Update on my fishy cycle. Need alittle help with feeding...

Neo Sithlord

Neo Sithlord

Nerf Herder
Mar 20, 2004
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Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin
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So I'm doing good so far. Abit of cliff note on my back ground. I started a fishless cycle on a 29 gallon and abandoned it for a fishy cycle at the point that my ammonia would drop and my nitrites were peaked with some generation of nitrates. A freind pointed out to me today that I started rambling on about fish 6 weeks ago LOL. So I'd say I was at 7-8 weeks in the fishless with no primer (i.e. no filter media or substrate from a fully cycled tank.) I started with 6 neons and a male betta on monday. 2 neons died (Which I expected to happen) within the first 24 hours and after returning them to the lfs for replacement they seemed wary of giving me 2 neons in replacement (Good impression from the store IMHO). The water test they did was slightly upsetting though. They used test strips (I've learned to not trust these) and they said I had a slight nitrite and nitrate reading. Nothing I didn't know already. The upsetting part being that they used test strips! So here's the meat of what I'd like to know. I just recieved a test kit yesterday that I ordered from Biag Al's. Really nice liquid test from Aquarium Pharm, it's really easy to read I love it, and my readings were;
Ammonia 0ppm :eek: Nice!
Nitirite .25ppm
Nitrate 5ppm

My tank is stocked with 1 male betta, 4 neon tetras, 2 white cloud minows (They replaced the 2 dead neons and have been a really nice addition to the tank. They are a hardier fish that I've read gets along with bettas and I must admit look really good with the neons).

So what level can I push the nitrites in the tank with this setup? Just wondering what your oppinions are. I know neons are touchy wih water chem changes. They were kind of intended to be my miners canaries though. I hate to put it that way but I knew how sensitive they are and also wanted them to be apart of my tank stock in the end. I figured if they started showing stress I'd know something was wrong. I do want them to remain healthy though as I love neons! I know I may loose afew though by adding them so soon but again they are my indicator of stress.


Now as for feeding. I've tried to get the betta to eat "Wardley Betta Food" but he just spits them out. He goes after the flake food chews it up and spits it out, but he does actually eat blood worms. I know he can't live on a diet of just blood worms so what can I try to get him to eat for a more rounded diet? I've read of soaking the pellets, how would I go about do that? Just stick afew in a cup prior to feeding for 5-10 minutes with alittle tank water? I've learned to feed him first so he doesn't nip or the others don't nip him. Basically I wait for him to come to the surface for a breath of air then drop the food in sight. Again he only really eats the blood worms though.
Everyone else is eating the flake food really well. Well once they realize theres food in the water. Which takes about one minute I've been feeding lightly 2 times a day and most food seems to be snapped up in 2-3 minutes. Hopefully not over feeding but I assume I'm not.

I know I always post long ones LOL but I just want to do this right and I'm not one to shy away from asking questions.

As always THANK YOU FOLKS!
-Neo Sithlord
P.S. I did a 33% water change after I tested to be safe everyone seems to have taken it in stride :D
 
GAH! One of my neons was swimming arround just fine. Then he started swimming upside down and what not. I think he's dead! Bah! The other three which have schooled together seem to be doing ok and healthy but what the heck just happened??? He was swimming arround just fine then in a matter of seconds he DIED???! What the heck is going on?!
-Neo Sithlord
(He's confirmed dead now :shake: . I want these guys to live!)
 
I would never let nitrites exceed .5 ppm and and keeping them at .25 or lower is not a bad idea with neons in the tank. What's going on is that your fish are suffering the effects of exposure to ammonia and nitrites... nitrites interfere with the fish being able to carry oxygen in its blood (nitrite is preferentially picked up). I would guess that is what killed your neon.

Some people use salt to help fish tolerate nitrite spikes, but I confess I don't know the dosage necessary to relieve some of the distress. Might be on the Skeptical Aquarist (www.skepticalaquarist.com).

Good luck,
Jim
 
Feeding routine sounds good, your Beatta may try to train you on blood worms only (I try to train my wife to feed me only steaks and good fish) Just let him go several days without bloodworms and he'll warm up to other foods. You will almost never meet a fish that will go hungry when there is some food source in the tank (elite predators may be an excepotion) Without seeing how much you are feeding, you may be on the high side for food, It's almost impossible to starve your fish, and most of us overfeed chronically. I skip 3 or 4 days a week and generally only feed once a day on feeding days. My fish are fat and happy. As far as the water chem. Nitrite can get pretty deadly, .5 is my absolute max in a fish tank, and below .25 is better. With neons I'd try to keep it really low. If you just had Danio's or other hardy fish, you may be o.k. at .5 but with the tetra's and even the beatta it isn't wise. Your beatta can go up for air which helps him some, but the stress could weaken him and something else get him at those levels.
 
Ammonia and nitrite should be zero before trying sensitive fish like neons-they need all the help they can get. Ammonia cycle time can vary quite a bit depending on different factors so it could be you are not quite done.

Nitrate is the one that is fairly harmless as long as levels are low-this is what gets diluted when you change the water regularly.
 
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