Please help with suggestions and recommendations
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oh ok, thats good. Pm me if you have any problems with ammonia or nitrite after you change your filter cartride. I can help you there. Next time you change your filter cartridge test the water for the next 3-4 days.
I cant talk anymore, i have school tommorow and its getting late, goodnight!
I cant talk anymore, i have school tommorow and its getting late, goodnight!
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Blue, did you make a typo? :roll:
Dana's tank is not yet cycled, not only 1 wk into the process. She said there were nitrate levels showing in her tap water, which would explain why she is showing low nitrates and they are dropping in the tank as the plants are consuming them.
This is always the hardest part for anyone, because its so tempting to add more fish. Please don't. The readings you have posted thus far tell me that your tank hasn't really begun to cycle yet, and it needs time. I am curious about the test kits you are using? (name brand and type <liquid, strips, dry tabs) Also, I think I am unclear about how often you are doing water changes and how much water at a time? Are you doing any gravel cleaning with the water changes?
As for your stocking, I think the move from neons or cardinals to green fire tetras would be an excellent one. The green fire tetras are a lot sturdier than either neons or cardinals, and better able to defend themselves with those danios if needed. At the same time, they are very peaceful, and very bright and colorful once they've settled in.
I also found another tetra that I had overlooked on my prior lists...
The von rio tetra, aka, flame tetra:
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N
This is not a very good pic, I couldn't find a good pic of them online. When they settle in, the body is a bright olive green and sparkles when the light hits it right, and the back and lower fins are a bright ruby red. This is one of the most colorful of all of the tetras I've seen, while still being sturdy and staying small. These are awesome fish! They mix with the platys, the danios, the otos, the corys, the botia loach, and the green fire tetras.
Mush, your tank sounds like it's on the final swing... almost there, congrats!!! 4 - 6 wks is the average tank for cycling, give or take a bit depending on the individual tank/circumstances.
Dana's tank is not yet cycled, not only 1 wk into the process. She said there were nitrate levels showing in her tap water, which would explain why she is showing low nitrates and they are dropping in the tank as the plants are consuming them.
This is always the hardest part for anyone, because its so tempting to add more fish. Please don't. The readings you have posted thus far tell me that your tank hasn't really begun to cycle yet, and it needs time. I am curious about the test kits you are using? (name brand and type <liquid, strips, dry tabs) Also, I think I am unclear about how often you are doing water changes and how much water at a time? Are you doing any gravel cleaning with the water changes?
As for your stocking, I think the move from neons or cardinals to green fire tetras would be an excellent one. The green fire tetras are a lot sturdier than either neons or cardinals, and better able to defend themselves with those danios if needed. At the same time, they are very peaceful, and very bright and colorful once they've settled in.
I also found another tetra that I had overlooked on my prior lists...
The von rio tetra, aka, flame tetra:
http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N
This is not a very good pic, I couldn't find a good pic of them online. When they settle in, the body is a bright olive green and sparkles when the light hits it right, and the back and lower fins are a bright ruby red. This is one of the most colorful of all of the tetras I've seen, while still being sturdy and staying small. These are awesome fish! They mix with the platys, the danios, the otos, the corys, the botia loach, and the green fire tetras.
Mush, your tank sounds like it's on the final swing... almost there, congrats!!! 4 - 6 wks is the average tank for cycling, give or take a bit depending on the individual tank/circumstances.
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No. I didn't realize her tapwater has nitrates. I must have misunderstood that part about the report from the water company.:dunno: Darn...:frustrated:bettababy said:
She did mention in this thread she is using Freshwater Master Test Kit.
Lol..Must have overlooked my thread about red phantoms and flames.:bluelaugh: :mrgreen:
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I'm also in the middle (beginning?) of cycling a new 28g tank with 7 leopard Danios. I floated two used filters the first couple of days, then added some live plants and two mosquito fish. Next I added a nice planted driftwood that had been in a lfs tank for about a year. I'm hoping that I have plenty of bacteria in there but I still don't have nitrates. Last night when I tested I had 0.25 ammonia (0 nitrites and 0 nitrates) so I changed out about 20% or so of the water. I started my tank on 12-24 so it's been two and a half weeks now.
so it seems like even with established stuff added to the tank it's taking a while.
so it seems like even with established stuff added to the tank it's taking a while.
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Yes, even with established media involved, it will still "take a while" to cycle. There are a few important things to note about cycling any tank:tinymitymo said:
If there is any chlorine present (which can happen if someone rinses stuff under the tap water, or forgets to add water conditioner), the chlorine will destroy/kill any current bacteria.
