Started new tank and added fish.

[supermazz9]

regarding water changes, invest in a Python. Greatest thing to happen in aquaria. Ever.

Ok, that may be taking it a little far, but it will make water changes almost enjoyable. And if they're less of a chore, you'll not mind doing them more often.

 

[Madness]

I think you're going to run into trouble with the amount of fish you have for cycling. To quote my own cycling advice:

To Cycle: Add at least one or two bunches of plants to your tank. Stock no more than 1" of slim bodied fish per ten gallons of water. Test nitrite and ammonia daily. At the first sign of measurable nitrite perform daily 50% water changes with heavy vacuuming. Continue daily 50% water changes until nitrite is no longer measurable. Once unmeasurable your tank is cycled. Your fish are still doing great because ammonia remained unmeasurable and nitrite was only at trace levels.

Always add plants as they prefer and will consume ammonia over nitrite and nitrate. Stock low to keep bioload from overloading. The daily 50% water changes along with heavy vacuuming not only keep the nitrite level in check, they also keep the bioload in check while the nitrite cycle completes. Why didn't I mention water changing during measurable ammonia, you ask? 'Cause you most likely will never encounter any measurable ammonia.

The primary reason for cycle failures even among the cycle aware is way overstocking for the process. It becomes impossible to keep up with the bioload. Ammonia and nitrite spike out of control, the tank ends up clouding over, and/or fish die. Additionally, the value of even just a few plants goes highly underestimated by far too many. We just don't see it enough in cycling info. Plants drink ammonia like mad and if the tank is stocked lowly even just a few plants will prevent any measurable ammonia from appearing. The ammonia phase of nitrification occurs invisibly with the only sign of it being the emergence of measurable nitrite.

Painless fish cycling that even the beginner can easily perform.

The best thing you could do right now is get four or five bunches of healthy Hornwort and/or Anacharis. Either grows well floating in the water so you don't need plant them or keep them beyond your cycle. They will drink up the ammonia and keep it from killing your fish. If you have measurable ammonia after two days with the plants, get even more plants. DEFINITELY perform 50% water changes every day you have either measurable amounts of ammonia or nitrite. And DEFINITELY vacuum your gravel as much as possible during those changes. You wont be killing the bacteria. You will be removing as much waste as possible which will help keep ammonia and nitrite from getting out of control.

You do not need measurable levels of ammonia, or even nitrite for that matter, to cycle the tank. If you get the plants in right away you will watch your ammonia disappear only to have nitrite appear a week or two later. Expect to perform daily 50% water changes with heavy vacuuming for a week to ten days once nitrite appears. Then one day you'll test and it will be gone. The tank will be cycled but, espessially in your case, still depending on the plants. If you pulled them all out at once there is no doubt your ammonia would spike. You'll want to pull out only about a quarter of it a week.

If you don't intervene you are going to have lots of trouble keeping the tank, and the fish, going through the cycle.

 

[spittinfly]

Well I took a water sample in to the lfs last night and he said all my levels looked fine. He said my cycle wouldn't start for about 6-8 weeks. He said now is the time to just sit back and relax and watch the fish, do a pwc in about a week and no gravel vacuming for about 3 weeks. I asked him if he had ever heard about fishless cycling and he did so I figured he wasn't a complete idiot. But so much of his advice (and that of another lfs) is just so different than that of the forum!!! It is soooo frustrating :[ I like the live plant idea and I will look into getting some.

So without plants I watch for Ammonia and do pwc's and with plants watch for Nitrites and then do pwc's?

God I feel like I am just going over all the same stuff all the time but with little variations that keep tripping me up. Sorry for venting but it really is overwhelming to the begginer. I knew that coming into it but boy it sure will be worth it.

On an easier note I figured out my mystery fish is a redtailed white calico platy, and he is starting to come out of hiding a little bit more now. I suppose that is how all the fish should have acted from the beggining but I guess my others were the exception.

Thanks for all the help and great advice. Now I just have to figure out what to do

 

[Hara]

Well I took a water sample in to the lfs last night and he said all my levels looked fine. He said my cycle wouldn't start for about 6-8 weeks. He said now is the time to just sit back and relax and watch the fish, do a pwc in about a week and no gravel vacuming for about 3 weeks

find a new LFS.

 

[Madness]

So without plants I watch for Ammonia and do pwc's and with plants watch for Nitrites and then do pwc's?

You test for both and do daily 50% water changes with heavy vacuuming whenever either are measurable. It's only that with plants and light stocking you likely never have measurable ammonia. The first thing to show up in tests is likely nitrite instead of ammonia.

God I feel like I am just going over all the same stuff all the time but with little variations that keep tripping me up. Sorry for venting but it really is overwhelming to the begginer.

You're doing great. Fish advice is slow to catch up. Or rather, misinformation is seemingly impossible to eliminate.

 

[spittinfly]

So if I get just a couple of the plants (2-3) do I need to worry about the CO2(?) ? Or what I plant it in? I just have regular gravel right now. If I buy them I might as well keep them right. Is there any other maintenance with that little of live plants? I know this isn't the Live Plant forum so I'll keep it limited.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

You always watch for ammonia and nitrite. Do PWC's accordingly. Keep levels under .5ppm. Even with plants, the plants may not consume all the ammonia unless you are heavily planted.

As for CO2, all depends on the lighting. If you are running higher lighting, you will need CO2. But if you are running just the standard lighting (low light), then no CO2 isrequired. And keep the lighting period between 8-10 hours. It can be longer, like 12 hours, but watch for algae. If algae starts appearing at longer lighting time,cut back the hours a little.

How much light do you have? What size and wattage bulb, and how many?What size tank?

 

[Madness]

The only truly planted aquarium approach I'm experienced with would require an overhaul of your tank using a soil substrate. But there is no need to go to this length.

Java Fern is one plan I know of that does well in most any tank. It doesn't root, it attaches to rock or decor. It doesn't require much light. It grows well. You won't need to do anything like co2 or ferts. It should be a good choice for a plant you'd like to keep going after the cycle without getting into in depth plant keeping. Others should have some good suggestions too.

It's not for everyone, but I always keep Hornwort and some Duckweed floating around in the tank. They are super easy to thin and they grow like wildfire.

 

[spittinfly]

I think it is a 15 w long fluorescent bulb, only one and I have a 35 gal tall hex tank. Sounds like java fern would be good cause it can grow on my rocks but I like how the Hornwort and Anacharis would look in the tank. Maybe 1-3 of each would fill in the spaces pretty good.