ok really important question

[motherspice]

My husband and daughter want me to get more fish..........now the 29 gal in still running to keep the plants alive and to keep the biowheel running, now my questions I guess advice, here is what we decided.......We are going to do about a 50 to 75% water change add enough prime for the whole tank 58 drops........then was thinking of getting maybe 1 or 2 zebra dainos to see if the water is safe or if I need to start all over (tank is cycled)............now that I know what I did wrong grrrrrrrrr:x

2nd question, if its safe what can we put in there, my daughter wants a dwarf gourmi........ we dont want the same fish we had ...to hard ..so no black skirts phantoms, red minors, or lemons glolites
Thank u and thanks for all the help and not yelling that I was so dumb

 

[Purrbox]

Depending on how long the aquarium has been sitting without fish, you may have to start over with the cycle. At the least I would expect a mini cycle, since I believe it's been at least a day or two.

 

[JohnPaul]

Unless there was a lot of residual ammonia in the tank (unlikely if the tank was fully cycled before), then your filter bacteria only can last a few days without an ammonia source before you start seeing the bacteria dying off.

Dwarf gourami's are nice. It is usually best to get just one, or else maybe a M/F pair. Multiple males in too small of a tank can sometimes lead to issues.

 

[kimo]

It's much easier to get a baby syringe from the local pharmacy to measure out how much water conditioner to put in. It doesn't have to be exact as long as there is at least the right amount added. A little extra never hurts.
The tank may go through a mini-cycle but I wouldn't change more than 30-50% of the water. As long as the tank has cycled there will be enough bacteria left to get things started again. Just monitor the water for any signs of ammonia after the first few days after putting any type of fish in there.
There should be none <> plants should eat it up right off.

If your daughter has her mind set on getting Dwarf Gourami's, get a pair (m/f)
to start out with. Having only those two fish in the tank will prevent having problems if the cycle is low. Males will have a pointed anal fin and slightly smaller, females anal fin will be rounded off. They even might to decide to build a bubble nest right off seeing that they are alone. A few floating plants will help.

There should be no one telling you that you're a newbie, doing everything
wrong, etc... They ALL started the same way without any experience. Don't worry about it. There is no one perfect way of cycling a tank. What works for you is the best way.

 

[motherspice]

Depending on how long the aquarium has been sitting without fish, you may have to start over with the cycle. At the least I would expect a mini cycle, since I believe it's been at least a day or two.

yes 2 days............. my friend just emailed me she has 6 zebras she wants me to have cause shes moving..........so i told her yes