Fishless cycling help please ;-)

[jlk]

Your water will be fine! Just make sure you monitor your levels when you add new fish in the future- your bacteria will have to readjust upwards with the new fish in Mar & April. This just means you may have to do a few extra water changes if you see any spikes in amm/nitrite. Just stay on top of your weekly maintenance water changes in the meantime & you should be fine! If you run into any problems, dont hesitate to ask for help!

 

[Nightstalker3188]

Well our first inhabitants have moved in today... 2 Yamato Shrimp aptly named incy and wincy by our eldest... Before showing these 2 their new home we had done a 90% water change.... Levels now read 0 ammonia, 0 Nitrite and 20 Nitrate. Ph remains at 7.6 .
How come though are the Nitrates at 20... Should they not be lower??? Getting 4 Guppies tomorrow and want to make sure all is ok for the weee fishies

 

[jlk]

Have you tested your tap for nitrates? A level of 20ppm nitrates is fine for fish. If your tap is reading alot lower, you can do another 50% pwc to reduce the nitrate levels further. Good luck!

 

[Nightstalker3188]

Strange one... I did check my tap water for ammonia as a tester, but no, never thought of checking my water for Nitrates..., ill give that a go in the morning.. gonna suck if I'm replacing dirty water from my tank with slightly less dirtier water from my taps :-(

 

[Nightstalker3188]

Well Jlk.... Thanks for the tip as the water nitrate level out of our taps us indeed 10-20 ppm...
The shrimp seem happy enough in it... They were swimming around the tank like sommet crazy last night... It seemed almost like they were playing in the bubble stream as they kept on swirling round and then going back to the bubbles.. was fun watching them... Also they went to town on the algae on the plants... Over night they had a right feast do they eat all the crudd in the tank... There's quite some muck from the pond snails on the substrate... And the shrimp themselves are adding their bit to it n all :-(

 

[jlk]

Theres your answer! 20ppm is fine for fish (and shrimp), so you in good shape! Im glad everyone is happy & enjoying their new home!

 

[Nightstalker3188]

yep looks like it... And man have they been busy... Most leaves had algae on them... And now the algaes pretty much gone :-( hope these two don't start getting starved.... I've also just added 6 guppies and they've gone mental in there they also love the bubbles .... At what stage should i feed them... Is it advisable to let them settle in and then feed them tomorrow morning??? Also not planning to feed ever day but every other day...does that sound about right???

 

[jlk]

I would let them settle in for a day & turn the lights off if they are on. Your fine to skip feeding today. I would do some searching on here for more feeding advice- theres tons of information & advice!

 

[Nightstalker3188]

4 days in, 6 guppies and 2 yamato shrimp and water levels are all goin, 0 ammonia and nitrites and Nitrates at 20 ppm now waiting on 2 cherry shrimp and 6 fish for the daughter for her birthday... Any suggestions on small shoaling fish which would go ok with guppies ???

 

[librarygirl]

4 days in, 6 guppies and 2 yamato shrimp and water levels are all goin, 0 ammonia and nitrites and Nitrates at 20 ppm now waiting on 2 cherry shrimp and 6 fish for the daughter for her birthday... Any suggestions on small shoaling fish which would go ok with guppies ???

Congrats on your fish! What size tank? That'll help with stocking suggestions.

 

[Nightstalker3188]

Cheers, its a 48ltr tank with a fluval 2plus filter pump and I've also installed an air pump with two airstones attached to it..

 

[Nightstalker3188]

Any advice on next load of friendly colourful fish