ANOTHER noob question about cycling. Help!

[jesso435]

Hi -

I went to PetSmart a couple of days ago to get a fish for my 4-year-old. I know nothing about aquariums and am hoping to get all of the information (sometimes conflicting?) straight in our set up.

Here's what I have: 1 betta in a 3 gallon tank with filter and heater.

I followed the employee's advice and have been adding Top Fin bacteria starter into the conditioned water. Poor fish is already in the aquarium while it cycles, which now I know probably wasn't the best decision (again..total ignorance here. Didn't even know cycling was a thing)! I'm feeding the fish once every other day, just a few flakes.

I did purchase an ammonia test kit yesterday and am getting results that show some ammonia. My other test kits will come in a few days.

Should I just continue to follow the PetSmart employee's advice and do 2 more days of the bacteria starter? I got a little freaked out about his water and actually changed ~10% of it today, but now I'm doubting whether I should have done that. Argh!!

Can someone just tell me exactly what to do, given that our fish (Taco) is already inhabiting his maybe toxic home? I've read about the nitrogen cycle and understand why it needs to be done, but I've already started this whole thing and just really don't want to kill our little fishy.

Sorry, I know this question has probably been answered at least a billion times, but I have 2 little kids and not much time to search and make sense of all of this. So grateful for any advice. Thanks!!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Welcome to the forum.

Until you are able to test for ammonia and nitrite i would be changing 25% of the water daily.

When you have your test kit, test daily, you should do water changes to keep ammonia + nitrite combined below 0.5ppm. If it gets up to say 0.5ppm ammonia + 0.25ppm nitrite, change 25% of the water. If 0.5ppm ammonia and 0.5ppm nitrite change 50% of the water.

This will keep the water relatively safe for your fish while leaving enough waste in the water to fuel the cycle.

Eventually you will stop seeing ammonia and nitrite and your nitrate should be rising. You are cycled and can cut back on water changes to control nitrate only, 40ppm is typically what you want nitrate to be kept below.

The top fin stuff might help, those products are hit and miss (mostly miss), but keep adding it after water changes while you have some left.

Fish in cycle if done correctly is relatively safe. Keep up with required water changes and water quality shouldnt be an issue.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Link to a thread with some useful articles for new fishkeepers.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/foru...ou-get-started-with-your-aquarium-154837.html

 

[Autumnsky]

Welcome and Congrats on your new fish! It's great you found out there is more you can do for your fish friend.

 

[jesso435]

Thanks so much! I will do all of that. Just to clarify: I should add the bacteria starter after my daily water changes until the cycle has completed, correct? And after that only when I do my maintenance water changes (until starter is gone)?

 

[jesso435]

Thanks for the link to this article. Very, very helpful! One question for you, though. The article recommends changing about 50% of the tank water weekly. I have a 3-gallon tank with a single betta. Would you still recommend changing this much?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Thanks so much! I will do all of that. Just to clarify: I should add the bacteria starter after my daily water changes until the cycle has completed, correct? And after that only when I do my maintenance water changes (until starter is gone)?

The starter stuff will go into the water column and then hopefully establish on available surfaces, mostly filter media. In reality there are many things that can go wrong. Maybe the bottle wasnt stored or transported properly and anything useful died off before you got your hands on it. Maybe it doesn't establish on your filter media. This is why i wouldn't rely on it. Might help, worth a try, but dont spend loads of money on it as you may be wasting your money.

If you are going to use it, then add it after a water change otherwise your water change will just remove it. While it might say on the bottle to use at every water change (some do say this, i dont know about your specific brand) this is just a way to get you to part company with your money. Wont do any harm to add any in at every water change, but if you are cycled it isnt needed.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Thanks for the link to this article. Very, very helpful! One question for you, though. The article recommends changing about 50% of the tank water weekly. I have a 3-gallon tank with a single betta. Would you still recommend changing this much?

Link to a useful flowchart on determining your water change schedule when cycled.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/water-changes

Once cycled you should look to keep nitrate below 40ppm. 50% weekly might be a bit much depending on your bioload.

 

[jesso435]

Bad news

Found the fish dead in his tank this morning Maybe it was the stress of it all or the fact that I had to replace his filter last night. I don’t know.

Now what do I do? Should I change the water and start over, or let the cycle continue (after I remove the poor fish)? I get a replacement fish within 2 weeks of purchase from PetSmart, but that doesn’t seem like much time to cycle my tank. I’m so regretting the big box store purchase!

 

[Aiken Drum]

Oh dear. Thats terrible news.

