Holiday nightmare!

[magoofc]

Hi I am new to the fish keeping business and need some help. I have a tank which was established for about 2 months it had one betta fish and then I gradually added a few tetras and all seemed to be ok. I have just been on holiday for a week and upon my return I have found all my fish are dead. I think my friend had over fed them although they say they didn't. The water was filthy.
Anyway I have since cleaned out the tank with a 70% water change and have done a few 10% changes daily to reduce my ammonia levels. At present they are still a little high. I am not sure what I should do next? Should I add a few hardy fish or wait until the ammonia levels are even lower or gone by continuing water changes. Not sure if I should have the fish in there already to start new cycling period. Little confused.
Can anyone help?

 

[KatieJ]

How big was the tank? Bettas and tetras usually have a hit-and-miss kind of compatibility; I wouldn't be surprised if he was fed up and tried to kill them. But if you say the water was filthy, it was probably something else.

Only bad things happen fast. Be patient. If there's something nasty in the tank that caused all of the fish to die, putting more fish in probably isn't a good idea. I'd give it a couple of weeks while doing periodic water changes and tests to ensure the ammonia goes back to zero.

 

[magoofc]

Hi I have a 30 gallon tank. My betta was a little aggressive. Killed one tetra but was then fine with 5 others for weeks. How often should i change and test the water at the moment? Thanks for your help.

 

[eco23]

Welcome to the site!

You've got a couple options as far as cycling. Read over these 2 guides and feel free to ask questions -

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...q-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html#post1298738

 

[magoofc]

Ok so even though my ammonia level is a little high at the moment I can add some hardy fish to start the cycle? Or would you recommend waiting until the ammonia level drops?

 

[eco23]

Ok so even though my ammonia level is a little high at the moment I can add some hardy fish to start the cycle? Or would you recommend waiting until the ammonia level drops?

If the tank is empty, I HIGHLY recommend doing a fishless cycle. It's is generally more humane, faster and doesn't involve daily water changes as necessary. Personally I'd suggest buying a bottle of pure ammonia and following the guide I put together rather than exposing fish to an uncycled tank. I'll be happy to help every step of the way.

Whatever you decide (hopefully fishless), do it soon. Whatever bacteria is in the tank will begin to die off if there is not an ammonia source in the tank. If you have a hardware store nearby...that's the best place to buy pure ammo.

Look over my guide again, see if you believe it is the best option, and feel free to ask questions either here, on the guide thread or you're welcome to PM me as well

 

[magoofc]

Hey, so thanks very much.
I have a slight problem. Very hard to find pure ammonia in the UK. Have household ammonia's but don't think they are right as they aren't pure.
Gonna have a look tomorrow but failing that think I will have to go with the alternate option.

 

[eco23]

Hey, so thanks very much.
I have a slight problem. Very hard to find pure ammonia in the UK. Have household ammonia's but don't think they are right as they aren't pure.
Gonna have a look tomorrow but failing that think I will have to go with the alternate option.

In the UK people often use a brand called Jayes Clean-off (or something like that). You can also use a frozen shrimp or a bag of fish food as your ammo source. Definitely the best options IMO.

 

[jcolon]

In the UK people often use a brand called Jayes Clean-off (or something like that). You can also use a frozen shrimp or a bag of fish food as your ammo source. Definitely the best options IMO.

Sorry to hear about your fish .. Eco23's advise is the best option ... go fishless cycle for now, re-establish the tank ... hopefully your bacteria still intact and then go from there.

 

[magoofc]

Should I be adding some fish food at the moment to keep ammonia levels up?

 

[magoofc]

Ok. I'm sorry feeling a bit stupid. If I go the bag of fish food option how much should i be adding. Or is it the same principal as adding the pure ammonia? I'm trying to get a specific reading by how much I add. Think I need the pure ammonia. sounds much easier. just don't think i can get it.

 

[eco23]

Pure ammo is best, but people use shrimp or fish food every day. Either toss in a couple frozen shrimp or the fish food in a mesh bag or new, unwashed stocking. They will decay and release ammo simulating having fish in there. I'm not certain on the amount of fish food... but a couple shrimp work just as well.

 

[eco23]

And I would definitely add it sooner rather than later. You don't want to starve your bacteria. You can always pull it out and start using ammo later if you can find it.

 

[magoofc]

Hey So I started my fish less cycle today. I added 5ml of ammonia to my 30gallon tank. I then did an ammonia reading and it seems very high. Have since done 2 pwc and is still a little high. Should I keep doing pwc till the level drops or should i wait a day or two to see what is happening. I think the level is approx 6 or 7ppm.
Thanks for all your help. I am loving this site.

 

[eco23]

Hey So I started my fish less cycle today. I added 5ml of ammonia to my 30gallon tank. I then did an ammonia reading and it seems very high. Have since done 2 pwc and is still a little high. Should I keep doing pwc till the level drops or should i wait a day or two to see what is happening. I think the level is approx 6 or 7ppm.
Thanks for all your help. I am loving this site.

Good for you

3-4ppm is ideal. Anything higher can cause a really slow start. I'd do a good sized 50-60% pwc and see where you end up. Some ammo can be potent stuff! Mine was the opposite. It took around 300 drops to dose my 46 gallon up to 4ppm.

 

[magoofc]

Ok so I finally have it at 4ppm. Hooray!!!
Thanks for all your help. I'm sure I'll need some more at some point lol!

Best wishes

 

[eco23]

Ok so I finally have it at 4ppm. Hooray!!!
Thanks for all your help. I'm sure I'll need some more at some point lol!

Best wishes

We'll be happy to help

What type of ammo did you end up finding?

 

[magoofc]

So i researched online and went with a hardware store version. Homebase household ammonia. Someone had posted that they had spoken with the manufacturers and found out that there were no other things added to the product. I know some people have had a problem with this product but then lots of people recommend it too. Will see how it goes. Am gonna see if i can find the jeyes variety by my work tomorrow just in case. Hopefully be ok though. Thanks again. Never thought I'd be so excited to do ammonia readings!

 

[eco23]

If it's not foaming when you shake it, it should be okay. I'm seeing online that lots of people have used it.

Yeah, it's odd how exciting green / yellow / blue / purple / orange test tubes can be, lol.

 

[librarygirl]

Good luck with your tank! Sorry about your fish, that's horrible Follow Eco's advice, he's great! Since your tank was already pretty established your fishless cycle should go fairly quickly. Good luck!