Started my fishless cycle!

[jlk]

Hmm...I dont keep these guys so im not sure. Hikari brand foods are my fav though. Alot of people like New Life Spectrum (NLS) as well. I think Librarygirl will have a better idea!

 

[Justme68]

I'll make a thread on it....again thank you so much for sticking with me on this! If I have any questions I'll be sure to ask....IM SO EXCITED!!!!!

 

[librarygirl]

I'll skip the ammo Thursday, do a large wc to get nitrates below 20 (correct?) And set the temp. What should i buy to feed them? I'm planning on tetras in the future so if you can suggest a GOOD brand and special kind of food for them as well I may as well get everything then!

Sounds good! What size tank is this again? lol

What fish are you thinking of?

New Life Spectrum and Hikari pellets are very good brands, they have tropical/community fish formulas. If you get bottom feeders like COrys they'll eat the pellets too but I also supplement mine with Shrimp tablets and algae wafers (the other fish will eat these too). YOu could feed the Corys 1/2-1 tablet after lights out at night so they have a better chance of getting some. As a treat I give mine some frozen food (shrimp, bloodworms, etc) once every week or two -- these are high in protein so you want to feed these sparingly. I also avoid freeze-dried foods as they tend to constipate the fish but if you soak it first for a few minutes in a cup of tank water it should be ok, but again sparingly and as a treat only. Once per week I feed my tank a thawed, deshelled frozen pea to aid digestion and I fast them the next day.

It's easy to overfeed, so just be careful. Fish will always seem hungry lol

 

[Justme68]

Thanks librarygirl! Its a 29gal. I'm thinking of tetras. The ones I like are: black phantom, Von Rio, silver tip, I've seen some called candy cane (Hyphessobrycon bentosi), red serpae. I'm not sure who will get along....I don't want fin nippers!

 

[xsryman]

I just started my fishless cycle on my 55 gallon fish tank about 1 week ago how long does it take for the ammonia levels to start to drop and start to see nitrites???

 

[jlk]

I just started my fishless cycle on my 55 gallon fish tank about 1 week ago how long does it take for the ammonia levels to start to drop and start to see nitrites???

Without seeded media, it can take on average of 2-3 wks (possibily longer). Considering adding some media to speed things up!

 

[Justme68]

I most definately agree with jlk....I should have gotten my media many weeks ago!

 

[xsryman]

Without seeded media, it can take on average of 2-3 wks (possibily longer). Considering adding some media to speed things up!

JLK,

I just posted on a different thread about my 10 gal that just finally cycled, is it too soon to take some of my substrate from that tank to help cycle my 50gal ??

 

[jlk]

If you just finished getting it cycled, i honestly wouldnt touch it for awhile so it can fully establish itself. Upsetting its balance right now will probably throw it back into a cycle. Get yourself an active filter or two or find someone with a well-established tank that will help you out. Otherwise, have some patience- your tank will still cycle!

 

[Justme68]

Hello. As of 4 days ago my tank was cycled with 2ppm of ammo. Monday and the days after my ammo was 0, nitrites 0 and almost 160 in nitrates. I did my large wc today and the ammo is .25 (I have .50ppm out of tap), trites 0 and trates 10ppm (I have 5.0 out of tap) shouldn't my bb take care of the ammo. I was going to get a few fish tomorrow but what should I do?

 

[jlk]

Dont worry!! Your bb will take care of the small amount of amm by tommorrow (probably much sooner).

 

[Justme68]

Whew!! So tomorrow should be OK for a few cories then right?

 

[Justme68]

OK jlk...got another question for ya. I bought a pre-packaged anubias from PETCO the other day. The container said snail free but guess what? My son just pointed out something teeny tiny on the glass and sure enough its a snail!! Should i try to get him out or leave him alone?

 

[jlk]

Haha!! Theres no such thing as 'snail-free' plants! If you want to keep him or not is up to you. I have pond snails in all my tanks & have no issues with them but others have had a nightmare time trying to deal with them. I find them harmless & an interesting addition but this just my opinion (my fish keep them in check & i dispose of any eggs i find)! And, yes, your fine to get some fish tommorrow!

 

[Justme68]

Thanks! I think I'll keep this little guy then...I was kind of excited to see him!

 

[librarygirl]

Thanks! I think I'll keep this little guy then...I was kind of excited to see him!

Ha, your first inhabitant! I have some snails in my tank too; three nerites that I added on purpose and one or two little pond snails that came in with plants, they're fun to watch.

 

[Justme68]

I can't find him now....he was floating at the top (maybe he died) I'm wondering if he got sucked into my filter. I liked watching him move around....he was sooo tiny!

 

[Nightstalker3188]

Not sure of brand, but I feed my fish tropical fish flakes with added vitamins (well it says that on the tin
I'm now pretty much fully stocked... Got 8 male guppies, 4 glow light Gerrad, 2 red cherry shrimp, 1 red crystal shrimp (man is he tiny though)... Then I had 2 amano shrimp, one turned suicidal or was auditioning for the Olympic diving team, as he was found having done a belly flop on our kitchen floor :-( 2 days later I bought another amano and added him to the tank, and whilst I did that I couldn't find the other one in the tank... God only knows where he is... I thought I sealed up the gaps at the back of the tank.... And then to Finnish this off, the new amano I added, did the great houdini on me and all 8-(.... Have I created a Bermuda triangle where amano shrimp dissapear??? My tank is not that big and there aren't that many hidy holes if any :-( , my filter was running slow and when I checked it there was.some sludge at the top... Something resembled a possible shrimp leg, but the rest was all sludge, which I removed by cleaning the filter in the tank... Still no amano shrimp to be seen :-( Do they bury themselves in the gravel???

 

[Justme68]

Thanks for the food tip nightstalker! I'm sorry to hear about your shrimp....maybe they're just hiding real good. I didn't think they were escape artists though I hope you have better luck with them!

 

[xsryman]

So i heard that throwing a shrimp in your uncycled tank will start the cycling process faster. Would this be like a frozen already cooked shrimp or like the grey uncooked ones??