More Beginner Questions! (re: cycling)

[midgiepooh]

Good morning, everyone!

Everything seems to be going well! Every time I ask my 3-year old daughter what our fantail's name is, she replies, "Fishy," so I guess that's now his name!

So, Fishy is now starting his 3rd day in his 20g uncycled tank. Thanks to all of the advice I've gotten here so far, everything seems to be going swell! The cloudiness I was concerned about yesterday has almost completely cleared by itself, just as I was told it would!

So thanks in advance!

Now for the questions!

I was just thinking today, I have been changing his water every day. (I did a bigger change before I bought my API kit yesterday, and did a smaller one after testing even though I didn't know if it was necessary, but did it anyway)

So that got me wondering about the spike in ammonia I am going to see soon. If I am changing Fishy's water daily, won't that dilute the amount? I know it won't affect the cycle itself, but as far as my readings go - they would hypothetically be higher if I had went a day without changing, right?

So if I am doing a daily water change, will I see a spike at all or will it stay rather consistent? On the other hand, is the upcoming spike so swift and heavy, it really doesn't matter? I am going to see the spike no matter what?

I suppose what I am asking is do I change the water daily (just for the fun of it), or every other day, or only if the ammonia level has risen beyond a certain point? It was 0.25ppm yesterday before the water change, 0.25 again this morning.

I don't mind at all to do frequent changes - I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly!

Also, when should I vaccum for the first time? We're just starting day three, and Fishy was last fed on day one when I gave him one pellet.

Thanks again!!!

 

[shellieca]

Good morning, everyone!

Everything seems to be going well! Every time I ask my 3-year old daughter what our fantail's name is, she replies, "Fishy," so I guess that's now his name!

So, Fishy is now starting his 3rd day in his 20g uncycled tank. Thanks to all of the advice I've gotten here so far, everything seems to be going swell! The cloudiness I was concerned about yesterday has almost completely cleared by itself, just as I was told it would!

So thanks in advance!

Now for the questions!

I was just thinking today, I have been changing his water every day. (I did a bigger change before I bought my API kit yesterday, and did a smaller one after testing even though I didn't know if it was necessary, but did it anyway)

So that got me wondering about the spike in ammonia I am going to see soon. If I am changing Fishy's water daily, won't that dilute the amount? I know it won't affect the cycle itself, but as far as my readings go - they would hypothetically be higher if I had went a day without changing, right?

So if I am doing a daily water change, will I see a spike at all or will it stay rather consistent? On the other hand, is the upcoming spike so swift and heavy, it really doesn't matter? I am going to see the spike no matter what?

I suppose what I am asking is do I change the water daily (just for the fun of it), or every other day, or only if the ammonia level has risen beyond a certain point? It was 0.25ppm yesterday before the water change, 0.25 again this morning.

I don't mind at all to do frequent changes - I just want to make sure I am doing it correctly!

Also, when should I vaccum for the first time? We're just starting day three, and Fishy was last fed on day one when I gave him one pellet.

Thanks again!!!

So glad to hear Fishy is doing well. Here's what I've been doing, I have a 46g that has been fish in cycling about a month & my ammonia seems to pretty much stay at .25. I do a 50% water change at least every other day, sometimes I do them 2-3 days in a row. I think my ammonia may have gone to .5 once but I do my best NOT to let my ammonia get above .25. As far as vacuuming, I do at least a light vacuum each time I do a water change & since you have a Goldie it'd probably be a good idea because they have a high bio load from what I understand. How often do you plan on feeding him/her? I'm not a Goldie expert but 1 pellet in 3 days doesn't seem like much, someone else can chime in on that. Keep up the good work.

 

[blert]

Shellieca is correct.
Let your water test tell you when and how much of a PWC to do. You may never see a high spike which is good, you don't want it to get high with a fish in. Test once in the morning and once in the evening for ammonia and nitrite, if it is at or over 0.25ppm (just to be on the safe side) then do a PWC. Goldfish are big waste producers so I would gravel vac at each PWC.
If you feed daily fruits and vegetables (fresh blanched, mine love broccoli, romaine, peas, strawberries no seeds, peaches, bananas, just about anything that isn't starchy (corn, potatoes, etc)) you should probably supplement with pellets and/or flakes daily also. Goldfish will eat constantly if you let them. Every other day I will drop in a pinch of flakes (soak them, don't let them float on the top) just so they have something to graze around for. If you skip a day of veggies and/or fruit then feed him and extra time that day. When I started my Goldfish tank I was told to feed small amounts a couple/few times a day rather than one big feeding.

 

[midgiepooh]

Oh I should have mentioned that about the pellets! They were rather large, that's why I gave Fishy only one. When I passed by later, it had swollen to the size of a pencil eraser and lodged in one of the plants. Fishy wasn't eating it, so I removed it.

