There is no such thing as a minimum amount of goldfish needed to cycle a tank. Now I'm not saying it is the best method (as matter of fact I urged you not to do it but to use ammonia, to avoid any possible harm to the fish) but it will cycle with your goldfish. Now there might be a reason or a combination of factors that we don't know about why you still have a (bacterial?) haze and no nitrite/nitrate but I think that's related.
Starting Back Up Again...Questions About Using Seachem Stability
- Thread starter Kaskade10729
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But why do you feel that it's okay to do such a large change in the middle of a cycle? I'm just trying to gain some knowledge on the science behind it (and the Seachem rep did suggest it, so I suppose I'll ask him too when I have a moment).
Yes, they are eating well -- right now we're feeding Omega One flakes (goldfish) and the New Life Spectrum goldfish pellets (we will soon introduce cooked frozen peas).
I don't believe this is a matter of just goldfish to cycle a tank, but fish in general (in terms of what the Seachem rep was saying)...at any rate, the haze has been significantly reduced for the time being (perhaps nearly gone) since that 50-percent water change. I took new readings this morning, and they were:
Ammonia: Seems to have dropped SLIGHTLY -- we're at between 0 and 0.25 ppm now
Nitrite: STILL 0 ppm
Nitrate: STILL between 0 and 5.0 ppm
Well, I only said that because you said "goldfish," originally. Unless I'm mistaken, didn't you originally mention that it was possible these two small fish wouldn't be enough to add the suitable elements during the cycle?
I stumbled upon this little tidbit on Aqueon's website under a section of "do's and don'ts for the aquarium":
Have your tap water tested for pH, alkalinity, nitrate and phosphate to make sure it is acceptable for aquarium use.
What do you make of this? Is it possible there is some tap water that simply cannot sustain aquaria life?
I ask because perhaps this is the reason I eventually lost goldfish in the past over a few years; we could never get them to grow supremely large, even though I kept on top of maintenance and water conditions, and now this has me thinking that perhaps our water simply can't support fish...
No i wrote that depending on the size and number of the fish and the size of the tank, it could take a long time before you register any results.
The Aqueon statement is like a blanket statement, oddly enough it doesn't mention chloramine or ammonia.
If you say the fish are happy and eating now, there is no reason to think there is something in the tap water. However most here don't really recommend keeping goldfish in tanks, I think I may already have sent this but if not please read this:
injaf.org
The Aqueon statement is like a blanket statement, oddly enough it doesn't mention chloramine or ammonia.
If you say the fish are happy and eating now, there is no reason to think there is something in the tap water. However most here don't really recommend keeping goldfish in tanks, I think I may already have sent this but if not please read this:
What Size Tank for Goldfish? - INJAF
What size tank for goldfish is a question that often arises on fishkeeping forums and usually results in a wide variety of opinions and suggestions
injaf.org
Then I may have been thinking of another member's response; I could have sworn that someone, at some point (and NOT the Seachem rep who I am going to talk about in a moment) here advised me that two small fish in a tank so relatively large cannot do the job.
At any rate, in going back through this thread and looking at the various back-and-forths, I discovered that it was being suggested that perhaps I was doing "two cycle methods" once I introduced fish in the midst of the Stability treatment; but what happened was, after conversing with the Seachem rep, I was advised that adding Stability to an empty tank without any living organisms in it wasn't doing anything. That's essentially why we went out and bought fish; I was basically advised to.
I suppose that's neither here nor there now, as we already have the fish in there are they are seemingly doing well -- I just wish I knew where the heck I was in the cycle.
Today's readings were:
Ammonia: Seemed to have dropped slightly; we're now at somewhere between 0 and 0.25
Nitrite: STILL 0
Nitrate: STILL somewhere between 0 and 5.0
Should I try another brand of test?
I noticed that, too, about not mentioning chloramine or ammonia...
Yes, there are even growing at a somewhat accelerated rate -- they are significantly larger now than when we first got them, and the calico's fork tails have developed aggressively. ZERO signs of visible stress.
I don't think you sent it before; I'll have a glance. May explain why I can't seem to keep these kinds of fish for longer than around five or so years (I was told on the vile, cancerous and overtly menstrual Kokos Goldfish community site that the kinds of goldfish we get at local pet shops, bred in captivity, are only good in terms of life span for somewhere between five and eight years or so).However most here don't really recommend keeping goldfish in tanks, I think I may already have sent this but if not please read this:
What Size Tank for Goldfish? - INJAF
What size tank for goldfish is a question that often arises on fishkeeping forums and usually results in a wide variety of opinions and suggestions
But even the ones bred for tanks aren't good for them long term?
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Forgive me if I'm wrong, but I just read the site you liked to, and it doesn't really say anything about not keeping goldfish in tanks as a definitive; it seems to suggest what I already kind of knew, that common types need really long, large aquariums because of their body shapes and sizes, and that they all do best with highly aerated, oxygen-rich water (which I provide in gobs). The fancy variants, because of their egg-shaped bodies and some vision handicaps in some cases, need room to turn and swim freely, which I also knew and which the ones I'm keeping have in copious amounts.
I know these guys can get huge, and that's why I never intended to keep more than four at a time in a 60 gallon (of the fancy type).
I know these guys can get huge, and that's why I never intended to keep more than four at a time in a 60 gallon (of the fancy type).
You can keep goldfish in tanks, but have to provide an adequate tank size and not keep them as small community fish, most people aren't willing to do that, they insist that they adapt their size to the tank, or that their aunt had half a dozen of them in a 10 gallon for 20 years, or something like that.
I don't know what kind of goldfish you had or how many, but having 2 fancy goldfish in a 60 gallon isn't going to kill them... it is more space as most people are willing to give them. It is true that many ornamental fish are very poor quality now, in addition to that, fancy goldfish already are grossly deformed and have many issues because of that. So when you say you can't keep them alive for over 5 years I don't think it has to do with you... though what is the temperature of the tank? Another issue with goldfish is they are not (sub)tropical fish, keeping them year long on often, very high temperatures greatly reduces their life span too.,
I don't know what kind of goldfish you had or how many, but having 2 fancy goldfish in a 60 gallon isn't going to kill them... it is more space as most people are willing to give them. It is true that many ornamental fish are very poor quality now, in addition to that, fancy goldfish already are grossly deformed and have many issues because of that. So when you say you can't keep them alive for over 5 years I don't think it has to do with you... though what is the temperature of the tank? Another issue with goldfish is they are not (sub)tropical fish, keeping them year long on often, very high temperatures greatly reduces their life span too.,
Oh, because you said this:
However most here don't really recommend keeping goldfish in tanks
I definitely understand the basics behind the goldfish myths and the space they need; we never kept more than four fancy varieties in a 60 gallon. But what you mean by "they insist that they adapt their size to the tank"? Who insists -- the owners?
We never kept more than four at a time, if memory serves, and they were always of the mid-size fantail variety (orandas, moors, etc.), but we were never able to keep them for more than eight or so years (I was told this was normal for fish bred for captivity and sold in pet stores).
I definitely intend to ALWAYS give them proper space and living conditions, with the cleanest possible water; my wife and I are 100-percent animal lovers, and always take care of any animal we have ever had with impeccable efforts.
I realize that they're not of the tropical variety; our home, though, is constantly kept cool in the summer via central air conditioning. We make sure of that. The average temperature is around 75 degrees.
I never bothered to put a thermometer in this tank being that I thought goldfish could adjust to room temps more easily and that they didn't require warm water like the tropicals...
