First Fish in New Tank

[twestacott]

My son and I have been cycling his new 36 gallon bowfront for about a month and have finally taken the leap of adding fish this morning.

My son selected 6 zebra danio to start because he likes their blue stripes. We are going to give it a week or two and see how they do before we add anything else. Thoughts?

PS I will post some pictures a little later once they get a chance to settle in their new home

 

[Aspencer]

When I started my first tank...I tested the water every day, all three tests, and when my NitrAtes went over 20, I did a water change..then after a bit, I test every third day and then a week...over a period of a couple of months...sounds like lots of work but this way, you tank stays perfect.

 

[HeatherW]

did you do the fishless cycle? dosing up to 4ppm of ammonia?

 

[twestacott]

Yes we did the fishless cycle

 

[HeatherW]

Yes we did the fishless cycle

well, if you dosed your tank up to the 4ppm of ammonia then I would add more fish now. if you wait too long then all the BB that you grew will die off without an ammonia source. that is the whole point of doing the fishless cycle - you get to add all your fish at once at the end

 

[twestacott]

Cool maybe we will need to go back to the store in a few days

 

[HeatherW]

i think i read somewhere (or someone said) that the good bb can live maybe a week without food (an ammonia source) so I wouldn't wait too long or you are going to be starting over

 

[librarygirl]

So you did use ammonia as per your other thread; have your nitrites risen and fallen yet? You're only about 3 weeks into the cycling process so unless you used a lot of seeded media to begin with IDK if the cycle is really complete. Sorry, just double-checking. The last thing you want to do is add fish too soon. Unless you want to finish up with a fish-in cycle, which is fine as long as you're aware of what you're getting into.

 

[twestacott]

We have been dosing the tank up and letting it come back down on its own. The ammonia comes back down pretty quickly but I am not sure what you mean but the nitrate rising and falling

 

[KaylNeko]

Ammonia isn't the only one you need to monitor--nitrItes start showing up after a while, then nitrAtes. You have to wait until the nitrites are at 0 as well for it to be completely cycled.

 

[twestacott]

I see. So if we have 6 zebra danio in the tank what do I do to make sure they dont die overnight

 

[HeatherW]

OK, so now it looks like you have switched over to the fish IN cycle. not a problem!! what you need to do is check your water daily. I would use the API liquid master test kit - what are you using? then, based on your test results you will need to do water changes. I would check ammonia, nitrItes and PH daily and then do a weekly test of the NitrAtes. this will let you know where you are. just stay on top of the testing and water changes and you will be fine. you really need to test that water today to make sure your nitrites are not too high. did you do a water change before you added the fish today?

 

[twestacott]

Yes I did a water change just before adding the fish. I use the API test

 

[librarygirl]

No problem, fish won't die overnight, just keep monitoring the water daily (do all the tests) and if you see ammonia or nitrite rise do a water change to get them down (or more than one if they are high). You seemed to have completed the ammonia phase when dosing ammonia, so the ammonia was falling to 0, but the nitrite phase hadn't started yet and it follows the ammonia phase (unless you did get nitrite, missed that part, didn't think so from reading but I could be wrong).

 

[corinne118s]

What do you mean fish won't die overnight..?

 

[librarygirl]

What do you mean fish won't die overnight..?

Was just addressing the OP's comment above. OK literally fish can die overnight but I think the OP is referring to how can s/he keep the fish safe so they won't die suddenly and I suggested monitoring the water and doing water changes as needed. Unless the ammonia or nitrite spiked high suddenly or if they were exposed to toxins for long periods the fish probably won't die suddenly from a slight ammo reading. That's how I took his comment, maybe I misread.

 

[corinne118s]

haha that's ok just wanted to point out before I knew anything about cycling I lost quite a bit of fish randomly with no signs

 

[boadams87]

Yes I did a water change just before adding the fish. I use the API test

What are ur nitrite and nitrate readings? If u have ANY nitrites ur not cycled yet!

 

[twestacott]

None. The fish were initially staying near the surface but after about 6-7 hours are now venturing around more. Is this normal for danio?

 

[twestacott]

Current photos