Please help me get some nitrites! 29 gallon fishless cycle....

[pugmom]

added ammonia yesterday (2-4 ppm) and zero amm/nitrites today!

I know I should probably bump up to clearly 4ppm and test again, but today I have time to do a huge water change so I am going to go for it and get some fishies tomorrow.

question being, assuming on the safe side that I can process 2ppm quickly, what stocking level should I go with to go slow, but not so slow as to starve the bacteria?

I am probably starting with neons and or glofish/danios.

Can I do 6 of each or should I just do 6 danios to start?

 

[jlk]

Hmm.... I dont keep tropicals but I would start with just the 6 danios. Test daily and if all is well (steady zeroes) in a week, you can add another school. If you see any spikes, water changes until things stabilize then wait atleast another week after things stabilize before adding the next school. Sound good? Look forward to seeing some pics!

 

[blert]

If you wait too long to add fish your bio-filter will adjust to lower levels. IMO, stock now while it is still strong, do your two schools and keep an eye on things. If you are good after two days then add some more fish before the bio-filter starts to adjust to the lower toxin level. A lot of your time and energy went into building up to 4ppm ammonia processing, don't waste it.

 

[jlk]

If you wait too long to add fish your bio-filter will adjust to lower levels. IMO, stock now while it is still strong, do your two schools and keep an eye on things. If you are good after two days then add some more fish before the bio-filter starts to adjust to the lower toxin level. A lot of your time and energy went into building up to 4ppm ammonia processing, don't waste it.

I suggested stocking slowly because the tank hasnt a 4ppm dose probably since day 1 and only just in the last 24hrs has (for the first time) zeroed a low dose of ammonia fully to nitrate. I would be very cautious here suggesting fully stocking. I dont believe the bio filter is quite up to speed yet but this is just my opinion.

 

[pugmom]

I was dosing to 4 ppm for the first month, then reduced 12 days ago or so when the nitrites were not going anywhere.

My gut tells me to go slow but if I do get both schools, I will keep an eye on it as if it were a fish in cycle and be prepared for lots of water changes!

Thank you both for your input!

 

[jlk]

Thanks for clarifying, Pugmom! You will be fine no matter which route you choose, so dont worry! If you run into a problem, dont hesitate to ask!

 

[pugmom]

of course, since I have no self control, bought both schools. Taking a gamble on petsmart, but since they were on sale/14 day returns/girl seemed to know her stuff/no other fish in tank to infect..... I thought it was worth the risk.

I will stay on top of testing/water changes....

edit - drip acclimating as we speak....

 

[TangoTank]

of course, since I have no self control, bought both schools...

... drip acclimating as we speak....

YAY!! Congrats!! I'm gonna THINK about what fish I'm gettin' next week. Did you see my Clownfish & Fantail pic I posted??

 

[pugmom]

lesson learned. no petsmart (or at least not the day after a shipment) now treating for ich with water and salt. Lost 2 fish already, not sure if it was ich before seeing the spots or just stressed fish. One neon that never schooled with the others and a glofish that had a small/damaged? side fin that just was acting off since we put him in.

sigh.

edit - but at least my parameters look good....0 ppm ammonia, 0 nitrites....

 

[TangoTank]

Oh no!! After seeing the cost of shipment w/ ordering fish, I was beginning to think about Petco or Pet Supermarket for my fish. Hmm...

 

[pugmom]

yeah. If you would try it, I would recommend asking when they get the shipments and then go 4-5 days after to the weak ones are gone and you can see if there are obvious issues. When I went back today with my dead fish, I looked in the tank and the ich was now obvious on the neons in the tank. Also saw black neons with a ton of it. All still for sale

 

[jlk]

Im sorry!