Clown help

[Helios]

So the clown fish in the big dirty tank (I was told it would be cleaned last weekend, and it wasn't. I guess it's going to be this weekend. Fingers crossed) has spent the entire day swimming into the current created by the power head. I've never seen him do this before. Should I be worried? I tested the water and it was:

pH: 8.8
Ammonia: 0.25-0.5
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 20
Salinity: 1.021

I know they are a little high but not super terrible. Thoughts?

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[Macscale]

Why are there fish in the tank when it appears to be cycling?

[Helios]

The tank has been up for years. It may be going through a mini cycle. I have no idea. I've Bay sky be banned from doing anything with the tank but am still responsible for explaining to the students what's happening with the fish.

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[Macscale]

Oh, yeah it seems like a mini-cycle. Has the sand bed or anything been disturbed lately?

[Helios]

Yes a little. I took some rocks out to seed the other tank.

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[Macscale]

Well, some of the bacteria that live under the sand, may have died when exposed to the oxygen in the water. It wouldn't be enough to have that much of a spike though. Maybe because the rock was taken, what ever is left can't handle the bioload?

[Helios]

Maybe but the 2 pieces of rock were smaller then a baseball. I guess it didn't look like that much with the total in the tank.

Regardless of the cause, what do I need to do? Will it just take care of itself with time?

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[Macscale]

Just watch it for now, I wouldn't be surprised if a fish passes away though.

[Helios]

Ugh. Okay. Thanks. I think the smaller tank is cycled at least it cycled the ammonia in 24 hrs. Should I move then to that? It's only a 29 gallon. would I be able to put all those fish in that tank and which ones would I move first?

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[Macscale]

Well, yeah I follow the 29 build thread. If its parameters are better, and you are only gonna keep them in there for a few days I think you might be ok.

What's the stock?

[Helios]

2 yellow tail damsels
1 4 stripe damsel
1 six line wrasse
1 tomato clown
1 sea urchin
1 snail

Currently in the 29 there are 2 snails and a hermit crab.

I feel like adding all those critters at once is going to shock the small tank so I don't know if they would gain anything. Wouldn't itjust cause another mini cycle in the small tank? They'd be coming out of one crappy tank and out into another.

If I put them all in buckets and then cleaned the big tank and put them back in the clean tank would that be better?

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[Macscale]

Yeah, putting them all in at once may break the biological filtration. Why don't you set up an QT and put them in there?!

[Dav3]

There at various bacteria in a bottle products you can purchase and dump in the old tank to help with the cycle.

[TheTodd]

I believe Prime neutralizes ammonia and nitrites (or makes them less toxic ). That could help too.

In a cycled tank, unless ammonia is being added, that and the trites should be processed into trates within a day or two. Are all fish accounted for?