hey guys, i'm new to this site, just got me a 55 gal tank, i believe i made a mistake, listening to the guy at pet smart, he told me to get this certain type of water conditioning and i would be able to stock my tank in 24 to 48 hours, after reading the thing about cycling i believe i messed up, i only put 1 convict cichlid in there to see if he would make it, so can someone tell me what i may need to do from here on out.
Cycling with fish can be fine, as long as you change the water when you get ammonia readings. Also, being that the tank is as large as it is, it shouldn't be too bad as long as you change 10-20% of the water per day.
Convicts are very hardy fish so as long as you have that test kit and do water changes whenever the ammonia or nitrite get out of hand, the fish should be able to survive the cycle.
What do you plan on keeping in the tank? Convicts get to be very aggressive, so choosing proper tankmates can be difficult.
i assume your not going with a community tank. have you actually decided what type of tank you want or you just grabbed a fish at random to cycle. i'd highly recommend the fishless cycle. if you can, tank the convict back and proceed with a fishless cycle. less headache and you won't waste much money on livestock. also you may want to find a more educated person at the fish store you went to or find a better lfs all together. no tank will ever cycle in 24-48 hours if thats what he made you believe. sure you can put fish in right away but once you start getting ammonia and nitrite readings, look out. nitrates can be bad as well at very high levels. keep it below 40ppm. nitrates is on the end of the toxin conversion. only way to get rid of it is thru water changes and/or live plants.
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