New fish in tank

[Nostromo]

My Bolivian Rams where got yesterday they are doing fine , now my tank is cycled will my ammonia and nitrites stay at 0? You all got me through my fishless cycle which was very good of you all, but now the stage I am with 2 rams is all new to me having fish in a cycled tank, I don't now what to be watching out for any particular signs that my levels are not fine, will my levels stay perfect I mean ammonia and nitrite at 0 just worrying a bit. I tested my ammonia and nitrite and today they where both at 0. How often do I test my new tank? If for some reasons I should get high spikes is there anything I can do, should I keep anything on standby incase of a emergency . I tried feeding them this morning I put in 3 sinking pellets one put it in its mouth and back out, and now I cant find the pellets to suck them out, because they are brown the same color as my gravel, so now i am worrying about uneaten food in my tank. Every time I put the lights on in the tank they freeze and hide, when they are off they are all over the tank , do fish need lights on to feed so that they can see the food? Also I added seachem stress guard yesterday to the tank to help them do I need to add this daily for the first few days? Sorry for such a long thread I am worrying like crazy here that my fish is going to starve and my tank is going to crash the 2 rams cost $28.00

 

[coralbandit]

You should be fine if you can't find the food. They may have scarfed it up from the bottom ?
Keep seachem Prime [ or equal conditioner] to help with any spikes. It can be used at a dose up to 5X the recommended dose to convert ammonia or nitrite to less toxic forum for 48 hours. It will still show on test so don't panic if it shows. You can also just do water changes to remove or reduce nutrient should a spike occur.

 

[Nostromo]

I have seachem prime so I will use this if I need to, so how often should I test my water to make sure everything is fine?

 

[V227]

N.
Relax. Feed your Rams very sparingly. They will adjust to their new food and feeding schedule. To ease your mind regarding water quality, space out two 20% - 25% WC''s a week, making sure to gravel vac. That should keep things stable. In no time, weekly maintenance chores will become second nature, your tank will prosper, and you will breathe easy.

 

[Nostromo]

Bought my fish at my local fish store by the way it is not Petco or PetSmart I wouldn't buy fish from them places. My tank was cycled on Thursday of this week, my local fish store tested my water and the tests were perfect and because of that I got a 48 hr policy for my rams, so if anything happens I will get my money back or have the fish replaced lets hope that never happens. I will feed them sparingly, I am just nervous that's all first time having a cycled aquarium and first time ever putting fish in, thanks for your reply

 

[V227]

Might consider adding a small school of Cory Cats to help keep the bottom of the tank clean.
Maybe even a small school of mid level swimmers like Columbian or Buenos Aires Tetras. They are all greedy eaters, inexpensive, and will not bother your Rams.

 

[coralbandit]

Might consider adding a small school of Cory Cats to help keep the bottom of the tank clean.
Maybe even a small school of mid level swimmers like Columbian or Buenos Aires Tetras. They are all greedy eaters, inexpensive, and will not bother your Rams.

I have found with many of my fish that the 'spirit of competition' drives the fish to eat more when they see other aggressive eaters.
Cories are almost a must IMO and any other fish that will not be aggressive will work.
I have read articles on overstocking to encourage massive eating by breeders and some do very well with it as long as the water quality is maintained.