my fishless cycle is screwed up

[missileman]

I'm really sorry to get off subject but I am a major noob at this site and I don't know how to post a new post. I don't know what a cycle is. From what I heard it's easyer and less fish stressful then changing the water(60% change) every 2 months. I have a 10gal FW with 2 baby koi, 2 sarpas and a snail. I will eventualy get a 30gal for when my koi gets a little bigger(1 is about 2 inch and the larger one is bout 4 inches). So what is a cycle and how can I start it? I'm not a pro at collecting fish or anything and I only came to this site because my koi were acting weird and it looked sick so I only do pH and nitrate tests when something looks wrong. Thanks for all the help I got on this site!

Get rid of the Koi. They do not belong in an aquarium, they are pond fish and will get up to 3 feet long!!!
60% water change every 2 months is not enough by far. You should be doing at least 10% to 15% or more every week.

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-for-dummies-103339.html

read that kora

thanks a bunch!

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

Get rid of the Koi. They do not belong in an aquarium, they are pond fish and will get up to 3 feet long!!!
60% water change every 2 months is not enough by far. You should be doing at least 10% to 15% or more every week.

i know how big a koi gets, im not stupid, my koi is still small and when it is 3 feet long it will be outside but right now it is 2 small for that, it is getting along very well in the aquarium. and my tank is fine, if it needed to be cleaned more it would have murky water in it

 

[missileman]

i know how big a koi gets, im not stupid, my koi is still small and when it is 3 feet long it will be outside but right now it is 2 small for that, it is getting along very well in the aquarium. and my tank is fine, if it needed to be cleaned more it would have murky water in it

Just because the water is not murky does not mean it is clean.
How often do you test it?
I mentioned the Koi size because you mentioned getting a 30 gallon tank (again too small for a Koi) when he started to get bigger. You never mentioned a pond.
You said you didn't know what a cycle is so I have to believe you really have no idea about water quality or the effect it will have on your fish.
I don't mean to offend you but water changes once every 2 months simply is not enough Period for any type of fish in any aquarium let alone a Koi in a 10 gallon tank. I bet your Nitrite and Nitrate levels are through the roof IF your tank is even cycled at all.It is possibly stalled and has high amonia levels.

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

Just because the water is not murky does not mean it is clean.
How often do you test it?
I mentioned the Koi size because you mentioned getting a 30 gallon tank (again too small for a Koi) when he started to get bigger. You never mentioned a pond.
You said you didn't know what a cycle is so I have to believe you really have no idea about water quality or the effect it will have on your fish.
I don't mean to offend you but water changes once every 2 months simply is not enough Period for any type of fish in any aquarium let alone a Koi in a 10 gallon tank. I bet your Nitrite and Nitrate levels are through the roof IF your tank is even cycled at all.It is possibly stalled and has high amonia levels.

I know what effects pH, Nitrate, etc. all can have on a fish, I passed the 6th grade thank you very much. Like I said before I only came to this site because my fish were sick. I got my fish at fair although I love them very much. I don't test my water, I'm not a fish breeder or fish fanatic, I just want to give a happy heathly life to them. I don't have any live plants in my tank so my Nitrate levels shouldn't be that high. And I said I would be getting a 30 gallon when she, and yes I know for a fact she's a she, gets a little bigger she will be moved into a pond when she's big enough.

 

[bluerose]

Plants actually absorb nitrates (and to some extent ammonia), not create them. Nitrates are a byproduct of fish waste; fish excrete ammonia, which beneficial bacteria turn into nitrite and then nitrate. Nitrate is the least toxic but is not particularly good for your fish either.

You asked about cycling... which is the process of building up enough beneficial bacteria to handle your bioload, which is the amount of fish waste excreted into your tank.

The higher the waste, the higher the nitrates. The higher the nitrates, the more often you need to do water changes (or take a good look at your stocking and perhaps edit the number of fish in your tank). Your fish could very well have been sick due to direct poisoning of waste products or from weakened immune systems, allowing pathogens or parasites to infect them.

Insults won't get you anywhere here, and if you're going to ask for advice and then call us idiots, please don't bother. We have better things to do.

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

Plants actually absorb nitrates (and to some extent ammonia), not create them. Nitrates are a byproduct of fish waste; fish excrete ammonia, which beneficial bacteria turn into nitrite and then nitrate. Nitrate is the least toxic but is not particularly good for your fish either.

You asked about cycling... which is the process of building up enough beneficial bacteria to handle your bioload, which is the amount of fish waste excreted into your tank.

The higher the waste, the higher the nitrates. The higher the nitrates, the more often you need to do water changes (or take a good look at your stocking and perhaps edit the number of fish in your tank). Your fish could very well have been sick due to direct poisoning of waste products or from weakened immune systems, allowing pathogens or parasites to infect them.

Insults won't get you anywhere here, and if you're going to ask for advice and then call us idiots, please don't bother. We have better things to do.

I didn't call you or anybody idiot, I just had a problem with missleman because he realy ticked me off. My 2 koi(one is only 1in. the other is 4) are babies and are getting along fine in my 10gal along with 2 small sarpas and a snail, he hasn't seen my tank and so he wouldn't know what's working and what's not. Like I said before I don't keep fish for collecting or reasearch I keep them as pets. I know that I could make many improvements in my tank which will be done. All I asked was not that I need to install an outdoor pond right away because my fish are to cramped, when their not.

