Has my tank cycled or not?

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Duppu

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 15, 2012
Messages
17
Location
LA
Hello! I bought my first tank a month ago...and i wish I knew tanks have to be cycled before putting in fishes.

Week 1: I set up my tank, a marina 10 gallon, with teh filter it came with. I purchased other accessories with it...like the heater, the gravel and set it running for a week with the solutions that came with the kit.

Week 2: I purchased 4 fishes, all mentioned to be hardy by the guy at the fish store, and brought them home. I introduced them in the tank and they all died in less than 8 hours. The next day I went to the close by petco; felt they were a lot better compared to the other shop and told them my story. They told that I had kept the fishes for over an hour outside on my commute back home and the shock must've killed them. So I bought 5 zebra danios and an aquatic palnt....went home in 15 minutes. I introduced them (floating; adding aquarium water little by little in 3 sessions. Still all of them died the very same day within a few hours. I went back to petco with my water sample the next day after doing some reading and they tested my water. My water showed nitrites...they suggested mt to run the tank empty and that the nitrites should be enough to cycle the tank itself. I made 1/3 water change every 2 days.

Week3: Water again showed nitrites when tested. The aquatic plant, sword, showed its old leaves dissolving; but new leaves sprouted...which meant it was not dying. I also bought a moss ball to increase the plant life in the tank that would help cycling.

Week4: I tested the water and the pet store guy rated it an A; no nitrites or nitrates or ammonia. I bought 2 fishes that he mentioned were hardy and brought them home this noon. Within 8 hours, again they are dead and I'm frustrated and feeling very very guilty for having started in the first place. I've spent so much beyond my budget this month and I dont want to give up. Please help me understand what's going on.:confused: Killing 11 fishes to setup a tank seems too much to me.

P.S. I noticed in week 3 that the chemicals, nutrafin cycle, that came with the tank kit had expired.
 
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Welcome to AA glad you found us here. I'm terrible with posting links but.someone will be along shortly with them. There are a few articles on fish in and fish less cycling on this site. To explain it though your fishes waste is converted into ammonia by bacteria. The ammonia damages/burns gills so its bad for fish. A new bacteria will develop to eat the ammonia to leave nitrites as their biproduct. This to is very harmful for fish which you've seen first hand. The last colony of bacteria will develop to eat the nitrites and convert them into nitrates which you must remove by water changes/ plants/ nitrate absorbers (the last of which I don't reccomend). That's how the nitrification cycle works and people on here will refer to these bacteria as BB, beneficial bacteria. Hope that helps a little but you really.just need to read the articles lol.
 
Wow, sorry for all your losses. When I started I did not know about cycling and was told to wait 2 days to put fish in. Luckily none of mine died, but a cycling is really a must. If I were you, I'd check your tap water parameters, and the tank in general to see if there are any chemicals or something in the water. Also, look at how the employees catch the fish. Sometimes the fish get really stressed when they are being caught. Sounds like they are getting very stressed somehow. How far are you from your LFS?
 
From now on I highly reccomend first using liveaquaria.com to browse and build a stock list using the fish requirements. Then bring questions here not the lfs since they benefit from your loss and repeat purchases while we don't ;)
 
@Evansimp

Do you recommend I start all over again...change the water and start the cycling process?

My water test result match the results from the water the fishes came in. The petco nearby is a 15 minutes commute and they should be using the same tap water as I am.
Also, how do I test my tap water and what are the parameters to look for? What are the solutions if the tap water turns out not suitable for the aquarium?
 
You don't have to change the water but you never really even started is the thing... A cycle can take a couple weeks to a couple months to finish. Look for the articles I mentioned and read through them first. Then decide if you want to do a fish in cycle or fishless cycle and we will go from there. (i reccomend fishless but everyone has their own opinion)
 
Are you on here through the app or actual site? You'll need to get on the site to check the articles I'm pretty sure.
 
You don't have to change the water but you never really even started is the thing... A cycle can take a couple weeks to a couple months to finish. Look for the articles I mentioned and read through them first. Then decide if you want to do a fish in cycle or fishless cycle and we will go from there. (i reccomend fishless but everyone has their own opinion)

Thanks Mrc8858! I will do that...try a fishless cycling....But do you think fishes die within few hours if the tank is not cycled?:confused: As far as I read through many cases, they seem to survive atleast for a couple of days even in a tank that s not cycled!
 
If your levels are high enough after the stress of being caught at the store, transported, acclimated, and then added to the tank then the shock would just be too much. You are using tap water conditioner though right? And when adding fish in the future do it with lights off to make the move less stressful.
 
