New Member advice

[shirleyi]

Hi All

I bought a 1 and a half gallon aquarium with two Guppies . Of course the pet store did not explain anything to me so I lost the first guppy overnight which I think was not right to begin with she kept swimming and then falling to the bottom . Then I went to a different store to get another guppy to keep the other one company . Well he died the next day. Really sad to see this happen but it has been 10 days now and the third guppy is doing great . I have been doing much reading on the internet about guppies and setting tanks up and bought a 20 gallon tank for some guppies ,and decided I am going the fishless cycle, I do not want to see any little fish die . I have a question about the ammonia levels in my small tank with the one guppy it reads 4.0 ,I am fasting him one day a week , so he can clean his GI system out . I am feeding the flaked food just enough for him to eat in a few minutes once daily . I added ammo lock yesterday but the ammonia levels today were still at 4.0 . Should I be concerned and is there anything else I can do to bring it down to Zero?
Also My 20 gallon has been running for five days and I just added 4 ml's of Ammonia, to start the cycling and have it at 78 degrees . I also added some bacteria called safe start . I have instructions on testing and adding ammonia for the levels to go way up and then eventually reach zero going up and down with ammonia .Several sites I have visited and read had so many different posts about how to go about fishless cycling ,but I finally understand what is needed for the fish . I know it takes about 4 weeks or so for the cycle to finish and then I have to do a big water change as well . Also they say a inch of fish for each gallon so how many guppies do you suggest can be in a 20 gallon tank ,of course for now I am getting all males not ready for breeding yet .

 

[Mama Karoti]

4.0 ammonia is very toxic to your fish. You need to do partial water changes frequently and immediately to bring it down. You appear to have two uncycled tanks on your hands. At this point it would be kinder to your fish to do a fish-in cycle in the 10 gallon rather than the little one, which is essentially what you are doing right now. A cycled tank will have 0 ammonia. During the fish-in cycle, you will need to do frequent partial water changes to keep your ammonia levels low.

It is good that you have educated yourself about cycling and nitrifying bacteria. That's an important first step. Keep reading and learning.


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[Mebbid]

You need to do 50% water changes every other hour until the ammonia level drops to 0.25
ppm. Higher than that causes harm to the fish.

At this point, I honestly think it would be better to move everything, including the filter but not the water to the 20 gallon and just do a fish in cycle in there. 2 guppies won't cause huge swings in ammonia like they will in a 1.5g tank.


http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

Fish-in Cycling: Step over into the dark side - Aquarium Advice

 

[Sydsmom367]

Sounds like you're in the same boat I am. Hope you learn as much as I have already. These ppl are Great! Welcome and good luck

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