 

[bluerose]

He is correct, even if he did 'tick you off'. Goldfish have guidelines of about one fish per THIRTY gallons with ten additional gallons per fish thereafter. Koi grow bigger and faster than fancy golds, so you'll need to be extremely vigilant. 'Babies' though they may be, they're still just as vulnerable to poisoning as any other fish.

If you'd test your water and post results for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates, and prove that your water is a-ok, then you'd likely find posters would agree to disagree with you. However, it's very doubtful that your tank is in proper balance, and even having passed the 6th grade and only being a 'casual keeper' of fish and not a 'fanatic', it takes the same amount of work to maintain a tank no matter what age. If you're going to be responsible (and this goes for every aspect of life, not just fishkeeping), you provide the same level of care to your fish as a 'fanatic' would. This includes water tests and water changes about weekly or as dictated by your nitrate levels.

You say that your fish were sick-- what were their symptoms?

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

He is correct, even if he did 'tick you off'. Goldfish have guidelines of about one fish per THIRTY gallons with ten additional gallons per fish thereafter. Koi grow bigger and faster than fancy golds, so you'll need to be extremely vigilant. 'Babies' though they may be, they're still just as vulnerable to poisoning as any other fish.

If you'd test your water and post results for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates, and prove that your water is a-ok, then you'd likely find posters would agree to disagree with you. However, it's very doubtful that your tank is in proper balance, and even having passed the 6th grade and only being a 'casual keeper' of fish and not a 'fanatic', it takes the same amount of work to maintain a tank no matter what age. If you're going to be responsible (and this goes for every aspect of life, not just fishkeeping), you provide the same level of care to your fish as a 'fanatic' would. This includes water tests and water changes about weekly or as dictated by your nitrate levels.

You say that your fish were sick-- what were their symptoms?

I'm sorry I did over react I just thought that he could of said things a little nicer. About a year ago my oldest koi(Aiko) had a bright orange and white marble color, she was living at my grandparents at the time, and then she slowly lost her orange color, this wasn't her being sick but I just don't know what happend here, now she is all white. I don't know if this was a genetic thing or a problem in the tank, I did tests on the water and everything seemed relatively normal. The problem was a few months ago when my smallest koi(Akiko, also female I know for sure) started swimming side ways. Aiko wouldn't leave her side even when I put food in the tank, and trust me my fish will always eat! A few hours later Akiko did something weird she made a kind of burp thing where she opended her mouth and a huge air buble came out then she was fine. By that time I had already joined the site and I just kept coming back.

 

[fort384]

I would say based on the info presented, that you are probably having serious water quality issues. Like bluerose said, if you could post specific readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate that would go a long way to diagnosing the problem.

 

[missileman]

I didn't call you or anybody idiot, I just had a problem with missleman because he realy ticked me off. My 2 koi(one is only 1in. the other is 4) are babies and are getting along fine in my 10gal along with 2 small sarpas and a snail, he hasn't seen my tank and so he wouldn't know what's working and what's not.

I really didn't mean to tick anyone off, You asked for help and I tried to tell you what the problem likely is.
I don't have to see your tank to know you have a major problem and that is why your fish are sick.
I know how much load your fish are and I know that if you only change water every 2 months when it gets murky that your parameters are way out of wack, period.
Don't take my word for it. Take a sample to your local pet store, most will gladly test it for you for free.
My advice is to change at least 15% of your water every week and that includes vacuuming 1/4 of the gravel.Your fish will be in better health if you do.
I am just trying to help, I really don't care to argue with some teenager on the internet because they didn't like the way I said something. I spend enough time arguing with my own teenagers right here at home.

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

All right but I need to get testing products where are some good places to get them?

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

I really didn't mean to tick anyone off, You asked for help and I tried to tell you what the problem likely is.
I don't have to see your tank to know you have a major problem and that is why your fish are sick.
I know how much load your fish are and I know that if you only change water every 2 months when it gets murky that your parameters are way out of wack, period.
Don't take my word for it. Take a sample to your local pet store, most will gladly test it for you for free.
My advice is to change at least 15% of your water every week and that includes vacuuming 1/4 of the gravel.Your fish will be in better health if you do.
I am just trying to help, I really don't care to argue with some teenager on the internet because they didn't like the way I said something. I spend enough time arguing with my own teenagers right here at home.

Like I said before I'm sorry, I overacted, this week has been a bad one for me. I'll take the water and get it tested.

 

[missileman]

All right but I need to get testing products where are some good places to get them?

Any pet store that sells fish stuff will have test kits.
The recommended kit is the API freshwater master test kit but any kit is better than nothing.
The most important things to test are, amonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH.
Once you know your water parameters I suggest you start your own thread and lets see what we can do about your ill fish.

 

[kora_the_lone_koi]

Any pet store that sells fish stuff will have test kits.
The recommended kit is the API freshwater master test kit but any kit is better than nothing.
The most important things to test are, amonia, nitrite, nitrate and PH.
Once you know your water parameters I suggest you start your own thread and lets see what we can do about your ill fish.

Alright, thanks. I'll get to the store as soon as possible.