There are so many things that could have caused a fishes death in a newly set up tank with an inexperienced fishkeeper.

Ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning from an uncycled tank. This could start to be an issue after a week or two if you havent been controlling waste through your water changes. Did you ever get the ammonia test?

The fish may have already been sick from the store?

Did you do a water change and forget to add water conditioner?

Did the fish show any signs of stress or illness? Swimming strangely, gasping for air at the surface, signs of infection (bacterial or fungal)? Redness around the gills?

As to where to go from here its up to you. You can do 100% water change, get a new fish and carry on. Or you could carry on with your cycle without a fish, this involves dosing ammonia to replicate fish waste until you are cycled, typically 6 to 8 weeks. Have a think a let us know your preference.

Two things i would say.

3 gallons is a very small tank, even for 1 betta. There isnt a lot of water volume for you to make a mistake in. More water dilutes the errors so to speak and water condition is easier to manage in a bigger tank. Bigger is easier. Would an upgrade to 5 gallons be out of the question? 10 to 15 gallons opens up more possibilities for keeping fish.

Dont replace filters unless you absolutely have to. Rinse them out. I presume its a cartridge type filter? Are there 2 cartridges in the filter (thats how my small tank with a cartridge filter works). With 2 filter cartridges, never replace them both at once. Rinse them out where you can using tank water to preserve the bacteria responsible for your cycle. If you have to replace, then only do 1, then the other cartridge a couple of weeks later.

 

[jesso435]

Well, I went to a local, reputable aquarium shop yesterday and spoke to a woman who gave some encouragement and good advice (which was basically the same as yours). She says the bettas from PetSmart aren't in good condition to begin with and aren't humanely treated. That may be the reason for my fish's demise, but I think maybe it was also stress.

Anyway, I've decided to carry on with a new betta and now feel quite well armed with better knowledge on how to care for him.

Thanks again for your help

 

[Autumnsky]

Sounds good. Keep us posted on how it goes!

 

[jesso435]

Update: I replaced my betta from PetSmart, and he's been in his tank for just over a week. I thought he wasn't going to make it, either, but as of a few days ago, he's active and vibrant and eating. So, good news!

I do have some more questions. I am not getting any detectable ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite after about a week. I actually stopped changing the water (was doing ~10% changes daily) and was thinking I'd just go to changing about ~20% weekly. I am feeding him once, every other day.

Would you change anything? Should I start feeding him daily since I'm not getting any kind of ammonia? Or should I just stay the course until it appears his tank is cycled?

For what it's worth, I also threw in a few live plants, and the java fern is making a plantlet. I feel like that's a good sign?

Thanks!

 

[Aiken Drum]

If you arent seeing any ammonia or nitrite then start feeding your fish properly. Just keep an eye on things for a little while.

20% water change per week is fine if that's all you need to be doing. I would change some weekly if you can. Again going from daily to weekly just keep an eye on things for a little while.

Java ferns make plantlets. No idea if its a good sign or not, they just seem to grow regardless. I literally throw away a bucketful of java fern growth, plantlets etc every month.

 

[Autumnsky]

And depending upon how small your Betta is they definitely do well with 2 times a day feeding since they are usually still in the growing stage.

You do not really need to double the amount of food, and I may have missed which kind you are using. But less than one whole daily serving. And if you miss it once in awhile no problem. Also they love Blood worms and Tubifex, and Brine shrimp. You can use freeze dried or frozen. Or sometimes a local fish store carries live Brine shrimp. Or You can grow your own sea monkeys for fun

The food I have used most over the years is Hikari Bio-Gold which is easy to find, as the stable diet. It doesn't cloud the water which is nice. I feed lots of foods in with the main food so it is a good varied diet. But the Hikari peelets are like balls, and float well and you can give him a few and if they happen to not be eaten, easy to remove.

 

[jesso435]

Thanks, Autumnsky! Very helpful. I'm feeding him Hikari micropellets for tropical fish. I have been giving him enough to eat in about 2-3 minutes, per some other website I read, but it's probably too much! I will switch to twice daily feeds, since he does seem to be on the small side (so maybe a youngster). Do you think just enough for him to eat in a minute or two?

 

[Autumnsky]

Yes, those pellets used to be bigger, a long time ago but they wisely made them smaller. So maybe 6 to 8. Whatever he really wants to eat. But... they can eat too much at once.

They don't really know when to stop, and those pellets puff up a little. Just to think about it. From somewhere I read, that they only need enough food in the amount of the size of their eye... But I always give them a little more, hehe. And I have to change water and clean my filters a little more often.