Fish in cycling help!

[splitbux]

10 gallon kit which came with 10-15 aquatech waterfall filter. About a month in cycling process with 3 orange long fin danios which is all i wanted(for cycling) but my neice unknowingly bought me a common pleco couple days ago which is around 3 inches. my ammonia was high at first and now its pretty much at 0. The nitrites extremely high 5+ppm even though i do 40% water change everyday. Nitrates are starting to show up around 5ppm. my danios have always been swimming at the top of the water and now one is at bottom of tank barely moving. pleco seems to be fine for now ive been giving him cucumber 3 times a week (wont eat algae discs). Is there anything i should be doing differently? should i not be doing such large water changes and is it affecting my cycling process or speed? also i fill my tank to the top rim so waterline is hidden and filter water just flows in. Should i lower my water level so the filter drops from a higher point until cycling is complete?

 

[jetajockey]

I wouldn't worry about the water level/oxygenation thing at this point. Your real issue is the nitrites. You need to do some big water changes to get them down and keep them low.

Another big help with nitrite toxicity is the addition of salt. However since you have a pleco I would keep it minimal. Just a teaspoon or so per 5g should be plenty, it will help keep the nitrites from harming the fish. It sounds like they are already exhibiting stress/damage from nitrite poisoning but hopefully it can be resolved without too much damage.

As with the addition of any med, if you do add salt be sure to dissolve it first in some tank water and watch the fish closely for any adverse reactions. IF they start freaking out and acting unusually distressed then stop medicating and do a water change. This has not happened to me with the dosage I've recommended but I do try to pass it along just in case it ever does happen to someone.

 

[splitbux]

i read somewhere that adding salt has a long term lasting effect and it cannot ever be removed completely. What if i up the water changes to 2-3 times a day to get the nitrites down? do you think that would be just as good? Trust me if i did more research i would have done a fishless cycle but not knowing and having children who would not be pleased with empty tank would not have worked out.

 

[jetajockey]

i read somewhere that adding salt has a long term lasting effect and it cannot ever be removed completely. What if i up the water changes to 2-3 times a day to get the nitrites down? do you think that would be just as good? Trust me if i did more research i would have done a fishless cycle but not knowing and having children who would not be pleased with empty tank would not have worked out.

Im not sure what that salt thing is about. You can remove it with water changes. This can be checked easily with a hydrometer if one wanted to. Salt actually has been a staple 'tonic ' used for decades. I don't advocate it's use indefinitely because I think it's unnecessary, but it's the best method to ensure that fish aren't being hurt by nitrite poisoning.

You can definitely do tons of water changes instead, though. If you treat the water with a product like Prime, it will detox the nitrogenous waste, but only lasts 24-48hrs so redosing is needed at that time.

Also, there's nothing wrong with fish-in cycling. It often gets villianized on forums because some do not know how to go at it successfully, but generally speaking it has been and continues to be the industry standard by far. This isn't out of ignorance, its because a humane fish in cycle can be done just as or easier than a fishless one. It just takes some planning and understanding of the process.

 

[splitbux]

thank you for the quick and informed response.

 

[jetajockey]

Welcome, hope you get it sorted out. We are here to help so don't hesitate to post.