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Cycling with gold fish

3K views 21 replies 3 participants last post by  jaysee 
#1 ·
Hi, im new to this group, I just started a 35 gal freshwater tank. I don't have any live plants just plastic ones and fake Driftwood. My local fish store provided me with six small goldfish, less than two inches, to help cycle my aquarium. I'm also using a beneficial Bacteria booster as I've read multiple articles and posts where people advise using one. The store said to just bring them a water sample in two weeks to see if the levels are right. Should I be doing water changes in the meantime? If so how often or how much? Should I get my own test kit or just trust the store? My heater and filter are both running as well. Any advice is greatly appreciated for this newbie!


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#3 ·
No if you are using a bacteria in a bottle to cycle your tank than there are no water changes during that time, and no water testing either. I'm not familiar with every product on the market (since you didn't mention which one you are using), but the best one, TEtra safe start - no water changes or testing.
 
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#5 ·
I appreciate the input! I'm using Seachem prime and just following the instructions on the bottle so far. I haven't done any water changes yet so I'll just keep it that way. Today is day three and the water is just a tad cloudy but I'm assuming that will correct itself. Also they suggested that if the fish do die to just buy them under the gravel. I'm guessing that's to continue to supply the bacteria with a food source.

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#4 ·
I don't know if they store explained it all to you but here is a quick run down.

The fish will produce ammonia in their waste, ammonia is very toxic to fish but the beneficial Bacteria will change that to Nitrite then to Nitrate where it is safer for fish. The bottle of beneficial Bacteria Booster will kick they "Cycle" off and keep the ammonia from getting to high to harm the fish. The bacteria need food to live so putting in the gold fish will give it the food it needs from their waste. After the 2 weeks your filter should be seeding well and the tank will be pretty stable.

It sounds like the store got you setup nice and your tank is well on the way to being great. You can let them test your water or you can buy a test kit it all depends on how you feel about it. I let the store test my water for years but now I do it all my self because I like to know now and not drive to the store.

When you start adding more fish just do so slowly, something like 4-5 fish per week would be good. As you add more fish the amount of waste in the tank goes up but the bacteria will grow to keep up. Just don't want to go too fast because it will take a day or so for it to catch up. Same thing if you remove fish the extra bacteria will die off because it has less food but it corrects it self quickly.

Welcome to the group.
 
#9 ·
When you start adding more fish just do so slowly, something like 4-5 fish per week would be good.

Welcome to the group.
What about a quarter time tank, I don't currently have a smaller tank available for quarantine, should that be my next investment or is there a shortcut/substitute I could use in the meantime?

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#6 ·
Don't have time to say more than prime is not a bacteria supplement. You want tetra safe start, and you would need to follow the instructions to the letter. At work, gotta run.


To keep your fish alive in the meantime do water changes. Cloudiness is bacterial bloom which indicates the presence of a large amount of ammonia in the water, so that's a big problem that needs to be addressed immediately. Can't just use water conditioner without water changes - not for more than a couple of days.
 
#7 ·
I have never heard of burying the fish in the gravel but it would give the bacteria more ammonia. I think when you are cycling the tank that isn't bad info I would never do it in a cycled tank but I know I have lost fish in my tanks that I didn't remove so it shouldn't cause any issues long term.
 
#14 ·
Once your tank is cycled if you add a new filters it won't have to recycle or cause any issues with the tank at all. The cycled tank it will slowly be seeded the new filter with the bacteria, that could tank 2-3 weeks so it is good to have it running all the time. Running the extra filter on the tank doesn't hurt the tank at all it just gives the bacteria more places to grow.

When you want to setup a new tank it doesn't matter if it is a quarantine tank or another full tank setup you add water to the tank, treat the water to removed chlorine, allow it to get to room temp or what temp you want with the heater and then add the extra filter to the new tank. The filter will bring the bacteria with it so the new setup is cycled instantly. The bacteria is the key as long as you are moving it to the new system any ammonia in that system will be taken care of quickly.

When you do remove the extra filter from the main tank the amount of bacteria will drop but the bacteria colony will double in size every 24-36 hours if it has enough food(ammonia) so you won't notice any change unless the main tank is way over stocked.

Just remember if they fish in the QT show any weird sign or you are worried they might have something don't put that filter back in the main tank. If it is a cartridge type just throw it out, if it is a sponge filter I clean my in hot water then allow it to dry for a week, clean again and dry another week. That will kill just about every disease fish related, used the same filters for years no issues.
 
#16 ·
You are very welcome, we all started some place so I like to help others make less mistakes then I did.

And it is addicting I really got hooked a few years ago when a friend gave my son a tank, then I had to have one and another and another. Pretty soon you will be using the lunch hours to go buy more fish like I did today. :smile2:Quick run over to the pet store to buy 5 bettas now they are hanging out on my desk at work until I go home, yes my coworkers know I'm weird.
 
#17 ·
You know I gotta take issue with war hawks statement about not needing to quarantine fish that are all bought together. I understand your point, but I don't think it's prudent to assume that all the fish have the same thing, even if they all share the same water. I know I've seen sick/dead fish in a tank with seemingly healthy fish at the store, and I know I've had certain fish in my tanks have issues while others were perfectly fine. So I don't think it's that simple. That being said, I will quarantine fish for the same tank together if I don't have the tanks open to separate them. In such a situation I have a zero tolerance policy for problems, because I am unwilling to risk them all for the sake of a few.

Truth be told, even when the fish are separated I still will usually cull new fish that develop problems because i deem the fish to be weak and only the strongest make it into my tanks. Again, I'm not willing to jeopardize my entire tank for the sake of a few new fish.
 
#19 ·
Yes, if you can swing it. When I was at my height in the hobby I had 5 quarantine tanks that ran 24/7. But I also had a dozen show tanks so 1 or 2 QTs just couldn't cut it. I quarantine new fish for a month - I'm on the more extreme side with all that so I don't think it's something that everyone should do, but I do think most people could take quarantining just a little more seriously :)

But look it's a hobby meant to be fun, not be a burden so keep that in mind first and foremost.
 
#22 ·
I have long ago taken to administering a heat treatment on all my new fish while in quarantine in order to make sure I don't accidentally add a fish carrying ich. Not that it's difficult to treat, but i don't heat my show tanks (big tanks) so doing a heat treatment would mean buying heaters and i don't want to do that. It's so much easier to just assume they have it and treat them while in quarantine before I add them. I have never had ich in my tanks since I started doing that, and I used to manage close to 20 tanks including the QTs.
 
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