The bacteria involved are of different types, and not ALL of them eat ammonia. One type feeds on ammonia, another on nitrites. The process of breakdown thus, goes something like this:
Ammonia added/present, bacteria feeds on it, the waste product of the bacteria is then nitrite. Another bacteria then grows and feeds on the nitrites, and it's waste product is nitrates.
The bacteria needs time to feed on the ammonia to produce the waste product of nitrite, and enough of that has to happen before it will appear visible on a test kit. During the beginning phase of ammonia breakdown, the nitrite feeding bacteria colony will reduce because of lack of food, thus it will also need time to build back up.
Also, the bacteria culture going into the new tank needs time to populate enough and take hold to manage to feed on all of the ammonia present. This is where patience is needed more than anything else.
Some tanks will cycle faster than others, there are many many factors involved. Each tank responds as an individual, just as in people, twins still have their differences... no to are EXACTLY alike in every way.
I hope this helps to simplify the process a little more for anyone who has wondered or been struggling to understand it.
Ok ive decided not to get cories since i have to many doubts. I am changing my stocking scheme to this
7 zebra danios
6 ghost shrimp
3 red coral platies, 2 females 1 male or 3 males
6 lemon tetras or another type of tetra
It is a 20 gallon high tank with double the filtration
7 zebra danios
6 ghost shrimp
3 red coral platies, 2 females 1 male or 3 males
6 lemon tetras or another type of tetra
It is a 20 gallon high tank with double the filtration
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mush, you may want to watch lemon tetras with danios. The lemons tend to stress easy which usually causes ick. They're one of the more sensitive of the tetras. Is it the color or shape that you like so much about them? There are so many options available...
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Ich is triggered easily of course when the fish is stressed due to lowered immunity but I am guessing this happens only when the ich has been in the tank for a long time and remaining undetected until the fish's weak immunity(brought by several factors-mostly stress-related factors :wink2: ) triggers susceptibility to ich. Ich is not part of the tank's ecosystem but rather serves as a 'contaminant' via unquarantined fish and equipments used in ich-infested tanks.bettababy said:
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Any fish going through a LFS tank is exposed to ick while there. Because of the way store systems are set up, it is very difficult to control the spread of it at the store. If 1 fish in 1 tank has ick, then at least 1/2 of the other tanks are all exposed. The filtration systems are typically set up to run many tanks on one "system", thus, the water circulates through all of the tanks. Walmart and Petco are good examples of this. So, when you see fancy goldfish with ick, fancy guppys with fin rot, and floating fish in various tanks, the other tanks that appear healthy are all being exposed to all of these things at once.
The store where I worked, when it was built, it was with filtration problems in mind, and they individualized all of the freshwater tanks, and brackish water tanks and the filtration. Each tank was it's own seperate system, thus the exposure to these illnesses was minimal.
The store where I worked, when it was built, it was with filtration problems in mind, and they individualized all of the freshwater tanks, and brackish water tanks and the filtration. Each tank was it's own seperate system, thus the exposure to these illnesses was minimal.
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all of my lfs have dyed fish =( but i want to work in them but its patronizing dyed fish...............i think. is that ok for me to still work there?pets discount petco pet depot petland kalihi pet shop<-(has exotic i think illegal fish)
hmm, the reason why i anted lemon tetras was because i thought they are hardy, well does anyone know a good schooling small tetra that is hardy and can fit with zebra danios, thanks! My ph is around 7.6-7.8 so they need to be ble to survive that as well
Btw i dont want neon tetras or cardinal.
Btw i dont want neon tetras or cardinal.
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Also Pristella Tetras - so far as I know, one of the only tetras that can even handle brackish water - extremely hardy and able to handle ph from 6.5 to 8.5 - probably could keep them in a Tanganyika tank if the cichlids wouldn't see them as food/chew toys.
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Pristella tetras are NOT a brackish water fish, they are a South American river dwelling fish. While some of them may be able to tolerate brackish conditions for a short period of time, this is not somthing I would suggest trying. Too long in brackish conditions would mean sure death.
Well i got 2 more danios today. So now i have 7 and im pretty much done cycling. I found these white platies at the store today, they looked really cool and they only get up to around 2.5 inches. I might get those. THey look like mini albino oscars, can someone tell me the name of these? I think there called Redtail White Calico Platy. Are these ok for my tank?
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