At last I finally have my fishes

[reefman]

I was desperate to put my fishes in my tank, It was a long week that I had it to wait before I put my fishes in. Here are some pics of them hope you all like them. Is two neon, two Ballon Mollys and Two Black Tail Platers.

 

[fearlessfisch]

Congratulations on your fish! They are very pretty, and those are my favorite kind of platies.

I am afraid there is a problem, though.

I hope I am wrong, but it does not look like your tank has been cycled. You said you waited a week before putting in your fish....why?

If the aquarium store told you that running the tank empty for a week would cycle it, they gave you bad advice. Running the tank empty does not cycle it. Your tank needs to be cycled for the safety of your fish.

If your tank was not cycled using another method, your fish are at risk of dying soon. They pee ammonia, and it will burn their gills and kill them. During the first six weeks they are in the tank, you will need to change some (but not all) of the water in your tank every few days, so the ammonia does not build up too much. During the first six weeks, your tank and filter will grow a colony of good bacteria that turn the ammonia in fish urine into something less harmful to them (ammonia to nitrite to nitrate). After the cycle is complete (your bacteria are grown), you will not have to change the water so frequently.

The other option is to return your fish now and do a fishless cycle before adding fish. For a fishless cycle, you will have to dose ammonia in the tank, or use raw shrimp to get a cycle going, but you won't have to do water changes. That will mean less work for you, and your fish will be safer. However, you will have an empty tank for a while.

Please read about cycling, or your fish will likely die in the next couple of weeks. You will need a water test kit that includes tests for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. If your fish stay in the tank, you will need to change some of the water every time ammonia or nitrite levels rise above 1.0. As long as you keep levels below 1.0 (preferably below 0.5), your fish can survive the cycle in your tank. You will know the cycle is over when your nitrites and ammonia fall to zero, and your nitrates rise. It will take about six weeks. During the cycle, do not change all the water at once. Also, do not clean the filter, and don't clean the gravel too much. You are growing the good bacteria in those places. Make sure you use a good dechlorinator and match the water temperature with every partial water change.

Please keep posting here and asking questions! There are lots of people here who had the same problem starting out, because fish stores gave bad advice. Your fish are lucky to have someone who cares about them. People here will help you through the cycle if you keep posting!

Good luck!

 

[reefman]

Thanks for your Advise

What I did was, to run the water for a week or little more also with ghost shrimps in it, and I put also some water treatment to kill ammonia and chlorine, and my filter was running since the first day. I think that the filter has created those bacteria already.

What you think of that?

 

[fearlessfisch]

Hi again,
Unfortunately, you only had some tiny shrimp in the tank for one week, so you are still at the very beginning of your cycle. It will take another five or six weeks, with fish in the tank, for the good bacteria to grow and your cycle to be complete.

You could take the fish back and start over with a fishless cycle (read about fishless cycling in articles on this site). A lot of people here would recommend that as the kindest choice for your fish.

However, it is also possible to keep your fish and cycle safely, as long as you are willing to do the work of testing your water daily and doing partial water changes when necessary.

It is possible to speed up your cycle if you can get used filter media from an established tank. When I moved and started a new tank, I called a local aquarium society, and someone was nice enough to give me some of the dirty filter floss from their tank. I put it in my filter, and I had almost an instant cycle. You can also buy a product called Bio-Spira, which is supposed to cause an instant cycle. However, it sometimes does not work. No other product seems to work at all.

You will definitely need a test kit, though, so you can see what your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are. It is the only way to know where you are in the cycle, and when a water change is necessary for the health of your fish.

You should still use a dechlorinator every time you do a partial water change. I avoid products that lock up or neutralize ammonia during the cycle, because they do not help with the cycle, and they cause the test kits to give misleading readings. I am just very careful to test frequently and do water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite levels low enough to be safe for my fish.

I am sorry to bring you bad news. Your fish are beautiful. I hope you find a way to do this that works for you.

Keep asking questions, and keep posting. We are rooting for you and your fish.

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Yeah I agree with fearlessfisch, you are just now starting the cycle, since you have fish you need to test water daily and change often to keep the levels low.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/fishless-cycling-dummies-103339.html

 

[reefman]

I Did set up an used filter

My cousin gave me an used filter, maybe that help to create de bacterias a little bit faster. And also I bought the product to eliminate ammonia and nitrate.

Thanks guys for keeping me up dated.

 

[kribbman]

Primo......
I told you to wait a while.......
The fish look cool though, All I can say is to follow the advice they have given you so far. And change 50% of your water every week until your tank cycles.

good Luck.

 

[reefman]

Thanks Primo

Thanks primo for all your help, you rock for that!!