Honestly, i feel your problem is bigger than an uncycled tank. I mean personally ( and I am fairly new to this hobby), all my fish survived a fish in cycle. If all your fish did within a few hours, it has got to be something else. I feel fish would last a few days at least in an uncycled tank. When it comes to testing tap water, I'm not quite sure what to look for as I've never had to test mine. But I'm assuming something out of the ordinary or bizarre. Are you treating your water with prime or a dechlorinizer before putting fish in?
 
If your levels are high enough after the stress of being caught at the store, transported, acclimated, and then added to the tank then the shock would just be too much. You are using tap water conditioner though right? And when adding fish in the future do it with lights off to make the move less stressful.
I am totally convinced with the pet store guy at petco. He is well experienced and refused to sell me fishes personally when he saw nitrites in my water sample. I think he knows what he is doing. I transported the fish in 15 minutes in an insulated bag to keep temperature change to the minimum. I use api stress coat 5ml for my 10 gallon and 1/3rd of it during water change. I also add it when I'm introducing the fishes.

I also read about the lights elsewhere in the forum...I switched the lights off today when I found the fish tired.

They all have died the same way....unable to swim against the waves set by the filter water pouring in and floating up and down the tank gasping for breath and then die. EVrytime I wish I could do something to stop them from dying...but helpless :(
 
The way they died is a common sign of nitrIte poisoning. I'm not trying to knock the guy personally but.it is very very common for people to believe that the associate is "experienced" but really they are just a good salesman. Back to earlier questions though. Are you dechlorinating the water? What's your temps? And lastly invest in your own liquid api master freshwater test kit.
 
People at petco can be helpful and sometimes reliable, but most of the time they just want to sell you stuff. If I was in your position, I would basically start over and ask people on here about how to cycle properly and all! Make sure you clean the tank really well and everything.
 
The way they died is a common sign of nitrIte poisoning. I'm not trying to knock the guy personally but.it is very very common for people to believe that the associate is "experienced" but really they are just a good salesman. Back to earlier questions though. Are you dechlorinating the water? What's your temps? And lastly invest in your own liquid api master freshwater test kit.

Yes! I dechlorinate it api stress coat+ (5ml for 10 gallon) and around 2 ml everytime I change the water and add new fish.
 
Evansimp said:
People at petco can be helpful and sometimes reliable, but most of the time they just want to sell you stuff. If I was in your position, I would basically start over and ask people on here about how to cycle properly and all! Make sure you clean the tank really well and everything.

Ya they can be and some are even on this site but imo as long as they benefit from you buying then their advice needs to be questioned. Same a a car dealer at a car lot or a salesman at a retail store lol.
 
I am planning to do the same. I am starting all over again. I plan to clean my tank and again start from scratch. I hope nothing goes wrong this time. I have been using api strips to test...but now I am going to invest in the master kit and some pure ammonia...hope I dont fail all over again!
 
Duppu said:
Yes! I dechlorinate it api stress coat+ (5ml for 10 gallon) and around 2 ml everytime I change the water and add new fish.

All I can say then is restart your cycle and follow the readings with your own liquid test kit. While you wait to cycle you can build and tweak your stock list to get the most out of your tank
 
Mrc8858 said:
Ya they can be and some are even on this site but imo as long as they benefit from you buying then their advice needs to be questioned. Same a a car dealer at a car lot or a salesman at a retail store lol.

I got my saltwater tested there and my cycle wasn't done yet, and he said "your water would be fine for a fish or a crab or something". I was close to finishing the cycle but not there yet and he knew it, but just wanted to make a sale. And then the guy at petsmart said "your tank will cycle in 48 hours". You just can't trust them there
 
Duppu said:
I am planning to do the same. I am starting all over again. I plan to clean my tank and again start from scratch. I hope nothing goes wrong this time. I have been using api strips to test...but now I am going to invest in the master kit and some pure ammonia...hope I dont fail all over again!

Like I said before, I fell in the trap of a fish in cycle and added fish 2 days after getting my first 10 gallon tank, but they all made it and even lasted a week without a water change until I found this forum and learned about the cycle. So I think it has to be something in the water, or somehow they are getting very stressed!
 
I am restarting right away. Will get some pure ammonia and the master test kit tomorrow and let you know about my progress in which way I can stop right away when I'm going wrong.

Thank you so much!! I have gathered up some hope and some people to trust on this issue!!:thanks:
 
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