within 24 hours of stopping adding ammonia or you bacteria will start to die off.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I wouldn't get the Rummynose Tetra's first. They are sensitive to Nitrites and Ammonia. I have heard that they can die easily in a brand new tank. I purchased 6 of them about a month after the initial setup and cycle and haven't had any die yet. So I would give the tank a few weeks to a month before adding them.

As Rich said, get all 5 and be sure to do a large water change before adding them. Don't mess with the filter at this point either. Congrats on the cycled tank.

 

[downtheroad]

Yeah I was actually surprised at how quickly it cycled. I think it would've gone faster but I screwed it up at the beginning by misunderstanding or something. I think I added way too much ammonia initially and then I hadn't been adding it regularly for a while.

At one point I changed out some water and tried to get things going again. Once I saw the ammonia going down and that the nitrites and nitrates were up, I think I began dosing correctly and stuff.

In short, I think I got lucky

 

[downtheroad]

Okay well I have gotten 5 rummynose (sorry Fishyfanatic but I didn't see your post until after I'd left) and they seem to be pretty lively.

When I first got them they pretty much huddled on the bottom and very slowly explored outward from there. Now they are swimming around more toward the bottom than the top. I think this could be because I have low driftwood and more shorter plants than taller ones so there's more cover.

I have 2 concerns at the moment though. My first concern is that they are not seeing (sensing?) the food when I put it in on top because they are swimming around so far down. Is there some way I can get them to notice the food so they'll eat?

Also, and this is what scares me the most, I'm seeing little spots on them. I am familiar with Ich and it's symptom of the little white dots, but in the pictures I've been looking at, the dots seem kind of pale and the spots I'm noticing are almost sort of sparkly. I'm wondering (hoping) if this is just a characteristic of the fish? I guess I didn't notice in the tank at the store whether or not they all looked like that (didn't look closely enough I guess). I can't see this fish store having a tank full of infected fish though... Also, how could they have gotten it in my tank when nothing has been in there yet? My only guess here would be the pond snails that got in on plants.

They don't seem to be lethargic or gasping for breath or any of that bad stuff. They're all pretty lively, though they still seem a bit scared (getting used to new tank?).

I'm keeping an eye on them best I can, as I am somewhat busy this week since school will be starting. Thanks a lot for your responses fellas.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

My rummies did the exact same thing, well, all my community fish did. I'd give it a day or so before attempting to feed again. They will be hungry and will notice the food. Get into a schedule or a habit of feeding. Example, when I feed my community fish, I turn off one side of the lights in the tank, always the left side. Then I open the top of the right side and feed. They seem to always know that when the light turns off, it's feeding time. Also, when I added the additional school, they seemed to eat more.

Ich is a complicated thing. Some debate that ich is always present in water and there is an outbreak with fish are stressed and lose their slimecoating. That's when it "attacks" the fish and an outbreak occurs. Then some believe that it is something that is just passed from fish to fish. Also, don't be suprised that the lfs that you bought the fish from transmitted the ich. There could have been 1 fish in the tank that had it on its gills and it wasn't noticeable. It happens to the best of them. If it is indeed ich, treat ASAP. Since you have live plants, the heat method would work great. Slowly increase the temp in the tank to 87 degrees. Some say 86, but anything above 86 is what kills the ich. That's why I always go on the safe side and take it a degree or two higher.

I'd say that they are so timid because they aren't used to the tank. Leave the lights off and come back tomorrow and see how they are acting.

 

[downtheroad]

I think I may try to increase the heat just as a precaution... Like I said, I'm going to try to keep a close eye on them anyway. If in a few days they seem to settle down and the spots go away, I'll just take it back down to normal temperature.

I'll have to check the boards for articles on it as well. Thanks.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Wait at least 2 weeks after the spots are gone. If it is ich, you definately need to treat for 2 weeks after you see the last spots. It won't hurt the fish at the increased temps.

 

[severum mama]

If your tetras have ich, it will look like grains of salt stuck to the fish and not "sparkly". It doesn't sound to me like they have it. Swimming around the bottom levels of the tank is completely normal for rummy nose tetras. Even when they settle in they will spend most of their time there, and will really only approach the surface to eat. If your plants were taller, they would still stay at the bottom.

Don't worry about them not eating. I didn't see mine eat for almost 3 weeks, but once they settled in and got comfortable their color brightened up considerably and they began coming to the surface for food. You don't even really need to feed them for a couple days IMO, as they will probably not eat the food anyway. Good luck with them. They are pretty delicate fish, but if they survive the initial process of being added to the tank then they will probably be fine.

 

[downtheroad]

I just put in some Ich treatment that suggests you take out the carbon filter media. What should I do with it while it is out of the tank? Or am I going to have to replace it with a new one after the treatment is finished??

 

[rich311k]

Don't put in ich medicine, the heat would have been fine. If you go the medicine route put the carbon back in when the treatment is done to remove the medicine. Throw the carbon out. you will need to add fresh. It only works for two weeeks anyway.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Does the meds harm live plants? Some do. After you dosed the tank with the meds, throw the bottle away and don't be tempted to buy it again. I know, sounds harsh, but ich meds are not worth the cost. 9 times out of 10 the bottle says to increase the temp in the tank. Therefore you are already using the heat method. The med is just an extra cost. And some can even destroy your bacterial colonies or stain the decor and seels on your tank. That's why the heat and salt or just the heat method is normally preferred. There are some situations where meds are prefered, such as if you have goldfish and plecos in the same tank. Pleco's don't do well with salt and goldfish do not do well with heat.

 

[downtheroad]

Hmm... Someone may want to update the sticky in the sick fish forum, I'm thinkin'...


At any rate, the person that helped me get all of my stuff for the tank to begin with recommended it to me... It's Nox-Ich (cost like $2). I picked it up from a local fish store that I just discovered. This place is like the equivalent of a bunch of geeks throwing together a computer shop.



Directions:add 1 drop per gallon of water for control of external parasitic diseases including Ich and Velvet. Use for 3 consecutive days. If problem persists after initial treatment, skip one day and treat again for another 3 days.

Ingredients: 50% Sodium Chloride, 50% Malachite Green


I only used 10 drops. Hmmm... This just occured to me. Do the directions mean that I'm supposed to dose every day for 3 days? They're a bit vague...