Beneficial bacteria how long for it to grow?

[GouramiCichlid]

So I have a fully cycled 40 gallon tank and I was wondering if i added a 2nd filter how long would it take for the bacteria to grow in the second filter.
Also is it possible to keep a blue crayfish in a ten gallon tank by itself.

 

[PNWaquarist]

So I have a fully cycled 40 gallon tank and I was wondering if i added a 2nd filter how long would it take for the bacteria to grow in the second filter.

It'll start growing almost immediately. If your tank is at least a few months old and has a good biofilter, I'd guess that your new filter would be heavily seeded within a week or so.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

It'll start growing almost immediately. If your tank is at least a few months old and has a good biofilter, I'd guess that your new filter would be heavily seeded within a week or so.

Ok after that said week would I be able to move that new filter into a 10 gallon tank and get it cycled immediately?

 

[Coyne]

I kept an orange crayfish in a 10 gallon. I would say that it was the bare minimum tank size. After it reached its adult size, I started to feel a bit bad for it and wished it had a little more walking around room.

As for the second filter, keep in mind that the amount of BB you colonize is related to the amount of ammonia being produced in the tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[PNWaquarist]

Ok after that said week would I be able to move that new filter into a 10 gallon tank and get it cycled immediately?

I'd probably wait 10 days to be on the safe side. But, yeah, as long as you're not really pushing the stocking limit in that 10 gallon.

What may work faster is, if you have multiple pieces of filter media in your established main tank, remove one of the pieces and stick it in the filter for the 10 gallon.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Do you guys think it would be smart to move the crayfish into my 55 gallon african cichlid tank when he is fully grown then?
I was just planning on moving the entire filter over to the 10 gallon(the new filter) after the bacteria colonizes its been in the forty for about 4-5 days now

 

[Coyne]

I had plans on setting up a 90 gallon African Cichlid tank and moving my cray over to it. Unfortunately, it died before I could make that happen.
I think it'd be ok as long as its got a couple caves to take refuge in after it molts.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Okay so I got the crayfish and I was about to move him into the ten gallon until the filter broke (((((((((</3 and it was brand new or so I thought (stupid petco) So for now i have him in my 55 gallon cichlid tank but i put him in a breeder cage do you think he will last two days? in the breeder cage

 

[Fishfur]

With any luck he will.

A suggestion for getting a second filter established quickly, if I may ?
Clean the first filter in the smallest amount of used tank water possible. Squeeze out the media well, get as much of the dirt and crud into the water as you can.

Then pour that dirty water into the new filter on the new tank. It should be cycled within a day or two, and so long as you have something alive in the tank or feed a bit of ammonia, the BB will continue to grow on. This is faster than putting a second filter on the first tank and letting it filter.. because not many BB float free in the water column. A few get knocked off their surfaces, but by seeding it with the 'squeezings' from an established filter, you dramatically increase the number of BB that go into the new filter. It's a serious jump start. I've done this and been able to put fish in the second day.. and it's how I set up isolation tanks in a hurry if there's an emergency.

Some keep an extra sponge in a filter so it's available to set up a tank in a hurry, for any reason that may come up. It's an easy way to get a cycle in almost no time flat.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

With any luck he will.

A suggestion for getting a second filter established quickly, if I may ?
Clean the first filter in the smallest amount of used tank water possible. Squeeze out the media well, get as much of the dirt and crud into the water as you can.

Then pour that dirty water into the new filter on the new tank. It should be cycled within a day or two, and so long as you have something alive in the tank or feed a bit of ammonia, the BB will continue to grow on. This is faster than putting a second filter on the first tank and letting it filter.. because not many BB float free in the water column. A few get knocked off their surfaces, but by seeding it with the 'squeezings' from an established filter, you dramatically increase the number of BB that go into the new filter. It's a serious jump start. I've done this and been able to put fish in the second day.. and it's how I set up isolation tanks in a hurry if there's an emergency.

Some keep an extra sponge in a filter so it's available to set up a tank in a hurry, for any reason that may come up. It's an easy way to get a cycle in almost no time flat.

Alright I'll try that when the new filter comes in
oh and one more question I was told that Blue crayfish can lose their colors after molting if not fed the proper diet is this true? If so, what am i suppose to feed him?

 

[Coyne]

I had read that about my orange cray as well. I did occasionally feed it "Color Enhancing" pellets. All that means is that it contains extra krill, which adds a red pigment (fun fact: flamingos are born white, but turn pink due to their high krill diet). It always stayed orange, but whether or not it was because of the food I couldn't say for sure.

Food that is high in spirulina is supposed to help with the blue/green pigments. It might help... certainly wouldn't hurt. Just make sure its also getting enough calcium in its diet as well. That's probably more important.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

What foods contain calcium? can I just throw in a calcium bone once in a while or is that a no go?
Also when you say spirluna do you mean that green stuff that people use to feed their marine fish? that makes the water go greenish

 

[Coyne]

Here is what I feed my cray (in addition to some other things):
Aquarium Food & Nutrition: Hikari Tropical Crab Cuisine

I was able to get that at pretty much any LFS by me.
I was also able to get mine to eat vegetables that are high in calcium, like spinach and kale.
I never tried it myself, but I do not think putting a cuttlebone in the tank would help.

Ive only ever done freshwater stuff, so Im not familiar with what kinds of food are fed in marine aquariums.
Spirulina algae is an ingredient thats pretty common in freshwater food flakes/pellets. How much of it there is will vary from brand to brand. As with any list of ingredients, the closer to the beginning the higher the percentage of that particular ingredient.
For example:
Sinking Spirulina Wafers

Spirulina is listed second here, so its uses more than most other types of food. Something to look for when you're figuring out what to get.

 

[Fishfur]

I honestly don't know for sure. But there are a couple of things that are known to help keep colours bright. Spirulina algae is one, another is astaxanthin, [ Naturose powder]. You can get both as powder and maybe mix up some home made food, or buy foods with one or both of these ingredients.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Oh crud can crayfish regrow limbs? Somehow one of his back legs was biten off I think the catfish grabbed onto his leg when he was climbing on the sides

 

[Fishfur]

They can, usually after a moult, a limb may reappear. Not for sure, but certainly possible.

 

[aqua_holic]

Yes they will regenerate all of their legs. It'll take time though.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Should I add a heater it gets pretty cold in my room sometimes since I have so many tanks runnung having a heater in my room.would just bshort circuit the electricity

 

[Fishfur]

If it is warm enough for you, it's warm enough for them, so I wouldn't be too concerned about temps, unless it was getting below 40 F. I think they can survive short periods in temps near freezing, but not for a long time.

 

[GouramiCichlid]

Welp I bought a heater for him anyways its a 100 watt heater for a ten gallon tank since the temperature in my tank is always dropping and raising I feel it would be stressful for my crayfish if he had to deal with temperature change constantly. Would setting it at 68 degrees keep him at a safe temperature it says this heater is rated for 25 gallons so i feel like the heater will make the tank around 74 76 degrees. Oh and can I keep the crayfish with live plants? his tank looks so dull its just sand and a big o' lava rock in the middle for him to hide in. sorry for asking so many questions D: i just want my cray to live a long life