Got 11 fish in uncycled tank.. what to do?

cadencealex

I was told it was OK to add fish after 4 days of setting up tank.

It has a heater - temperature fine. PH 6 - 7

BUT I have an Oscar in there now.

Will he be OK? Is 4 days enough? Have since read otherwise online...

Baby Oscar 3 inches long... he is swimming around, very curious.. eating OK. Not been shy or sulky like I have read about...

Am worried now. Can fish survive when placed in a Tank like this?

fish_4_all

It can survive but you need to make sure you change water regularly. The ammonia is going to spike and you will need to make sure you keep it at levels lower than 1ppm along with the nitrites. It is going to increase your cycle time but not much you can do about it. That is unless you can get a hold of some used filter media, some seeded gravel or at least some ornaments or rocks you can put in the tank to help the process along. This will protect your Oscar a little but won't eliminate the need for the water changes, I would say a minimum of 50% weekly if not 20% every other day until you see no signs of ammonia and nitrites for a good 3 days if not a week.

cadencealex

Thanks for the quick reply - I have been given a Seashell, some little ornaments from an already established tank - should I add these then?

I can add a filter from my other Aquarium which just contains Goldfish - would this help?

Do you mean that now the fish are in, it is going to take longer for the tank to cycle.. meaning the fish are in danger for a longer period of time?

Thanks again

fish_4_all

With fish in the cycle it can take longer because you need to change enough water to keep levels down and this will limit bacterial growth. Anything you can put in the tank from a seeded tank will help A LOT!

cadencealex

I have now placed in two Stone dog ornaments... a Shell and when my hubby comes home he can put a bridge ornament we were given in also - I am worried about putting my hands in now as I have been cleaning with Bleach.

These came from his friend who is also giving us a Plec soon.

I have also put some 'Cycle' in - although not enough for the size of the Tank.

When doing a Water change now, should I use Tap water with conditioner?

Will buy a Gravel Hoover tomorrow - would this be better to do a Water change with?

And have a Fluval 305 pump coming in the morning, as Oscars are messy fish I believe. He looks so tiny in the tank though! He is still swimming around happily.

Many thanks again for the advice.

frogman6

wat size is the tank

fish_4_all

Did oyu clean the ornaments with bleech from the seeded tank? If oyu did they won;t help your cycle. The bacteria would now be dead and not help to seed the new aquarium. If this is the case, try to get some gravel from a long running tank and either put it on the bottom or put it in a nylon stocking and then put it on the bottom so the bacteria can grow off of it.

If you did wash the ornaments, I am sorry for not being more specific about how they were useful if put in a tank from another one.

Trishfish

Also, you don't want the ornaments to dry out between tanks. If possible transport them to your house in a bag of tank water.