Zissou
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello!
I've recently set up a 15 gal tank for my family. Reading through this forum has been very helpful in *hopefully* making the right decisions to set up a successful aquarium community for my kids to enjoy. The tank I purchased was a starter kit with powered filter, hood/light. I also installed a submersible heater and an air stone/pump. I treated the water with the included aqueon dechlorinator and ran for 48 hours before adding any fish.
I added Tetra Safestart along with 2 small platys last Thursday. After 48 hours, I tested the water with the API liquid master test kit and levels for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates were all at zero. I tested again the following day and again last night. All levels are still at zero 5 days after adding the fish and safestart. Is this normal? I would have expected to see the readings go up with the new fish. I have not done any water changes yet per the instructions from safestart. I plan to do a partial water change this weekend which will be 10 days after adding the fish and tss. I've been feeding once a day no more than can be consumed within 3-5 mins. As funny as it sounds to ask, should I be concerned that I have not seen any detectable levels of toxins? I expected to see somewhat of a spike. What would you make of this? Or am I just being impatient?
Also, last Saturday I noticed that our sunset fire wag platy had a few white spots on the base of her tail fin. I remembered reading about ich and determined that this must be what's going on. I monitored her over the weekend, increasing the temperature from 78 to 82 incrementally over the course of 2 days as I had read that higher temperatures can be successful in treating ich. I also added 2/3 the recommended dosage of Rid Ich yesterday in hopes of preventing the ich from spreading. This morning most of the spots were gone but the fish seemed a lot more lethargic than normal. I would like to do a water change with the ich treatment tonight but I am concerned about messing up the safestart bacterial growth. Should I wait it out and just do the ich treatments for now without any water change? Also are there any concerns with using the Rid Ich in a new tank and with safe start? Is the ich something that would have come with the fish from the pet store or something that was in the tank? I had only had the fish for 2 days before seeing spots. I looked closely when purchasing the fish though and I know that she didn't have any spots when purchased.
I've also purchased Prime which I intended to use to treat the water during the cycle but haven't added it yet as I read that it could prevent the safestart from doing its thing. Should I use that after the 10 days with the water change?
Sorry for throwing out so many questions at once! Thanks for all the good info this forum provides. I appreciate any feedback y'all can offer.
Thanks!
I've recently set up a 15 gal tank for my family. Reading through this forum has been very helpful in *hopefully* making the right decisions to set up a successful aquarium community for my kids to enjoy. The tank I purchased was a starter kit with powered filter, hood/light. I also installed a submersible heater and an air stone/pump. I treated the water with the included aqueon dechlorinator and ran for 48 hours before adding any fish.
I added Tetra Safestart along with 2 small platys last Thursday. After 48 hours, I tested the water with the API liquid master test kit and levels for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates were all at zero. I tested again the following day and again last night. All levels are still at zero 5 days after adding the fish and safestart. Is this normal? I would have expected to see the readings go up with the new fish. I have not done any water changes yet per the instructions from safestart. I plan to do a partial water change this weekend which will be 10 days after adding the fish and tss. I've been feeding once a day no more than can be consumed within 3-5 mins. As funny as it sounds to ask, should I be concerned that I have not seen any detectable levels of toxins? I expected to see somewhat of a spike. What would you make of this? Or am I just being impatient?
Also, last Saturday I noticed that our sunset fire wag platy had a few white spots on the base of her tail fin. I remembered reading about ich and determined that this must be what's going on. I monitored her over the weekend, increasing the temperature from 78 to 82 incrementally over the course of 2 days as I had read that higher temperatures can be successful in treating ich. I also added 2/3 the recommended dosage of Rid Ich yesterday in hopes of preventing the ich from spreading. This morning most of the spots were gone but the fish seemed a lot more lethargic than normal. I would like to do a water change with the ich treatment tonight but I am concerned about messing up the safestart bacterial growth. Should I wait it out and just do the ich treatments for now without any water change? Also are there any concerns with using the Rid Ich in a new tank and with safe start? Is the ich something that would have come with the fish from the pet store or something that was in the tank? I had only had the fish for 2 days before seeing spots. I looked closely when purchasing the fish though and I know that she didn't have any spots when purchased.
I've also purchased Prime which I intended to use to treat the water during the cycle but haven't added it yet as I read that it could prevent the safestart from doing its thing. Should I use that after the 10 days with the water change?
Sorry for throwing out so many questions at once! Thanks for all the good info this forum provides. I appreciate any feedback y'all can offer.
Thanks!