I didn't feed him at all the second day (yesterday), but now I have granules to feed him - much smaller than the pellets. I gave him a pinch this morning. We're just beginning our third day - so its only been one day since he's been fed.

I was planning on feeding him every other day if that's correct to do! (that's what the pet shop fellow said, anyway!)

Thanks for the info on the cycle! I'll just keep doing what I've been doing, then!

 

[jlk]

Yes, he needs to be fed daily especially because he is a youngster. Goldies lack 'true' stomaches that store food- so, basically everything they eat is processed pretty much immediately (exception- only in very cold water but thats another story). So, they are constantly hungry & constantly searching for food. They do better with a couple of small meals spread out over the course of a day for more efficient digestion. Daily veggies/occasional fruits help alot with his health & digestion and will give him something to satisfy his urge to munch without affecting your water quality. Just make sure you removed anything uneaten within 24hrs & replace.

 

[midgiepooh]

Whoops! Not so fast! More questions!

I just tested my tap water for ammonia - 0.25 there as well.

So I treated some tap with Prime and took another test - 0.25 again.

What am I doing wrong? I read the instruction booklet! Bottle 1, Bottle 2, the room is well-lit, I don't have any vision problems that I am aware of....

Ugh! I am starting to feel utterly useless at this! haha! I'm sure I'll get the hang of it, I just need to get my kinks out first!

 

[midgiepooh]

Yes, he needs to be fed daily especially because he is a youngster. Goldies lack 'true' stomaches that store food- so, basically everything they eat is processed pretty much immediately (exception- only in very cold water but thats another story). So, they are constantly hungry & constantly searching for food. They do better with a couple of small meals spread out over the course of a day for more efficient digestion. Daily veggies/occasional fruits help alot with his health & digestion and will give him something to satisfy his urge to munch without affecting your water quality. Just make sure you removed anything uneaten within 24hrs & replace.

Oh, thank you! I'll do that, then! My husband should like that - I think he's been dying to feed him because he keeps mentioning that every time he walks by, Fishy "comes up to him!" I keep bursting his bubble by telling him, "NO!" haha

 

[blert]

Listen to JLK above everyone concerning Goldfish, she knows her stuff!

As far as the 0.25ppm ammonia in your tap water... Don't worry about it. Prime does not remove ammonia, it detoxifies it for about 24 hours and it will still show in the test. Since you will not be able to get you tank below 0.25ppm ammonia during this part of the cycle then aim to keep it BELOW 0.50ppm and use your prime at every water change. You are likely going to be doing daily water changes for a bit anyway but it won't take too long to level out to zero.

 

[midgiepooh]

Thanks so much! I had read somewhere (completely forgot the source) that ammonia is not removed, but simply detoxified.

The bottle itself says, "removes" so I guess that's what was throwing me off!!!

I feel so much better now!

You know, this kind of reminds me of when my daughter was a newborn. Time for a diaper change? Well, she's not wet but better change it anyway! Could she be hungry? Who knows! Feed her! Time for a nap? Ten naps are better than no naps!

Ha! It takes a little bit for me to calm down and just breathe!

 

[jlk]

They are BEGGERS!!!! I honestly would hide the fish food from your husband- my husband does the same thing and then I cringe when discover later on that 1/2 the bag of food is gone!!! I have to keep finding new places to hide it.... Feed him but dont go crazy. He should be able to finish what you give him in a few minutes with nothing leftover. Veggies are for munching but dont be surprised if he devours these quickly, too. The good thing is veggies do not contain the protien levels of fish food so they do not affect water quality the same way as fish food does (unless you leave veggies to rot). Figure out what feeding schedule works for you- obviously, not everyone can be home 24hrs a day to feed small meals throughout the day but 2-3 small meals should work fine. Pay attention to how he is growing & this will give you an idea if he is getting enough to eat. As baby, he should be growing steadily each month & have a nice rounded figure. Hang in there in the meantime- fishin cycling does take commitment & most of all, patience! Your doing a great job!!!

 

[hcourts]

My tap water always reads 0.25. And all of my cycled tanks are between 0 and 0.25!! I don't stress about!! Unless it gets higher I don't generally worry about it

 

[midgiepooh]

Its so comforting to know I'm doing okay! My pets are my babies just as much as my own child!

Everyone gets "worried about" equally in this house! ha!

 

[jlk]

Its so comforting to know I'm doing okay! My pets are my babies just as much as my own child!

Everyone gets "worried about" equally in this house! ha!

Lol!!! I believe 'worrying' is a requirement of being a mom!

 

[midgiepooh]

Of course its a requirement! ha!

If only I knew how to "turn it off" and be objective for a change! Thank goodness I've got some good people here to do that part for me!

On the flip side of the pet spectrum, I have two sick cats here. It appears they both have a cold - as luck would have it, they have a regular checkup scheduled for tomorrow so hopefully that will put my mind at rest about them! It sure has been one kooky week!